The NRA will never attract DEMS with idiots like Gingrich, Huckabee and Nugent....

[Logical]

Their appeal is the extreme right wing and I think they actually like it like that. Not a big attempt to draw in progressives.

No self-respecting liberal would attend a meeting or join a group that has those idiots as their keynote speakers.

We need a liberal organization that support gun rights.

[hlthe2b]

1. I would have thought so, too, but the defense of NRA among DU "gunners" is

surprisingly vehement by many in the gungeon. Inexplicable. Seems almost like a form of Stockholme Syndrome. :eyes:

[Logical]

3. I would never support the NRA. I believe in gun rights but not that right wing bunch. n-t

[Upton]

2. Or we can change the NRA from within..

your attitude of "no self-respecting liberal would attend a meeting or join a group" such as the NRA is not only BS, but it's just not helpful..

Btw, why don't you use the same zeal in urging fellow Democrats to stop kissing the ass of the gun control lobby and support our 2nd Amendment rights?

[Logical]

4. Sorry, I stand by that statement. Nugent and Gingrich are disgusting. n-t

[Upton]

6. The NRA only attracts such people

because many in the Democratic party are still in bed with those who refuse to support gun rights. The NRA is all about one thing..the 2nd Amendment, if the party would embrace it ..the NRA would look more kindly upon the party as a whole and throw the GOP into chaos. The NRA always has and will endorse Democrats that voice support for RKBA..

[Hoyt]

15. Why should Dems endorse more guns and the kind of talk of shooting unarmed people common here?

I hope they never formally endorse gun proliferation or encourage more guns in public.

[gejohnston]

17. all of the "shooting unarmed people" talk comes from antis

project much?

[Hoyt]

22. Nope, go over to the thread about them shooting unarmed people breaking into their unoccupied car.

Read thread about those who would shoot a 12 year old unarmed girl.

Read thread in support of someone shooting an unarmed robber in back who was fleeing.

Or those supporting the guy mad because tomatoes were too high flashing his gun at a man protecting his wife from the SOB's tirade.

Just a few recent posts by cowboys and those who are chomping at bit for a chance to try their latest addition to their weapons cache.

You are the one that needs to look closer at your fellow gunners -- perhaps chide them.

[PavePusher]

23. You seem to be engaging in manufactured hyperbole again.

"Read thread about those who would shoot a 12 year old unarmed girl." Cite, please? No-one was talking about UN-armed 12 year-olds.

Note that a person can be unarmed and still pose a credible threat to life and health.

[Hoyt]

24. After reading your rationales for carrying, I can see you feeling threatened by unarmed 12 year old.

"Hyperbole" -- shouldn't that apply to those of you who can't walk into Chuck E Cheeze without your gun.

[PavePusher]

26. Why would I feel threatened by an unarmed 12-year-old...

unless they are some oddly large and well-mucled one?

Wasn't the O.P. you refer to about an armed 12-year old?

I think you are now engaging in purposeful distortion, mendacity and projection.

Good day to you.

[TheCowsCameHome]

5. Popcorn time.

You've skewered the NRA, and the almighty NRA can do no wrong.

Of course the NRA is a right wing tool, but apparently that's irrelevant.

[damntexdem]

7. Yeah, sort of like we need a health promotion organization that supports tuberculosis.

[PavePusher]

8. "Democrat" and "Republican" are not completely apart and exclusive.

They have some considerable overlap amongst individuals.

I may disagree with almost everything Gingrich or Nugent beleive, but still have common ground on this one subject.

It's when you treat large groups as polar opposites with no intersect that you fail in your philosophies.

[Upton]

9. Here's a list of some of the Democrats the NRA endorsed in 2010

now they all may not meet with your approval, but they are Democrats. And many more in the party do indeed belong to the NRA. So before you go claiming such things as, "the NRA will never attract DEMS"..perhaps you should do a little research first..

