Donald Trump promised to get rid of “gun-free zones” on day one of his presidency. Yes, well, ditching Bush the Elder’s Gun Free School Zones Act requires an act of Congress. So we’ll give him a pass — for now.

For now, President Trump has yet to take any specific action to restore Americans’ gun rights, or announce specific plans to do so. But hey, early days, right?

The real question here: what’s up with the NRA?

Why isn’t NRA Veep LaPierre banging the drum for gun rights? The New York Times attack ad above says nothing whatsoever about guns. So what IS the point?

The mainstream media reckons Mr. LaPierre’s non-gun attacks on the Fourth Estate betray the NRA’s desire to position itself as President Trump’s “defender-in-chief.” The leader of the #counterresistance. As Supertramp would say, I guess it’s hard not to agree.

But is it really all that wonderful that Mr. LaPierre and President Trump are closerthanthis? Shouldn’t the NRA stay aloof from ANY political leader, constantly reminding them that the civil rights org’s support depends entirely on their gun rights record?

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

117 COMMENTS

  1. I agree that this is a bit of a misfire. While I don’t disagree with anything that the NRA has stated here, their focus needs to be on gun rights and not on politics generally otherwise they risk losing some of their more left-leaning members unnecessarily.

    • I disagree on the misfire, and more importantly I applaud the NRA for venturing into the general politic. I think the NRA realizes that unless the leftist agenda, and the media are stopped, it is inevitable that gun rights will disappear.

      The left is the enemy, and the right (being the majority of Americans) does not need them in the tent or at the table. Actually the left has made it clear that they have no use whatsoever for the NRA’s main demographic which happens to be white.

      I say weaponize the NRA against the left and let them do what they do best, pressure politicians and publicly out them if they fail to disavow Atifa/Blackbloc/Muslim Brotherhood/La Raza/Soros Inc all of which have openly called for the killing of white people.

      I hope they get the big picture, which is gun rights are only a small front in a very large scale war. One where the enemy literally wants the NRA’s core dead.

      • Don’t you get it! You are NOT allowed to say anything bad about Donald Trump even if you poured millions into his campaign and he tossed your issue aside in day one.

        So the NRA is stuck I guess supporting a naked king. Bet they would have had better luck negotiating with Hillary than the hollowman in the Oval Office.

        • This is exactly what happens when you vote against someone rather than for someone.

          Trump played on the weaknesses in America and exploited every crack in society. Trump play the gun vote like a violin. And now we have nowhere to go. The prez, both houses, and the supreme court are happy with themselves. They have no use for us or the trouble our issues will cause them.

          Well Mr. Trump, don’t expect our support in the future. And stop the pandering and patronizing because it makes you sound mentally ill.

        • Don’t worry. Trump says he would like to violate human rights with “stop and frisk” in order to get guns out of places like New York. He must care just as much about other human rights. There is no way he will only focus on making it easier for corporations/businesses to make profit in the US instead of Asia. After all, his kids like guns and they hunt.

          If he does do something to restore the 2nd amendment, it probably won’t be until his 3rd year in office.

        • Don’t be such a drama queen. He appointed Gorsuch who will uphold and maybe expand Heller. That’s a big glorious win already, and we are only a month into the Trump Administration.

        • CZJay- “Trump says he would like to violate human rights with “stop and frisk” in order to get guns out of places like New York.”

          NRA has built Stop-and-Frisk into concealed carry bills. It’s called Duty to Inform in Illinois.

          The anti-gun IL Chiefs of Police totally opposed citizen carry for FORTY YEARS, but NRA state lobbyist Todd Vandermyde handed them DTI on a platter. This way police could kill a few blacks like Philando Castile, to keep them in line.

          The white racist hick NRA members from southern Illinois let it happen. They just need blacks like Otis McDonald as plaintiffs for lawsuits.

          The redneck losers never figured DTI would be used against them, but then again they are not known for forward thinking. This should be fun to watch.

  2. “Shouldn’t the NRA stay aloof from ANY political leader, constantly reminding them that the civil rights org’s support depends entirely on their gun rights record?”

    Yes. All of the yes.

    • Sort of. Until one candidate says “F you, ha ha, bend over and take it, sucker!”, then it just might be time to support that bitch’s opponent, even if it costs you 38 million.

  3. I’m glad he’s not pounding about guns at this stage of the presidency. I think it is more important to show what the media has been doing over the past several years to make people realize they are not getting the truth. We think gun rights are a priority but the majority of the voting public does not. There are more important fish to fry in the mind of most people. Once the hipocracy of the elite media sinks in, then it would be the time to bring up guns. We need appreciate the big bullet we dodged and not bring on backlash immediately by shoving our victory in the face of the voting public. We need to slowly climb back up the hill the states and courts have pushed us down.

    • Aven- “We need to slowly climb back up the hill the states and courts have pushed us down.”

      If you want to go slow, you definitely came to the right place. NRA, Inc. is like a white suburban golf club stuck in 1962.

      They don’t know how to win, they lose frequently, and the frat boys will even backstab their own membership in order to keep their jobs. If you wish to continue to be disappointed, send in your NRA life membership.

