Erick Erickson, the editor at RedState and a de facto spokesman for the right wing grassroots, interestingly enough had this to say today about the NRA.
In fact, these days I cringe when I see good conservatives with their lifetime member sticker from the NRA on the back of their cars. I support Gun Owners of America, which is a consistent and uncompromising defender of the second amendment, not a weak little girl of an organization protecting itself while throwing everyone else under the bus.
But that’s what the National Rifle Association is doing. You and I are willing to stand together because we know we either stand together or hang separately. The NRA legislative strategy in the past few years has been to hang everybody else so they can be the last man standing — more interested in maintaining the veneer of bipartisanship than actually standing up for the second amendment.
If this has become the stance of many 2nd amendment proponents on the right, the NRA endorsement will mean even less for Ted Strickland.
And a look at the website of one of Ohio’s biggest 2nd amendment proponents, the Buckeye Firearms Association, seems to confirm that as the case.
In their widely read internet forum, the “Flash! Strickland Has NRA Endorsement!” topic hasn’t received one positive response for Ted. Nor has it even been as widely discussed today as the congressional race in OH-18. In fact, the NRA endorsement topic already has had someone post the below response as produced by the ORP.
If Strickland can’t get something positive said on this widely read site on this day of all days, how much of an effect can this endorsement really have on the race in November?