Brady is getting nervous-Latest Newsletter

[moewadle]

moewadle here again

and I do want to say the same thing that was said by the other posting person...I did not say the NRA and The Brady Organization are not different....I was talking about the tone and statements of their mailings. For what it is worth I am one of the 4 million who do belong to the NRA. I certainly do not belong to the Brady Organization.

 

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

In defense of the NRA, and actually kind of Brady too, the "sky is falling" is somewhat true. This case is a landmark case for both sides, and depending on the ruling, it can be a very heavy blow to one side or the other. The NRA and Brady are opposing sides of the same coin. The side that lands on the bottom really is going to have the sky falling on their agenda.

I for one hope the sky does indeed fall on the Bradys and their agenda.

 

[stevereno1]

I can't find an e-mail link on their site, please send it so that I can play too.

 

[kentucky bucky]

This was written, most likely, by a person living in a guarded gated community.

hypocrisy!

 

[Robert Hairless]

Wait a gosh darned minute mr hairless!!!

I NEVER said there's no difference between the NRA and the Brady campaign and, quite frankly, I'm insulted.

What I noted was that their tactics are amazingly similar - even down to sentence and paragraph structure in their mailings.

You're insulted? Well I'm much more insulted by your comment that you're insulted. And my feelings are hurt too. Really, really hurt. It's bad hurt. You can't know my pain. But I'll forgive you if you forgive me. And I'll share my candy with you if you'll be my friend. Let's meet in the schoolyard during recess and we'll shake hands. 'Kay?

I read that detailed analysis you wrote comparing the words quoted from the newsletter by The Brady Campaign with that "similar letter" you say you got from the NRA. Here's your analysis, complete in every way:

In all fairness it looks a lot like a similar letter I got from the NRA...

just a flip side of the coin. other than that the wording is remarkably similar.

Middle school kids know, or ought to know, that fundraising campaigns are similar: they identify a problem, assert that they will try to solve it, and explain that they need money in order to do so.

So like when the American Cancer Society asks for donations it's going to say that cancer is like bad and it wants some of your money to fight cancer instead of like helping to spread cancer? And that's your point? Hotcha. See, that's why so many of us come to the Internet: to learn what most middle school kids know.

But from your clarification in rebuttal to my response, there's no doubt that I understood the point of what you said: "their tactics are amazingly similar." But unless you're talking on a middle school level to the other kids in the schoolyard, the tactics of the NRA and The Brady Campaign are not "amazingly similar" or even "similar"--except, possibly, that both organizations use words to communicate and to solicit support. Your tactics are similar in those respects too. So are the tactics of everyone else in the forum, on the Internet, in politics, and just about everywhere else. If you mean something else, it's not my fault that you're unclear.

If you think I misunderstood what you meant, you could have clarified what you meant instead of getting on your high horse and continuing to mumble about amazingly similar tactics. Frankly, I'm insulted all over again that you think it's okay to trivialize the organization that stands between me and The Brady Campaign by saying that their tactics are similar.

Get out of the schoolyard and you might see that their tactics differ on levels above the one you see. I've seen Brady Campaign billboards warning Florida tourists that citizens are armed, but I haven't seen any NRA billboards warning tourists in other places that citizens are unarmed.

On the other hand I'm aware that the NRA auctions firearms and other gun related materials at its annual convention, but I've never seen The Brady Campaign auction do that. From my perspective the two organizations don't have similar tactics except at the middle school level.

Siglite, control your aggressive behavior. You look foolish jumping into threads for the sole purpose of attacking me.

 

[siglite]

*sigh*

I guess I'm going to have to go drag out American Rifleman and bold all the "similar tactics." Or maybe all the brady and NRA mails I've kept over the past couple of years or so. I'll do that later. Maybe this evening, as, I need to get ready to head to the range shortly.

Perhaps Mr. Hairless wouldn't be throwing words in folks' mouths if you'd used the phrase "similar fund raising tactics." It appears to me that he's somehow laboring under the delusion that people are calling the NRA and Brady, literally, "the same." How anyone could leap to such an inference is a bit beyond me. I think it's pretty clear that some people see the obvious and blatant parallels in "fund raising tactics." And... just to be clear, I'll break them down later. Just for fun, I might split it out into it's own thread. Perhaps I'll title it "who sent this?" I'd obfuscate certain words or phrases from emails from the two. And then I'll leave it to the THR members to see if they can distinguish which organization actually sent the mails. I suspect, that once some of the context is obfuscated, and the emotional "sky is falling" rhetoric is left in, the mails will be indistinguishable. This may even be fun. If I forget, someone remind me in PM to do it later this evening.

 

[Ithaca37]

Yeah, no different at all. Maybe we should donate money to both organizations, maybe in alternating months, so as to not to take sides. I hate taking sides. Of course I also hate spending money.

Here's a thought. If we just sit on the sidelines and not give any money to either side, we can let the NRA and The Brady Campaign fight it out. Then we can go with the winner.

There are 80 million gun owners in the U.S. but only 4 million of them belong to the NRA. So 5% of American gun owners are carrying the weight of the other 95%. The 95% is pretty smart if you ask me. They don't do a damned thing to help and they get all the benefits of letting the 5% carry them.

