Why support the NRA?

[internet troll]

I’ve read a lot of anti NRA sentiment on line over the last couple of weeks. A lot of people look at the NRA and say, they don’t do everything perfectly the way I want, so I will not support them. There is no reason to. We are just buying Wayne a bigger house. Your money is better going to the 2nd Amendment Foundation, GOA or other 2nd Amendment supporter.

And the NRA is not perfect in my eyes. They have come out in favor of things where I’m thinking "what the heck". Other groups are worthy of support. I hope groups like the GOA grow in leaps and bounds. The more support we have on our side, the better. People like Alan Gura have done tons for the 2nd.

But the NRA has crucial roles to play, and those roles take money. I’m thinking about an article I read after the Trump election. It pointed out that the NRA spent over 50 million on Trump and other races delivering big time more pro 2nd candidate in those elections. And this is one area where we can not forget the role the NRA plays in fight for the 2nd. They back pro 2nd candidates and help them win.

This November there are going to be a lot of crucial races in Congress. Money may be the difference between pro 2nd candidates winning and antis winning. The more money donated to the NRA, the better chance we have keeping Congress the way we want it for the 2nd. We got Gorsuch, Trump has been stacking the courts with a lot of pro 2nd judges. This is crucial to the future of the 2nd. We need a Congress that is going to support Trumps nominees. If the Senate swings Democrat, it will hurt us. The NRA can help keep it from swinging Democrat in November. (Hopefully). The more money they have to spend the better.



The article:


https://www.thetrace.org/2016/11/nra...-2016-results/

Almost All of Them
Election results mark a continuation of the group's impressive success rate when making large investments on candidates.

BY MIKE SPIES FOR THE TRACE AND ASHLEY BALCERZAK OF OPENSECRETS.ORG ·November 9, 2016
The National Rifle Association took a historic gamble in 2016, and it paid off in a huge way.

The gun rights group placed multimillion-dollar bets on Donald Trump and six Republican Senate candidates locked in highly competitive races. It poured $50.2 million, or 96 percent of its total outside spending, into these races, and lost only one — an open seat in Nevada, vacated by the Democratic Minority Leader, Harry Reid. That race cost the NRA roughly $2.5 million.

The NRA’s big night came as a tidal wave of white voters without college degrees voted overwhelmingly for Trump, leading to one of the biggest election-night upsets in memory. The reasons why this demographic turned out in such high numbers for the GOP nominee will be parsed for years, and it is not at all clear how much of a factor his embrace of the NRA’s hardline position on gun rights played into the outcome.

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But the NRA’s investment, which was more than any other outside group, paid for a slew of ads that directly targeted the same voters who propelled Trump to victory. The organization’s radio and television spots sought to cast Hillary Clinton and the Democratic rivals of its preferred Senate candidates as an existential threat to the Second Amendment, and national security. It is a message that resonates in the gun belt, a swath of primarily Southern and Midwestern states where Trump achieved some of his most consequential victories.

In October alone, according to the Center for Public Integrity, roughly one out of every 20 television ads in Pennsylvania was sponsored by the NRA. That same month, the group paid for one in nine ads in North Carolina, and one of every eight in Ohio. The ads imply that Clinton and Democrats would leave law-and-order abiding citizens defenseless. In one spot, a woman is alone in bed when a burglar breaks into her home. The narrator intones, “Don’t let Hillary leave you protected with nothing but a phone.”

Trump won all three states, and the NRA’s preferred Senate candidates also swept to victory.


The NRA’s largest 2016 outlay was the $30.3 million it spent in support of Trump.

In North Carolina, the group spent $6.2 million on the incumbent Republican Senator Richard Burr, the most it has ever invested in a down-ballot race. Burr won by about six percentage points. Elsewhere, the NRA helped elect Senators Marco Rubio in Florida; Roy Blunt in Missouri; Todd Young in Indiana; and Rob Portman in Ohio. It spent between $2 million and $3.2 million on each of those races.

The numbers account for independent expenditures—unrestricted money spent on ads and other media, independent of official campaigns.

The 2016 election results represent a continuation of the NRA’s impressive success rate when making substantial investments in closely-contested races. Over the three prior election cycles, the group disbursed $1 million dollars or more toward 14 congressional races, and achieved its desired outcome 11 times. To help Republicans win back the Senate in 2014, it spent $20.6 million dollars on five key races in the upper chamber, and in each of them, its preferred candidate won.

This election cycle, the NRA spent more than $52 million—a number that will rise as final campaign finance figures are tallied — to carry on its effort to increase Republican control of government, a mission that has ramped up since the Citizen’s United decision in 2010, when the Supreme Court removed caps on independent expenditures. The sum is by far the greatest in the organization’s history, smashing its previous record, of $31.7 million, set in 2014.

In federal elections, the NRA typically ranks among heavyweight outside spending groups. For the second cycle in a row, it has earned a place in the top ten. But 2016 was a unique year for the organization, owing to the fact that many super PACs, like Karl Rove’s American Crossroads GPS, which spent roughly $115 million to elect Mitt Romney in 2012, declined to back Trump. The NRA stepped in to fill the void, putting at least $30.3 million on the line to help elect the real estate mogul, more than any other outside group — including the leading Trump super PAC, which spent $20.3 million.

