NRA Fail

by David Safier

The NRA portrays itself as an 800 pound gorilla with an uzi in each hand. Woe be to the politician who dares to cross the gun lobby.

Except that the NRA didn't do so well this election, even though it spent a considerable amount of money and kept its membership constantly informed on which candidates were the gun-totin' good guys and which were the bad guys who want to pry our guns from our cold, dead hands. So maybe lots of the NRA might is hype and bluster.

Mayors Against Illegal Guns thinks so. It commissioned a recent poll on people's attitudes toward guns and gun laws. The results in Virginia, Colorado and North Carolina: voters trust Obama more than Romney to "do a better job handling laws covering the sale of guns."

According to Mark Glaze, director of Mayors Against Illegal Guns:

"Members of Congress will tell you privately that they agree we need stronger gun laws, but they run scared from the perceived power of the gun lobby. There is a growing pile of evidence the NRA has built a mythology around their ability to swing elections that has little basis in fact."