As you two said, there's no difference between the NRA and The Brady Campaign--except that when The Brady Campaign wants money it doesn't have people saying that it's no different from the NRA. Only gun owners would say such a thing.

It must be nice up on your pedestal. Some of us don't belong to the NRA for a reason. They have done more harm than good. They did more damage by linking the 2A to hunting than the brady campaign ever could. In addition, Wayne LaPierre has stated on numerous occasion that guns do not belong in schools because their presence would make for a dangerous environment. If the mere presence of weapons in a school makes for danger, then that logic must apply to the society at large.

I don't appreciate the holier-than-thou attitude that you and other NRA members express when the topic of gun rights comes up. You say I haven't done anything to secure my rights. What the hell have you done sir? When was the last time you stood up and did something? Or did you bend over with the rest of us and accept what the government told you to do?

If you enjoy giving your money to the NRA, fine. But do not tell me that you are standing up for the 2A when yous end $30 to the NRA. NRA membership is like indulgences from the pre-reformation catholic church. You send money to them and then feel better about the fact that you haven't done anything to really make a difference. That doesn't work for me and you are doing more harm than good, so PLEASE stop destroying the second amendment while trying to make the rest of us feel guilty for not helping you to hasten its demise.

 

[AirForceShooter]

Keep in mind NRA membership dues and contributions cannot be used to political or legal defense purposes.
And no funds can be transferred from the NRA to the NRA-ILA.

As for charitable organizations, in general, they ALL use fear as a fund raising tactic. "if you don't give us money something bad is going to happen and it's all your fault".

Anybody remember when the NRA didn't want Heller to go forward?

AFS

 

[simpleguy]

My response, I am now a life member of the NRA. The more they ask for money, the more people I will sig up with the NRA.

One of our fellow members mentioned in another thread they subscribe to "anti" website so they can see what they are up to......brilliant!

 

[Im283]

Now I am just saying, but suppose that gun were banned, no more, not a one remained available for honest people to own. What would the Bradys do then?

Seems to me that having gun around is good for them people, keeps 'em employed.

 

[siglite]

Keep in mind NRA membership dues and contributions cannot be used to political or legal defense purposes.
And no funds can be transferred from the NRA to the NRA-ILA.

This is HIGHLY noteworthy. I'm glad you pointed this out. I've skipped my NRA membership this year, (well, just a couple of months late renewing) and instead, might send what would be my dues to the NRA-ILA instead. I've dealt with them on state issues before, and it's inevitable that I'll be dealing with them again. I was surprised how well tuned they were to our situation in the state. I feel they've neglected our state legislature for the past decade, but I have no complaints with their current efforts. Seems they're correcting the issue.

My historic complaint was that they weren't aggressive enough here in WV. I caught a bit of a slapdown from one of our legiscritters on that issue. He said, and I quote, "This is the first time we've met. The NRA lobbyist has been in my office four times this session. So your complaint about a lack of NRA aggression rings a bit hollow here." I had to laugh and completely concede the point. Though, I did promise him he'd be seeing more of me.


However, in a public hearing that *we* requested (not the NRA) on a bill which would've banned carry in certain private establishments here in the state, the NRA was conspicuously absent. The NRA completely missed the ban, which was hidden in a big omnibus bill. They would've completely ignored it, and the ban would've sailed through, had the WVCDL not caught it, requested the hearing, and very aggressively lobbied for an amendment striking the ban.

I'm ok with this, though. Having two sets of eyes (WVCDL and NRA) on our legislature can only HELP things. Anyone could've missed that ban buried in a 200 page bill.

What kind of annoys me, and I assume this is where I actually find common ground with Mr. Hairless, is all the rhetoric from the 2a community, with so little action. I believe I've read in other threads that Mr. Hairless is actually working (beyond forum posts) to help secure and defend 2a rights. As such, I can understand frustration with people who throw stones from apparent glass couches.

Regardless, to get back on topic here, the "fund raising tactics" are remarkably similar. I'll prove it this evening.

 

[pdowg881]

What's this "machine gun" ban I'm hearing about supposed to mean? Are they just trying to make people think they are banned or every time they mention machine guns in the case do they mean banned in DC?

 

[jakeswensonmt]

We are, and will continue to be, offensive.

There, fixed it for 'em.

 

[DagoRed]

We are hopeful that the Justices' ruling will uphold the right of people in communities like the District of Columbia to enact sensible gun laws they feel are needed to protect themselves and their families.

Isn't that a bit reversed? Aren't they really trying to take away a persons ability to protect themselves and their families? Sure seems that way to me.

 

[huckster]

As for charitable organizations, in general, they ALL use fear as a fund raising tactic. "if you don't give us money something bad is going to happen and it's all your fault".


AirForceShooter - that's actually what I find kind of intriguing. While that's the basics, the tactics change pretty radically when two opposing organizations are out trolling for contributions. Republican and Democratic literature (at least when they aren't attacking specific politicans) reads differently, even though they are opposed. Brady and NRA literature reads very much alike.

Now, contrast both of those with organizations like Cancer Research Foundations and The Peace Corps (i.e. organizations that don't really have a counterpart so to speak - there is nobody out there campaigning to eliminate all Cancer Research). These type of organizations use basically the same tactic - give us money or else - but they use a much gentler selection of words and phrases.