'Thoughts and prayers' and fistfuls of NRA money: Why America can't control guns

[spanone]

There is no better example of the corrosive effect of money on American politics than the spending of the National Rifle Assn.

The gun rights organization spent a stupendous $54.4 million in the 2016 election cycle, almost all of it in “independent expenditures,” meaning spending for or against a candidate but not a direct contribution to a campaign. The money went almost entirely to Republicans to a degree that almost looks like a misprint (but isn’t): Of independent expenditures totaling $52.6 million, Democrats received $265.

If you’re looking for a reason that politicians are quick to declare that their “thoughts and prayers” are with the victims of the horrific slaughters that have become virtually routine in American life, but do nothing further to stop them, look no further.

My prayers are with all of the victims in Las Vegas.
— Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), major NRA funding recipient

The Center for Responsive Politics has compiled the baleful figures on the NRA’s election spending for its Open Secrets website. A spreadsheet showing totals spent on behalf of individual members of Congress through 2016 is here; the center is working to update the figures, and we will publish them once it does. The Washington Post has an interactive web page showing NRA contributions since 1998 to current members of Congress.

http://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-hiltzik-nra-money-20171003-story.html