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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsIn Case You Missed This... 'The N.R.A. Protection Racket' - NYT
The N.R.A. Protection RacketBy RICHARD W. PAINTER
Published: December 19, 2012
<snip>
FOR years, protection rackets dominated dangerous urban neighborhoods. Shop owners and residents lived in relative security only by paying off or paying homage to organized criminals or corrupt cops. Anyone who dared to stand up to these protectors would not be around for long.
The Republican Party once a proud bastion of civic and business leaders who battled Southern racism, Northern corruption and the evils of big government has for the past several decades been itself the victim of political protection rackets. These rackets are orchestrated by fringe groups with extremist views on social issues, which Republican politicians are forced to support even if they are unpopular with intelligent, economically successful and especially female voters. Their influence was already clear by the time I joined the Bush White House staff in 2005, and it has only increased in the years since.
The most blatant protection racket is orchestrated by the National Rifle Association, which is ruthless against candidates who are tempted to stray from its view that all gun regulations are pure evil. Debra Maggart, a Republican leader in the Tennessee House of Representatives, was one of its most recent victims. The N.R.A. spent around $100,000 to defeat her in the primary, because she would not support a bill that would have allowed people to keep guns locked in their cars on private property without the property owners consent.
The message to Republicans is clear: We will help you get elected and protect your seat from Democrats. We will spend millions on ads that make your opponent look worse than the average holdup man robbing a liquor store. In return, we expect you to oppose any laws that regulate guns. These include laws requiring handgun registration, meaningful background checks on purchasers, limiting the right to carry concealed weapons, limiting access to semiautomatic weapons or anything else that would diminish the firepower available to anybody who wants it. And if you dont comply, we will load our weapons and direct everything in our arsenal at you in the next Republican primary.
For decades, Republican politicians have gone along with this racket, some willingly and others because they know that resisting would be pointless. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, the N.R.A. spent almost $19 million in the last federal election cycle. This money is not just spent to beat Democrats but also to beat Republicans who dont toe the line.
But the last election showed the costs to Republicans of succumbing to the N.R.A....
<snip>
More: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/20/opinion/the-nra-protection-racket.html
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In Case You Missed This... 'The N.R.A. Protection Racket' - NYT (Original Post)
WillyT
Dec 2012
OP
Thanks for posting this. Lawrence O'Donnell did a segment on this and I missed it tonight :( n/t
Tx4obama
Dec 2012
#4
the guy who wrote this was the ethics lawyer for the Bush White House… can you imagine
KittyWampus
Dec 2012
#8
elleng
(130,905 posts)1. Thanks. Author interviewed on Lawrence Show.
IMPORTANT!
WillyT
(72,631 posts)3. You Are Quite Welcome !!!
I thought is was important too.
Bozita
(26,955 posts)2. K&R for truth ... Bigtime!
Tx4obama
(36,974 posts)4. Thanks for posting this. Lawrence O'Donnell did a segment on this and I missed it tonight :( n/t
WillyT
(72,631 posts)5. No Problem...
Skittles
(153,160 posts)6. there are DUers who fall for this racket
it is a DISGRACE
KittyWampus
(55,894 posts)8. the guy who wrote this was the ethics lawyer for the Bush White House… can you imagine
being the ethics counsel for Junior/Cheney's mess? Oy
WillyT
(72,631 posts)9. Might Be An Indicator Of How Far Right The Republicans Have Moved, No ???
glinda
(14,807 posts)7. K & R n/t
Disgraceland
(24 posts)10. Ever since I read this...
I've felt better ignoring every gun whack job. The more they whine about their guns, the more they drive off the middle class, the suburbs, the educated...everyone who sees their families in those victims, and doesn't give a shit about some mouthbreather's gun collection.
defacto7
(13,485 posts)11. Kick, Kick, Kick
and R
LeftInTX
(25,331 posts)12. kick, kick, kick
Article contains like to petition for American Anti-Corruption Act
http://anticorruptionact.org/
WillyT
(72,631 posts)13. Kick !!!
smirkymonkey
(63,221 posts)14. K&R
:kick: