NRA?

[chasfm11]

I just saw this

http://www.examiner.com/x-1417-Gun-Righ ... Harry-Reid" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


I'm not sure that I understand.....explanations?

[Mike1951]

Assuming the Dems maintain control of the Senate, it is in our best interest to have Reid as Majority Leader.

If Angle wins, she will have very limited influence in the Senate and Schumer or Durbin, both extremely anti gun, will be Majority Leader.

[A-R]

As backwards as the logic sounds, this idea (keeping Reid instead of Durbin or Schumer) makes sound political sense .... as long as it plays out this way and Reid isn't ousted or forced to steop down from leader position, paving way for an Anti.

Still, seems best option at the moment.

However, this quote from linked article bothers me:

NRA has an incumbent-friendly policy that dictates our support for pro-gun incumbents seeking reelection.

Don't mean to pick on the NRA here. I have same problem with all single-issue interest groups (including PACs set up to "help" Realtors). That policy may work well for your single issue - devil you know is better than the devil you don't. But it perpetuates the larger problem of career politicians who are destroying this country year by year, election cycle by election cycle. To take this to its extreme, if all 100 Senators were A+ rated "pro-gun" by the NRA, yet all advocated for Constitutional amendment revoking, say, the Fifth Amendment .... would NRA still support all incumbents? Obviously, it's an extreme hypothesis. But the "normal" slow deterioration of our democracy much more difficult to see in the real world - so such extreme examples are enlightening on some level.

[bdickens]

The NRA is a single-issue organization.

[chasfm11]

The NRA is a single-issue organization.

I do understand that. Considering the anti-incumbent sentiment that seems to be brewing against both the Dems and the GOP, I didn't see the logic of backing an incumbent, particularly one with what appears to be a very low approval rating even in his home district.

The other point would be that standing on principals doesn't seem to be something that has happened a lot over the past 12 months. My reasoning is that if Stupak was willing to fold on abortion, does Reid have stronger allegiance to the 2nd amendment than that?

It just seems like a position where Vinny the odds maker would be willing to give you a pretty nice spread. I'd hate to see "short sighted" inserted in front of the words single-issue in the quote. But what do I know?

[Mike1951]

I pulled a few excerpts from the NRA site mentioning Reid's involvement.

Harry Reid green lights Right-to-Carry vote
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Reid says the bill deserves a hearing and reflects his commitment to supporting gun rights in a state that sanctifies the Second Amendment. "This has nothing to do with electoral politics," said Reid spokesman Jim Manley, who emphasized that the amendment has the support of many other Democrats besides Reid.


Monday, December 21, 2009
Guns could no longer be considered a threat to health under health care reform if Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s compromise passes. In all the the deal making and tinkering to win support for the bill, Reid added a provision to prevent the Secretary of Health and Human Services from collecting data on guns and ammunition in households, and using it in any relation to health care. It also bars insurers from taking into account the risks guns might pose to people’s health in setting premiums or offering rebates to people with healthy lifestyles. For instance, if someone were to find people in houses with firearms were more likely to suffer gun injuries, that could not be used to set premiums, sort of like barring the use of pre-existing conditions.


Clark County Shooting Park Dedicated
"As the largest shooting park in the world, this state-of-the-art facility represents Nevada's pride in gun ownership and shooting sports," said Senator Reid. "In addition to providing a safe place for Nevadans to hone their shooting skills, the park will provide important firearms training and gun safety programs. I am glad to have been a part of securing land and funding for this project and I thank everyone involved with the project for making it a reality."


S397 The Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act
Defeating former Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) in the 2004 elections (Daschle, as you'll recall was the architect who last year allowed the bill to be loaded up with anti-gun amendments), and thus elevating Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.), a consistent and longstanding supporter of S. 397, to that leadership position represented a major step toward guaranteeing we finally received a fair procedure to bring this measure up for a final vote, and carried out the will of a majority of the U.S. Senate.

(in response to AG Eric Holder’s comment about reinstating the AWB)
the office of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) stated flatly that "Senator Reid would oppose an effort [to] reinstate the ban if the Senate were to vote on it in the future."