Repeat after me: The National Rifle Association wants you to vote for Congresswoman Stephanie Herseth Sandlin.
Conservative friends, if that really bothers you, feel free to declare the NRA an irrelevant bunch of Beltway elitists. Repeat that as often as you like. I know I will.
But Kristi isn't saying the NRA is irrelevant. She's stamping the NRA logo on her mailings like two big seals approval. Team Kristi is a whisper shy of a lie and they know it.
So does the NRA. From Roll Call:
“The one thing that is clear to our members in South Dakota is that we did endorse Stephanie Herseth Sandlin,” NRA spokesman Andrew Arulanandam said. “It’s unfortunate that there are efforts to try to insinuate otherwise” [Anna Palmer, "Herseth Sandlin Takes Issue with Noem's NRA Mailing," Roll Call, 2010.10.14].
The NRA spokesman could have stopped with that first sentence. That second sentence suggests that the NRA's endorsement of Herseth Sandlin is more than mere pro forma adherence to its "incumbent-friendly" endorsement policy. If the NRA really had its fingers crossed behind its back for Noem, it could have withheld any endorsement. And it could have withheld that second sentence, a pretty clear slap at Team Kristi's marketing trickery.
The NRA is a single-issue organization that distracts us all with John Wayne fantasies (and Constitutional misreadings, and outright lies) from discussing real solutions to real problems. Their endorsement of Congresswoman Herseth Sandlin doesn't make me like her any more.
But Kristi Noem's counterfactual insinuation that the NRA actually prefers her makes me like Noem even less. Watch out, Kristi: the NRA may feel the same way.
Corey - what would it take for us to get Jonathan Ellis to write about this in the Argus? I think it's important that the people of SD know that the Noem flier was very misleading. I know she is lying her way through the election but I follow this race very closely...not everyone that votes does. They need the truth!
ReplyDeleteGood question, Frank. I, alas, do not have my finger on the pulse of the professional media. I suppose you could just give J. Ellis a shout at jonellis@argusleader.com.
ReplyDeleteOne relevant question is, "Has the NRA donated to both campaigns?" I'm guessing they are sending money to both Noem and Herseth-Sandlin, making sure they hedge their bets, regardless of which candidate wins.
ReplyDeleteI've read the ad, and if you want to see something, it is probably there, but the fact is that both women like to hunt and shoot guns, which is part of our state's heritage. I see the ad as Kristi saying, "I'm just as qualified to be endorsed by the NRA", putting them on equal standing.
Does it really matter who the NRA endorses anyway? It is simply an emotional, "don't take our guns away" ploy any time NRA is mentioned in campaigns. The reality is nobody is taking anything away so far, and we only have two years until that risk also passes.
Yes! Another conservative tells me the NRA is irrelevant! Spread the word!
ReplyDeleteAnd Rod, instead of guessing on donations, let's look at the FEC reports: The NRA Political Victory Fund had given SHS $2500 this cycle prior to June 30 (the Q3 report still isn't up). As of June 30, NRA had given oem none.
Let's all face the fact: The NRA really prefers Stephanie Herseth Sandlin over Kristi Noem. (And Obama is not coming for your guns!)