Posted on 03/30/2009 5:37:08 AM PDT by 300magnum
WASHINGTON – When Democrats acted last month to give the District of Columbia long-denied voting rights in Congress, the powerful gun lobby saw a target too good not to take a shot at.
The National Rifle Association's lobbyists made it clear to lawmakers that they believed the bill should include a measure to overturn the capital's gun control laws. Left mostly unsaid, but well understood by all 535 members of the House and Senate, was that failure to do so would unleash a barrage of political pain on resisters.
The result showed the strong sway the NRA has even over a Congress dominated by liberal Democrats who mostly disagree with the organization's positions. The Senate voted overwhelmingly to add the gun-rights proposal. House Democratic leaders, fearing a tough vote on the issue, swiftly scrapped plans to consider the D.C. voting legislation.
The bill hasn't resurfaced because Democrats cannot figure out how to keep it from splitting their ranks. Moderates and conservatives don't want to buck the NRA. Liberals are reluctant to be blackmailed into loosening gun laws.
The 138-year-old group derives its influence from a large and motivated base of members, particularly in rural areas and the South.
Its much younger political arm, set up in 1975, wields a carefully honed system for grading lawmakers and candidates based on how often they side with the NRA's legislative priorities. Their lobbyists tell lawmakers that they will be "scoring" specific bills — the equivalent of saying, "We're watching you, and if you vote the wrong way, there will be consequences."
That scoring system helps determine which candidates the group supports in campaigns. That decision can be an important factor in elections.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
It's “influence”!
Also, the offer of a two-year membership for only $25 is a nice discount from the regular price of $60.
Way to go NRA!
I’d love it for the topic of gun control to assume the position of third rail in American politics.
Hey don’t forget the Gun Owners of American (GOA) and the jews For the Preservation of Firearms Ownership (JFPO).
Hey! Hey! NRA! Together we shall WIN today!
If people haven’t joined the NRA, do so today. There’s 90M gun owners in America. Stand up and fight.
LOL - the AP pi$$es me off to the point where one can't help but laugh. Considering the subject matter of the article, it's quite apparent that liberals only want to expand their voting base, not actually let people be free. They could give a rat's a$$ about freedom because they understand that freedom is all or nothing. They understand it, but they don't accept it. This middle ground that they try to play will inevitably lead to their downfall...unfortunately, too many people in this country have the long term memory of a goldfish and it likely won't last...
Rephrase---voter's are watching...
I noticed the blackmail reference too. I can’t believe they think that voters would have the power do that. (Smirk) keeping tabs on their actions equates with what...spying?
Gun rights groups are also increasingly worried that an outbreak in violence at the U.S.-Mexico border could pave the way for a raft of new gun control measures.
International Treaties have the same force of law as the Constitution. A 'Treaty" with Mexico, or something contrived under NAFTA will kill our legal protection to our rights fast.
Without those protections the only way to hold on to our G*d given rights is to fight. How many today, (Be honest now) would be willing to do that? Not enough I suspect. A few of course, quickly painted in the Media as disgruntled kooks, but enough to change things? Sadly, I doubt it.
This article is why I have been saying that if you want to protect your 2A rights, it is better to support and send money to the NRA and other gun rights orgs than buy an Armalite AR-10.
Outrageous! Why... why... it’s as bad as if the press actually took sides and tried to help a political party instead of simply reporting the news!
STAND UP AND BE COUNTED .... or .... LINE UP AND BE NUMBERED ....
Democratic leaders are increasingly aware of that, particularly because many of their new members who are responsible for handing the party their majority are either strongly pro-gun or from states and districts where gun rights is a major issue.
Speaking from anecdotal experience, if there's one "right wing issue" that resonates with many lefties, it's gun rights.
If there's one thing that the article get wrong in a major way is that they fail to reference how many members the NRA has. I can't quickly find any direct links, but the NRA is one of the largest orgs by membership.
Why not do both? In buying the gun you are stimulating the economy and putting folks back to work. Of course as much as 90% of the money donated to these organizations goes to infrastructure support rather than directly to the lobbyists. The donations (at least in the case of SAF and CCRKBA) go to pay salaries, employ secretaries and assistants and the like. That's one huge reason these groups aren't as big as NRA nor are they as efficient.
In addition to that, the membership is heavily weighted toward one-issue voters. I can't even send money to Republican organizations because I can't stomach the possibility that even one thin dime might go to an anti-gun Republican. Unlike some political organizations, NRA members tend to vote their gun rights first.
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