NRA Says Bloomberg ‘Can’t Buy America’ After They Spent Twice As Much

The National Rifle Association’s Wayne LaPierre appeared on Meet the Press this morning to lambaste New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s efforts to educate voters about the gun safety legislation currently being debated in congress.

LaPierre is furious that the Mayor is joining with other mayors in an advertising campaign (video below) to help convince voters and congress to adopt responsible gun safety reforms. What outrages LaPierre, and what Fox News made the headline for their report, is that Mayors Against Illegal Guns (MAIG) is planning to spend $12 million on the campaign. LaPierre pounced on that disclosure accusing Bloomberg of trying to “impose his will on the American public,” and insisting that “He can’t buy America.” That stretches the boundaries of irony to stratospheric new levels.

Fox News - NRA

The budget for MAIG is less than half of what the NRA spent in the last election cycle, $2 million of which was spent directly on lobbying members of congress. If MAIG is trying to buy America then the NRA is brazenly outbidding them. It takes a double-barreled load of gall to accuse someone of something you are doing to a far greater degree, but that’s the sort of dishonest hyperbole that LaPierre is known for.

The allegation that MAIG would impose Bloomberg’s will on the American public is also blatantly false. In fact, the public overwhelmingly supports the proposals in the MAIG’s platform that include universal background checks and banning assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines. One needs look no further than the Fox News poll released this week for confirmation.

Fox News - Guns

The issues advocated by MAIG have broad support from the American people in general, and some are also supported by majorities of gun owners and even NRA members. LaPierre purports to represent the entire membership of the NRA, but that is clearly not the case. The NRA is primarily a lobbying organization that serves the interests of firearms manufactures, not citizens.

If anyone is trying to buy America and impose his will on the people, it is LaPierre and the NRA. And Fox News is happy to help them deceive the public by reporting the MAIG expenditure but not put it in context by reporting the NRA’s spending.

Mayors Against Illegal Guns Video:

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11 thoughts on “NRA Says Bloomberg ‘Can’t Buy America’ After They Spent Twice As Much

  1. You mean, FOX actually ran a poll that goes against their best interests? Aren’t they supposed to bury these things? Or was this just a prelude to attack the results that they don’t acknowledge anyway?

    Since some of us have no desire to actually watch FOX to see if it really happened…

  2. “Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s efforts to educate voters about the gun safety legislation currently being debated in congress”
    Do you intentionally try to mislead or is it just ignorance – Gun safety is not the goal of anything proposed – it’s gun control – specifically access to guns. If the goal is to inform voters, then call it what it is – restricting access to guns. Safety has NOTHING to do with it if you are being honest – and of course you aren’t interested in that. If you at least approached it as restricting access for criminals, great, but you act more like a politician trying to sell a lie.

    • You didn’t seem to be asking WHY they want gun control. Is it an end to itself?

      • Can you define for me what “gun safety legislation” means to you then? Having been around guns all my life, I know what I think gun safety means and I don’t think it’s the same thing. I’m surprised Mark didn’t call it widows and orphans gun safety legislation so he could justify the positions being pushed. This deceptive way of debating new laws restricting access to guns is why we end up with fights over “common sense” things that could be done. Being open with what the end goal is would be nice to know – and if it’s truly keeping guns out of the hands of those that would do harm, then we could get closer to a solution. Hiding behind nice sounding words doesn’t help bring the sides together.

        • The point article is that LaPierre made an absurd assertion about the money being spent by Bloomberg when he spent twice as much. And his complaint about Bloomberg imposing his will on people applies more to himself.

          Can you manage to stay on topic? You are obsessing over the use of a single word (safety) that has little to do with the point of this article.

          • Mark, you like to say I ignore the topic, yes, i did grab on to a single line you wrote – you like to note all of this, but you can’t help but litter your articles with ignorant comments about those with who you disagree and use the opportunity to push your leftist ideas – fine, but don’t think it won’t attract comment. I know you can’t help but make the comments, but don’t be surprised when someone pushes back against your ignorant and many times misleading comments. Let’s look at the sentence:

            “The National Rifle Association’s Wayne LaPierre appeared on Meet the Press this morning to lambaste New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s efforts to educate voters about the gun safety legislation currently being debated in congress.”

            Mr. Bloomberg is trying, just as the NRA is doing, to influence politicians to vote his way by spending lots of money – so they are both playing at the same game and it’s getting nasty – Do you expect us all who don’t agree with you to just lie down and shut up while you insert your misleading comments about his desire to “educate” – that line is total bullshit and you know it.

            If you’re so interested in people following the topic, state the facts and leave out the leftist commentary – then your topic will be the only thing to talk about.

          • You are correct Mark in pointing out the hypocrisy of LaPierre.

            Here in the SF Bay Area, LaPierre is running ads soliciting monies for the Republican candidate running for Jessie Jackson, Jr’s congressional seat in Chicago.

            LaPierre doth protest too much, methinks.

          • …and let us not forget the DECADES of lobby monies the NRA has spent influencing politician’s votes.

    • Was there something specifically wrong in this article?

      Because you failed to address anything Bloomberg or Mark wrote.

      • No, if you goal is to justify left wing ideology only and complain if anyone else plays the same game but on the opposite side of the issue. It’s more hypocrisy – finding the narrow issue on which to complain – in this case – the NRA arguing that Mr. Bloomberg is trying to influence votes on gun control – as is the NRA, but of course justifying what a left wing gun nut like Michael Bloomberg is doing specifically because he is on your side. Ok, there is some silly complaints coming from Mr. LaPierre, but there is absolutely NO difference between the purpose of the money the NRA is spending and what Bloomberg is spending – Mark’s attempt to frame a left wing position as “pure” and “good” is typical for him, even if it is achieved through means he complains about when done by a right wing organization (ie spending lots of money). In the end, his article may focus on one issue related to the NRA complaining about something they are doing too, but to act like somehow the money coming from Bloomberg is just fine since it’s about “educating” the voters, which of course is a LIE, is Mark hypocrisy. He’s quite good at it.

      • Let me simplify the answer to your question – delete the blatant LIE about “New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s efforts to educate voters” and call it what it is – his counter attempt to “buy” votes for his position and get off this idea that it’s some purely altruistic endeavor to “educate” anyone. A little honesty goes a long way.

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