Laura Reston at The New Republic writes—The NRA’s New Scare Tactics:
...with Obama gone, and Republicans firmly in control, the NRA is suffering. In the first six months after Trump was elected, gun sales tumbled by 9 percent. Vista, the firearms manufacturer that owns brands like American Eagle and Bushnell, saw profits drop 27 percent in the first three months of the year—a reversal the company called an “unprecedented decline in demand for ammunition and firearms.” Individual contributions to the NRA, which account for roughly half its revenue, could also take a sharp plunge; the last time a Republican occupied the White House, the NRA’s membership flatlined. “They need a demon,” says Robert Spitzer, a political science professor at the State University of New York and author of The Politics of Gun Control.
Now, with no one in the White House to strike fear in the hearts of its members, the NRA is embarking on a bold new strategy. Instead of sticking solely to its pro-gun agenda—pushing for firearms in schools, allowing gun owners to carry concealed weapons across state lines—the group has joined the ranks of Breitbart and Fox News. Last fall, in the weeks before the election, the NRA launched its very own streaming service called NRATV. Some of the 34 shows it produces—from Armed & Fabulous toTrust the Hunter in Your Blood—are little more than infomercials for gun manufacturers, who sponsor the programs to drum up business. But many of the shows focus on issues far beyond the NRA’s traditional purview, from immigration to the “fake news” media.
“We’re seeing the rise of a new NRA,” says Adam Winkler, a UCLA law professor whose latest book, Gunfight, chronicles the battle over gun rights. “It’s long been committed to a die-hard approach to gun policy; they focused like a laser beam on Second Amendment issues. Now it’s focused on immigration, race, health care. We’re seeing the NRA become an extreme right-wing media outlet, not just a protector of guns.” [...]
TOP COMMENTS • HIGH IMPACT STORIES
QUOTATION
“In order for us to live within this finely balanced constellation of complex systems, in order for the Earth to show resilience and last for centuries into the future as an environment of human life, we have to embody three things: a respect for Earth systems and their details in balance; a commitment to discovering and sharing the truth and only the truth at all times about all things; and a commitment to doing no harm.”
~Robert David Steele, The Open-Source Everything Manifesto: Transparency, Truth, and Trust (2012)
TWEET OF THE DAY
BLAST FROM THE PAST
At Daily Kos on this date in 2002—Homeland security bill stalled:
House Republicans are threatening to stay in session in order to pressure Senate Democrats to compromise on the Homeland Security bill. Dems are insisting on union protection for the proposed agency's employees, while the GOP hates unions.
However, if no bill ever passes, that would not be a bad thing. All the new agency does is shuffle a multitude of far-flung government agencies into a brand new bureaucracy. And, those agencies most tasked with "homeland security" issues -- the FBI and intelligence agencies -- are not even included.
The whole Homeland Security agency idea had its genesis in the post-9-11 hysteria, and was driven hard by Democrats eager to show their "security" bona fides. While balking at first, the White House caved in to deflect attention from the whole "Bush knew" frenzy. In both cases, support for the agency hasn't been borne of actual security concerns, but political opportunism. This whole idea stinks.
Thus, if Congress can't get its act in gear, so be it. The nation's security won't be compromised in any way. Conservatives should be happy as a brand new government bureaucracy is thwarted, while Democrats should be happy that yet another civil rights-trampling agency isn't created.