Have you ever tried to get the NRA to comment on its participation in passing the MG ban? I have tried for years and have yet to have anyone from the NRA comment on it. It is though this subject is taboo.
The only response I ever received was from Wayne P., who in a repsonse to my letter at the time told me in no uncertain terms that the MG guys were sacrificed to protect the other firearms owners. Now, the question begs to be asked, the next time something like this comes up, who is the NRA going to sacrifice? It darn sure won't be any of the Fudds or target shooters. I will never trust the NRA as I did prior to 1986 again.
After having been a life member of the NRA for over 25 years I have learned that the only time they give a damn about the average member is why they want money.
I haven't, but I'm not especially surprised by the response you were given. A few slipups aside - eg. the "jackbooted thugs" letter in 1995 - the NRA has been very careful to stick to the mushy middle and not scare off the crowd that shoots $15,000 trap guns because that's where five figure donations come from.
Taken as an across the board gun rights organization, they are a failure. That's because that isn't what the NRA is. They are for hunters, target shooters, CCW holders, and the businesses that cater to them. And they have had great success at expanding the rights of these groups.
If you want a pro Class III, 2nd Amendment is about defense from the government association, that isn't the NRA.
That said, I still believe the 1986 ban amendment was a hoodwink they may have gone along with too easily afterwards and not a planned sellout from the beginning.