I am an owner of numerous firearms (calibre management is a killer), a staunch supporter of the 2nd Amendment, and firmly in the “No Compromise” camp.
I support whole-heartedly what the NRA says it stands for; however, I left them a number of years ago because they give money to Democrats. That move seems prescient at this point.
I’m aware that the entire Left is arrayed against we gun owners, and that they are working diligently to undermine/smear any organization that stands for our rights. But I don’t think anyone can look at how the A-rated Republicans (and Democrats) rushed to support cloture on the Manchin-Toomey mess and not wonder what happened.
In a nutshell, it looks to me like the NRA pi$$ed away a lot of money.
While I have long supported what the NRA has stood for, I also donate to GOA, JPFO, the CCRKBA, and the SAF.
All that is good, but we all risk that someone will drop the ball.
One of the risks inherent in a one-issue organization is that their recommendations will be based on past performance on a single issue--and that often ignores the big picture--something we have not ignored around here, and we see the Harry Reids of the world for what they are. We know that at some point, their partisan agenda will trump all else, that despite the promises, the scorpion will sting the frog--because underneath it all, it is what it is.
So, too, there is risk in dealing with endorsing or just grading an unknown because sometimes, the people who say all the right things are not what they seem. On occasion that the wrong people will be backed.
But I don’t think anyone can look at how the A-rated Republicans (and Democrats) rushed to support cloture on the Manchin-Toomey mess and not wonder what happened.
I fully agree. Something is wrong with either the grading system, the Congress (ya think!?), or both. Maybe there is a plan to turn this around in the house, but for me the best thing to do is kill the bill, ASAP.
I'm already half-expecting some sort of slaughter to help push this over the top, just because such events seem to happen at the worst possible time.
However, we all need to do one thing none of the organizations can do for us.
At least take the time to e-mail our people in Congress. Send them a handwritten letter--even if you didn't vote for them and are sure they are going to vote against you. Let's get them all on record before the vote, so we can take that back to them if they vote against our rights. (Heck, we should do this on every major issue).