NRA Blows It......Again

[hoji]

The NRA has once again given Ron Paul the snub.
They have given him a "B" rating while giving his Democrat opponent an "A" rating. They have also not endorsed Ron Paul.

Sad, I mean this is Ron Paul, one of the only congressional members who openly calls for the repeal of the 1934 NFA and all bad law subsequent to NFA, but does not get an "A" rating or an endorsement from the NRA Makes me wonder if I should be supporting them{NRA} at all. I am already a life member, but think I will no longer give anything extra until they give a VALID reason.{ I know why they say the don't endorse him but it is a really CS reason}

 

[Lone_Gunman]

Why do they say they won't endorse him?

 

[1 old 0311]

My experience with the NRA rating system is that the rate you on HOW YOU HAVE VOTED, not on how you SAY you will vote.

 

[hoji]

Because he voted against the Lawsuit Preemption bill. I agree with why he voted no.
No one has the right not to be sued.
What is needed is meaningful lawsuit reform, like say a loser pays system. This would all but eliminate the friviolous lawsuits that plague the country.
Ron Paul's Second Amendment record is above and beyond everyone else's in office because he truly believes in the Second, and Thomas Jefferson's reasoning behind it, but because he has an opinion that differs from the hallowed NRA, no endorsement two elections in a row.
What a bunch of punks.

 

[River Wraith]

I trust Ron Paul more than most of the slime in Washington. Politicians in general are treacherous and not to be trusted.

 

[TallPine]

Because he voted against the Lawsuit Preemption bill. I agree with why he voted no.
No one has the right not to be sued.

IIRC, his stated reason for voting NO was that it was an(other) unconstitutional extension of federal powers.

 

[geekWithA.45]

What is needed is meaningful lawsuit reform,

Amen, brother!

Lawsuits are to actual and legitimate damage or grievances the plaintiff has experienced, not for the strategic furthering of anyone's agenda.

It needs to be comprehensive, and not this piecemeal industry by industry BS.


Flipside, IMO, Ron Paul does deserve a minor ding on this topic, for prefering to deal with theoretical ideological purities rather than pragmatic realities.

Yes, I want more libertarian principles in play in government, but we're only going to get them incrementally towards that goal, and "all or nothing" generally gets us....nothing.

 

[hoji]

And I sincerely believe that it is an unlawful extension of the feds power.
Until bad laws get repealed{ sunset clause is not repealed} no new laws should be passed.

 

[Brett Bellmore]

I believe it was a constitutional exercise of the federal government's power, under the 14th amendment. WHich reads in relevant part,

No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; ... The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.

The lawsuits were, unambiguously, an effort to abridge one of the "privileges or immunities" of us citizens, using the power of the courts.

But the case is certainly arguable. And I suspect the NRA has other reasons for downgrading Paul's rating, as they certainly have demonstrated a great deal of "flexiblity" in the past, when it suited them.

 

[taliv]

note that the GOA (see sticky thread) gave him an A+


once again highlighting the reason i'm an annual NRA member so i can compete in competitions and a GOA life member for politics

 

[SomeKid]

The NRA does NOT grade people solely based on their votes.

Here in TN they gave:
Harold Ford (D) a B. The worm deserves an F, though to the NRA's credit, they endorsed his opponent and gave him an A, and are fighting for him.

Jimmy Naifeh (D), the man who singly handedly stopped any reform of state CCW laws, got an F, right? Wrong. He got a C+. The man who is to Tennessee what Doyle is to WI, gets a C+.

Governor. Bredeson, our D Gov, gets an A plus the endorsement. After his party stops reform, he gets an A and an endorsement over his A endorsed opponent. In this case the NRA endorsed the man who would win, which is pathetic. It is like endorsing Hillary, just because she will win.

One of the men who is a member of the Chattanooga Chapter of the TFA runs for office, easy A and an NRA endorsement, right? Wrong. They endorsed his liberal incumbant opponent in the R primary, then after the NRA endorsed man LOST they still refused to endorse Mike, who is now running unopposed and will be the next state Rep from that district. He gets an A, is unopposed, but does not get an endorsement. Is this a sick joke?

I have paid for a membership through '08, but I am seriously contemplating letting it die.

 

[Bartholomew Roberts]

I have paid for a membership through '08, but I am seriously contemplating letting it die.

Instead of letting that membership die, may I suggest you go the extra mile and contact the local NRA rep and let him know about your problems with the grading system?

Contrary to popular belief, simply not participating is not a good way to change the process of large political organizations. The squeaky wheel gets the grease and all that...

 

[Tommygunn]

No one has the right not to be sued.

