I don’t know how many times we’ve said it but it bears repeating: the NRA has to reach out beyond it’s OFWG base to survive. Actually, never mind them. Our Constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms depends (in part) on the NRA reaching out to minority gun owners. And . . . wait for it . . . Democrats! Or, at the least, undecideds. By literally aligning himself with Fox News commentator and Blaze bombast Glenn Beck, NRA jefe Wayne LaPierre is sending a clear message that gun rights do NOT transcend party politics. Which they don’t, really. But perception is reality. The more the NRA can do to appear inclusively mainstream [sic] the more popular its message of firearms freedom. Unfortunately, so much of the NRA’s money/power comes from liberal pushback they don’t have the desire or knowledge how to get off the X. Speaking of which . . .
Today, we officially launched our new campaign called NRAWatch.org to (1) expose the NRA, (2) hold it accountable for misleading the public, (3) urge people and organizations to withdraw their support from it, and (4) support legislation, executive actions and grassroots initiatives to further common sense regulation of guns, especially assault weapons, high capacity magazines and universal background checks. Initially, we are asking whistleblowers, insiders, and hackers to release information regarding NRA activities that demonstrate ethical breaches, corruption, or criminality. If that information is provided to us, we will publicize it and provide it to the FBI. If the information results in an arrest and conviction, we will pay up to $100,000 to the person who provides that information. We are accepting information at tips@NRAWatch.org.
Lee Stranahan has the 411 on Brett Kimberlin’s campaign against the NRA. Which doesn’t include the payouts it proclaims.
Mr. Kimberlin’s the brains behind velvetrevolution.us, the organization behind nrawatch.org. Just like Mayor Bloomberg’s the guy behind mayorsagainstillegalguns.org‘s that spawned demandaplan.org. Except Bloomberg was coining cash for Salomon Brothers in 1978 when Kimberlin was busy being the “Speedway Bomber.”
Anyway, this is exactly the kind of far-left attack the NRA loves. Unfortunately, it’s exactly the kind of attack which the NRA uses to raise money that keeps the gun rights group positioned to the far right, which is not where it needs to be. IMHO. YMMV. Speaking of mileage . . .
Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy has sent a letter to Brian France urging the NASCAR CEO to drop NRA race sponsorship of an April race at the Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth.
By giving the NRA sponsorship of a major NASCAR race, NASCAR has crossed a line – you have decided to put yourself in the middle of a political debate, and you have taken a side that stands in opposition to the wishes of so many Newtown families who support common sense gun reform . . .
Whether or not this was your intention, your fans will infer from this sponsorship that NASCAR and the NRA are allies in the current legislative debate over gun violence. By announcing this new partnership at the very height of Congress’s deliberations over gun reform, NASCAR has inserted itself into a political debate that has nothing to with the business of NASCAR.
Oh but it has everything to do with NASCAR. Well, NASCAR’s core audience, who support the NRA like Kelly Brook fans support the bounteous Brit. Still, point taken. The NRA should sponsor the New Haven Open tennis tournament at Yale University. See what they could do there?