      • I suppose you prefer to do everything at once. It worked so well with Obamacare. I prefer the way we did integration in the small southern town I grew up in. My class was the first class that had integration in the 60s. We didn’t jump in like in the north where they had riots and demonstrations. We started with a select group of the better minority kids and added the rest over a short period of time. We had no issues at all and we are still close 52 years later. I asked a friend why we had no problems like they did in big cities. If they had forced all of us together at the same time there would have been problem for everyone. The minority kids appreciated the gradual transition and the gradual closing of the schools both they and their parents attended. It’s like the answer to the question of how do you eat an elephant that is “one bite at a time”.

      • I have to agree, if you expect the NRA to pass big laws right away, you are going to be really, really disappointed. It may help if you get your butt back to high school to discover who it is that passes and approves laws in out country, I don’t know about where you came from. I’ll give you a hint. It is not the NRA, it costs a whole lot more than the NRA, and trying to blame the NRA or its members for laws, or the lack thereof, is very obviously the work of a *TROLL*! And a dumb one, at that.

  4. I agree that we are the National Rifle Association, the second amendment is our soul purpose. Though we as members of our society are equal in all manners human. Are culture being very divided in its values or “lack thereof”, could easily cloud issues if we become overly involved in social issues not involving the second amendment. No I don’t want some transgender pissing next to the girls!, but where does this correlate with second amendment issues. If I worked for a media outlet I could probably put a spin on it to make it the truth I want you to be fed. we cannot control the media, but we can treat them with the same discrimination they try to alienate the NRA. Follow Trumps lead and blow them off as the insignificant squeaky hinge they really are; and they wet themselves and run off for a diaper change.

  5. The NRA invested very heavily in Trump, financially and politically. People who went along are starting to get a little bit anxious about the fact that the gun rights agenda hasn’t even been mentioned yet, much less acted upon. I can only guess that the NRA is doing this kind of political advocacy to remind Trump that he owes us a big time and sooner rather than later. If that doesn’t come to pass, it’s going to get ugly.

    • You all act as if Trump cares about a second term. I think the only “influence” the NRA has with Trump at this point is getting compress critters to vote a certain way.

      • Some of you guys and your “Trump Hasn’t Done Nothing On Guns Yet” whining!

        The hot chick takes you home and tells you she need to “Freshen Up” first.

        Some guys pace the floor incessantly and worry she went out the window or changed her mind.

        Some of us kick back on the couch, act cool, and patiently await the wonderful show to begin.

        For God’s sake, sit down on the couch, act like you’ve been here before, and wait for the gun show to start.

        • Ha…no. He PROMISED several things on DAY ONE and has done NOTHING. He could have done many simple things on day one(or week one…or MONTH one) including overturning Bush Sr Assault Weapons import ban, allowing guns on Army Corps land, allowing importation of those Korean Garands, allowed concealed weapons on Military Bases, had his new AG loosen defintion of “sporting purposes” to allow imports of more and cheaper guns/ammo. There are many more and each one would be no more work than signing a single page EO. There quite simply is NO excuse for not throwing us gun rights people a bone. None except the fact he really doesn’t intend to.

          You see, most of us have been in this fight long enough(Decades for me) to see when we are about to get screwed over. These Republicans promise everything and then once they get into office it’s all crickets. Ask yourself WHY is Wayne LaPierre making a major speech at CPAC and not mentioning specific gun rights items Trump will be doing(or asking Trump to do)…why was his whole speech not even on guns but defending Trump and talking about left wing protestors? And why now this ad…paid for by NRA member dollars..that has ZERO to do with guns? I didn’t become a life member to have my money go towards defending ANY politician. Wayne and company should be pushing Trump hard to do the things he promised and we gave our support to him for.

          The fact he is doing this tells me the NRA already knows they are about to get screwed and either trying to deflect attention or score brownie points with Trump to get him to do something for us.

          Nothing is going to happen on the gun rights front folks. All the dreams of demolishing the anti-gunners will all go up in smoke. At most we’ll have a status quo. I didn’t vote Trump for a status quo. And you can bet that when the Democrats get back in power(and they will…the pendulum always swings back)…their Guy or Gal will be unleashing holy hell against the People of the Gun DAY ONE. Why is it their side never has an issue going balls to the wall for them…but our guys always wuss out?

        • Jacob, all the things you state would be challenged. His immigration EO is a prime example. So while he can and will do everything he can, he is smart enough to know it would be futile.

          Let him fill the 100+ vacant federal judgeships, and get Gorsuch confirmed. Then at least his EO’s would have a chance.

        • “Jacob, all the things you state would be challenged. His immigration EO is a prime example. So while he can and will do everything he can, he is smart enough to know it would be futile.”

          I absolutely reject the standards you hold these people to..especially Trump. So by your logic Trump should do NOTHING as some judge might challenge them somewhere?. Sorry..but your excuse for him holds no water. He has signed a lot of orders https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/executive-orders. He’s approved and pushed through the Keystone pipeline. He’s pushed Department heads to change many rules. The only reason the Immigration EO was blocked because it stupidly included green card holders…that at least gave a valid argument to the judges. Allowing guns on Army Corps land or military bases, allowing the import of Korean Garands, the AG loosening “sporting clause” definition would be almost impossible to challenge in court and would not hold up to an appeals judge. They are simple matters that fall well within the powers of the exec branch.

