NRA only supports republicans... or does it?

[jkupski]

Nobody saw fit to respond to my post in another thread, so I feel the need to repeat it.

The NRA catches a bad rap (particularly here) about being an arm of the republican party. This is simply untrue. I give you http://www.nrapvf.org/Elections/State.aspx?State=TN as an example.

NRA made endorsements in eight of the nine TN House seats. Four were for democrats, and two of those four were endorsements against republicans with an equal NRA rating as the democrat. Four were republicans, all with A ratings, three of whom had challengers with no rating and the fourth running unopposed. The race that didn't get any endorsement was a C rated democrat against a Republican with no NRA rating.

16 State senate seats are up for grabs this year. Six endorsements went to Democrats, five to republicans.

All 99 seats in the State legislature are up for grabs. 21 endorsements for democrats, 46 for republicans. In one race, the NRA endorsed both candidates.

Any comments on the above?

[billbuckhead]

1. Zell Miller is an NRA favorite

Those are the kind of Dems the NRA likes.

[jkupski]

2. Are you suggesting...

that the democrats being endorsed by the NRA in the Tennessee races are Zell Miller types?

[billbuckhead]

4. Roy Barnes was real proNRA but the gunners switched to ConFlag supporters

The NRA means no good to liberals or even moderate Dems.

[jkupski]

5. ?

I'm not a Georgian, so I'm not as familiar with this as I should be, but it looks like NRA endorsed Barnes in 1998 (when he won) and again in 2002 (when he lost.)

I don't see how your post has any impact on the idea that NRA supports members of either party.

[FatSlob]

3. My take.

The NRA is mostly concerned with gun rights. They have good reason to suspect some recent Democratic candidates. President Bill Clinton signed the AWB and supported lawsuits against the industry. Vice-President Al Gore was suspect as he was part of the Clinton Administration. Senator John Kerry was and is an AWB supporter and cosponsored an extension that would have also banned many hunting shotguns. I believe that Senator Kerry was unaware that the bill he cosponsored would have banned these shotguns, and he can't withdraw his support, as it would provide ammo to the Busheviks to support their bogus "flip-flop" charge. Kerry is backed into a corner here. Obviously he knew that it would ban many semi-automatic rifles. The NRA drew a line in the sand on that issue. Anybody who actively supported it would be opposed by the NRA. I don't blame them for that stance, as they made their choice and stuck with it. Now, as far as I'm concerned, I still support Senator Kerry, even though he supports a ban that I oppose. I will never find a "perfect" candidate. One doesn't exist. I have to choose based on the over-all package. Overall, Senator John Kerry is superior in my opinon. He has my support. The NRA is a single issue group, while their support of Bush is somewhat puzzling to me, the fact that they don't support Senator Kerry is no surprise. The NRA has its purpose, and that is to lobby on behalf of firearms rights to the best of their abilities. They have done quite well over the last few years, with the AWB expiring and concealed carry sweeping the country. I'm surprised they made any Presidential endorsement, as Bush claimed to support the AWB. Who the hell knows what is going on. Yes, they lean Republican, but any claim that they exclusively support Republicans is patently false. I hope this helps. Senator John Kerry is not out to take guns, and even if he was, he is way too smart to attempt something like that. I'm confident that our rights will be secure in a Kerry administration. He won't let Feinstein and DeWine take your guns...they won't be the policy makers.

[goju]

6. Well said

NRA is single issue, but we cant afford to be despite our gun rights stance. Nothing will change under a Kerry admin, he wont take your guns or restrict them any further than possibly a renewed AWB. But even that is likely no matter who wins.

[FatSlob]

7. Thank you for your kind comments. n/t

[jtb33]

11. VERY well put...

The NRA withheld it's support for Bush until after the AWB had sunset - I guess as a measure just to "make sure". As far as I know, Bush hasn't passed (or allowed to pass) any anti-gun bills/laws in the past 4 years, which is probably the reason the NRA supports and endorsed Bush despite his empty lip-service in support of the AWB.

