NickEllis
Member
http://www.nysun.com/article/51866?page_no=2
By comparison, Mr. Thompson’s relationship with gun-rights groups is sterling. A 2000 report from a campaign-finance watchdog group, Common Cause, found that the NRA, Gun Owners of America, and the Georgia Gun Owners PAC donated $188,954 to Mr. Thompson between 1993 and 1999; the groups donated more only to Dr. Frist. (Mr. Thompson was elected in a special election in 1994.)
Despite often supporting Republican candidates, the NRA insists it is an issue-based organization and not a partisan one. In recent years, the group has endorsed several Democrats, including Governor Bredesen of Tennessee, Governor Easley of North Carolina, and Rep. Marion Berry of Arkansas.
Nonetheless, the endorsement of the NRA Political Victory Fund has correlated with every Republican presidential victory since 1980. In 1992 and 1996, the organization declined to endorse a candidate. After the 2000 election, President Clinton contended in an interview that NRA opposition cost Vice President Gore New Hampshire, Arkansas, and perhaps Tennessee and Missouri.
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