The NRA continues betraying gun owners

cartoon courtesy of National Association of Gun Rights

On August 27, 2010, the National Rifle Association (NRA) announced that they would not be endorsing U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in his 2010 re-election campaign. The announcement was supposedly due to his votes in favor of confirming both Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan to the U.S. Supreme Court. Both of them have a record of being less than supportive of the 2nd Amendment. My first reaction was a reserved ... bravo - maybe they're finally getting it. Then, the other shoe dropped.

On September 3, 2010, I received a shocking e-mail from The National Association for Gun Rights (NAGR). It said that even though the NRA publicly stated their "non-endorsement" of Reid, they were actually supporting him behind the scenes with contributions to his campaign. I decided to verify the report by reviewing the National Rifle Association's Political Victory Fund (NRA-PVF) campaign finance disclosures and found it was true. The NRA-PVF has contributed $4950 to Reid's re-election campaign according to information on file with the Federal Election Commission (FEC). Their donations include :

• $2500 on 9/22/2009,
• $1500 on 3/25/2010, and
• $950 on 8/27/2010.

Interestingly, the last donation, for $950, was made on the same day (8/27/2010) the NRA announced they would not endorse Reid. So, were they for him before they were against him ?? Many will say that giving $4950 to Reid is not a big deal and is just a drop in the bucket when compared to other contributions received by him. Is it really ?? Personally, I don't believe the NRA-PVF should be giving this joker one red cent considering some of his anti-2nd Amendment votes. For instance, this is the same Harry Reid that has voted :

• for the Brady Bill
• for the 1994 Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act containing the so-called Assault Weapons Ban 
• for requiring trigger locks be sold with all handguns 
• against an amendment to a bill that stated that Americans have the right to own firearms 
• for extensive new Federal regulation of gun shows 

The NRA's financial support of Reid puts them in some interesting company. They're putting their financial resources behind the same horse as the gun-hating Mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg. According to an article on Politico.com, Michael Bloomberg Takes Show on the Road, Bloomberg held a re-election fundraiser for Reid in New York City back in September. Apparently, he and Reid have formed a friendship. It makes me wonder if the NRA is now buddy-buddy with their longtime rival, Bloomberg, too.

As for Sharron Angle, Reid's challenger, she received a 100% pro-gun rating on NAGR's gun rights questionnaire as well as a grade of A from the NRA. However, she has NOT received 1 cent from the NRA-PVF. Majority Leader Reid, on the other hand, received a grade of B from the NRA even after all the anti-gun votes (mentioned above) he has cast. I would have given him an F. The NRA's reasoning makes no sense. They are as out of touch with everyday Americans as Congress. It's why I resigned my membership in the NRA back in August. If you are presently a member of the NRA, you should, too. Join a local gun rights organization, the National Associations for Gun Rights, Gunowners of America, or another pro-gun rights group who won't betray you due to greed, power, and politics as the NRA is doing. You'll be glad you did and may even get more bang for your buck (no pun intended).

Please also see my earlier related posts :

• Obama Making a Joke Out of Supreme Court
• Bloomberg May Have Broken Federal Law

Related articles

• Will NRA Endorsement Help Incumbent Democrats? (npr.org)
• No NRA endorsement for Reid (capitolhillblue.com)
• NRA declines to endorse Reid in Nevada Senate race (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• NRA declines to endorse Reid in Nevada Senate race (sfgate.com)
• For Reid, No NRA Endorsement (blogs.wsj.com)
• NRA Declines to Endorse Reid in Nevada Senate Race (foxnews.com)