          “Let him fill the 100+ vacant federal judgeships, and get Gorsuch confirmed. Then at least his EO’s would have a chance”

          Ha..yeah..if you are relying on judges to save us you are going to be VERY disappointed. We had the SC give us one of their great judgement in Heller and that was barely..I mean BARELY a win for us. Even Scalia(the God of the Right) was so squishy on his believe in the 2nd that he left the door wide open for Govt regulation.

        • “act like you’ve been here before”

          We have been here before, lots of times. We always seem to be stuck voting for Republicans who promise to be strong on 2A rights, but then abandon any promises to roll back the gun-control advances made by the “progressives” over the last century. Hopefully, he’ll just do nothing, instead of giving us something like another Hughes Amendment betrayal (thanks, Ronnie!).

          To use your analogy: if the last ten women you brought home all snuck out the bathroom window, you’d be justified in pacing the floor a bit.

        • Some of you guys and your “Trump Hasn’t Done Nothing On Guns Yet” whining!

          The hot chick takes you home and tells you she need to “Freshen Up” first.

          Some guys pace the floor incessantly and worry she went out the window or changed her mind.

          Some of us kick back on the couch, act cool, and patiently await the wonderful show to begin.

          For God’s sake, sit down on the couch, act like you’ve been here before, and wait for the gun show to start.
          Reply

          This. This times 100. Although you don’t know it, I’m air fiving you from my current position.

        • “Why is it their side never has an issue going balls to the wall for them…but our guys always wuss out?”

          It is in the interest of the unelected staff that runs NRA to wuss out. It is not in their interest to “win” and they are not capable of winning anyway. The purpose of NRA, Inc. is to perpetuate it’s own corporate existence, just like any big government bureaucracy.

          NRA is able to stumble along based on the stupidity and lack of education of most of it’s members, as you see here. One day their ship will come in, controlling three branches of government is not enough, maybe next year, etc. These people will never be more than what they are.

        • Some of you guys should study up on liberal rags, *they* are sure complaining about current actions on gun control!

  6. One of my biggest complaints about the NRA was their narrow-focus on guns & the 2A when it came to politicians. I stopped paying when they supported Democrat candidates on the sole basis of the candidate having a good or even so-so record on gun legislation. Sorry, the friend of my enemy is my enemy.

    The Dems do or try to do so many bad and/or stupid things politically that I believe it is more important to get rid of the proto-fascists than to support them strictly because they happen to vote for (some) gun rights. YMMV. If so, get a clue.

    • Well then Cliff, you are your own enemy.

      There is nothing more sought after political ally than a pro-gun Democrat. Seems you have other issues you are against and guns are not all that important if you cannot shelve your other priorities in favor of guns.

      So, my friend, you are an enemy of guns by being the enemy of a pro-gun politician. Right?

      • Wrong. I am an enemy of Progressive Liberal politicians, even if they happen (rarely) to like guns. I do not support any politician who wants to be a tyrant and if they are Democrats they are in the party of tyrants. The Second Amendment is intended to protect us from them by giving us the means to oppose them.

        I look at the whole man. There are plenty of idiots out there who like guns but are still idiots. Should I encourage them or make them my friend on the gun issue alone?

        We can and will win the battle for gun rights without the few Dems that act as though they support the 2A because when push comes to shove you know they will be Democrats first and gun guys second – it’s a matter of job security.

  7. This is why a lot of us gun owners don’t like the NRA. It’s not the National Rifle Association, it’s the National Republican Association. And if they don’t actively pursue gun freedom, what use are republicans?

    • Well, if the DNC ever chucks their leadership out of a helicopter and joins us in the real world, they are quite welcome here. Until then, anything and everything we can do to utterly crush and destroy the left is worth doing.

      • And to ‘crush and destroy the left’ means calling them out for what they are.

        That ad was *fantastic*. It laid out the Left’s bullshit in stark terms, and the head of the Left’s snake *is* the New York Times.

        That ad was one of the very best beat-downs of the NYT I’ve ever seen. Savage, brutal and to the point.

        (My only criticism is they could have paced it out a bit slower, for more impact.)

    • NRA is trying to branch out their franchise to collect dollars from a wider audience.

      Who runs NRA anyway? Not the elected board. No one here has been able to uncover the names of the NRA board members who are on the Legislative Policy committee, for instance.

      NRA is a second rate organization. They are not qualified to play ball with the big boys in D.C. Watching Wayne LaPierre stumble around and do NOTHING now that the Republicans “won” is not surprising, given their legislative record.

      After the 7th District U.S. Appeals Court in Chicago totally overturned Illinois’ weapons law, and they had the entire U.S. Government behind them to pass a carry bill in 2013, NRA state lobbyist Todd Vandermyde did what the good old boys at NRA always do- cut deals and sell out.

      NRA is a giant carney show for the rubes, and Wayne is the carnival barker. Step right up! Today and today only! Get your NRA memberships right here! Sad.

        • Donald Todd Vandermyde is in an FBI file since Chicago U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald convicted his former boss William Dugan at the Intl. Union of Operating Engineers local 150 in Countryside.

