Posted on 05/13/2010 1:55:15 PM PDT by neverdem
The NRA should simply suppport those politicians who support Second Amendment rights and oppose those that don’t.
Most Republicans do, and some Democrats do. Some Republicans don’t and Most Democrats don’t. They should NEVER become politically influenced in any other direction.
Wrong.
The first vote any Dem Rep or Senator casts is for the leadership giving people like Pelosi and Reid control of the 'agenda'.
Their individual positions on the issue don't matter one single whit, tit, or jottle. If they vote for Pelosi as Speaker or Reid as majority leader they're enemies of the 2nd Amendment, period.
L
Gun rights are about preserving liberty. You can’t support an active socialist just because they aren’t pushing gun control.
The NRA should never support an enemy of fundamental freedoms.
Harry Reid is deranged and presents a serious threat to everything we love about this country.
The fact that he is willing to let committed opponents of the 2d amendment on our federal courts says all we need to know about that issue.
If they support anti-gun Republicans they are spiting themselves and if they refused to support pro-gun Democrats, those “Blue Dogs” who stopped anti-gun initiatives in Congress would change their votes.
I belong to the NRA and I want them to be a one issue organzation.
As far as the other issues are concerned, I’ll give my money to conservative Republicans and organizations which support them.
So how friendly to the 2nd do you think Sotomayor is going to be?
A vote for any democrat is a vote for Pelosi. That is the bottom line.
Not very. Not at all.
But supporting anti-gun Republicans and opposing those Democrats who support gun rights is counter productive.
If the GOP cares about my support 100%, they will make sure ALL their politicians understand the Second Amendment.
Control of COngress doesn’t rise or fall oon a handfull of pro-gun blue dogs. It rises and falls on GOP leadership.
And right now, Steele, McConnel, Boehner, Grassly, McCain, Hatch, Graham, Snowe and Collins aren’t providing much of the right kind anyway.
Bart Stupak was pro life. Right up until the point that he wasn't. When the crap finally hit the fan, there was no time and no way for the larger pro life movement to lever their point. In the end Stupak had to buckle to the will of his party. Now the pro life caucus in the Democrat Party is deader than a doornail. The NRA has to face the truth that Nan, Dingy and Zero have proven they will use the party to break all non kool-aid drinkers. The NRA will fail to deal with this at their peril.
The NRA balances the short term by supporting C rated Republicans against supporting A rated dems for the long term.
You will have to understand we can’t afford to continue the US vs. THEM mentality. It’s also why the NRA is the most effective gun group we have.
[That doesn’t stop me from supporting the Republican party at all cost but then, I’m in Texas so I can afford that stance.]
I agree. There are plenty of other outlets and organizations for those who want to oppose Democrats. But the NRA is focused on RKBA, and it should maintain that focus. That way, when Democrats are in power, there is still a chance of preserving our 2nd Amendment rights.
Indeed, that's exactly what happened this past year. Blue Dog Democrats put the kibbosh on gun control legislation, so it never seriously got started even though the Democrats had total control of Congress and the White House. If the NRA acted purely as an adjunct of the Republican Party, there would be no incentive for Democrats to oppose gun control, nor any consequences for Democrats who support gun control. After all, what more can the NRA do to punish you if it's already going to work for your defeat in the next election?.
It can be very aggravating when the NRA supports a liberal incumbent with a good gun record against a pro-freedom challenger with an equally good record, or when the NRA ignores a pro-RKBA minor party candidate who's up against a squishy major party candidate. That's a good reason to join the Gun Owners of America or other hard-core groups. But it does not preclude having a variety of organizations pursue a variety of strategies. And as aggravated as I do sometimes get at the NRA, I have to admit that overall it has been very effective.
I do think it is crucial to make RKBA in-roads into the Democrat Party. At the very least we need to keep the gun-control Democrat politicians treading very cautiously and giving lip service (however insincere) to the 2nd Amendment. It moves the political and cultural center of mass in our direction, and helps to marginalize the gun control lobby.
Precisely. An anti-gun Republican congresscritter, repulsive as they may be, is actually better for 2nd amendment rights in the long-run than a pro-gun Democrat. If the Democrats control Congress, then there will always be rumbling about pushing through some gun control legislation. If the Republicans control Congress, this legislation is usually dead on arrival. Being able to control which legislation comes to the floor of the House is an enormous power, which is why we need to take back the House. Nancy Pelosi is about as anti-gun as you get. She’d probably ban handguns nationwide if she had the votes, just like Obama said he wanted to do.
They supported the Democrat Brad Carson over Tom Coburn in Oklahoma in 2004 for no reason — people got up in arms as everyone knew Carson played the game and they finally endorsed both.
Gun Owners of America endorsed Coburn and picked up a lot of members.
The NRA needs to get back to their basic roots and oppose all gun control. No compromises. No backing the “least worst” candidate. Repeal NICS. Repeal the Lautenburg amendment. Prevent any further loss of ground.
The NRA used to rail against the NICS check system. That lasted about 2 years. Now they fight to strengthen it.
That strategy only adds more anti-gun pols to the Republican party and less pro-gun pols to the dem party. Use a strategy that adds more pro-gun politicians without turning the power to the anti-gun tyrants.
You haven’t been paying attention.
The Second Amendment Foundation and the NRA are the only gun groups who have filed multiple lawsuits since Heller.
The NICS Improvement Act was the last straw for many, and is inexcusable.
The NRA is in the business of compromising. They only support licensed concealed carry and oppose VT style unlicensed carry.
I agree. In my experience, GOA is the group that truly supports the 2nd amendment.
Do you have one in mind? Obviously neither politician is palatable, but the fact remains that around 35-40% of Americans are rabidly for gun control (mostly urban white liberals and blacks, lol irony). They don't seem to have a problem with illegal guns though, just legal ones.
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