Posted on 08/09/2010 6:54:50 PM PDT by randita
NRA chooses Edwards in Texas By: Kasie Hunt August 9, 2010 06:57 PM EDT
Texas Rep. Chet Edwards is the latest endangered Democrat to win a critical conservative credential: an endorsement from the National Rifle Association.
Edwards’s campaign announced he had received the pro-gun rights organization’s backing on Monday. "I cannot imagine any candidate in our district who would not want the endorsement of the NRA Victory Fund, which is by far the largest gun rights organization in the country,” Edwards spokesman Megan Jacobs said in a statement.
Edwards is facing self-funded businessman Bill Flores, who has attacked him for voting in favor of the bank bailout and the stimulus bill.
“Bill Flores is a strong supporter of the 2nd amendment, filled out a perfect NRA questionnaire that received an AQ rating, is a life member of the NRA and the Texas State Rifle Association and has already been endorsed by Gun Owners of America. Bill will never receive an F rating from the NRA as Congressman Edwards did in 2003,” said Flores campaign manager Matt Mackowiak.
Edwards has been a GOP target for nearly a decade and has yet to lose a race—even though former President George W. Bush calls his district home.
Still, the national political environment is working against him, and Republicans have been quick to note Flores’s internal polling shows him ahead.
Both Edwards and Flores raised over $600,000 between April and June, though Edwards is sitting on more than $2.1 million in cash to Flores’s $415,000.
That makes the NRA endorsement all the more welcome—and Edwards isn’t the only vulnerable Democrat to win NRA support this year. Mississippi Rep. Travis Childers and Virginia Rep. Rick Boucher also have the group’s backing, a welcome endorsement for both.
Ties with conservative congressional Democrats have been key for the NRA. The group’s influence allowed it to negotiate a loophole in sweeping campaign finance legislation designed to limit outside groups’ influence in elections. The bill, dubbed the DISCLOSE Act, didn’t pass muster in the Senate.
But the NRA has taken flak from its conservative membership for supporting candidates on the left— and has been particularly roiled by suggestions it would endorse endangered Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. The group ultimately issued a statement saying it had not yet made a decision about whether to endorse Reid.
© 2010 Capitol News Company, LLC
"They" being the NRA. I don't know where you heard this disinformation, but this statement is false.
Dial (800) 392-VOTE and listen to the pre-recorded message there. The NRA has not endorsed any candidate as of yet.
It's true: A lie can travel around the world before the truth has even put on its boots.
A photo copy of the extended middle finger comes to mind
“Yep, it is why I don’t belong to the NRA, for the most part it is just like any liberal organization, it is all about funding and big salaries.”
More than you know. I refuse to give money to the NRA or participate in anything held or promoted by the NRA.
“The NRA is NOT a ‘Republican’ organization.”
The way they’re going it’s not even a pro-gun rights organization anymore.
Nobody wants the NRA to rubberstamp Republicans or anyone else. We simply want the NRA to not support gun control or endorse candidates who do.
The NRA now openly endorses gun controllers over non-gun controllers, and advocates for legislation pushing increased restrictions on guns. The NICS Improvement act comes to mind.
If some of these knee jerk ranters would stop bitching about the NRA and actually think about it, they might ask themselves why with Pelosi and Reid running congress for the last 4 years not one piece of anti-gun legislation has even made it to the floor, let alone passed. In fact there has been pro-gun victories like allowing guns in National Parks. If the NRA was 100% Republican all the time, the Dems would have passed every Brady wet dream bill out there, They would have nothing to lose.
The R in NRA stands for Rifle, not Republican.
I think there is a difference between educating people about state law and endorsing the law. The NRA website is a great reference for state firearms laws.
The more educated people are on gun laws, the more they will see how crazy and nonsensical some of those laws are, particularly in Cali. There’s always a chance to get them repealed if the people push hard enough.
