Captain Obvious
10-17-2017, 06:34 PM
Interesting read, some spin and twists naturally on the evolution of protecting our rights and liberties.
http://www.npr.org/2017/10/17/558202994/how-the-nra-uses-its-political-clout-an-early-lesson-in-oklahoma
There was a time when the National Rifle Association was known primarily for promoting gun safety and advocating for gun ownership for hunting and home protection.
But that seems a long time ago.
It still does those things, to be sure, but these days the NRA is far more recognizable as an uncompromising political force, aggressively defending its interpretation of the 2nd Amendment, while working to defeat any and all politicians it views as its enemy.
It's a transition that took place over several decades, but one race in the 1990s in the northeast corner of Oklahoma can be seen as an early indication of the direction the NRA would take. Rep. Mike Synar, D-Okla., experienced NRA support early in his career, only to have the organization work against him as his views on guns shifted.
Synar, a Democrat from Muskogee, was just 28 years old when he went to Washington. Yes, Oklahoma still sent Democrats to Congress back then — in fact in 1978, the year he was elected, Democrats held five of the state's six congressional seats. Oklahoma, the home of legendary folk singer Woody Guthrie, still had a deep populist strain in its politics. That has long faded, however, as the state's entire congressional delegation today is Republican and very conservative.
In those early years after his election, Synar actually counted the NRA among his supporters.
The archives at the University of Oklahoma, where Synar's papers are housed, include a black-and-white photograph of him meeting with Neal Knox, executive director of the National Rifle Association's lobbying arm, in 1981.
http://www.npr.org/2017/10/17/558202994/how-the-nra-uses-its-political-clout-an-early-lesson-in-oklahoma
There was a time when the National Rifle Association was known primarily for promoting gun safety and advocating for gun ownership for hunting and home protection.
But that seems a long time ago.
It still does those things, to be sure, but these days the NRA is far more recognizable as an uncompromising political force, aggressively defending its interpretation of the 2nd Amendment, while working to defeat any and all politicians it views as its enemy.
It's a transition that took place over several decades, but one race in the 1990s in the northeast corner of Oklahoma can be seen as an early indication of the direction the NRA would take. Rep. Mike Synar, D-Okla., experienced NRA support early in his career, only to have the organization work against him as his views on guns shifted.
Synar, a Democrat from Muskogee, was just 28 years old when he went to Washington. Yes, Oklahoma still sent Democrats to Congress back then — in fact in 1978, the year he was elected, Democrats held five of the state's six congressional seats. Oklahoma, the home of legendary folk singer Woody Guthrie, still had a deep populist strain in its politics. That has long faded, however, as the state's entire congressional delegation today is Republican and very conservative.
In those early years after his election, Synar actually counted the NRA among his supporters.
The archives at the University of Oklahoma, where Synar's papers are housed, include a black-and-white photograph of him meeting with Neal Knox, executive director of the National Rifle Association's lobbying arm, in 1981.