AL-2: Bobby Bright
AR-4: Mike Ross
Ca-18: Dennis Cardoza
CO-3: John Salazar
CO-4: Betsy Markey
FL-2: Allen Boyd
Ga-2: Sanford Bishop
Ga-8: Jim Marshall
Ga-12: John Barrow
IA-3: Leonard Boswell
IL-11: Debbie Halvorson
IL-12: Jerry Costello
IN-Senate-Brad Ellsworth
IN-2: Joe Donnely
IN-8: Trent Van Haaften
IN-9: Baron Hill
KY-6: Ben Chandler
MD-1: Frank Kratovil
MI-1: Gary McDowell
MN-1: Tim Walz
MS-1: Travis Childers
MS-4: Gene Taylor
MO-4: Ike Skelton
NC-7: Mike McIntyre
NC-8: Larry Kissell
NC-11: Heath Shuler
ND-At Large: Earl Pomeroy
NM-1: Martin Heinrich
NM-2: Harry Teague
NM-3: Ben Lujan
NY-20: Scott Murphy
NY-23: Bill Owens
NY-24: Mike Acruri
OH-Gov. Ted Strickland
OH-6: Charlie Wilson
OH-16: John Boccieri
OH-18: Zack Space
OK-2: Dan Boren
OR-5: Kurt Schrader
PA-4: Jason Altmire
PA-10: Chris Carney
PA-11: Paul Kanjorski
PA-12: Mark Critz
PA-17: Tim Holden
SD-At Large: Stephanie Sandlin
TN-4: Lincoln Davis
TN-8: Roy Herron
TX-17: Chet Edwards
UT-2: Jim Matheson
VA-2: Glenn Nye
VA-5: Tom Perriello
VA-9: Rick Boucher
WI-3: Ron Kind
WI-8: Steve Kagen
WV-Senate: Joe Manchin
WV-3: Nick Rahall

[Logical]

19. But they have Gingrich and Huckabee speak for them. Get it now? n-t

[Atypical Liberal]

10. They are caught between a rock and a hard place.

The fact is, most political candidates that support the right to keep and bear arms are right-of-center, while most that are against it are left-of-center.

This means that the people most likely to be NRA members are going to be people who vote right-of-center.

They know this, and select speakers that their target audience would want to hear.

If there were more Progressive politicians that supported the right to keep and bear arms, the NRA would reflect that.

[jlshaw47]

11. There is an alternative

May I suggest the Liberal Gun Club, a great place for firearms owners without the right-wing bullshit scare tactics. And they have a great forum too!
http://www.theliberalgunclub.com/

[aikoaiko]

13. thank you. I'll have to check that out.

[benEzra]

30. Yup. And they appear to have moved away from their original pro-new-bans positions

which greatly broadens their appeal.

I was very skeptical of them at first (they were originally http://www.theliberalgunclub.com/beliefs.html">pro-AWB, etc.), but these days it seems that a plurality of the forum posts are about guns they once advocated banning, and I see that they are currently raffling an AR-15 lower, so it strongly appears they have come around to a more pro-RKBA position just like the AHSA did. I also see resources on carry reciprocity.

[aikoaiko]

12. This is why I finally joined the NRA a few years back.

I need to put in my time, get voting rights, and start making my appeals to sane rhetoric and speaker choices.

[Logical]

20. Great idea actually. n-th

[aikoaiko]

25. We'll see if I and others are successful. At times it reminds me of....

[Euromutt]

28. Same here; I consider myself a reluctant member

I'll admit that the speaker lineups of the past two years have brought me close to cutting up my membership card and mailing it to Fairfax, but since I haven't been a member for the five years required to gain voting rights, I reckon I need to stick it out a bit longer. This is a long-term project, which means that a lot of patience is going to be required.

[friendly_iconoclast]

29. Yep. We need to undergo "the Long March through the institution(s)" in this case.

I might just rejoin, even though I do not currently own a gun. That $35 a year carries more weight here in Massachusetts than it

would elsewhere...

[Euromutt]

31. It helps that I'm not paying the full $35

In the run-up to the 2008 presidential election, the NRA was offering 5-year memberships for $120. In addition, when I bought a Taurus PT1911, I found it came with a year's free membership. So all in all, I'm a member for $20/year rather than $35.

[Hoyt]

14. There are plenty of other gun organizations -- of course they are often right wing hate group too.

[demosincebirth]

16. Not all dems are liberal.

[petronius]

18. And not all Democratic positions are liberal positions, sadly enough (nt)

[Logical]

21. Then you also think not all Republicans are consertive?

[demosincebirth]

27. Now you're getting chesty. How do you know what I think. I just gave a personnel opinion.

.