Even when their being sued over something they can't possibly control, have no legal authority in the Constitution TO control?
While major revisions in tort laws are indeed necessary, I have severe doubts whether anyone in govt. has the cojones to actually do diddley about it.
Laws protecting gun manufacturers would be pointless, and unnecessary in an ideal world, but we don't have that.
What we have is lawyers who look to make gobs of $$$ off this system, politicians and the agenda-driven Bradyites who, being unable to twist some politicians to their ends, are using the courts to destroy the second amendment.
Since these people refuse to play by the rules loved by the pure-of-heart, we must be willing to devote ourselves to the same realpolitik Machiavellian methods they do.
My two cents. Sorry, that's just how I see it.

 

[SomeKid]

Bart,

I will give it a shot. $5 says it is a waste of my time though. I do need to formulate a letter and rip into them. Maybe toss in one of my cards to, to let them know I am not some outsider whining, that I was in their org before they just couldn't get it right.

I forgot to mention earlier one more thing about the Governor endorsement that hacked me off. Jim Bryson, as a State Senator, voted FOR gun owners repeatedly, one major issue to myself was HCP reform. Yet the NRA still shafts him.

 

[oldfart]

Somekid, I've had "issues" with them from time to time and usually I just suck it up and bitch about it to my wife. Lately though, I've taken to calling them (on their 1-800 number) and telling them about it.
Recently they were backing a bill in the Senate that I and others thought was a bad idea. I called and told them that their stance on that bill and their general willingness to compromise before even trying to fight had made me think seriously about letting my membership lapse. I talked others into making a similar call and... whether we had anything to do with it or not is beyond my powers to know... but they stopped pushing the bill and allowed it to die in committee.
It's worth trying and by using the internet you can get others to help. As has been said before "It's the squeaky wheel that gets the grease."

 

[TexasRifleman]

As has been said before "It's the squeaky wheel that gets the grease."

Or has been said many time...


YOU are the NRA. If you don't let them know what you like and don't like what do you think they will do?

I love the NRA bashing by folks that have never written them a letter, voted in the NRA elections, or made a phone call to voice their opinion.

 

[bouis]

[Congress may] regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes.

I'm not so sure that federal laws banning lawsuits against gun companies are unconstitutional. It seems to me that by allowing frivolous lawsuits against gun companies and retailers, some states are trying to sneak around the dormant commerce clause, which essentially says that states can't try to regulate interstate commerce.

Say for example that Missississippi wants to ban Vietnamese catfish (it does). But instead of doing it via laws, health regulations, advertising rules (all tried and held unconstitutional), the Mississippi Supreme Court allows a cause of action against anyone "for the selling of Vietnamese catfish," and permits a plaintiff to seek punitive damages and attorneys' fees.

Isn't that the same thing?

 

[Bartholomew Roberts]

I will give it a shot. $5 says it is a waste of my time though.

$20 says it isn't. PM me and let me know how it works out. If nothing else, let me just say I have a lot of respect for anybody willing to take up that extra work and try to make a difference.

It may not always be successful; but ultimately it is the only way anything gets done and the more of us there are pulling, the less work there is for each of us.

 

[beerslurpy]

I think Ron Paul made a bad call on the Lawful Commerce in Arms thing and I am usually a dingbatty libertarian, as anyone here could tell you.

IMO, it fell pretty clearly into a number of Congress' enumerated powers and the lawsuits were a problem that needed to be fixed ASAP.

My main concern is the overall result of the election- I dont want the old guard Democrats taking over teh committee chairmanships in either house. They are a bunch of hammer and sickle dingbats- high tax and anti gun, the whole lot of them.

 

[Rembrandt]

As an NRA member who has participated in the grading....let me explain how it is done. In our case, a group of NRA members get together with the NRA liasion and collectively grade each candidate. These grades are subjective, and done by locals who know their states situation. Party affiliation has no affect on the grades.

- Each candidate is sent a questionaire to fill out and return to the NRA. (Part of their grade is based on those answers. Sometimes campaign staff fill out the answers, others fail to return questionaire. If there is no voting record and no questionaire, the candidate gets no rating).

- Incumbents are graded on their voting record. If a candidate voted against an NRA backed piece of legislation their grade will suffer. These are judgement calls made by group. (If both candidates for the same office are worthy of an A+, the incumbent gets the endorsement over the challenger)

- How active has the candidate been in advancing pro-gun legislation?....or how active have they been against the 2nd amendment causes. (Have they signed on as co-sponsors of legislation etc.)


If you don't like how a candidate was graded, call the NRA leaders in your state and ask to be part of the process. It's your NRA...get involved.

 

[ProguninTN]

Ron Paul

Rep. Ron Paul is a good man. If I lived in his district, I'd vote for him. I agree with SomeKid on the rating system.