  9. At the end of the day does this ad really have anything to do with Trump? As his administration putters on, I’ve come to see him as nothing but a distraction from bigger issues that we’ve failed to address as a nation for the past seventeen years.

    I think the point the NRA is trying to push across is that the NYT and publications like it have fostered a progressive agenda that is not only attacking the Second Amendment but slowly degrading our constitutional rights across the board. On top of that my motto of late has become “The New York Times only wants you to hate.” They’ve become a publication of division that publishes innuendo and hearsay and regularly distorts the facts to manipulate the American public in order to foster a political and financial agenda. It was a sad day when I started relying on a British Newspaper (The Guardian) for accurate and unbiased news about what is actually going on in the country I was born and raised.

    As a former Washington Bureau journalist who grew up revering the Times and the Washington Post, my heart breaks every time I try to read it now. I think this ad is strong and too the point. It supports the wider mission of the NRA to protect the constitution and our rights. Its good to know that there are others that have come to and share the same conclusions as myself and even better that that the message is getting out there.

    Robert, I’m a fan mostly because of how you call the media out on their manipulation point for point. Your articles in addition to my own personal research into the facts of violence as a whole and gun violence within it, has helped reshape not just my views on firearms but my wider views which have affected how I interpret news and politics.

  10. Who cares what the propaganda arm and it’s psychotic moron lapierre of the gun lobby has to say.

    This is the same “gun rights” group that armed numerous Mexican drug crime organizations and armed terror groups that were responsible for the tragedies in Europe, Canada and Australia then tried to pin the blame on the past president.

    All the past Obama’s gun laws that were revoked by putin’s stooge through executive orders which would’ve strength gun rights and human rights, Not limit them.

    Most Americans really don’t want to own firearms.

    The NRA and other “gun rights” groups don’t give a flying crap about Americans like you that are too brainwashed sheep to see the writing on the wall and believe what ever dogmatic BS they want you to believe. Only Money and Power is what the gun lobby wants.

    And this website and whatever “gun rights” news website like this are what they are. Fake News.

    And this website is the biggest prep of it.

    • Sounds like someone wants a free helicopter ride. Keep pushing us, we’ll make Pinochet look like an angel.

      • What conspiracy theory fake news BS are you taking about.

        I’m just pointing out that the NRA does not give a flying crap about you or what people like you supporting them.

        Your just another brainwashed meat-puppet of theirs to be used and abused whatever they see fit.

        They really do not serve your or the American people’s best interest at heart.

        If the NRA cared about making Americans safe, They’d quit selling weapons to people who shouldn’t have them and support a president that helps the America people instead of one that wants to turn America into a 3rd fascist world hellhole by arming every tom, dick and Jill with guns that would make any dictator blush.

        Ironically all tyrannies started with “good guys” with guns starting them and supporting them and attacking and harming those that disagree with them.

        • If the NRA really cared about keeping Americans safe, they would encourage scumbags like you to get lined up agains the wall and shot. You’re a treasonous piece of sub-human garbage. Keep pushing, the American people have had quite enough of your lefty shit. Don’t forget, Pinochet is still considered a national hero in Chile.

        • “Ironically all tyrannies started with “good guys” with guns starting them and supporting them and attacking and harming those that disagree with them.”

          True enough . . . so long as the people being attacked and harmed can’t shoot back. The NRA’s historical benefit to the national body politic is that—for decades now—it has successfully defended our founders expressed intention that potential victims of tyranny could own and use weapons to defend themselves. It’s called the 2nd amendment. Look it up.

        • Yo, shit-for-brains, the NRA does not sell guns to anyone whatsoever, you are a MORON!! You’re thinking of ATF, and yes, they should be disbanded just as soon as the last one is imprisoned. Go forth and make it happen, or you are also a liar and a hypocrite!

      • Thanks for proving my point.

        You’ve given me no intellectual rebuttal.

        People like you prove that NRA and other “gun rights” groups are nothing but vile tyrannical haters of America and the constitution that psychotic nut-bars like you hide behind to support your sick fascist agenda.

        Mass killings and shootings don’t happen in Europe, Australia, Canada or Japan on a daily basis.

        If the NRA really did care about this country, They’d stop supporting their BS agenda of fake news and whatever BS propaganda they promote. They’d stop forcing Americans to believe the BS that “good guys” with guns can stop crime when it’s been proving many times through statistics and research that it is not.

        You or a loved one or friend are more likely to be killed with your own weapon or commit suicide with it than stopping a bad guy.

        And people like you have still not answered my questions or answered where the supposed “bad guys” are getting the guns. All illegal weapons started off as legal. And all “bad guys” started off as “good guys.”

        I’ve give you reasonable posts and nut-bars like you only posts threats of violence and incite hatred.

        The only thin you’ve done was push Americans who to this day continue to peacefully protest against the unfair BS that people like you promote.

        While people like me out working jobs and helping the community. Nut-bars like you were vandalizing, committing assault, pulling smear campaigns, hurling racial slurs, suppressing freedom of speech and press along with hiring fake protestors to make us real Americans like bad.

        As usual your just a statistical victim of Fake News from this website.

        • Yeah… I’m sure that all those black block cunts at Berkley were really right wing plants. Keep talking, you’re showing exactly why I want to throw every lefty cunt like you out of a helicopter.

