Posted on 09/11/2010 9:17:17 PM PDT by Neil E. Wright
The National Rifle Association Political Victory Fund has released its grades and endorsements for the 2010 election in Nevada. Absent from their assessment: one of the most important campaigns in the country, the United States Senate race between incumbent Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D) and challenger Sharron Angle (R). (Click here to review NRA-PVF grades and endorsements.)
We know NRA announced it will not endorse Reid based on his support confirming anti-gun Supreme Court justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan. We also know at the time one of their PR flacks said they would not be endorsing anyone in the race, and I pegged that as "weaselly equivocation."
Why?
As a state-level candidate, NRA gave Angle an "A."
At the same time, NRA gave Reid a "B."
In every grading system I've ever seen, "A" wins.
So how does NRA reward that? By giving the Reid campaign thousands of dollars.
(Excerpt) Read more at examiner.com ...
I have met the type, usually at "Friend of the NRA" dinners. $;-)
But I am of the later generation where, like I said ealier, don't fully trust _any_ organizations, even those I cast my alliances with (and those aren't many). Get the best ones you can in power, and then watch them like hawks every minute of every day.
It's unfortunate, really. I am reminded of James Madison's quote about "If men were angels..."
That’s a great question.
Where would the USA be without the NRA?
Well we would have not had the 1934 National Firearms Act, 1938 The Federal Firearms Act, the 1968 Gun Control Act, 1986 FOPA
“The National Rifle Association has been in support of workable, enforceable gun control legislation
since its very inception in 1871.”
—NRA Executive Vice President Franklin L. Orth
NRA’s American Rifleman Magazine, March 1968, P. 22
Where was the NRA on the two most important Supreme Court victories over gun control? AWOL. On Heller and Chicago, it took private individuals and donations and organizations like the SAF to get the job done, not the NRA.
What exactly is the NRA for because it is certainly not fighting for the 2nd Amendment rights.
Quite frankly, Joe, I don't give a rat's ass what they would think. The NRA has abandoned the very base group of members that put it where it is today. And that would be freedom-loving Americans, Conservative in thought and strong PATRIOTS.
True American Patriots (like most FReepers) do not drift with the wind like a dry leaf in the fall. We lead the way and we welcome the attacks from the Marxist gun-control whackos.
We look at the ‘big picture’. The long term, not what looks good at the moment. Supporting liberals just because they appear momentarily ‘friendly’ to gun owner causes is a recipe for defeat in the long run, i.e., “The Big Picture”.
Did you ever think that the above-mentioned group might be using the NRA just to gain their (our) endorsement, while they continue behind the scenes to slowly disarm America? Certainly their Marxist anti-gun followers would understand that it is all a deception will benefit them in the end. It is, after all, their stated and admitted goal to make America ‘gun-free’.
Go ahead and dance to the NRA’s music, if you so desire, but don't chastise those who wish to be in the band rather than on the dance floor.
The NRA is back-peddeling now because the members have let them know via phone calls, letters and outright resigning from the organization that they do not represent us in the manner we demand. Like it or not, it is WE, the members, that own the NRA. They do not own us!
Times have changed since I first proudly joined 40 years ago. Gun rights HAVE become a political issue and the NRA had better wake up or they will lose members at an ever-increasing rate.
Take me off your ping list if you think Harry Reid or Kirsten Gillibrand were worthy of OUR (NRA members/owners) endorsement.
As for not caring what evil people like Chuck Schumer and his fellow travelers think, you will when their minions show up on your doorstep at 3 AM.
I dance to no one's tune -- read my post# 48. If you already did, read it again.
Every organization I have ever worked within has occasionally stepped on its own crank, or otherwise went off-track. I didn't just cast them into the fire -- I either left or stayed to enact positive change from within.
With the NRA, I have chosen the latter. For now, anyway.
I again ask for your sources regarding your allegations on H.R. 2640, as well as when you state "we would have not had the 1934 National Firearms Act, 1938 The Federal Firearms Act, the 1968 Gun Control Act, 1986 FOPA".
Web links would be optimal.
However, this also comes on the heels of the NRA claiming the glory for every battle won as well. The NRA is a 10,000lbs gorilla that occasionally steps on it's allies as much as it's enemies.
Yes, the finger pointing and recriminations go too far. It's the Internet. It happens.
Like you, I cover all my bets. GOA, NRA life member, SAF, JPFO. I'd rather support a group that is right 80% of the time than throw away that support during those 20% times of being wrong.
Doesn't mean I'm going to stop complaining during those 20% times either. ;-)
Exactly. "The perfect is the enemy of the good", as the old saying goes.
I see all these groups as necessary simply because, being attacked on multiple fronts at once, we have to defend & counterattack on multiple fronts. They all do good work, for the most part.
And when they enter the "20% zone", we are duty-bound to give them hell.
Not intentional, sorry. In my haste to respond to you I cut and pasted from Dead Corpse’s post #41. Sorry, my fault.
That doesn’t change how I feel, though.
“With the NRA, I have chosen the latter. For now, anyway.”
“For now, anyway”?
It sounds like you, too, are starting to have some doubts about their credibility in the future? Always leave the back door open in case you have to dash out in a hurry. Some of us are making our statement now at this most critical time in America’s history. Some will wait, I see.
