Primary Colors
Seems NRA has no history of endorsing primary candidates (ed note: the NRA’s very first endorsement for president was Reagan). And some folks want that changed:
What I would do in NRAs case would be a targeted mailing in certain states stating Fred Thompson and Bill Richardson are the prefered candidates in each party’s primary. No need to make up separate mailers, just list both guys on a single postcard to keep costs down. I wouldn’t give anyone an endorsement until after the primary.
I would consider only half of that. I think it could be smart for NRA to become involved in the Democratic primary, because Bill Richardson has been a real friend to gun owners in the past, and all the other serious contenders are absolutely no friends of ours. If you can give Bill enough of a boost to where he’s a serious threat to the other two candidates, you force Hillary and Obama to spend more money defeating their primary opponents. It also will hold the Republican candidates feet to the fire, with the prospects a pro-gun democrat winning the endorsement in the general election. It wouldn’t make much sense, in my opinion, to get involved if Richardson is a lost cause.
There’s also the additional benefit of helping candidates who are pro-gun getting there to begin with as opposed to, as in recent years, pick the least worse of two options.
September 26th, 2007 at 9:40 am
That would be politically tricky for the NRA.
In primaries, I think it’s best for the candidates to refer to their NRA rating rather than seek an endorsement.
September 26th, 2007 at 9:48 am
It’s very tricky, and you have to be careful if you’re going to do it. As I said in the linked post, it would be a big mistake for the NRA to get involved in a primary situation where you have multiple candidates courting your vote. If you back the loser, the winner will hold your support of his opponent against you. If you wait until it’s clear who the winner is going to be, the endorsement is meaningless.
In this election, it would be a mistake for NRA to get involved in the Republican primary, but endorsing Richardson in the Democratic primary might be a smart move in the right circumstances.
September 26th, 2007 at 9:53 am
I should say, though, if it came down to someone like Thompson running neck and neck with Giuliani, and you think an endorsement will push Thompson over the top, it might be a good gamble. It’s not a gamble I’d be comfortable with, but I wouldn’t be all “Has NRA lost their minds?” if they decided to roll that dice.
I’d really want to start small with something like this, and in an area where it’s politically safe. We don’t even know yet how much NRA can affect a primary. It’s one of those situations where you want to how sharp the tool is before you start carving your wood with it.
September 26th, 2007 at 10:14 am
In this environment I think it is a gamble worth taking.
All things considered, I think Thompson is the best candidate to run against Hillary.
When Rudy took that phone call from his wife in the middle of his speech to the NRA you have to wonder what he was thinking.
September 26th, 2007 at 10:20 am
Thompson vs Hillary = Hillary. 70% of the people want the war to end and that guy is going around all day saying he likes the strategy we’re using right now??
September 26th, 2007 at 10:27 am
Rudy vs Hillary = Hillary. 70% of the people want
the warcross-dressing to end and that guy is going around all daysaying he likes the strategy we’re using right nowwearing a dress??I get it HardCorps, only Ron Paul.
September 26th, 2007 at 12:41 pm
I agree with Rustmeister.
I think that ratings are better than endorsements in the primaries.
I think that Richardson is the smart choice for Hillary or Obama as a running mate.
It will be interesting to see how he meshes with either of them on the issue of gun control.
Gun control is a hot issue with the UN, which is, I believe, where Richardson served as US Ambassador for his boss, Bill Clinton.
September 26th, 2007 at 5:54 pm
Is this where Rudy’s “something dramatic” comes in? That it’s New-Yorkese for, “Where’s the bag of cash that’s supposed to be waiting for me behind the restaurant door?”
I wonder if he’s waiting and hoping for the kind of “dramatic support” that Normie Hsu was providing The Beast Hillary?? …and suddenly, dramatically, this morphs into the dildoae post.
September 26th, 2007 at 6:24 pm
It would help Bill a lot, but wouldn’t do anything to impact Hillary’s chances. She’s going to win, and at this point based upon what I am hearing from the campaign (one of her advisors is sitting next to me) Richardson is probably at the top of her VP list.
September 26th, 2007 at 6:26 pm
I suspect if they get behind Richardson early, when Hillary wins eventually it gives them pretty good inroads to her and while things won’t get better, can probably help us hold off things getting worse.