Again: The National Rifle Association is a far-right conservative organization whose corporate sponsors just happen to be gun companies.
The spending underlines a broader shift by the NRA to step up support for Republicans at the expense of Democrats, in contrast to the past where it would back Democratic allies.
The NRA “took a lot of heat” from conservatives for helping some Democrats in the 2010 congressional elections “to the obvious detriment of Republicans,” said David Kopel, a constitutional law professor at the University of Denver and a gun-rights advocate who writes for the association. Plus, now there are simply fewer pro-gun Democrats, he said.
Why would they “take heat” for supporting pro-gun Democrats? Oh right, because having the “correct” opinions about guns isn’t sufficient for support, you also have to have the “correct” opinions on minorities, and the inherent evil of government, and all the other far-right notions that Wayne LaPierre and his legion of protoconfederates froth on about during one of their many speeches. Anyway, since 2010 the NRA took steps to correct the problem of accidentally supporting a few pro-gun Democrats here and there. And they’re shelling out a lot more cash these days as well.
This election, it has spent $17 million through Oct. 13, almost all to benefit Republicans. That’s more than eight times what it shelled out in the 2006 congressional races. […]
“The clear message to Democrats is if you’re trying to decide between doing the right thing and making some sort of political decision to satisfy the NRA, it’s a false choice,” said Arkadi Gerney, a senior vice president at the Democratic-aligned Center for American Progress in Washington. “Just do the right thing, because this group is going to come after you no matter what.”
As for the NRA’s decision not to oppose [Sen. Susan Collins], he said, “The clear message is: If you cross the NRA and you’re a Republican, there’ll be no consequences.”
Because the National Rifle Association is a far-right conservative organization that rallies their lily white conservative base behind fear of minorities and fear of the government. They are “pro-gun” only in the sense that they want to be able to use guns as potential weapons against those they fear, an inherently far-right position that edged beyond mere conservatism and into the land of the loony a good while back (no, demanding you be able to stockpile unregistered weapons in case you need to overthrow the American government someday is not a “mainstream” position, nor a “patriotic” one, nor anything other than the fever dream of people who fell asleep watching bad movies one time too often), and because Democrats feel having a functional government is a by-definition necessity of a nation the NRA opposes them by instinct.
Voting by mail is convenient, easy, and defeats the best of the GOP’s voter suppression efforts. Sign up here to check eligibility and vote by mail, then get your friends, family, and coworkers to sign up as well.
Democrats are welcome to be afeared of the NRA’s money, but we need to stop pretending this is about “gun rights” as opposed to standard anti-government crackpottism mixed with a generous helping of militia-based conspiracy theories. They only want “gun rights” to the extent that those “rights” assist their paranoid anti-government agenda.
