Puppetmasters

Maybe it fits with the portrait The Brady Campaign tries to paint of the NRA as a grand puppeteer, in some kind of odd Second Amendment version of Being John Malkovich, but from what I’ve seen of the 7½th floor, it’s kind of laughable that they think NRA exerts such remarkable discipline over 76 Board members:

Up to now, the NRA has instead taken a more timid official line against Judge Sotomayor, while apparently outsourcing a much harsher line of attack to members of its Board of Directors who speak on behalf of other organizations which have comparatively little to do with guns.

Emphasis mine.  I doubt this has much to do with a stealthy, plasuably deniable attack so much as Board members speaking out on their own on behalf of their other interests.

We’ll see during Judge Sotomayor’s confirmation hearings how much stock, if any, NRA officials take in their legendary influence over Congress — this time, whether they have the spine to score Senators on a vote that really matters.

I think the Bradys are attempting to draw the NRA into a fight it’s likely going to have a hard time winning, in order to try to sell Congress on the notion that NRA’s bark is worse than its bite.

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  3. What Part of “Elected Board” is Hard to Understand?

5 thoughts on “Puppetmasters”

  1. Paul Helmke is a liar or an idiot (well, maybe not an idiot, but incompetent as far as being a DC political creature goes)

    With confirmation hearings for Judge Sonia Sotomayor scheduled for next month, it is worth noting the gun lobby’s disingenuous — and surprisingly muted — reaction to her nomination so far.

    On the eve of those hearings, the National Rifle Association still has not decided whether to score Senate votes on her confirmation.

    So, are they on the eve of hearings or not?? “On the eve” usually indicates they are going to start in the immediate future, later this week perhaps. But they aren’t. They will be at least 2 weeks away. Hardly, on the eve.

    And why would they make a decision to score her now, this far out. Wouldn’t that be something they want to wait until AFTER the hearings to decide??? You know, after the public has a chance to hear whether she believes in the 2nd amendment and will support Heller????

    Of course they wouldn’t announce that her vote is going to be scored (I doubt it would be – they aren’t the Institute for Legal Reform which scores all judges) until Congress is ready to take a vote.

  2. “…a vote that really matters“?!

    So the Bradys think they’ve been wasting their time all these years on stuff that doesn’t really matter? Odd.

  5. Well fair enough, but I presume they’re necessarily members. It just seems more like “insourcing” than “outsourcing” to my untrained eyes.

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