I'll start with an objection I take a keen interest in - that the NRA is not politically orthodox.
What this means is that the NRA does not sign on to a whole slate of orthodox political opinions. For example, the NRA gives high marks to very liberal political leaders who happen to be friendly to guns, and the NRA doesn't use its considerable political might to push low taxes or anti-abortion.
(While I personally consider demanding political orthodoxy to be evil and unethical because of my knowledge of Soviet history, my personal opinions aren't really suitable for convincing other people, so we'll leave this point behind. )
Lets look at it pragmatically.
First we've got to first fess up about how we prioritize gun rights in the broader landscape political controversies. If you put guns pretty low on your list, The NRA might just not seem worth the effort.
I think though that when you consider the efficacy and efficiency of the NRA vs any potential alternative, it still makes sense to donate. If you care about gun rights at all, at least give a little to the NRA, because you know it will help.
There's no guarantee that giving money to an organization that counts guns among a broader slate of activist issues will actually end up getting anything done for guns.
Another possibility is that a person might feel that he can withdraw support from the NRA in order to blackmail it into adopting his broader political views. If you're guilty of this, remember the golden rule. And remember that holding gun rights hostage in exchange for any other political concession makes you an anti-gunner.
Lastly we should consider the example of the nation's preeminent defender of individual liberty, the American Civil Liberties Union. In the same way that that gun rights are strongly correlated with the American right, defense of individual liberties are correlated with the left. The NRA has succeeded, largely, in remaining a nonpartisan organization, but the ACLU has not done enough to court support from its nominal political opponents and to suppress the partisanship of its members.
As a result, many people who would, if they only cared about actions, values and results, support the ACLU, instead deny it their support based on political considerations.
If this happens to the NRA, it can only hurt the cause of gun rights.
Using the most pragmatic terms of all, we should at last consider that the NRA can afford to neglect the politics of its base, because its base is so devoted to the gun issue, and because its base owes it a debt of gratitude for what it has already done.
Energy expended to gain support from liberals will do a great deal more extra good for the cause of guns than expending the same energy to chase down selfish or reluctant conservatives.
The right can be counted on to do right by guns, the left needs to be won over.
