4 ms·

Not to introduce flame bait but one of the reasons the NRA is powerful is the ability to quickly motivate their very vocal members.

by rhcom2 8y ago

mch82 8y ago
It would be amazing if someone could figure out a way to measure constituent opinion that didn't involve people showing up at or calling in to an office.
- PhasmaFelis 8y ago
  Well, that's kind of the thing. Everyone's willing to kill and die for their beliefs on the internet; a lot fewer will actually campaign and canvas and march and vote for their beliefs. The inconvenience of calling or mailing your politician tells them that you have passed a rock bottom threshold of willingness to act, and might conceivably have an effect on their vote totals next election.
jacquesm 8y ago
The fact that those members have guns might also have something to do with it. 'Do this or else we will sick our gun carrying members on you' even if they do nothing at all is a more powerful signal than 'Do this or a bunch of people will show up to protest'.
- msla 8y ago
  > 'Do this or else we will sick our gun carrying members on you' even if they do nothing at all is a more powerful signal than 'Do this or a bunch of people will show up to protest'. That threat is entirely without teeth for two reasons: One: Disorganized militias fail against a well-regulated military force. Especially since this militia would be a minority group, composed of the subset of gun owners who are outright crazy/stupid enough to go up against their own government. Two: It would destroy the NRA in the public sphere. They'd go from being a normal political group to truly being Yall-Qaeda, the armed paramilitary force of reactionary idiots no normal person can support. The NRA can put on a normal face right now, and get practically everything it wants through politics, but if it tries to force the issue through armed insurrection, it gets crushed like an insect. A small insect.
ataturk 8y ago
I don't think you understand at all. The NRA isn't what is powerful. The NRA is the public face of the pro-gun movement, but the reason it is so effective isn't the NRA--the NRA is the tail, the people are the dog. RKBA is a true grass-roots movement of real, actual people who vote on a single issue. It's not a particularly well organized movement, and most of the time there is a ton of infighting, disagreement, and back-stabbing. But all have the same fundamental ideal about freedom and liberty. Many gun owners are very good intentioned patriots, solid, hard-working Americans. However, the group is extremely diverse and intelligence follows the bell curve. Most don't understand how government works, refuse to fight the way the left fights (dirty) and allow themselves to become corrupted by the fight. Were it not like that, the movement would tear government to pieces and totally reform it. That may be about to happen anyways, but not through them. You have no idea what sleeping giants live out there. Quite simply put, the NRA is often more a controlled opposition that the real power behind the movement and that guns stand in for freedom/liberty which is what it is all about. True citizens have real rights with teeth. The kind of teeth that despots fear.

Not to introduce flame bait but one of the reasons the NRA is powerful is the ability to quickly motivate their very vocal members.

by rhcom2 8y ago

Not to introduce flame bait but one of the reasons the NRA is powerful is the ability to quickly motivate their very vocal members.

mch82 8y ago

It would be amazing if someone could figure out a way to measure constituent opinion that didn't involve people showing up at or calling in to an office.

PhasmaFelis 8y ago
Well, that's kind of the thing. Everyone's willing to kill and die for their beliefs on the internet; a lot fewer will actually campaign and canvas and march and vote for their beliefs. The inconvenience of calling or mailing your politician tells them that you have passed a rock bottom threshold of willingness to act, and might conceivably have an effect on their vote totals next election.

jacquesm 8y ago

The fact that those members have guns might also have something to do with it. 'Do this or else we will sick our gun carrying members on you' even if they do nothing at all is a more powerful signal than 'Do this or a bunch of people will show up to protest'.

msla 8y ago
> 'Do this or else we will sick our gun carrying members on you' even if they do nothing at all is a more powerful signal than 'Do this or a bunch of people will show up to protest'. That threat is entirely without teeth for two reasons: One: Disorganized militias fail against a well-regulated military force. Especially since this militia would be a minority group, composed of the subset of gun owners who are outright crazy/stupid enough to go up against their own government. Two: It would destroy the NRA in the public sphere. They'd go from being a normal political group to truly being Yall-Qaeda, the armed paramilitary force of reactionary idiots no normal person can support. The NRA can put on a normal face right now, and get practically everything it wants through politics, but if it tries to force the issue through armed insurrection, it gets crushed like an insect. A small insect.

ataturk 8y ago

I don't think you understand at all. The NRA isn't what is powerful. The NRA is the public face of the pro-gun movement, but the reason it is so effective isn't the NRA--the NRA is the tail, the people are the dog. RKBA is a true grass-roots movement of real, actual people who vote on a single issue. It's not a particularly well organized movement, and most of the time there is a ton of infighting, disagreement, and back-stabbing. But all have the same fundamental ideal about freedom and liberty. Many gun owners are very good intentioned patriots, solid, hard-working Americans. However, the group is extremely diverse and intelligence follows the bell curve. Most don't understand how government works, refuse to fight the way the left fights (dirty) and allow themselves to become corrupted by the fight. Were it not like that, the movement would tear government to pieces and totally reform it. That may be about to happen anyways, but not through them. You have no idea what sleeping giants live out there. Quite simply put, the NRA is often more a controlled opposition that the real power behind the movement and that guns stand in for freedom/liberty which is what it is all about. True citizens have real rights with teeth. The kind of teeth that despots fear.