Americans' Positive Perception Of NRA Soars As Obama Escalates Gun-Control Agenda

Submitted by Mike Krieger via Liberty Blitzkrieg blog,

When pollsters asked people three decades ago how they felt about the National Rifle Association, 27% said they strongly supported the gun lobby. By last month, that share had grown 38%, an 11-point increase. Meanwhile, the share that didn’t side with the NRA declined.

By an 8-point, registered voters in the Journal/NBC survey last month said they were more concerned that the government would go too far in restricting gun rights than that it fail to do enough to regulate access to firearms. When adults were asked the same question in 1995, the greater fear was that access to firearms was too widespread.

In July polling, the Journal/NBC survey found that 43% of the public had a positive image of the NRA and 32% a negative one—a more favorable view than the public held of the Supreme Court or either political party. By a 15-point margin, political independents, also viewed the NRA more positively than negatively.

– From the Wall Street Journal article: Rising Support for NRA Stymies Obama

Love guns or hate guns, one thing is becoming perfectly clear. The American public’s perception of guns and the NRA is moving in the exact opposite direction of Barack Obama’s message and agenda.

To hear Obama speak, you’d think the NRA is simply using boatloads of money and propaganda to thwart the impassioned gun control desires of the American public. In reality, nothing could be further from the truth. First, let’s take a look at some powerful charts from the Wall Street Journal.

As you can clearly see, the numbers regarding NRA support have virtually flipped over the past thirty years. This is also consistent with a recent ABC News poll which showed for the first time that a majority of American are against an assault weapons ban. From the post, A Majority of Americans Oppose “Assault Weapons Ban” – Highest Number on Record:

A majority of Americans oppose banning assault weapons for the first time in more than 20 years of ABC News/Washington Post polls, with the public expressing vast doubt that the authorities can prevent “lone wolf” terrorist attacks and a substantial sense that armed citizens can help.

Indeed, while the division is a close one, Americans by 47-42 percent think that encouraging more people to carry guns legally is a better response to terrorism than enacting stricter gun control laws. Divisions across groups are vast, underscoring the nation’s gulf on gun issues.

Now here’s another chart from the same Wall Street Journal article, which is even more compelling.

Although Democrats hate the NRA (the same group that supports Hillary for President despite admitting she’s untrustworthy), Independents show strong support. Why is this important? Because according to a recent Gallup poll, a record 43% of Americans identify as Independents.

From Gallup:

PRINCETON, N.J. — An average 43% of Americans identified politically as independents in 2014, establishing a new high in Gallup telephone poll trends back to 1988. In terms of national identification with the two major parties, Democrats continued to hold a modest edge over Republicans, 30% to 26%.

Since 2008, the percentage of political independents — those who identify as such before their leanings to the two major parties are taken into account — has steadily climbed from 35% to the current 43%, exceeding 40% each of the last four years. Prior to 2011, the high in independent identification was 39% in 1995 and 1999.

The recent rise in political independence has come at the expense of both parties, but more among Democrats than among Republicans. Over the last six years, Democratic identification has fallen from 36% — the highest in the last 25 years — to 30%. Meanwhile, Republican identification is down from 28% in 2008 to 26% last year.

Now here’s the chart. There’s a well defined bull market in Independent-identifying Americans:

Finally, let’s end this post with some excerpts from the Wall Street Journal article from which the previously highlighted charts were pulled:

When pollsters asked people three decades ago how they felt about the National Rifle Association, 27% said they strongly supported the gun lobby. By last month, that share had grown 38%, an 11-point increase. Meanwhile, the share that didn’t side with the NRA declined.

That is just one measure of the challenge that has forced President Barack Obama to sidestep Congress and put in place new gun regulations through executive action. Mr. Obama knows through hard experience that lawmakers have little appetite for passing tougher gun laws. Polling shows that skepticism is rooted among the broader public, as well.

So there you go. King Obama sees political trends he doesn’t like, knows that Congress can’t do anything about it because the public doesn’t want it to, so he does it by himself by executive decree.

As I noted on Twitter the other day:

Yeah, then this will flip once Trump is elected, and Obama supporters will suddenly discover the Constitution: pic.twitter.com/O6x0U8cA0B

— Michael Krieger (@LibertyBlitz) January 6, 2016

Now back to the WSJ:

By an 8-point, registered voters in the Journal/NBC survey last month said they were more concerned that the government would go too far in restricting gun rights than that it fail to do enough to regulate access to firearms. When adults were asked the same question in 1995, the greater fear was that access to firearms was too widespread. 

