NRA/Political II

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citizenguardian

New member
I can't improve on the succinct, lucid, and persuasive posts of 416Rigby and others. Let me just add my voice, then.

I mean no disrespect to those who disagree, but it's hard for me to understand why so many informed, committed, and active gunowners, on this forum and off it, do not seem to appreciate the difference between winning and losing in November. The difference between Al Gore-- Al Gore!-- in the White House for four years as opposed to out of it, the difference between a Democratic House and a Republican House, doesn't move you to stand behind NRA?

As so many others have said, the NRA is despised by enemies of the rights of ordinary people because it is _feared_. It's feared because it's effective. It's that simple.

It's the reason we're not living in Great f****** Britain right now. Today.
Is there no difference, to your mind, between having CCW and not, between having some bull**** "license" or not, between being able to buy ammunition without a 300-day waiting period or not, between having no upper limits on total gun ownership or not, or between confiscation or not??!!

Pardon the apparent hyperbole, but things are exactly this stark. Now. These are the differences that the NRA has made, and can continue to make. And no one else can, with or without our support.

There's not a half-awake gunowner in the rest of the world who wouldn't give his eyeteeth to have our problems with NRA.
I can understand the complaints about the compromises, I can understand the complaints about leadership-- but haven't you heard of playing the hand you're dealt? This is politics, it's deadly serious, and it's time to buck up and fight with the best we've got. That's called a strategy for WINNING-- and is there someone here who doesn't want that, to WIN??

I have to agree with the remarks of some others: it's as if many are _looking_ for reasons to lose, things to complain about, while the enemy overruns our squabbling lines. I respect the various people who post on this forum, whatever their views, because they are for the most part informed, and reasonable. But to my mind the time to rest, the time to criticize internally, is when the fight is _over_, i.e., mid-November, not in the middle of it, i.e., now.
 
I am an NRA member. I first joined when I was sixteen or seventeen (yes, there were rifles back then, we even had nitro powder). I was in and out of the NRA a few times thereafter due to complacency.

Then I had a significant emotional experience in 1992 - the Clinton rise to power. I got back into the NRA, made the sacrifice to become a lifer, and I am never leaving.

I agree with others that the NRA house needs renovation and repair. Having the vote is one tool, perhaps the best, that can be used for 'home improvement.' It does require sacrifice, either in terms of patience or money, to acquire this tool. This tool can also be used to 'hire' a new superintendent.

Another method of speeding home improvement is to get more workers on the job. I put four good people in the NRA this past year. I have six silver bullets from the Heston Silver Bullet Brigade membership drive. I paid for some of those memberships myself.

I am also a member of GOA and JPFO, and I send extra money to all three organizations in varying amounts - all I can spare. I hope to give more this year than last.

In summary, I view NRA as a minimum standard. It has flaws, but nothing that cannot be fixed by increasing membership and changing the Board of Directors. When we increase membership, and increase voting membership, the result will be an NRA that is large and an aggressive defender of RKBA.

Finally, I am glad that our socialist enemies at the Washington Post et al perceive NRA as powerful. Imagine their perception of a 80 million strong NRA...



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Slowpoke Rodrigo...he pack a gon...

Vote for the Neal Knox 13
 
Agreed. The NRA isn't perfect, but the only way we're going to make it less prone to compromise is to work from within. If you're not a member, join and speak up.

And join JPFO, 2AF, CCRKBA, GOA and other groups if you wish. But remember that the NRA is the big show. It's the NRA that the New York Times writes editorials against, which should be a clue as to whom they fear.
 
Citizenguardian, thank you for your comment.
Back in '96 I got calls from friends who had watched Clinton during the campaign. "How did we ever get this guy?" they asked. "How can we get rid of him? He's so slick, he's got everybody bamboozled." And I asked my friends, what did _you_ do to stop him in '92. And I got guilty looks from people who either didn't vote, didn't volunteer when I asked them to, or voted for Perot.

In '92, Clinton advanced a "reasonable, moderate" gun control proposal called the Brady Bill. And in each successive year he has lowered the bar on RKBA by advancing yet another "reasonable" measure. Now Algore's poised to take the baton. I'll make a $100 wager with anybody on this board: if Algore wins because the independent vote eats into Bush's totals, in 2005 the only discussions on this board about shooting guns will be reminiscing about the good old days when we were able to do so legally.

Dick
 
It was Napoleon who said: "Give me allies for enemies".
Clinton did not have a majority of the American people behind him in 1992. It was the disarray of the opposition that put him in power. Once in power, it does not matter if one had a majority or not. Once in power, you simply rule to extent that the situation allows.
Hitler had no majority, Stalin had no majority, not did Margaret Thatcher or John F. Kennedy for that matter. Doesn't make any difference.
Citizenguardian is correct in seeing our disunity, even in the face of an unprecidented assalt on our rights, as one of Al Gore's greastest assets.
Couldn't some of you guys find it in your conscience to fight under one general for a short 9 months? We can always go back to the great ideological struggle for the hearts and minds of the world after we have defeated the greater threat to us all.

[This message has been edited by Herodotus (edited March 15, 2000).]
 
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