Reid, NRA: This November’s Big Losers
Monday, July 5th, 2010When I first heard that the NRA was considering endorsing Harry Reid, my first reaction was that some low-levelNRA staffer was making the worst mistake of their career. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case. According to this article, the NRA is considering supporting Sen. Reid despite his hostility to the Second Amendment regarding the Brady Bill.
The conservative Netroots are abuzz over the possibility that the NRA may endorse Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.). This would be the second major slight by the NRA for political conservatives; the gun group also just negotiated a big exemption on a campaign finance bill loathed by the right.
Conservatives say there’s a clear political calculation at work: If Reid loses, he’s almost certain to be succeeded as majority leader by a fierce gun-control advocate, either Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin or New York Sen. Chuck Schumer.
The NRA isn’t even denying this line of reasoning but says it hasn’t made a decision about whether to endorse Reid.
“The Second Amendment and the National Rifle Association are always one bad incident away from politicians like Chuck Schumer and Dick Durbin exploiting their agenda of gun control,” said Andrew Arulanandam, an NRA spokesman.
The NRA’s actions say everything gun rights activists need to know. Political considerations are a higher priority than protecting constitutional protections. When the NRA sold out its members on the First Amendment, they told their members that there were parts of the Constitution that mattered to them and parts of it that didn’t matter.
I’ve never been a member of the NRA but I’ve got tons of friends who are. I’d be surprised to find out if the vast majority of them aren’t making plans for joining a different Second Amendment Rights advocacy organization, one that’s more committed to the Constitution than the NRA is.
It’s upsetting that the NRA’s political calculations are this foolish. Even if either Chuck Schumer or Dick Durbin was the Dem leader and even if Democrats were the majority party, they stil wouldn’t be able to move any gun legislation, especially with more strong conservatives like Sharron Angle, Pat Toomey and Marco Rubio were to join such staunch Second Amendment advocates like Tom Coburn, Jim Demint and Orrin Hatch.
The other point that’s important to make about this is that the economy will be the biggest driver in this election. The NRA’s endorsement won’t factor heavily into the final election outcome, though it will factor into their future membership. Simply put, the NRA won’t gain anything with this stunt but they will lose millions of $$$ of revenue because of it.
How the NRA could even consider endorsing a man who voted for the Brady Bill is beyond me. If there’s anything that shouldn’t be for sale, it’s an organization’s principles.
Obviously, the NRA didn’t learn that lesson. Perhaps a massive reduction in membership will teach them that lesson.
Technorati Tags: NRA, Second Amendment, Constitution, Harry Reid, Brady Bill, Assault Weapons Ban, Democrats, Sharron Angle, Economy, Constitution, Conservatism, Election 2010
Cross-posted at LetFreedomRingBlog