NRA endorses Chet Edwards

[The Annoyed Man]

NRA does not direct my vote, and I won't vote for those who are destroying our nation, regardless of who endorses them.

I think that the NRA would actually endorse this statement. They don't tell you how to vote. They inform you about a candidate's stance on the single issue of gun rights, and then you vote your conscience.

By the way, they gave Reid's opponent an A+ rating at the same time as they gave him the nod. To me, that is political code for: "We are going to be true to our word and back the guy who, for the most part, backed us.... ....but we like the other candidate too, and it wouldn't hurt our feelings one bit if you voted for her."

What is sad is that you have to be as practiced as a courtesan in the court of King Louis XIV to speak in Washington D.C., and that citizens have to be able to understand tripe disguised as rib-eye in order to understand what is really being said.

None of us, to the best of my knowledge, is a Nevada voter. I don't know if Sharron Angle's campaign manager is using that factoid about Angle having an A+ NRA rating, but he/she should be. If they're not, then they are incompetent. I can't stand Reid anymore than anybody else can, and if I were a Nevada voter (which I am not), then I would vote for Sharon Angle. Consider that, although the NRA may be supporting the incumbent that has supported them, they are not going to go any further than that by jumping feet first into a local fray to refute any claims made by Angle.

Therefore, Angle's campaign needs to be saying something like, "Sharon Angle also has an A+ NRA rating, but she does not support Obamacare; she does not support Cap & Trade; she does not support the TARP bailout; she does not support the government's takeover of General Motors; she does not support.... etc., etc., etc.,.... but her opponent, Senator Harry Reid DID support all of those things. We've tried 'Hope & Change' (tying Reid to Obama's sinking approval rating), and it didn't work. If you HOPE for reform and if you HOPE for injecting some new blood into tired old politics as usual in Washington D.C., fire Harry Reid and hire me. I won't protect just your gun rights, I'll protect your values too."

(© The Annoyed Man, all rights reserved )

[longtooth]

Good job sir.

[Purplehood]

Nicely written, TAM.

[Charles L. Cotton]

That's an excellent post and analysis TAM.

NRA endorsements are powerful, very very powerful, and every gun owner had better hope they remain so. Gun rights are not the only issue I care strongly about, but gun rights are a litmus test. If a candidate is wrong on guns, then I don't care where they stand on anything else. Most people who take gun rights seriously feel the same way and that's why NRA endorsements are so important in elections. Were it otherwise, Gore and/or Kerry would have been President and many legislative battles would have been lost. Like it or not, admit it or not, those are the facts.

Most but not all TexasCHLforum members consider themselves conservatives, but we also have moderates and liberals in our ranks. Good, as Second Amendment supporters we need people from every political persuasion if we are to protect gun rights and some day make the Second Amendment a non-issue. If we want guns to be off-limits to all political parties, then we had better make everyone welcome on our side of this issue. Otherwise, our future will always be in doubt and dependent upon the party in power.

Most of the time people who support the Second Amendment also support conservative values, so it's relatively rare that we have a "moral" dilemma in supporting pro-gun candidates. This is precisely why the majority of pro-gun elected officials are Republicans and why most newly elected Democrats in Congress are considered "blue-dog" pro-gun Democrats. Hopefully, this will change and we will see more Democrats supporting the Second Amendment. I'd love to see the day when gun rights are absolutely safe regardless who is in power in Washington or Austin, so we can fight over abortion, taxes, school vouchers, immigration, prayer in school, and numerous other issues that will divide us. Unless we make guns a do-or-die issue above everything else, that day will never come. Politicians and Party leaders need to know that, no matter how divided we may be on other issues, we will come together to defend the Second Amendment and that we will vote "guns" above anything else.

