June 1, 2000 Join Together Online Analyzing the NRA's Election Strategy 5/31/00 The election strategy of the National Rifle Association (NRA) may not be as effective in 2000 as in previous years, The Nation reported May 29. With a $135 million budget this year, combined with the $25 million raised for 2000 by the Institute for Legislative Action, the NRA's political arm, and the $5.5 million raised by the Political Victory Fund, the group's political-action committee, the NRA has considerable clout on Capitol Hill. The NRA is hoping to repeat its success in the 1994 election, when it played a crucial role in getting pro-gun voters out to help the Republican Party gain control of the U.S. Congress. In this election year, the NRA has allied itself closely with the GOP, and plans to work aggressively to help Texas Gov. George W. Bush get elected to the presidency. Of particular importance will be whether the NRA can impact the swing states of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and Missouri, whose votes are likely to decide the presidential contest. The NRA will be going up against Handgun Control, Inc., the nation's largest gun-control group. Handgun Control plans to focus its $2 million in PAC money on a select list of U.S. House of Representatives and Senate races. The NRA also has to rebound from a series of setbacks it suffered in the Midwest, where the organization has traditionally been a political powerhouse. Since the Columbine High School massacre, Michigan, Illinois and Ohio Republican governors have strayed from their allegiance to the NRA on key gun issues. The pro-gun group also lost a key fight over a citizens' right to carry concealed weapons referendum in Missouri. According to pollsters and gun-control activists, a new phenomenon is taking place. For the first time, a constituency of anti-gun voters -- led by city-dwelling and suburban women -- are matching the intensity of the NRA. "What our data show is that single-issue gun-control voters for the first time equal pro-gun voters," said Celinda Lake, a Democratic pollster. "There's been a fundamental paradigm shift among women." -- The Nation is a fairly liberal publication, and if anyone thinks the hundreds of thousands of people joining the NRA are less likely to make an impact than the 90,000 mom march they are dreaming. I was there in 1994, and gun owners are even more angry now. Steve. -------[Cybershooters contacts]-------- Editor: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Website & subscription info: www.cybershooters.org
