NPR had a couple of great interviews recently with people who cover how the National Rifle Association (NRA) wins. Mike Spies from The Trace, an independent non-profit dedicated to covering gun issues, and Robert Draper from The New York Times Magazine had an enlightening perspective.
Since there are many valuable lessons about politics and how to fight in these articles, it’s worth teasing a few of them out, especially for people who may be newer to this game since the last election.
Without further ado, let’s look at how the NRA has managed to pass so much legislation, and how this might help us fight back.
At the national level, the NRA has managed to create complete gridlock when it comes to gun legislation. After the massacre of schoolchildren in Newtown, Connecticut, they managed to beat back a bill that would have closed loopholes on background checks at gun shows, legislation that is supported by more than 80 percent of Americans (including 74 percent of NRA members). They’ve been so successful that people who are on the national terrorist watch list and can’t board a plane can still buy a gun. They’ve managed to ban CDC research on guns for more than 20 years.
They’ve been even more successful at the state level, according to Mike Spies:
What you've seen over the last decade is a proliferation of legislation that has been enacted that has allowed people to carry firearms in places that they've never been able to carry before. That includes bars, churches, college campuses, day care centers, government buildings. That's ultimately at the core of their agenda, is to normalize gun carrying in as many places as possible until it just becomes as natural of a thing to see in society as any other accessory that people carry around.
How has the NRA been so successful?
1. They mobilize and they’re politically active
The NRA has 5 million members. These 5 million members are very vocal:
After a mass shooting, the membership tends to spike at the NRA for precisely this reason. And they are mobilized by the organization to contact politicians and make clear their preferences that there be no further legislation curtailing their gun rights.
The squeaky wheel often gets the grease. If we want to win like the NRA, we should be contacting Congress like the NRA does. We should contact them at their offices, and where they go in the community: at their churches, in the businesses they frequent, at chamber of commerce meetings, etc. We should reach their friends and anyone who can influence them.
And we need to encourage others who agree with us to stand up and make their voices heard. We have the numbers. We just need to be the loud majority instead of the silent majority.
If you have not seen it, check out the Indivisible Guide for advice from former congressional staffers on pressuring Congress.
2. They are a wedge issue
Almost by definition, guns are a wedge issue. It’s very emotional and it’s worked at getting people up off their couches to act.
This is a touchy subject because in liberal-landia we have many issues that drive us and motivate us, especially as marginalized groups.
We should fight these fights for the marginalized. To do this, however, we need to have people in office who will fight for the marginalized.
For this reason, the only criteria I’m going to propose for a possible wedge issue is that it works to get people elected. If it’s not working or if it’s hurting someone’s chances of getting elected, it is not a good wedge issue.
Please note that I am not trying to say: Do not fight some fight.
What I am saying is that if we want to win these fights, we need to elect people. If we want to elect people, we need some winning wedge issues.
One suggestion for a wedge issue that seems to meet this criteria of helping people win is health care. Health care is a fight that defines us. It says that we care about everyone, not just a few people at the top. And a majority of Americans trust Democrats on health care more than Republicans.
Recent polling suggest that Democrats are ahead by 17 points on the question: “Who fights for people like me?”
Be open to the idea that wedge issues may be different in different congressional districts. If it catches on and drives people, it might be a winner. If it doesn’t, you may need to try something different.
We need winning politicians. In order to win, it often helps to focus on a wedge issue. A wedge issue may not be the issue you care about most. It may, however, get people into office who may be able to make progress on your issue.
3. They primary politicians
Mike Spies tells the story about Tennessee state representative Debra Maggart:
Avery prominent state lawmaker in Tennessee whose name was Debra Maggart for years had been one of the NRA's most stalwart allies in the state. She had an A-plus. She was a very reliable vote, and the NRA wanted to pass a piece of legislation there that ran into some obstacles from the state's business community. So Maggart ultimately decided to table the legislation. She didn't even oppose it. She actually was reflecting the will of her caucus and the idea was that once it was tabled, they would study it more. But the NRA didn't like that, so they spent less than $50,000 putting up billboards in her district essentially conflating Debra Maggart with President Obama and gun control. I mean, it completely - it's hard to, like, really get across how ludicrous it was that that was what she was being punished for but also just because she's someone that had been really, really great for them.
The NRA understands that the primaries are the place for ideological fights.
They understand the golden rule that the Republican Party has followed for years: Elect the most conservative politician who can win in the general election. Not the most conservative politician, but the most conservative politician who can win. Because if you don’t win in the general election, you have nothing.
If we want people in Congress who will work for us, we need to get them elected.
Getting people elected may involve some things that we find distasteful, like supporting politicians, or supporting people who are better, not perfect. For example, in a match-up between George W. Bush and Donald Trump, I would work to help George W. Bush (and I hate George W. Bush).
In between elections is the time to work to push for conditions that will make it possible for even more liberal candidates to win in primaries.
We may not like it, but this is how movements have been successful in passing legislation. No one has ever been successful by not supporting politicians.
4. They fight the publicity fight
In between elections, the NRA constantly works through the media and its members to normalize guns.
The reason they do this is simple: To sell more guns.
They want to make carrying guns as normal as carrying around a purse. This requires professional advertising campaigns.
They are so successful at this that we all know slogans like: “Only a good guy with a gun can stop a bad guy with a gun.”
Guns have been equated with freedom and with standing up to tyranny. They want people to feel like the only way they will be safe in America is to carry around a gun at all times.
As liberals, especially liberals who come from academia, we tend to feel that the way to win is to logically argue with people. Words like selling and advertising tend to turn us off.
If we want to win, we’re going to need to move past these beliefs. While we should always work to ground our campaigns in the truth, we need help from Madison Avenue, from people who know how to sell and convince people.
If we want to win
We need to ...
- Organize
- Mobilize by contacting members of Congress and those who influence these members
- Understand politics and how change happens
- Find wedge issues that win for politicians: A wedge issue is not necessarily the issue you care about most. It is an issue that wins.
- Vote for the best candidates during primaries who can win in general elections
- Work to change the game for better candidates during non-election seasons
- Support politicians who are willing to fight alongside us us (even if it’s not on everything)
- Market, sell, and advertise better beliefs
This may be nothing new to regulars here. If, however, you know folks who are new to politics, think differently about politics, or are recently interested after the last election, share this with them.
Keep fighting and always remember: You. Are. Never. Not. Powerful.
David Akadjian is the author of The Little Book of Revolution: A Distributive Strategy for Democracy (ebook now available).