You still haven’t answered my question as to whether you think it was right for the NRA to endorse Reid-Gillibrand (in our name).
As I said before, I always have doubts about the credibility of any organization, good or ill. To blindly trust anything is, at best, unwise.
About the NRA endorsing, Reid -- they haven't, something stated in the article that starts this thread. Of course, if they did have the gonads to endorse Sharron Angle, although stating such is a "betrayal" is deliberate pejorative rhetoric.
The Gillibrand bit I'm not up on; I note that she is a Dem (which IMO is automatically poison), but 100% "A" rated. Funny how that can be so; Dingell in MI is another example of this. I will be asking the NRA-ILA & PVF about that when I call them on Monday.
Hey Joe, I take it from your lack of response to my last post (#57), that you have no "evidence" that David Codrea has been hammering the NRA for personal gain. If that is your belief, fine, as long as you state it that way... but to chastise others that you feel are unfairly attacking the NRA with no justification, is at best disingenuous.... just sayin.
No, I have no "evidence" -- however, such unfortunate behavior is not unknown. It does strike me that Mr. Codrea does take a certain satisfaction in throwing gasoline on fires and then shouting "Fire!" at the top of his lungs.
There is a third possibility, however, and that is that he indeed believes everything he says in his heart of hearts. If so, I have to point out that rarely (despite what I might prefer) has that level of extremism accomplished anything besides causing conflict and removing good people from the fight. A high price to pay for constantly demanding "100 percent or nothing".
Again, "the perfect is the enemy of the good".
But then again don't we all at one time or another, it is something we must all endeavor to control, especially on the web, to work with facts instead of conjecture. As has been mentioned here many times, we are all on the same team in the end, we must all strive to keep it that way.
Hearty discourse has it place... but based in fact.
Yours in the fight,
AOV
It’s called hedging your bets. If Reid does remain speaker they don’t want to burn their bridges and gamble with their ability to protect gunowners rights. It’s the smart and responsible thing to do. The critics are free to carp because their actions have no effect anyway.
That's a lie. They never supported it and still don't. They were offered an exemption for not fighting it on a floor vote. As Chris Cox says, while he doesn't think anyone should be subject to it, his responsibility is to ensure NRA members are not subject to it, not gamble with the future of American's gun rights. Ironically, accepting the deal killed it, because Shumer, Feinstein and Durban have all said they will vote against sending to the floor with the NRA exempted.
They tacitly supported it by not standing up against it... that is the way that it is and attempting to bend the truth to your wishes will not make it any different.
Even the NRA knew what they did was wrong or they would not have sent me three letters attempting to justify their despicable actions on the matter.
1) It not that I believe the NRA has a long history of supporting gun control legislation, its a fact. The NRA admits they supported “1934 National Firearms Act, 1938 The Federal Firearms Act, the 1968 Gun Control Act, 1986 FOPA”.
a) “The NRA supported The National Firearms Act of 1934 which taxes and requires registration of such firearms as machine guns, sawed-off rifles and sawed-off shotguns. ... NRA support of Federal gun legislation did not stop with the earlier Dodd bills. It currently backs several Senate and House bills which, through amendment, would put new teeth into the National and Federal Firearms Acts.” —American Rifleman, March 1968, P. 22
b) “The NRA supported The Federal Firearms Act of 1938, which regulates interstate and foreign commerce in firearms and pistol or revolver ammunition...” (P. 22)
c) 1968 General Franklin Orth, Executive Vice President of NRA, testifies before Congress in favor of the Gun Control Act (GCA’68) that “[NRA does] not think that any sane American, who calls himself an American, can object to placing into this bill the instrument which killed the president of the United States,” /2/ (a ban on the mail-order sale of firearms).
2) As far as links you requested, you did not really read my post. There is a link from the American Legion press release on HR 2640 in my previous post stating there opposition to the bill as ‘anti-veteran’. Yet the NRA supported it along with the Brady Campaign, Sen Charles Schumer, and Rep Caryoln McCarthy.
A) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2587584/posts?page=56#56
B) http://www.nraila.org/Legislation/Federal/Read.aspx?id=3112
I doubt facts will sway your belief.
Supporting is not the same as not fighting something. In CA they are trying to pass a bill banning plastic bags in stores. I don’t support it, but I’m not doing anything to fight it. To keep repeating that they support it when they don’t is a lie. You are the one attempting to bent the truth here, espeically since the reality is by taking the deal they killed the bill.
As for sending out letters clarifying what happened, are they supposed to do nothing while people like you continue to misrepresent the what actually happened?
I've found that you can throw it in their faces all day long and they will argue against the Facts presented until they pass out. If they actually wanted to see the truth, they would at least search for it... Problem is most of them would rather look the other way than call a spade a spade.
Yeah and Obama is saying he's not trying to destroy the country, but the end result is the same.
NRA members need to let this one go... The NRA supported it by not standing against it, period! Keep trying to blur the line if you wish, but is still a line and they crossed it!
Just because the NRA denies direct complicity in the "Disclose Act" does not mean the result would be any different... Principles, use 'em or lose 'em.
That one sentence demonstrates how broken our system is.
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