Now when it comes to civil disobedience against unjust laws, I wouldn’t expect a huge organization to take the lead. That decision is up to each individual to make for themselves.
check out debbie schlussel’s,(8/2008...I believe), col. “nra had a spy in gun control groups, muslims had a spy in the nra”. second half of the col. got my attention. a few calls to the nra and after much beating around the bush they admitted, “yes, we know of his, (grover norquist’s) agenda but the nra is not concerned with what our board members do on their OWN time”. HOLY SH$T!!!! but by all means, check this out kam. never believe what is out on the net for sure but there are more than a few stories that have been vetted out about GN, the nra and C.A.I.R. very sad to say the least to see this once great org. sink this low.....to allow a board member to also be the main biggie at C.A.I.R.
No, but the Democrat Party IS an evil organization dedicated to the destruction of the United States and replacing it with a third world shit hole.
What is Edwards voting record in regards to gun laws? That is the criteria the NRA uses. Also, I think they stretch a little to endorse some Democrats in order to appear unbiased. Just a guess.
right. grover norquist...recent past LONG time nra board member AND....agenda setter, policy maker, lobbyist, fund raiser and overall heavy hitter for the anti American nazi ‘bund’ muslim terrorist group C.A.I.R. explain that? the nra has been a joke since ‘68 but unfortunately so many FReepers are kids and they have no idea how great the nra once was.......and now?....just a damn shill outfit for their six plus figure bucks big boys to get and to think there are still FReepers who fall for their BS...hard to believe. I have sent a small fortune the nra’s way in years past.....never again. any outfit who is in bed with muslim terrorist groups can the just go to you no where.
Interesting read... NRA Had Spy in Gun Control Group; Muslims Have Spy in NRA
The NRA is a single issue organization. They are also democratic, board members are elected. I don’t know anything about Norquist, but I assume he is pro-gun, and enough members voted for him. If you don’t like it, organize to vote him out instead of bitching and trying to condmen an organization of millions based on the associations of one board member.
As for the NRA being somehow better prior to 68, they weren’t even involved in politics before that. They were simply an organization devoted promoting shooting among the general public. Since then they have been forced by the antis to become political and are the only reason we have any gun rights left at all. And the fact that not one antigun law has been passed since in four years of Democrat control of Congress is proof of the job they have been doing, no thanks to the critics and whiners.
1. There is no such thing as a Conservative Democrat any more.
2. There is no such thing as a pro-life Democrat.
3. Never trust a RINO.
whatever you say sonny. yeah, you do not know anything about grover norquist that is now obvious. do your darn homework. this old timer will never again contribute one red cent to a group that had as a board member a main player in the muslim terrorist front group, C.A.I.R.
In the meantime, clean it up, people:
The NRA has really lost it and I’m a Life Member...
Bingo. The NRA is a single issue organization. They aren't a conservative lobby group or a Republican machine. They only look at a candidates voting record on one thing. They shouldn't be the only consideration when selecting the best person to vote for.
Anyone with an NRA membership or considering an NRA membership needs to understand that the NRA is strictly a one-issue organization, take every endorsement as a reflection of that and that alone, do your research on other issues, and make your own decision accordingly.
Or...
The NRA needs to look deeper than whether a candidate has voted for a certain number of pro-gun bills. Elections do have greater far-reaching consequences, as the Senator from South Carolina so dutifully reminded us on the heels of the Kagan confirmation. A Democrat may vote pro-gun locally, but the real question is whether that is likely to translate to a national level. When federal gun control legislation comes along, will the candidate vote conscience or party?
What’s worse, like sleeper trolls here on FR, there are sleeper RINOs too. They even vote the right way, and then, when they can do the most damage, they give a big one to the democRats. They may go down in flames at their next election, but they end up in some cushy sinecure with a fat pension for their troubles.
When Hitlery said, “vast right-wing conspiracy,” she was projecting and practicing Alinsky tactics.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.