        • Nut-bars like you were vandalizing, committing assault, pulling smear campaigns, hurling racial slurs, suppressing freedom of speech and press along with hiring fake protestors to make us real Americans like bad.

          I missed those. (Yes, I am perfectly aware that I am not the “you” you are responding to.) What have you, Le Resistance, seen or heard that makes you think each of these things?

          For example, I’ve seen a regular stream of links to primary news reports of DGUs from all over the country linked via this and other sites. There’s a first-person story there, in local media, every time. So, unless every one of these RandomTown Times Pickyunes is in the tank for Gun Overlords Secret Agenda, there’s something there. DGUs happen.

          With reports of specific DGUs in hand, we could have a conversation about “Are these trumped up?” (Sic – I couldn’t help myself.) “How do these anecdotes translate to aggregates?” “Is this a trade-off we want?” and more.

          With sourcing, or at least argument, we could have similar conversations about “nut bars”, “vandalizing”, “committing assault”, “pulling smear campaigns”, “hurling racial slurs”, “suppressing freedom of speech and press” and “hiring fake protestors.” I would say that calling people “nut bars” & the rest kinda puts the smear campaign on the other streaked window, to start, so not making your case terribly well.

        • “And … you have … not … answered where the supposed “bad guys” are getting the guns. All illegal weapons started off as legal.”

          This argues that it’s which guys and what they do with them, not the guns. (Unless owning a gun makes people criminal, violent, or psychotic. “Bang rays” or something, corrupting their brains.)

          If you are arguing that everyone who has ever had or wanted to have a gun will inevitably do bad stuff with it, or can only want a gun to do bad stuff, well off the top of my head 6 in my immediate circle who have, and want to have, guns for years, with nary an injury let alone a crime. Like no assaults, violence, or even crimes among them by any means. If it’s not *everybody*, *all the time*, *inevitably*, it’s a trade off.

          “Take these things here away from everybody, because some people will do bad things with these tools.”

          – Willing to trade-off any gain in safety from non-criminal uses, for the safety of fewer criminal uses.

          – Don’t care about the people who want to do this thing, harming no one. Stopping people from doing something they want, seems a cost to me.

          – Can’t find or stop the people who will do bad stuff with a gun. So gotta stop everybody from getting guns, so people who will do bad stuff won’t get guns. So people who do bad stuff won’t do bad stuff if they can’t get a gun? They’ll do less bad stuff if they can’t get a gun?

          I’d appreciate hearing one proposal more precisely, as, for example, you’ve in so many words both mentioned keeping the wrong people form getting guns, and getting rid of guns.

          I’m getting: “Bad people do bad things, sometimes with guns.” so … what?

        • The Ass-istance, did you notice that you are repeatedly answering yourself with your nasty attacks? Why not lock yourself in a closet to argue with yourself?

    • If this website upsets you so much, what the hell are you doing reading it? Oh, the NRA ran Fast & Furious? Go away.

    • This is the same “gun rights” group that armed numerous Mexican drug crime organizations and armed terror groups…”

      The ATF? Wrong TLA, dude.

    • If you really believe that BS, you should be right there with us demanding an investigation into Fast and Furious for as long as it takes for all involved to be locked down in prison. I say that, since you are blaming the NRA, and I am pretty certain Barry Osama had more to do with it than the NRA. How about that demand for endless investigation, or at least an investigation into why Obama killed the investigation before it ever got started. Was he just a shill for the NRA? Your position is untenable, as well as ridiculous.

  11. The point is that it is an ad for NRA T.V. Or, haven’t you heard of N.R.A. T.V.?

    How many gun ads are on National “Broadcast” T.V.? None, that I can remember. Nor do I remember either a gun rights, or a gun control ad, that didn’t star a politician. But, I do ignore most ads, and didn’t bother with the Oscars. Maybe I’m out of touch.

    Advertising NRA T.V. is a round about way to advertise gun rights, within what the liberal media will allow. Sneaky. I bet the person who accepted this ad no longer works for ABC. Probably not aware the evil “N.R.A.” and NRA T.V are the same.

  12. The only good reason i can think about is that he waits for his supreme court judge to be in place to smack some gun control idiots.

  13. “So what IS the point?”

    The point is that The New York Times lies and cannot be trusted.
    You don’t think that this is a pro-gun control statement, do you?

  14. “The real question here: what’s up with the NRA?”

    What’s up with the NRA is that they are not a gun rights org, they are a fund raising organization that is concerned with gun rights as a source of income. NRA does not want to win, it wants to achieve small losses and maintain the status quo, so their lobbyists have permanent job security to “fix” the shit bills they put up in the first place.

    NRA, Inc. is the org that used and betrayed Otis McDonald. NRA routinely colludes with anti-gun police unions to write legislation that advances a criminal police state. NRA and anti-gun orgs like the Brady campaign are both on the same side: against you.

    In intelligence terms, NRA is controlled opposition and a false front to draw away dollars and support from real gun orgs. NRA HQ is a whorehouse filled with liars and rats that sell out their own membership.

      • He is just pissed that the NRA is way closer to the center than he is. Well, you don’t gather the influence the NRA has by being too far to right.

