The way it works is that it represents the interests of single issue–or few issue–voters. They have a lot of power because THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE IN THIS COUNTRY WHO VALUE THE SECOND AMENDMENT.
The NRA did not create this constituency, and it would have little or no power if it did not speak to the values and interests of many millions of Americans. The NRA is us, in important respects. It is the voice of tens of millions of people who think marching in a parade in some city carrying stupid signs would be ridiculous.
They, of course they have lobbyists. What the lobbyists do is tell politicians what will happen to their endorsements if they pursue one policy versus another. If you want to be elected in many counties and States, you need the NRA behind you, which is to say, you need to ACTUALLY represent the interests and concerns of the people sending you to office. The NRA just keeps you honest.
For my part, I am going to wait and see how many Republicans are cowards, how many Democrats are fools, and depending on my perceptions, I might bump my contributions up from quarterly to monthly, which is to say triple the dues I’ve been paying. I’m on a ten year plan to Lifetime Membership, but I can certainly do it faster.
How fucking stupid do you have to be to think that 1) we should listen to kids; and 2) to THESE KIDS, this generation, the Tide Pod people, in particular? 9 out of 10 of these kids, guaranteed, can’t say anything intelligent about the Bill of Rights or why it exists. Probably a quarter of them don’t even know what it is, or THAT it exists. This is the future? If I ever decide it is, I’m moving to some other country, and moving to a cabin far from the world.
But I retain hope. One can hope that these rumors I hear that Jeff Sessions is more or less doing his job COULD be true.