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The Second Amendment March: A shameful showing of how we couldn't pull the trigger
- Thread starter Underwhere
- Start date
The NRA and the SAM has come up in one or two other threads. I searched and could find no evidence that the NRA made any financial commitment to the SAM. If they had, I think that the SAM would have acknowledged it openly. The only acknowledgment concerning help was that the NRA "talked it up." ![[thinking]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/010.gif "Thinking [thinking]")
In some respects, I think the NRA was trying to play it safe, like they did with the Heller case. They didn't really get behind Heller until it looked like the case had a good chance at winning. I suspect that they did the same thing with the SAM. I wonder, though, if the SAM would have been much more impressive if the NRA had gone all out in supporting it? In their attempt to avoid embarrassment at supporting an event with a poor turnout they helped to insure that the turnout would be poor. Sort of a self-fulfilling prophecy.
I am disappointed in the NRA for not doing more. Very disappointed. I will still support them, but I will turn my serious efforts to other areas. The NRA is still perceived by many as the 800 pound gorilla in the room. Sometimes, the bad guy sees the big gorilla and gets scared off. Other times, the gorilla craps on the carpet in the room. The perception of strength is politically useful, but the crap still stinks and needs to be cleaned up.
Once again, I salute and thank those brave souls who attended and supported this event. This was just one battle in a long war.
In some respects, I think the NRA was trying to play it safe, like they did with the Heller case. They didn't really get behind Heller until it looked like the case had a good chance at winning. I suspect that they did the same thing with the SAM. I wonder, though, if the SAM would have been much more impressive if the NRA had gone all out in supporting it? In their attempt to avoid embarrassment at supporting an event with a poor turnout they helped to insure that the turnout would be poor. Sort of a self-fulfilling prophecy.
I am disappointed in the NRA for not doing more. Very disappointed. I will still support them, but I will turn my serious efforts to other areas. The NRA is still perceived by many as the 800 pound gorilla in the room. Sometimes, the bad guy sees the big gorilla and gets scared off. Other times, the gorilla craps on the carpet in the room. The perception of strength is politically useful, but the crap still stinks and needs to be cleaned up.
Once again, I salute and thank those brave souls who attended and supported this event. This was just one battle in a long war.
The only reason they got behind Heller was because they got their ass beaten to a pulp in court when the court refused to combine the NRA's case and Parker/Heller. They tried to railroad the case and they got caught doing it, more or less, to to save face they shifted gears. That was not the only attempt they made, either. (There were ruminations that the NRA wanted to sponsor federal legislation that would repeal the DC ban just so the case would not reach the supremes. )
Not to mention, functionally speaking, they really did nothing, aside from saying they supported it. I think they filed an amicus brief.... lol. The reality is that Robert Levy paid for the whole thing. Levy and Alan Gura had a plan and they stuck to it, it didn't matter whether or not the NRA was going to play nice.
IMHO the NRA's "safety" argument is more like "we want to protect our empire". They'll never admit it, but I think they secretly feared the possibility of the court making a sweeping decision in our favor, however remote, or for that matter, even a narrowly defined decision in our favor would ultimately reduce the net total of RKBA battles to be waged in the future. Basically, the NRA didn't like the case because they saw it as a threat to their revenue stream- at least that's how it feels.
-Mike
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Not to be too foil-y but the interesting thing about a lobby group that raises the kind of money the NRA raises and is the size the NRA is, is that once things start actually GOING in the direction they want them to go in, their donations go down. A crisis spurs membership and donations. So what am I saying with this? Nothing at all. Just making an observation.
Chris
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Yea, the return on a "Doom and Gloom" letter and donation request historically provides a better return than the "We did you good" type letter.
It's sad, but human nature seems to react more favorably to the bad news. Its one reason why GOAL prefers to use raffles rather than run donation drives. I personally hate the "Doom and Gloom" letters and would rather keep the fund raising as upbeat as possible. The NRA makes their own choices.
It's sad, but human nature seems to react more favorably to the bad news. Its one reason why GOAL prefers to use raffles rather than run donation drives. I personally hate the "Doom and Gloom" letters and would rather keep the fund raising as upbeat as possible. The NRA makes their own choices.
drgrant and Bob P, I think you've pretty much summed up the NRA's current game plan. I'm coming to the conclusion that they're more concerned with themselves as an organization and keeping the money rolling in than they are at engaging the enemy. I'll support them to the extent that they're the biggest national pro gun group around and can be useful, but they no longer seem to be the vanguard of this fight.
Sad, really.
Sad, really.
I don't lump GOAL in with NRA on that. You guys run a good shop & I have no doubt at all that you're working 100% in our interest. That was actually the only reason I even hesitated with that post as I didn't want to risk offending you, Jon, Mike or any of the others at GOAL. Apples and Oranges.
Chris
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I didn't take it as that. Sorry if it looked that way.
I simply wanted to explain why you might see more of the downer kind of press from them rather than upbeat styles.
I too am a bit miffed that they would run a recruitment tent, but not pony up. Hopefully, there was some kind of arrangement made to have the tent there. In any regard, Skip, Terri, and the others that put on the show did a great job. For an event that was hardly an idea a year earlier, they really had some top names and ran a good program. Yes, a few speakers were less than stellar, but overall it was a quality event.
If nothing else, it should be a clear indication that you DON'T need the NRA or any other 800lb gorilla to make a statement. A couple of smaller gorillas and some hard work can do amazing things.
Sounds kind of like the federal government doesn't it?
SteelShooter
NES Member
A lot of good points here. I too was disappointed with the turnout at both events and I think there were a number of reasons for it. It was pretty shocking to me that we couldn't get more people than attend a good little league game. When I first got the notification last year about the march, I went right out and got hotel reservations and bought plane tickets because I thought it would be jammed. I definitely underestimated the enthusiasm for this type of event. I figured everyone would be clamoring to go, I even offered plane tickets (Gift Certificate), for someone to go as well. I think we all do what we can in different ways. I'm not a 'joiner' by nature, and it was a lot to get out of my comfort zone to go to all the Tea parties, Boston, DC, etc. It's even hard for me to go to the NES shoots, and they are a blast. I believe for the most part, a lot of people in either the Tea Party movement or the 2A movement also struggle to get out of their comfort zones, but I see more and more people going that way. I am very hopeful for future events.
