NRA Under Fire for Being ... Too Liberal?

Group cozies up to pro-gun Democrats, moderates
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 12, 2010 10:51 AM CDT
NRA Under Fire for Being ... Too Liberal?
A woman points a handgun with a laser sight on a wall display of other guns during the National Rifle Association convention Friday, April 13, 2007, in St. Louis.   (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Conservatives are taking aim at the NRA, which they complain has drifted too close to the middle, supporting both moderate Republicans and even some pro-gun Democrats against opposition from the right. The NRA has given 29% of its political contributions this election cycle to Democrats, the most in more than a decade, Politico reports. There was even a rumor that it endorsed Harry Reid in Nevada.

The group denied endorsing anyone in that race, but went out of its way to praise Reid’s gun record in the process. The group further annoyed conservatives when it cut a deal with Democrats for an exemption from a coming campaign finance law. The NRA is supposed to be an “uncompromising defender of the second amendment,” says one conservative blogger, but instead it’s become “a weak little girl of an organization, protecting itself while throwing everyone else under the bus.” (More NRA stories.)

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