U.S.A. – -(Ammoland.com)- “Stop Biden from DESTROYING Trump’s Wall!” an email solicitation from the National Republican Senatorial Committee urges. “Biden is DESTROYING Trump’s Border Security! He stopped construction on Trump’s wall and may start to tear it down. And now the CRISIS on our southern border is worse than ever!”
“The border is now OPEN to drug cartels and human traffickers, NRSC warns. “ Left’s OPEN BORDERS policy is putting your families at risk. It is putting your jobs at risk. Don’t let Biden destroy the border security Trump worked so hard to build.”
I’m asked to click a button to “FINISH THE WALL” and told, in all caps so I don’t miss the urgency:
“EMERGENCY 500% MATCHING UNLOCKED UNTIL MIDNIGHT”
This isn’t the only email the NRSC has sent me. “We’re all wondering,” one asks, “Do you have Trump’s back?” Some say they come from the “Trump Legacy Team.” Others appeal to “Top Trump Supporters” and the contribution button says, “STAND WITH TRUMP.”
Is it time to dig deep? After all, even though I never considered myself a “Trump supporter” per se, I have clearly been a “Trump agenda (as pledged in his campaigns) supporter.”
My primary reasons were that he promised to protect “our beautiful Second Amendment,” and as I’ve consistently made clear (albeit without help from “gun groups” making disingenuous “single-issue” excuses), experience shows that cultural terraforming by “pathway to citizenship” Democrats and “cheap labor” Republicans is the greatest threat to continued “legal” recognition of the right to keep and bear arms.
And yeah, tell me about how the president fell short on all counts (I took all kinds of heat on “gun boards” for trying to warn him). I’ve never seen a politician that didn’t. The point is, MY agenda didn’t change. So why wouldn’t I donate generously if these people are going to help me achieve what I want?
They will, won’t they?
Maybe, just to be sure, we ought to check them out and see if we can find confirmation that they mean what they say and will walk the talk. Let’s start with their website.
“Make America stronger,” its slogan advocates, riffing off Trump’s famous catchphrase. “Help us take back the Senate.”
There’s plenty of Trump swag, shirts with him hugging the flag or declaring “Still my president,” and a poster that asks, “Miss me yet?”
A video down at the bottom catches my eye, featuring NRSC Chairman and Florida Senator Rick Scott. He says he’s ending “the Republican civil war.”
“The only way we can blow this is with pointless infighting,” Scott declares. “It stops now. The Republican civil war is hereby officially canceled. Now it’s time to save America. Let’s get to work.”
Sounds good. I have two concerns, though.
First, when listing all the radical Democrat agenda items, it would have been nice if Republicans acknowledged the right of the people to keep and bear arms was at least worth a mention for those of us who consider it equal to, if not more important than “the Keystone pipeline” and “women’s sports.”
Secondly, are we sure all the “infighting” is “pointless”?
“I’m a gun owner and NRA member,” Scott wrote in a 2019 editorial for The Washington Post. “I support red-flag laws to help stop mass shootings.”
Of course, they won’t. And I’d submit that if the Second Amendment and due process are worth literally fighting for, they’re certainly worth political infighting if it can keep things from devolving into that.
And then there’s all the posturing for contributions over Trump’s immigration policy, when a look at Scott’s actual immigration record on his NumbersUSA Report Card shows a mediocre career grade of 44%, with an “F” for “Challenge the Status Quo.”
Are we starting to suspect the self-serving whoop-de-do may not be all that objective?
Here’s the thing about donating to the RNSC, or even to the Republican Party for that matter: Donations will be used to help candidates who may be actively working against your rights.
So the RNSC is going to be out there trying to elect Republicans who voted for Merrick Garland as Attorney General. Not only did credible judicial opinion conclude that, if appointed to the Supreme Court when nominated by Obama Garland “would vote to reverse … D.C. vs. Heller,” but as AG he now promises to lead the charge in conflating patriot groups like Oath Keepers with terrorists.
And in spite of all the fundraising doubletalk to STAND WITH TRUMP, don’t look for that to be held against the Republican senators who voted for his second impeachment.
And not to belabor the point, but Scott isn’t the only Republican senator on board with “red flags” (and more).
This reminds me of former RNC Chairman Michael Steele, who advocated banning semiautos as “assault weapons.” He, in turn, recalled for me a statement attributed to one of his predecessors Lee Atwater, who reputedly asked of gun owners “Who else are they going to vote for?”
Allowing Republicans to take us for granted is the same as letting them know they can betray us and suffer no consequences. And that only encourages more to jump ship.
So, what am I recommending? Rolling over for gun-grabbing Democrats?
In the Senate, where feckless Republicans managed to blow their lead in 2020, there is a narrow window on which to act, but if gun owners don’t take it on themselves to get informed and get involved, it will be a moot point. If we’re not willing to field and then support good candidates, especially in primaries, we’re going to keep getting bad ones.
And for those still inclined to answer fundraising appeals with donations, don’t fall for such fork-tongued weasel-wording. Don’t donate to committees or PACs that try to sucker you in with insincere pledges of solidarity but then make no distinction between those who will bear true faith and allegiance and those who will take your dough and then stick a knife in your back when a better offer comes along.
For those of you who will not involve yourselves in any of this because you believe there’s no voting our way out of this (and I admit I have no evidence to counter that with), I pray for all our sakes that you’re ready, willing and able to do — and sustain — all the hard stuff that will follow. But you’ll forgive me if I caution those considering giving up on the remarkable system bequeathed to us by the Founders with a Churchill quote from The Gathering Storm:
“If you will not fight for the right when you can easily win without bloodshed; if you will not fight when your victory will be sure and not too costly; you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a precarious chance of survival. There may even be a worse case. You may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves.”
Right now, the fight is still easy.
About David Codrea:
David Codrea is the winner of multiple journalist awards for investigating/defending the RKBA and a long-time gun owner rights advocate who defiantly challenges the folly of citizen disarmament. He blogs at “The War on Guns: Notes from the Resistance,” is a regularly featured contributor to Firearms News, and posts on Twitter: @dcodrea and Facebook.