As for Harry Reid, the NRA has not endorsed him, so I cannot make any direct comments. However, I will restate what I have said in numerous other posts. The NRA has a "friendly noncombatant" policy that is crucial to our success. No offense intended, but anyone who thinks this policy is not absolutely necessary simply does not know how politics works in the real world. As soon as an organization abandons someone who supports its programs, legislation and goals, that organization has lost power in Washington (or Austin). Reliability is just as important in politics as in combat. If an elected official who votes as you want them to vote (even against his Party's position) can't depend upon your support during tough times as well as the good times, then you have lost influence not only with that politician, but with all elected officials. Betrayal is a message that travels quickly through the halls of congress and its impact is both lasting and devastating.

I don't believe that Reid values the Second Amendment as do I. In fact, he may not like it any better than Senators Schumer or Durbin, but if he doesn't, he sure must be afraid of the NRA because he does what we want. In politics, I'd prefer to have someone who loves me, but if that's not possible, I'll settle for someone who is afraid of me.

Occasionally I have to take a position on an issue or candidate that really goes against the grain, but it's necessary for the protection of the Second Amendment. It reminds me of the days when my two sons were young. Sometimes it was necessary spank them or ground them or take them to the doctor to get shots (I HATE needles); I hated doing it, I would loved to have found a way around it, but because I love them I did what was necessary for their protection. I love the Second Amendment too, so I answer the call to protect it even when I'd rather say home.

Chas.

[stevie_d_64]

That's an excellent post and analysis TAM.

NRA endorsements are powerful, very very powerful, and every gun owner had better hope they remain so. Gun rights are not the only issue I care strongly about, but gun rights are a litmus test. If a candidate is wrong on guns, then I don't care where they stand on anything else. Most people who take gun rights seriously feel the same way and that's why NRA endorsements are so important in elections. Were it otherwise, Gore and/or Kerry would have been President and many legislative battles would have been lost. Like it or not, admit it or not, those are the facts.

I pinged my Dad about this discussion, and for someone who doesn't dabble too much in discussions about many issues, he had a pretty good analysis of this issue and discussion...He sent it to me in an email early this morning...

Steve, this is really a pretty good answer. I know it does not pound on those who have the liberal leaning that Reid and others have, but it does reserve the power of the 2nd amendment to stand on it's own allowing, in the end, the right to dispute any issue according to the law of the Constitution and against the despot or ruler.

Like I've said before, to me it doesn't matter, at the end of the day, I will still have my guns...No man, or woman, will be very happy when they tell me to give them up...I would certainly like the NRA to revisit some of these endorsements, because certainly the sum of all the parts make it difficult to imagine our right to keep and bear arms is totally safe with a congress and senate full of Chet Edwards's and Harry Reid's etc etc etc, because of the damage they are doing on other issues...

But that is just my opinion...

[Liberty]

I pinged my Dad about this discussion, and for someone who doesn't dabble too much in discussions about many issues, he had a pretty good analysis of this issue and discussion...He sent it to me in an email early this morning...

Steve, this is really a pretty good answer. I know it does not pound on those who have the liberal leaning that Reid and others have, but it does reserve the power of the 2nd amendment to stand on it's own allowing, in the end, the right to dispute any issue according to the law of the Constitution and against the despot or ruler.

Like I've said before, to me it doesn't matter, at the end of the day, I will still have my guns...No man, or woman, will be very happy when they tell me to give them up...I would certainly like the NRA to revisit some of these endorsements, because certainly the sum of all the parts make it difficult to imagine our right to keep and bear arms is totally safe with a congress and senate full of Chet Edwards's and Harry Reid's etc etc etc, because of the damage they are doing on other issues...

But that is just my opinion...

I wouldn't be so upset, but the support of someone who has worked so hard and had so much success in destroying our country against the will of the people he supposedly represents is hard to swallow. NRA support of a Blue dog who isn't attempting to destroy everything that America is about would be palatable. It is time we work for a complete turn over of the power in Washington, accepting a compromise of moderate leftist isn't acceptable any more, We tried that and it has all but destroyed us.