[FatSlob]

12. Thank you.

[iverglas]

35. and yet ...

... they're just so danged happy that Bush won.

"The NRA withheld it's support for Bush until after the AWB had sunset - I guess as a measure just to 'make sure'."

If their support had been so iffy that Bush not allowing the assault weapons ban to sunset would have put the kibosh on it, I just wouldn't have expected to see such glee at his success.

Of course, I wouldn't have expected to see such lies about Kerry, either.

http://www.nraila.com/

On Election Day You Made the Difference Across America by Voting Freedom First!

Bush Wins 2004 Election
GOP Majorities Grow In Senate And House

Thank You, John Ashcroft
John Kerry Wants to Ban Guns in America
Kerry Rated . . . Fake, Fraud and Second Amendment Phony
President Bush Opening More Inroads For Hunters

They're just so danged ... nonpartisan, aren't they?


"As far as I know, Bush hasn't passed (or allowed to pass) any anti-gun bills/laws in the past 4 years, which is probably the reason the NRA supports and endorsed Bush despite his empty lip-service in support of the AWB."

D'ya think?? D'ya really, really think??

Or put another way: think much?

I kinda bet you do, and I kinda bet that you don't always say what you think.

[Lefty48197]

30. The NRA is a branch of the Republican party

to believe anything else is pure fantasy.

[j_carters_neighbor]

8. I can't imagine why you would want NRA support n/t

[mosin]

13. Because the NRA is right on gun issues.

And, sad to say, Kerry is not. In my judgment, his (abysmal) voting record on gun rights is his one big negative.

For better or for worse, however, we can't be single issue voters. So, if Bush gets a C on gun rights and Kerry gets an F, that can be more than out-weighed by those issues on which Kerry scores A's and B's and Bush scores F's.

[BigDaddyCaine]

9. Interesting.

I just got jumped on about the NRA. I wasnt talking about the NRA but it happened anyway. I dont follow the NRA's politics because they are a right wing organization (my opinion) but i find it interesting that while they are right wing, they still support democrats who hold their position....making them not all that right wing. The democrats they support are probably the ones who voted against renewing the AWB, am i correct?

[jkupski]

10. No vote

There wasn't any vote in the house this year on the AWB (the vote you're thinking of took place in the senate, and was linked to the gun liability bill) so that's not the key issue here.

They're being supported because they're pro-gun candidates, plain and simple.

[turnkey]

14. Congressman Ike Skelton

Of Missouri is a Social Liberal, but has always been a strong advocate of gun rights. He is considered an "A" by the NRA and virtually unbeatable in these parts.

[ronzo]

15. Well, here's one Repub the NRA's supporting in LA-01

He's a carpetbagging gubernatorial loser... ladies and gentlemen...
Bobby Jindal. (that's him w/o a shotgun, btw)






Here's a mailer I received today. :eyes:

[Wickerman]

16. sweet

I can fell the fear and hsyteria rising in me even as I view that flyer. And hell, I don't even own a gun at the moment.

[mikedemocrat]

17. The NRA endorsed a democrat where my friend lives in NY

William Parment. I think he's a state level legislator. I didn't pay much attention when my friend was telling me since I don't like guns

[Zuni]

18. Didn't the NRA give Howard Dean a good rating?

And Howard is as liberal as any mainstream political figure.

[Mark H]

22. Yes, I believe

The NRA gave him an "A" rating. pubbies never would have touched him on this issue.

[Township75]

19. I believe the Dem in the OK senate race has the NRA endorsement.

I know the Dem rep in my district has it.

[DoNotRefill]

23. Our Democratic Congressman had an NRA A+ rating

His anti-abortion opponent had an NRA "A" rating. The NRA endorsed the Democrat, and he won handily. Considering how many Bush voters came out, the NRA endorsement helped our guy keep his seat against a fundie Xtian Repub.

