Posted on 06/16/2010 6:54:56 PM PDT by neverdem
But for a few well-placed, freedom-loathing, wretched scoundrels (translate: Democratic members of Congress and their allies in Washington), anyone and everyone familiar with the DISCLOSE Act opposes it.
The DISCLOSE Act is the Obama-Pelosi-Reid legislative response to the Citizens United decision allowing nonprofit organizations, corporations and labor unions to pay for ads opposing or supporting candidates.
Let me be clear: the Citizens United decision will help challengers to incumbents because the campaign finance rules were written by incumbents, and are therefore rigged for incumbents.
My friends at the Free Speech Coalition prepared this good summary of the bill as it was introduced. The bill targets free speech.
The National Rifle Association was stellar in opposition to the attempt by Congress to regulate grassroots lobbying when Congress amended the K Street lobbying rules a few years back. In fact, the NRA was critical in persuading certain Democrats, including Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, to ensure the grassroots provisions were kept out of the lobbying bill.
Democrats knew that if they could buy off the NRA, they stood a better chance of passing the DISCLOSE Act.
Sadly, the NRA has sold us out on the DISCLOSE Act, and has obtained its own exemption.
Washington politicians engage in disgraceful horse-trading over all sorts of things. Now, with the help of the NRA, our speech, association and press freedoms are open to bidding.
Ben Franklin would be disappointed, IMHO.
My membership is once again in question... they are just politicians, like the DC maggots.
Am I wrong?
They played Glenn Beck as a fool a few weeks back:
Glenn Beck Tells NRA Members: Fight the ‘Marxists’ at the Polls
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Glenn Beck shed his jacket, rolled up his shirt sleeves, mopped his face with a towel and got down to business. “Why won’t somebody tell us the truth?” he asked the crowd of 10,000 gathered for the National Rifle Association’s annual meeting on Saturday night. “We’re American,” he said. “We can handle the truth. We demand the truth and we can understand the truth.”
And then – aided by his chalkboard and a dark sense of humor – the conservative Fox News Channel host gave his “touch of the truth.” It wasn’t pretty.
“This country will never fail by an outside force,” he said. “This country will only be destroyed if we destroy ourselves.” According to Beck, we’re on that path. Yet with every prediction came a Beck-style solution. His cheering fans at the Time Warner Cable Arena took hope from that.
For a preview of America’s future, look to Europe’s current financial and social problems, he said. “Any of your friends that say it can’t happen here, they’re wrong.”
“The Titanic is going down,” Beck said. But as long as we save the passengers, the ship can sink. “You telling me we can’t build a better ship?” he said. “We have a great plan; it’s called the Constitution.”
Churches are emptying out because they “don’t stand for anything anymore,” he said. “God understands individual rights; he’s the creator of them.”
Beck defended one particular right to the receptive audience. “Let’s talk about a well-regulated militia and why you might need one because the government’s not doing its job,” he said.
Though he said his warnings are not about parties but the size of government, Beck — like other speakers at the night’s “Celebration of American Values Freedom Experience” — placed blame for his dystopian American vision on the Obama administration and urged the audience to take the fight to the polls (and attend Beck’s Aug. 28 “Restoring Honor” rally at the Lincoln Memorial).
“These are not Democrats” he said. “They are revolutionary Marxists.”
“I think he’s great,” said Sharon Browder of Port Orchard, Wash. “He’s inspiring, he’s focused. We love him. We’re proud of him. We need him.”
Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who preceded Beck onstage, dismissed Elena Kagan, President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee, as not worthy for consideration because of Harvard Law School’s policy barring military recruiters while she was dean. “You don’t need hearings,” he said.
In defense of gun ownership, he said, “Government has no business trying to stop you as long as you are a legal and law-abiding citizen,” earning a standing ovations and shouts of “Newt” in the style of rock stars who have filled this arena on other nights. (NRA members who stayed long enough did get to hear the Charlie Daniels Band.)
On Saturday night, Gingrich previewed themes in his new book “To Save America: Stopping Obama’s Secular-Socialist Machine.” Though its official release date is Monday, signings were scheduled during the meeting here that winds to a close on Sunday with a prayer breakfast and an appearance by rocker and gun enthusiast Ted Nugent.
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STATEMENT FROM THE NATIONAL RIFLE ASSOCIATION ON H.R. 5175, THE DISCLOSE ACT
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
The National Rifle Association believes that any restrictions on the political speech of Americans are unconstitutional.
