I thought there were three branches of government that ran our country: Judicial, Legistlative and Executive. Sadly, two more powerful and influential branches have emerged over the past few years...the Grover Nordquist No-Tax-is-a-Good-Tax Branch and The National Rifle Association Nothing's-More-Sacred-to-Americans-Than-Toting Guns Branch.
Although I say that somewhat tongue in cheek, it seems like Nordquist is calling most of the shots for our disfunctional government in Washington. He certainly seems to have more control over those ultra-conservative loons in the House of Representatives than the so-called Speaker of the House does. In my view, John Boehner is the worst Speaker since....well, he's the worst ever.
Likewise, it seems that much of our national policy is based on edicts from the NRA -- far and above issues related to 2nd Amendment Rights, which I suppose the NRA is theoretically supposed to be focused upon. The influence they have is hard to comprehend. The NRA is arguably the most powerful lobby in America. How in the world is the gun lobby so powerful? Why is it that in the wake of Columbine, Virginia Tech and Aurora, Colorado that we can't get any serious anti-assault weapon discussions (let alone laws) going in Washington? And what does that say about America? Sadly, it seems they've got everything locked down in Washington and won't let go until somebody, somehow pries it out of their cold, dead heads. Their words, not mine. Remember Charlton Heston?
The other side is always preaching about taking our country back. Well, it's time for us to start demanding that we take our country back from the likes of Nordquist and those like Ted Nugent who believe that the right to bear arms is the most important component of true freedom in this country.