      • Supporting the rule of law where no one is above the law is “anti-cop bullshit.” Waving the flag and supporting the police state is being patriotic. Yee-haw!

        You are right about one thing though, you are a nobody to NRA.

        Send in your life membership. Wayne needs a gold-plated lavatory for his private jet. He’ll look down on you in flyover country.

        • Oh, please. I grew up in a REAL police state. You’re so full of shit it’s coming out of your eyeballs.

    • Demo man:

      Is that you Mike?

      Otherwise known as Otis McDonald’s Ghost until I walloped you with the ban hammer?

      John

  16. The battle right now is for Senate control in 2018. Real progress on a conservative agenda could take place then. Starting a bunch of fights that you cannot win right now = neutering your presidency.

    The big game is on doing things that will pick up eight seats in 2018.

    I was disappointed in the lack of real progress from Trump for a while, but I’m more content to sit back and see how this plays out. Right now, the Democrats have shown that they will absolutely block any and every proposal from the President, in unison, so long as they can. If he overplays his hand, they will have stymied and beaten him. If he plays it smart, giving enough red meat to the base to keep them energized, he may pick up enough Senate seats in 2018 to rubber-stamp his agenda.

    • Finding another opportunity as good as 2018 is going to be tough. I understand it’s something like 25 of the 36 seats being contested is currently held by a Dem. 10 of them in states Trump won by large margins. Expecting a pickup of more than 8 seats is not fantasy. But, of course, polls will consistently show there is no chance that will happen, just as they still show Trump has no chance to win the presidency in 2016. I’ll be paying attention to primaries and contributing to candidates not my own, we need to get this done.

  17. The NRA is fighting for the 2nd Amendment with this video against the New York Times.

    One of the problems with trying to win public support for 2nd Amendment rights is that the Mainstream Media is completely misleading and, unless you get Joe & Jane Average to the range, the only thing they know about any subject is what the Mainstream Media feeds them.

    The Mainstream Media is an enemy of 2nd Amendment rights; therefore, it is an enemy of the NRA and POTG.

    Target correctly identified.

  18. If the Ads are going to get Trump to move on the HPA and Carry Reciprocity, great, I will deal with it. But this is NOT what the NRA should be doing. The NRA is NOT the Defender in Chief. They are a 2A lobby group. Any ad they spend my money on should be 2A related.

    At CPAC not a word was said about 2A. I think Trump is forgetting who put him over the Top. Without 2A supporters, he loses the election. He has been completely silent on 2A starting the day after the election.

    Meanwhile the Firearms industry is in a slump, small and big stores are closing, and manufacturers are cutting jobs. The HPA can correct a lot of that pretty damn quickly. Sales from the Suppressor/Threaded Barrel/Threaded Accessory niche will ignite sales across the industry.

    NRA FOCUS ON PASSING THE HPA!!! THAT IS YOUR JOB!!! NOT TAKING OUT ADS DEFENDING A POLITICIAN ON NON-2A RELATED MATTERS!

    • I must be confused. Wasn’t it Trump’s CPAC speech where he promised to “make the second amendment great again”? I know, that is not real specific, but it is more than “not a word”.

  19. Still waiting for some proof in this pudding. Trump has done nothing for the 2nd ammendment as of yet.

  20. Besides the obvious notion that this is the NRA entering into a broader spectrum of politics and shilling for Trump (whether or not you like it) it kind of ignores the fact that they pretty well decided to go to war with the NYT over their garbage on making gun control an agenda among other biases.

    I think that within this war they see an opportunity to try and destroy credibility within the NYT and perhaps even gain some influence themselves as a media provider (notice it was an NRA TV ad.)

  21. Yes!!!!!

    The NRA bet big on Trump and helped deliver the election. Apparently they believe the culture war bs is a seller.

    I’m a life member and support the NRA- but big picture they need to grow the tent, there’s risk in being to close to Trump.

    It’s hard not to sort of have the lingering feeling his support of the 2A is a con. At least he nominated Gorsuch.

  22. Meh …the rant is working pretty well. I just got a free NRA membership(thanks to Brazilian Taurus). Old Wayne (and evangelical CHRISTIANS) delivered pretty well. I’ll pizz and moan if nothing happens by Autumn. Trump has a helluva lot on his plate and lots of entrenched enemies…

  23. Absolutely, the NRA should ignore the Democrat party platform, the Democrats’ hatred of the NRA in particular and deplorable gun owners in general, and of course the media’s complicity in advancing the Democrats’ anti-2A agenda must never be mentioned.

    Because that would be bad. It would be almost as bad as calling Islamic terrorists, you know, Islamic terrorists. And we can’t have that.

    • Huh. Ralph, are you telling me the Democratic Party has a platform? If that is true, why did they keep it a secret during the recent electoral festivities?

  24. The NRA should have one agenda. 2a rights that’s it. No politics besides endorsing 2a friendly candidates and labeling ones that wish to take that right away from citizens. Gun rights have become so political since Billy Boy and have gotten so much worse over Obama’s reign. It’s sad. Nothing in the constitution should be political. Stick to what your good at NRA.

  25. “The real question here: what’s up with the NRA?”

