Reid coasted to an easy five point victory over Sharon Angle, and as predicted, the GOP failed to win control of the Senate. The Democrats have 51 firm seats as of now, and look to pick up another two. Prospects for the Senate were grim the moment that O’Donnell defeated Castle in the Delaware Primary, and Lisa Murkowski announced a write-in campaign.
This leaves Reid still Majority Leader in the Senate, and to be honest, that’s the best outcome for us. This prevents Durbin or Schumer becoming majority leader. A great many conservatives were upset by NRA’s refusal to endorse Sharon Angle, but I think it’s hard to argue they made a poor strategic decision by sitting this one out. Reid probably would have won the day regardless, and now we at least have a majority leader we can hopefully still work with.
Doesn’t matter NRA has paid and will pay for not endorsing angle for years if not decades to come. Reids victory makes it worse. The fact that the dems kept their majority is totally irrelevant and that neither Durbin or Schumer can screw us is also irrelevant.
The amount of hate the threepers have had for the NRA will only get worse now that reid won. I expect many blogs to post posts full of seething hatred towards the NRA because of this alone.
Will pay how? By being able to get legislation through the Senate? If that’s paying, I’ll take another. And I could care less if the threepers hate NRA. Threepers are irrelevant politically.
I have to say, it looks like NRA played the cards perfectly on this one. It’s remarkable how much sharper they are at legislative strategy than litigation (compared to Gura).
In 2 more years, if we play our cards right, we could be back in charge of the Senate, too!! That would lessen Reids influence.
We would have our hands full if Shumer were in there. He would keep us dancing with threats of laws and innuendos.
I was OK if Reid lost, but I was also OK if he remained. Even with 20 % unemployment in his State, he was able to roll out and get that Union vote! I have to tip my hat to him! I am disgusted, but I acknowledge his skill!
Murkowski is probably as solid a Senate vote now as she was before, gun wise. She’s a Republican, and will caucus with them.
A lot of people like my father sufficiently loathe Reid that the NRA’s corrupt (the earmark) flirtation with him is going to cost them a lot of money. He’s got several years left in his current membership (at which time that will be revisited), but they’re not getting another dime from him whereas they previously were getting quite a bit.
BTW, I’m trying to figure out where he might best put his RKBA money. SAF? Besides the conference, are they really helping in these lawsuits like they claim?
SAF, or he could just donate to the NRA foundation which doesn’t do political work.
@Shawn – actually, if anything, it will pay for NOT endorsing Harry Reid. Reid will now be able to assume that he can get elected without an NRA endorsement. Where as, had the NRA endorsed Reid. He’d have to assume that part of his victory stemmed from the endorsement.
@Harold – research the game. SAF, does support the lawsuits. And is probably the second best investment. But understand that the NRA is in a Chess game. Harry Reid won, do you think he would have if the NRA endorsed his opponent? Yes…
So the question is, with Harry Reid in office for 6 yrs regardless, and still majority leader. Would you rather have him influenced by the NRA and 2nd Amendment voters. Or not give a damn, and throw us under the bus.
Mind you, if you want an conservative endorsement of Harry Reid, you’re not going to get one from the NRA. The NRA does not endorse conservatives. It will endorse a flaming homosexual pro-choice socialist liberal if that politician always votes in support of every gun legislation that comes across his desk.
And rightly should. This ensures the NRA’s influence on 2nd Amendment issues. But no others…
The solution? Support multiple issue organizations. For example, instead of looking for an alternative 2A organization. Maybe you need to consider a fiscal group like DownsizeDC, or a pro-life advocacy group, etc.
Realize that individual organizations dedicated to single issues are more powerful strategically in influencing politics.
– Jason
N.U.G.U.N. Blog: Thanks for your comments. *I* don’t have a problem with their being single issue in (in fact, they’re now doing much better than the GOA who’s ratings are now totally useless) or straddling the fence WRT to Reid (e.g. from NRO’s Michael Knox Beran: “The Unhappiest Man in America This Morning” “Chuck Schumer” :-).
However, their maladroit handling of Reid was totally insane and I strongly suspect will be severely damaging to them in the future. In a political season where the Federal government’s spending and borrowing is one of the top three issues—control AKA Obamacare and economy/jobs are I judge the other two and the former is also extremely relevant here—a season where much of the NRA’s membership cares about 1.5 trillion dollar annual deficits as far as the eye can see, trumpeting an earmark from Reid, making it look like they were bought off … the mind boggles.
Support of Reid, tacit or explicit (and I’m sure they talked to him after the membership when crazy after the membership magazine(s?) publication of the earmark and said, “Hey, we’re going to die if we endorse you, so we’ll just not endorse Angle”), was going to be expensive because of his actions of the last two years. But the earmark/we can be bought was an entirely unforced error.
As for the whole package, well, it certainly pissed off my father about as much as anything political ever does.
Me, I suppose I’m a threeper, I gave up on the NRA when I realized they were America’s most effective gun *control* organization (no Federal bill passed without their approval prior to the AW ban) … it’s my less single issue family members whom I’m reporting on, most especially my wealthy retired father. They’re the ones who the NRA is going to suffer from, absent a new threat to the RKBA; the threepers were lost long ago.
Work with Reid?! He should not only work with us, he should work for us, work hard and say thanks.
The NRA’s attitude toward incumbents of both parties should be “What have you done for me lately?”
There’s always a bit of carrot and stick in this process. Sometimes you have to use more carrot and less stick, other times more stick and less carrot. Given Reid just won handily, without NRA help, I would think more carrot is called for, and less stick.
The voters who would be swayed by an NRA endorsement doubtless already know of Reid’s history on guns, like Don Young he might as well have an “endorsement for life”. (presuming he doesn’t change a pattern of decades, which seems unlikely)
I don’t think he’s unaware of that. I don’t -care- if he feels beholden to the NRA for this particular race as long as he is aware he is judged by AZ gunowners as individuals over the long term.
Reid was an easy mark if a decent Republican had challanged him. People are still trying to figure out why Dean Heller didn’t run – he would have cruised through the primary and beaten Reid easily unless he has some giant skeletons in the closet.
As bad as Reid sucks, he sucks less than Big Dick Durbin or Chucky Boy Schumer. I would rather Reid stay put as majority leader if the GOP can’t take the Senate.