By comparison, the gun rights group deployed about $12.5 million to help Romney in 2012.


The close relationship between the NRA and Donald Trump began in May, when the organization endorsed the candidate earlier than it had ever endorsed a Republican presidential contender. Trump appeared before thousands of people at the NRA convention in Louisville, Kentucky, where he gleefully accepted the organization’s official support.

“The Second Amendment is under threat like never before,” Trump told the crowd. “Crooked Hillary is the most anti-gun, anti-Second Amendment candidate ever to run for office.”

In July, the NRA’s top lobbyist, Chris Cox, was given a prime speaking slot at the Republican National Convention. He reminded attendees that the next president would fill a Supreme Court vacancy, and the new Justice could directly affect gun rights.

“A Hillary Clinton Supreme Court means your right to own a firearm is gone,” he said.

Before Election Day, polls suggested that the Senate, under Republican control since 2014, was up for grabs. Now in the position of defending the upper chamber, the NRA focused the majority of its resources on six toss-up seats, hoping to keep or flip them Republican.

The House, under Republican control before the election, was not expected to change hands, and so it was not a priority for the NRA. All told, it sprinkled roughly $1 million over 48 races. The group made two substantial investments in Republican incumbent candidates — just under $215,000 in Lloyd Smucker of Pennsylvania, and about $175,000 in Bruce Poliquin of Maine. Both candidates won.

[ar15jules]

Amen brother. I am in agreement with you.

[gghbi]

Considering that The Trace is an anti gun publication, that is even more interesting.

[rwilson452]

It has been said many times. The NRA as a lobby is the 800 pound gorilla. They know more about the mood of congress than you and I ever will.

BTW, The NRA's main org doesn't and can't lobby or give money to candidates. They have two spinoffs that need to generate their own funds. NRA-ILA ( institute for legislative action) and the NRA PVF ( political victory fund). You might consider donating to them.

[aubie515]

I personally won't give the nra a dime of my money. I was an nra member and will no longer support them.

They stood by and did nothing while the FL bill was being passed...once the FL governor signed the bill, the nra files a law suit about the 21 years old to purchase a firearm. They didn't say anything about the bumpfire stocks. nra was the one that started the conversation about banning bumpstocks, then they changed their position...even though they didn't file a lawsuit in FL about that portion of the passed bill.

What I'm getting at is the nra is a business and their primary concern is profits and it's been very profitable for the nra the last few weeks.

I will never tell anyone how to spend their money, so do as you feel is right for you. I just know I'll spend my money on other organizations.

I laugh at the "shall not infringe" as the nra has no issues with compromising. The nra does not represent me, nor do they care about my 2A rights. They care about making profits and will only support what they deem is important to gun owners. They pick and choose which battles they will fight.

[jthrelf]

The group the antis hate the most is the NRA. That alone means I will always be a member and donate.

[P89]

I don't like all the things the US government does either but I'm in no hurry to renounce my citizenship.

[JenniferG]

I've been a member of the NRA and GOA for more years than many of the whiners have been alive. I used to give money to the 2nd amendment Foundation until Alan Gottlieb stabbed us in the back and got on the Toomey/Manchin Universal Gun Registration bandwagon. I've gotten the most bang for my buck from the NRA. The biggest problem is most gun owners have no idea how the process works and think that if they give money to a certain organization then they will get what they want. If the NRA had more money and more members maybe things would work out more positively but many times all that can be done is to minimize the damage that is about to occur. The NRA or the GOA for that matter don't make law they can only attempt to influence the wording that goes into a law or try to prevent a new from being passed. That's all class, your homework assignment is to join the NRA or GOA and send them a note on what you think should be done.

[Just1more]

Why support the NRA ? In my opinion - because they stand between us and the antis. They are the big household name/symbol for firearms/and our rights. The antis hate the NRA because the NRA represents us !
For those who are dropping them - shame shame - we need them whether you agree with all they do or not - they are the organization Bashed by the media and antis most because their presence is huge. We need all the help we can get.

[john9001]

I personally won't give the nra a dime of my money. I was an nra member and will no longer support them.

They stood by and did nothing while the FL bill was being passed...once the FL governor signed the bill, the nra files a law suit about the 21 years old to purchase a firearm. They didn't say anything about the bumpfire stocks. nra was the one that started the conversation about banning bumpstocks, then they changed their position...even though they didn't file a lawsuit in FL about that portion of the passed bill.

What I'm getting at is the nra is a business and their primary concern is profits and it's been very profitable for the nra the last few weeks.

I will never tell anyone how to spend their money, so do as you feel is right for you. I just know I'll spend my money on other organizations.

I laugh at the "shall not infringe" as the nra has no issues with compromising. The nra does not represent me, nor do they care about my 2A rights. They care about making profits and will only support what they deem is important to gun owners. They pick and choose which battles they will fight.

you show them, vote democratic.