    No it isn’t. The real question is why won’t Trump make good on his campaign promises? You know, just like he makes good on business contracts and abides by his marriage vows. Oh wait.

    I know, I know….”He’s better than Hillary! Supreme Court!” Got it. Problem is, that should never have been the choice. He should never have gotten the nomination in the first place.

    At best, I’m seeing a charlatan who over promised and under delivered. This is a wasted opportunity to roll back liberalism and lock in those gains. Instead, this is four years of status quo. Meanwhile, with each passing day the electorate turns more and more purple. Sorry, Trumpkins, this is what you came for.

  26. >So we’ll give him a pass — for now.

    No, we won’t. There are lots of things he could do by himself, but he hasn’t. These things take hardly any time. For example, for the gun free zones on military bases, all he had to do was direct Saint Mattis (who ROCKS BTW) to have his JAGs figure out how to word it, and then sign it.

    But he didn’t do that. Presumably because he doesn’t actually care about gun rights, which many of us suspected all along.

  27. I’m not conservative — I’m libertarian. If the NRA decides to become a general-purpose conservative organization, that is their right, but they will lose my support.

    As long as the POTG view themselves as joined at the hip to the Right, and as being in a perpetual death-struggle with the Left, we well never permanently advance gun rights; instead they will be subject to the ebb and flow of the general political situation. Our objective must be to so conclusively win the ideological and cultural battle on guns that gun rights are respected and protected by both the Left and the Right. We can’t do that if “gun rights” organizations care more about not attacking someone because they have an R after their name than about advancing the gun rights agenda.

    And here’s an example from the Left: Remember the anti-war movement under Bush? Remember how they all disappeared under Obama, who basically had the same foreign policy? They failed to achieve their objectives because they let their party affiliation distract them from their mission.

    • Me too. At one point I called myself “conservative”. That term has no meaning now, other than a political (and hypocritical) marketing ploy and perhaps on a chart at Fox News.

    • I think this is a very important point, and ultimately partly why the unions are losing stature. They’re tied to a party which means not only does the other party see them as an enemy to crush (that sounds familiar, doesn’t it) but they get taken for granted as faithful voters to that party and there is little urgency in addressing their wishes because who are they going to vote for the evil other party?

      • Some unions have attacked the NRA. A problem on the left is that if you are liberal, but you deviate from any particular of the Doctrine, then you are a racist/homophobe/bigot/islamaphobe/xenophobe/literal Hitler/fascist.

        In today’s political climate, you can be on the left and believe everything on the left, you can be on the left and be cast out into the wilderness for not holding complete orthodoxy, or you can be conservative and hold a variety of views.

    • I think you have cause and effect reversed. They weren’t anti-war to oppose the war, they were anti-war to oppose the Republican. Thus, once Osama took over the war was fine. Now that Trump has it, I expect anti-war to show up again.

  28. If my favorite New Yorker does absolutely nothing on gun rights, and also no new restrictions go into effect then it is still preferable to the alternative.

    In fact if the left was smart they would cut a deal with team red and declare a gun armistice under the current regulating scheme.

    Gun control was the only thing that proved that emperor Barry could bleed.

    • Cool, except for the fact the left has proven over and over that they will never pay the slightest attention to fulfilling any promises they make as part of any agreement with reasonable people.

  29. I like how we’re literally only a month in, and already people are stamping their feet, abandoning Trump, and blaming the NRA for things that Trump hasn’t done. People, it’s been a month. ONE MONTH. Get a grip.

    • People are nervous HP…hardly stomping our feet. We’ve seen this played out again and again on the local, state, and national level.

      When the head of the NRA at CPAC doesn’t mention gun rights at all..the freaking head of the NRA…and instead does nothing but defend Trump and try to scare us with visions of the Leftist Mob then it’s time to be a little nervous.

  30. The point is not to win, it’s to keep stalemate fresh. If the NRA ‘wins’ then they cannot continue to “fight for your rights”, and they can’t continue to urge you to join the fight by joining and sending in your $$$.

    Just think, if they “won” then WTF would they do with all of their personalized but worthless tchotchke knives and range bags.

    • I’m genuinely curious, Joe. How do you imagine the NRA could “win” in any manner resembling total victory? In a manner in which they’d be unnecessary? It’s literally impossible for that to happen.

      • Even if the NRA finally convinced a supermajority of the population and the Supreme Court that the right to keep and bear arms was unquestionable and all of the politicians stopped going after gun rights, there would still be the training and sporting areas to focus on.

        I would love to see that day come (but it’s very unlikely).

      • The NRA was around something like a hundred years before being forced into the political arena, and without them we would have no rights by now. But they could go back to setting up and coordinating competitions, training, education and so forth, and do just fine. You can only be so cynical before you are just being ridiculous.

  31. I was about to get myself a life membership, but this is giving me pause. I understand that Trump is not putting the 2nd amendment as the top priority. Got it. I’m unhappy about it, but I understand political realities and all that. That’s me grudging.

    But NRA? Especially after CPAC? Every speech aside from Loesch’s sucked.