[Charles L. Cotton]

Remember folks, the NRA has not endorsed Senator Harry Reid; no Senate endorsements have been given. I was talking generally about the NRA policy, not specifically about Reid. The Chet Edwards endorsement has been made, but none for the Senate. If an evaluation of Reid's voting record requires an endorsement under our policy, then it will come. If it does not require an endorsement, then none will be forthcoming.

All this got started because GOA and NGRA sent out emails and flooded Internet gun boards claiming the NRA had endorsed Reid. When proven wrong, the claim then became "well, the NRA is going to endorse Reid."

Chas.

[74novaman]

Which to be honest, they probably will correct? Not saying false attacks by GOA are right, but I'd honestly be surprised if the didn't endorse Reid.

Heck, we got Carry in National Parks through a heavy Dem majority in both houses. What has Harry Reid done ON GUN RIGHTS to deserve not getting the nod?

That being said, I'd love to see him and Nancy both sent home in November. But I do understand the NRAs position about not burning your friends.

[The Annoyed Man]

Remember folks, the NRA has not endorsed Senator Harry Reid...

In these discussions, we really need to remember the salient facts, and to not put the cart before the horse.

I have two default positions these days when it comes to teacup tempests at the GOA, or other "fringe" gun rights organizations, having to do with some great evil or other allegedly perpetrated by the NRA:

1. They don't have NRA's track record... ...not even close. The only thing they have ever done to "help" me as a gun owner is to repeatedly dump manure all over the reputation of the only organization that has ever established a record of defending my gun rights. This is "help" I don't need.
2. When alarmist hotheads issue screeds about what new evil the NRA has allegedly done, before reading/listening any further, I check with the NRA first to see if it is TRUE!!! I recommend this tactic to everybody. It will save you a ton of embarrassment.

I am glad that the NRA is a single issue organization. Being a multi-issue organization cuts both ways. What if the only effective national gun rights organization in America also took a public position on the issue of abortion — one which I personally deeply care about — and that position was contrary to what I believed? I would then be in the quandary of having to support, or not support, my gun rights advocacy organization in the face of their supporting something I personally view as a crime against humanity.

The NRA is a formidable organization. And because they are so, I am happier and more trusting of their good intent if they focus solely on preserving my gun rights to the exclusion of all else.

ALL politics eventually boils down to the personal. I am blessed with local representation in both the state of Texas and at the national level that is very good on gun rights and on those other core issues which are important to me, so I don't have to make any hard decisions. But for those who do have to worry about these things, make the personal commitment to work for the change you want. How do you think we got "Hope & Change" in D.C.? Liberals will whip us almost every time when it comes to grassroots organizing. They know how to evangelize at the local level way better than conservatives do. You want to beat them? You're going to have to beat them at their own game. Staying home, ranting on the Interwebs, and insisting on ideological purity from the people you're going to have to work with before you'll even deign to work with them in a grassroots effort is the fastest way I can think of to lose an election.

Consider that the Founders were not in absolute lock step in all matters. Some were deeply religious, but others were not. Some held themselves to a less "expansive" variety of personal behavior than others. But despite their differences, they found common cause on certain core issues and values, and they built a nation out of that common resolve. If you live in a contested area and you don't like your representation, then don't stay home and complain. Figure out how you can make common cause with other people on certain core issues, and get out there and knock on doors for your local party organization and get involved.

But sitting at home and jumping on the bash-the-NRA bandwagon over some alleged slight — without having done your political fiduciary duty to make sure for yourself whether or not it is actually true by checking with the NRA — and refusing to get involved personally because you're afraid you'll get a little sausage meat on your hands if you go near the sausage factory is a sure fire recipe to lose everything you want.

That's just my 2¢. Your mileage may vary.

[Liberty]

Remember folks, the NRA has not endorsed Senator Harry Reid;

Oh. I hope they don't I really hope they don't. I don't have a problem with them giving him a positve rating as long as the the treat the Republican and Libertarians just as fairly.

[Purplehood]

TAM you are literally on an oratory-roll on this thread. Nice summation.