Washington (CNN) As the nation reels from a weekend of two major mass shootings, the response from Republicans in Washington has been muted.

Here's one reason why: Republican lawmakers aren't even in Washington. Congress went into its August recess at the end of last week, meaning members are back in their home districts, on vacation with their families, or participating in congressional delegations to other countries -- in other words, far from reporters on Capitol Hill asking questions about how the federal government should respond.

But, in a news cycle where one tweet or one gaggle with the President can redefine the focus of the nation, it's not clear how a sustained conversation about gun violence will still be waiting in Washington when members return in September. Nor is it likely that they'll hear anything in their district over the next month to make them want to have one.

Their removal from the politics-media machine of Washington is hard to overstate.

One of the effects of last year's midterm election is that Republicans who represented suburban voters more amenable to moderate restrictions on firearms are no longer in office . Today's House Republican conference is smaller, more rural and more resistant than ever to such proposals.

Read More