NRA in trouble?

[crosstimbers]

I joined the NRA for exactly 1 year, and in that year their spam made it amply apparent that they are a partisan mouthpiece for the GOP and not a bipartisan gun rights organization. This is exactly the wrong thing to do.

Now, I've never voted democrat and I don't intend to start, but I remember when the VCDL gave Creigh Deeds an A+ (for very sound reasons), and his competitor McDonnell got... TBH I don't remember, but it wasn't an A+. Then a little while later the NRA comes out with their usual BS, vote McDonnell because the democrats are going to take your guns! I hadn't thought much of it before, because it seemed exaggerated but otherwise more or less accurate much of the time, but this was the single instance it all became clear. And every election cycle it's the same crap, "OMG DEMOCRATS TAKE YOUR GUNS BUY THEM ALL NOW".

I suppose it's good salesmanship for gun companies, but my goal is not to pay for their advertising, but to pay for someone to lobby for my 2A rights. The NRA quite simply does not do that.

Partisan team cheerleading will kill this country faster than either side could possibly manage on their own.

I would respectfully disagree, the NRA does in fact do a great deal to try and protect our 2A rights. They do a lot of things I don't like as well, especially in the solicitation of funds on a constant basis. As for the Democrats and what they intend, well- they are being quite open about that now days...so I wouldn't dismiss warnings about their intentions too quickly. Just my two cents.

[Atomic Punk]

I joined the NRA for exactly 1 year, and in that year their spam made it amply apparent that they are a partisan mouthpiece for the GOP and not a bipartisan gun rights organization. This is exactly the wrong thing to do.

Now, I've never voted democrat and I don't intend to start, but I remember when the VCDL gave Creigh Deeds an A+ (for very sound reasons), and his competitor McDonnell got... TBH I don't remember, but it wasn't an A+. Then a little while later the NRA comes out with their usual BS, vote McDonnell because the democrats are going to take your guns! I hadn't thought much of it before, because it seemed exaggerated but otherwise more or less accurate much of the time, but this was the single instance it all became clear. And every election cycle it's the same crap, "OMG DEMOCRATS TAKE YOUR GUNS BUY THEM ALL NOW".

I suppose it's good salesmanship for gun companies, but my goal is not to pay for their advertising, but to pay for someone to lobby for my 2A rights. The NRA quite simply does not do that.

Partisan team cheerleading will kill this country faster than either side could possibly manage on their own.

I agree. Once they lost their pull with moderate/rural Democrats, they lost a lot of effectiveness. Unfortunately, the DNC is forcing all Democrats to tow the anti-gun party line now so the lines have become blurred and I really fear a complete D takeover. The NRA will have zero sway if that happens.

Maybe its a chicken and egg issue...but it also seems to be a symptom of the hyper-partisanship that has developed in our society. I am fiscally conservative,  socially liberal and consider myself a libertarian (small l) so historically voted for the lesser of 2 evils but the gun issue alone will make me vote R, for the most part, now. 

[Hammer Time]

I joined the NRA for exactly 1 year, and in that year their spam made it amply apparent that they are a partisan mouthpiece for the GOP and not a bipartisan gun rights organization. This is exactly the wrong thing to do.

Now, I've never voted democrat and I don't intend to start, but I remember when the VCDL gave Creigh Deeds an A+ (for very sound reasons), and his competitor McDonnell got... TBH I don't remember, but it wasn't an A+. Then a little while later the NRA comes out with their usual BS, vote McDonnell because the democrats are going to take your guns! I hadn't thought much of it before, because it seemed exaggerated but otherwise more or less accurate much of the time, but this was the single instance it all became clear. And every election cycle it's the same crap, "OMG DEMOCRATS TAKE YOUR GUNS BUY THEM ALL NOW".

I suppose it's good salesmanship for gun companies, but my goal is not to pay for their advertising, but to pay for someone to lobby for my 2A rights. The NRA quite simply does not do that.

Partisan team cheerleading will kill this country faster than either side could possibly manage on their own.

I agree. Once they lost their pull with moderate/rural Democrats, they lost a lot of effectiveness. Unfortunately, the DNC is forcing all Democrats to tow the anti-gun party line now so the lines have become blurred and I really fear a complete D takeover. The NRA will have zero sway if that happens.

Maybe its a chicken and egg issue...but it also seems to be a symptom of the hyper-partisanship that has developed in our society. I am fiscally conservative,  socially liberal and consider myself a libertarian (small l) so historically voted for the lesser of 2 evils but the gun issue alone will make me vote R, for the most part, now.

We need a "like" button on this forum.

The biggest coup I think any 2A rights group could pull off these days is to specifically target moderates in this country and win them over with messaging that appeals to hunters, recreational shooters, spending time outdoors, etc, and that counters the Far Left messaging that all gun owners must be psychotic right-wing rednecks. Perpetuating the hyper-partisan divisions is a race to the bottom (and let's be honest - both sides do it).

[Skookum]

The NRA pooh-poohed DC v Heller, and they jeopardized McDonald v Chicago by wanting to not argue for the effective reestablishment of the Priviliges and Immunities Clause.  Thanks to the SAF DC v Heller was taken to SCOTUS, and McDonald v Chicago was won on the basis of both Due Process and the broader Privileges and Immunities principles.  These are the two most important 2nd Amendment civil rights cases in our country's history, and the NRA was nowhere to be found on the first and posed a threat to limiting the victory on the second.


The NRA has shown itself to be, at a minimum, senescent.