In the past, through the courts and in Congress, the NRA has opposed any effort to restrict the rights of its four million members to speak and have their voices heard on behalf of gun owners nationwide.
The NRA’s opposition to restrictions on political speech includes its May 26, 2010 letter to Members of Congress expressing strong concerns about H.R. 5175, the DISCLOSE Act. As it stood at the time of that letter, the measure would have undermined or obliterated virtually all of the NRA’s right to free political speech and, therefore, jeopardized the Second Amendment rights of every law-abiding American.
The most potent defense of the Second Amendment requires the most adamant exercise of the First Amendment. The NRA stands absolutely obligated to its members to ensure maximum access to the First Amendment, in order to protect and preserve the freedom of the Second Amendment.
The NRA must preserve its ability to speak. It cannot risk a strategy that would deny its rights, for the Second Amendment cannot be defended without them.
Thus, the NRA’s first obligation must be to its members and to its most ardent defense of firearms freedom for America’s lawful gun owners.
On June 14, 2010, Democratic leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives pledged that H.R. 5175 would be amended to exempt groups like the NRA, that meet certain criteria, from its onerous restrictions on political speech. As a result, and as long as that remains the case, the NRA will not be involved in final consideration of the House bill.
The NRA cannot defend the Second Amendment from the attacks we face in the local, state, federal, international and judicial arenas without the ability to speak. We will not allow ourselves to be silenced while the national news media, politicians and others are allowed to attack us freely.
The NRA will continue to fight for its right to speak out in defense of the Second Amendment. Any efforts to silence the political speech of NRA members will, as has been the case in the past, be met with strong opposition.
-—nra-—
This has been posted several times over the last few days. It’s kind of like the Whitman/Poziner primary. Each has something that pisses us off.
Similar post from WSJ article—
—
“The NRA sells out to Democrats on the First Amendment”
Wall Street Journal (on-line) ^ | JUNE 16, 2010 | none listed
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2536199/posts
Nope!
They have always been a big disappointment to me!
Nope. GOA over NRA everytime.
I’m a life member of the NRA. This article has popped up several times over the last few days. It’s driving me nuts!
I’ve be researching this thing ever since. The websites Democrat Underground and the Huffington Post both are bitching about it so you would think it’s a good thing. Now we have folks on Free Republic complaining about the stand the NRA has taken.
WTF? You can’t please all the people all the time. We should be pissed at Grover Norquist for those of you flipping his name out there.
Glad I support GOA.
I’ve been an on again off again member of the NRA for 35 years.
Over that time I have been disappointed by them for 75% of the time.
I have better places to put my money.
Agreed. I left the NRA for the GOA this past year. The photo-op with Harry Reid was the final straw. I explained the photo-op at the opening of a gun club with a man who’s trying to close gun shops was ridiculous. I sent my reasons back with the card asking me to renew my membership. They have yet to respond.
Am I wrong?
No. I quit the NRA after a few months when they endorsed CARA. Go elsewhere; like gun owners of america.
Okay. I think I’ve got now.
GOA is pissed because the NRA, (big kid on the block), fought to get an exemption and now that they got it they haven’t “said” they would continue to fight for it for anyone else.
How silly is that. There is security in numbers and the more voices out there singing in the same choir will get the best effect.
The ink isn’t even dry yet.
There goes our moral highground when talking to left wing groups.
They will point to this for the next 100 years screaming hypocrites.
I just received the NRA re-up mailing (which I had planned to send back with some choice words) and this only allows me to add some substantive comments to those b*stards as I again tell them to cram it.
Survival is job one. Job two is getting rid of each threat to survival, one by one, no matter how long it takes. Thanks neverdem.
So, you're willing to let the other gun groups suffer because, after all, the NRA has made their organization exempt from free speech controls?
Go back to post #4. Read just the first sentence!
Some NRA history:
We are very sensitive to the fears expressed by some of our members that CARA is a threat to private property owners. Congressman Young has endeavored to construct Title II in a manner that addresses and alleviates these fears. However, we doubt that any private property protections built into CARA will satisfy those of our citizens who oppose any further land acquisition and expansion of the federal estate.
The NRA favored spending fed. $ (that is your’s and mine)to buy private property.
NOT a good thing.
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