Caleb Medley, who was shot in the head in the Aurora theater shooting, sits in a wheelchair as his father, Otis, pushes him while they prepare to leave a rose at a memorial during a ceremony marking the one-year anniversary of the tragedy in Aurora, Colorado. The NRA doesn't give a shit.
The NRA has been working behind the scenes in the Colorado recalls, doing its dirty work through surrogates and allies. But that has
now changed.
The NRA's Institute for Legislative Action has spent $108,667, through its own front committee to unseat the two senators who supported gun-control measures last session.
That's likely not the full extent of the NRA's spending in the race, but it does point to its dirty little secret: $108K is
not a lot of money. Well, it's a lot of money, but in political terms, it's far less than the tens or hundreds of millions spent by other political action committees and super PACs. And it's certainly far less than suggested by the NRA's outsized level of influence in D.C. and state capitols.
As of this writing, we've raised nearly $200K for the two recall targets: $96K for Colorado state Sen. John Morse and $89K for state Sen. Angela Giron. In other words, we're already outpacing the NRA's direct efforts. But let's do more than that—let's raise more for each individual candidate than the NRA's entire tally for the race.
I keep saying this and it's 100 percent true: If you want sensible gun regulations anywhere in this country, we'll need to defang the NRA. The organization is a paper tiger, unable to bear significant resources without calling in its allies from the conservative movement. But it has managed to maintain the illusion of supremacy. It's our job, this election cycle, to engage wherever they engage, to match them dollar for dollar (or even better, two dollars per dollar), and to defeat their electoral efforts.
The NRA's influence is built entirely around fear of electoral repercussions. If we can successfully defend their targets and take out their proponents, other elected officials will take note and adjust their voting behaviors accordingly.
If we beat the NRA in Colorado, their ability to influence legislation via fear will be on life support. We can take them out. But it'll require your help, so give what you can, whether it's $3 or $30 or anything in between.
We've got just over a week and a half. Don't let up.