From the final Morning Jolt of the week:
Greetings from Indianapolis!
Today at the National Rifle Association’s Annual Meeting, most of the big names come out to speak to the crowd at Lucas Oil Stadium. Speakers include Governor Mike Pence, Senator Dan Coats, Senator Marco Rubio, Governor Bobby Jindal, Senator. Rick Santorum and . . . Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri. One of these things is not like the other . . .
USA Today has a fairly even-handed piece on the argument about whether the National Rifle Association is politically powerful because of money or because of manpower. I would note that there are a lot of causes with a lot of money that don’t achieve their goals. Ask Presidents Steve Forbes and H. Ross Perot.
The piece echoes a common answer in response to yesterday’s question about why gun-rights supporters have succeeded in persuading the public and lawmakers when other portions of the conservative movement have struggled:
“They are prodigious fundraisers,” said Robert J. Spitzer, chairman of the political science department at the State University of New York at Cortland.
Spitzer calls the NRA “a classic single-issue group” that allows for a sharp focus in the face of sometimes strong public support for more gun control.
It’s tough to get distracted when you’re a single-issue group. Everybody knows what they’re for, everybody knows what the goal and the mission is, and everybody is on the same page.
But Charlie Cooke reminded me of another factor: 32 percent of Democrats report having a gun in the home. The divide between the Democratic party’s elites and their grassroots may be sharpest on this issue.
Finally, notice this . . .
More than 100 mothers from across the country and more than 20 gun-violence survivors will come together on the sidelines of the NRA convention in Indianapolis this weekend to speak out for reforms to gun laws.
. . . and this:
By this weekend, an estimated 70,000 people will be in Indianapolis for the city’s first time hosting the annual NRA Convention.