[Lefty48197]

20. The NRA is a branch of the Republican party

they don't care jack sh*t about you owning guns or not, all they care about is electing Republicans. Period.

[jkupski]

21. The data I posted disagrees with you.

To reiterate: Tennessee has nine seats in the house of representatives. NRA made endorsements in eight of those races. Four were for democrats, four were for republicans.

Two of the democrats in question got the nod over A rated republicans.

Truly, their endorsement of Dubya leaves a really sour taste in my mouth and is something I disagree with strongly--NRA should not have made any endorsement at all for President, in my opinion. But overall, NRA supports candidates who support gun rights. Democrats who do so get endorsed, just like republicans who do so.

[turnkey]

24. sigh.....

[FatSlob]

25. Yeah, right.

Then why do they despise Ohio's two Republican Senators and Ohio's Republican Governor? I'll tell you...they are anti-gun. Of course, Senator Voinovich's opponent was even worse on the issue. The NRA gave no endorsement in Ohio's Senate race.

[MrSandman]

26. You are arguing with the wind...nt

[iverglas]

27. oops

Count down that list again. I'm sure the mix-up was unintentional, and Lefty(...) will understand.

[MrSandman]

28. oops...I meant to reply to Lefty...

No offense intended.

[arkie dem]

29. Screw the NRA

You're right Lefty

BTW I'm new here.

[JimGrey]

31. The NRA endorsed our D State Rep

The NRA endorsed our Democrat State Rep. He had an A+ rating and they did mailing for him. However, he lost anyway.

[Eagle_Eye]

32. FLORIDA 2nd DISTRICT ALLEN BOYD

He was endorsed by the NRA and he won. It was not even close. Boyd took the race with 62%

[CO Liberal]

33. OK - THE NRA Endorses SOME Democrats

Such as my rep in the CO legislature - Buffie McFayden, a lifetime NRA member. But I'm sure that on a nation-wide basis, they endorse far more Republicans than Democrats.

[Columbia]

34. Correct

[Billy Ruffian]

36. Incumbent Democrat NC Governor got NRA endorsement

Mike Easley (D) got an A rating from the NRA, and the endorsement (under their friendly incumbent procedure, I think)

Patrick Ballentine (R) got an A rating, also, but no endorsement. Some of the more strident gun organizations were pretty annoyed at the NRA, since Easley was much less gun friendly when he was the AG of NC.

Easley ads had two old codgers talking (one having returned from a goose hunt) and the endorsement was mentioned.

Easley won with about 55% of the vote.

Our State Senate and General Assembly moved more Democrat, too.

Oddly, the state went for Bush, and selected Richard Burr(R) over Erskin Bowles(D).

(Probably should have selected a different message to reply to, but I'm still learning this forum software.)

[LinuxUser]

37. The NRA is a single issue group

The NRA has a ratings system based on looking at senate/house voting records and questionaire answers. It's impartial. The reason they are commonly associated with the Repubs right now is that the Repubs are doing what the NRA wants. The Dems could definitely get NRA voters if they want to. The just have to stop running F-ranked candidates. Duh. This is so obvious. Hilary will go down in flames in '08 just like Kerry did in '04 and Gore did in '00 if they run her, and it will be on this one issue. What's sad is that, unlike other Dem issues such as the enviornment, gay rights, etc, gun control just has nothing to do with safety. It's purely a culture issue. It's mostly motivated by intentional, self-righteous, hick-baiting ignorance of firearms. What a sad cause to be married to and what a dumb way to throw away national power and drift into irrelevance.

So yes, Dems, run some A or B rated candidates! There are plenty of gun owners who are single-issue voters.

Also, check this out: http://www.pinkpistols.org and http://www.a-human-right.com. Don't you think there are some people who would be happy to vote Dem if Dems would respect the 2nd? I know I would.

Let's turn the question around: If a Repub candidate for some office started working for tough environmental protections and so on, do you think the Sierra Club would endorse him? Of course they would! They're single-issue too.