    Cruz’s was lackluster and left out the idea of the 2nd OVERTHROWING TYRANNY. If he’s such a preeminent constitutional scholar and defender of gun rights, that’s sorta important. The absolute best judicial opinion on the 2nd amendment is here: http://openjurist.org/328/f3d/567/silveira-v-lockyer

    Cruz fell flat on his face to feed the rubes. Wayne mentioned violence but refused to make the logical bridge to actually discussing guns in citizen’s hands as a way to combat it, both in the form of travelers on a reciprocity bill, and in terms of fending off the hundreds of black bloc that were part of the force that assaulted me at UC Berkeley, where a riot grade rifle with riot capacity magazines was the only answer. Trump mentioned the 2nd barely at all, and again refused to talk about the implications, and basically seems to take the view that the court is the only thing that matters for gun rights.

    Finally, NRA is now branching off into media criticism- without even mentioning guns???? Not even, “they are part of the disarmament complex elites want to enable them to accomplish a global elite without borders and without people who can fight back”?

    I’m starting to feel screwed. I’m in the process of finding work that will pay well and transfer out of California. I’m an absolutist and single-issue voter. I really, really want to justify a life membership to myself for voting and the rest, but the trend by the NRA- a single-issue organization- is branching out into other areas without any logical brand connections. Just as TTAG has warned, brand extension is tricky business, and when it’s too far from your core business, you fail. I do not understand how this does anything but tie NRA to Trumpism, which may succeed, or fail miserably- all without any dividend that makes the risk worth it.

  32. While the NRA is primarily a firearms rights organization the idea that they shouldn’t have a point of view which they voice on other issues is the dumbest idea in a long time.

    Elections are not generally won and lost on a single issue and they’re certainly not one and lost on a single minor issue. The best 2A candidate simply won’t get elected if they don’t address what the general public feels are the major concerns of the day. In July Pew had 14 issues they rated as “top” issues and “guns” was #5 behind the economy, terrorism, foreign policy and health care. Note that Pew doesn’t ask if the people are pro gun or anti gun, just what issues they care about so we can assume a bunch of the people who helped push guns to #5 wanted bans and other restrictions.

    In June US News & World report released their findings for the top ten issues the US public cared about based on Google Analytics numbers and guns wasn’t one of them.

    Pew broke it down by party and mixed the numbers as well “guns” came in as “below average for both parties” in terms of importance.

    So it’s clear, while the 2A may be an issue that moves voters at the margins it is just what that sounds like: a marginal issue. Therefore if the NRA wants to really move the needle they need to get people engaged on other topics that are winning issues with the general public. This allows them to get support behind candidates that will do things we care about but who also can win with the general electorate.

    To those worried that Trump hasn’t “done anything yet” I say cool your jets there space cowboy. Rome wasn’t built in a day and the issues that rank higher with the public are going to get attention first. Squeaky wheel, grease and all that. Would you rather wait a few months for your issues to start being addressed or would you rather have a POTUS that’s openly hostile to your rights and has declared you an “enemy” who’s probably beyond redemption?

    • I no longer support the Political Victory Fund (PVF) for the exact reason that they support candidates based on 2A issues only, and have ended up contributing to candidates I absolutely do not support, in fact oppose. Especially since, today, it is so easy for me to contribute directly to a candidate I approve of, without funding NRA bureaucracy in the process. I still support the Institute for Legislative action (ILA), and I’ve been 3 steps past a Life member (Endowment? Benefactor? Not real sure) for over 10 years, so they can live without me in the PVF.

  33. The real secret of Life, the Universe and everything is timing (not 42). Imagine a series of executive orders issued by the current occupant of the White House ending gun free zones in Post Offices and military bases, reversing BATF rulings, allowing the return of all of those Korean M1 garands, etc. This will take the Left’s hysteria to the next level. It will dominate the news cycle driving everything else off of the front page.

    Perhaps that crafty New York city billionaire in the Executive office is simply waiting for the right moment.

  35. Some one explain this NRA selling guns into South America. I don’t pay them enough dues for that. LOL
    Why would they if the ATF is so effective! (Sarcasm)

  37. The point is that the New York Times is a cultural institution. It was considered “the” paper of record. It has become a liberal propaganda machine. To win a culture war, one must destroy the institutions supporting the other side. You can see this in what the general culture war. The media attacks institutions with conservative beliefs. Christianity, military, police, etc.

    Part of the American culture is its position on guns. The Times is anti-gun. Therefore, they are an enemy of the NRA. If the Times all of a sudden starts endorsing things like the HPA, then it will no longer be an enemy of the NRA.

    The ad is also a bit of bait and switch for anyone who doesn’t know what the NRA is. “Yeah, the Times has been lying to me. I’ll go watch this.” Now, that guy is watching pro gun videos.

      • The NRA’s only goal should be protecting the RKBA. Strategy and tactics may involve achieving many “conservative” goals. Strategy and tactics probably will because the left moves in lock-step.

  38. NRA needs to stick to being a single-issue organization. There’s been a number of misfires over the past few years delving into politics, family, and religion that are really no business of the NRA’s, and not what we should paying dues to them to defend.

    WLP probably needs to be replaced by someone a little less entrenched in the lobbying business.

  39. Also, stop feeding the Troll. The Resistance is actually il Duce LaPierre unwinding. It’s his primal scream therapy. It’s true, he told me. Seriously, some of you must be new to the many tubed information superhighway.

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