But as Mr. Obama seeks any small patch of common ground, one of the most powerful forces he must deal with is skepticism of any new laws—even the widely backed expansion of background checks. A majority in Gallup polling said background checks would have little or no effect in reducing mass shootings. And a majority believed the country would be safer if more people carried concealed weapons—a finding in tune with the NRA’s contention that “the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.’’

While support for the NRA skews Republican, it is not exclusively Republican. Some 41% of political independents rate themselves as highly supportive of the gun lobby, more than twice the share that doesn’t support the group, December’s Wall Street Journal/NBC News survey found.

In July polling, the Journal/NBC survey found that 43% of the public had a positive image of the NRA and 32% a negative one—a more favorable view than the public held of the Supreme Court or either political party. By a 15-point margin, political independents, also viewed the NRA more positively than negatively.

“The gun lobby may be holding Congress hostage right now, but they cannot hold America hostage,’’ Mr. Obama said in announcing his new gun regulations. But in going up against the NRA, he is working against a force that is not only powerful but popular among many in the country.

Substitute “the American public” for “the gun lobby,” and you’ll find out what’s really irking King Barry.

Comments

[Amy G. Dala]

Something about the tearfest that bothered me, nobody is talking about.  Obummer offered the anecdote:  in Beijing-- Beijing! a man walks into a school and attacks the children with a knife.  Many are injured, but nobody is killed.  What if the man would have had a gun?

Message:  if we had the same gun control laws as China, this kind of shit wouldn't happen.

Naw, I don't want to take your guns . . .

[tarabel]

Whenever I hear the phrase King Obama, I always think back to a song lyric I heard as a kid: "He's King Midas in reverse."

Everything Obama touches turns to shit.

[stormsailor]

its about time the american people realize the importance of the 2nd amendment.  i am a proud  NRA Benefactor and have sent thousands of dollars over the years to the ila.  i hate lobbiest but at leat they lobby for pro 2nd amendment legislation.

[Publicus_Reanimated]

But... but... but... How can they disagree with me when I'm so RIGHT?!?!?!?!?!

[Grimaldus]

Obirdbrain and the progressive stupid, it burns.

Grimaldus

[Laddie]

The fundamental aspect of this genocidal war against White Christians is concealed by the Tribe's control of education, finance, both political parties, and public opinion through the mainstream media.

Jewish Journal of Los Angeles:

“I thought it was a beginning of a good cultural shift, [although] the reforms he is bringing are minimal … I think it clearly should be a priority for the American body politic,” Cohen said of curbing gun violence. “It clearly should be a priority for the Jewish community in terms of pikuah nefesh,” referring to the Jewish obligation to save a life in jeopardy.

Gabby Giffords, the former Arizona Jewess Congresswoman...
The Forward:

Giffords, the first Jewish congresswoman from her home state of Arizona, received a standing ovation as she entered the East Room ahead of the President’s historic announcement that he would sidestep Congress and order more gun sellers to get licenses and more gun buyers to undergo background checks… “33 Americans are murdered w/ a gun every day. And Congress has done nothing. Today’s responsible actions by @POTUS will save lives,” Giffords tweeted in praise of Obama.

Jewish groups praised new executive actions by President Barack Obama to reduce gun violence.

Representatives of the National Council of Jewish Women, Jewish Women International and the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, the umbrella body for Jewish public policy groups, were present at the announcement of the initiatives. They were among an array of groups including the Reform movement’s Religious Action Center and its Central Conference of American Rabbis that praised the actions.

With his executive actions, Obama is directing federal agencies to take the steps he proposed.

“These proposals are a step forward,” said Jared Feldman, the JCPA’s Washington director. They are clearly insufficient to the magnitude of the problem We’re going to need Congress to engage — and engage substantively — on these issues.”

Haaretz states that the National Council of Jewish Women has also praised Obama's Executive Actions:

The National Council of Jewish Women, which has been advocating for gun control since 1969, would continue to work on the state level, said its CEO, Nancy Kaufman.

“We still hold out hope the Congress will understand they need to do something,” she said, but added that the most effective route now seemed to be to advance background checks and gun trafficking on the state level.

TIMES OF ISRAEL noted that the ADL, the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, also praised Obama's Executive actions on guns

Interview with Professor Kevin MacDonald October 23, 2015 Discusses the immigrant surge in Germany and loss of 2nd Amendment through immigration displacement of the founding stock of America, the Whites.
http://mediaarchives.gsradio.net/dduke/102315.mp3
This is discussed by Dr MacDonald:

The NRA will fall. It’s inevitable. Just look at the demographics. The Washington Post, October 19, 2015
by Adam Winkler professor at UCLA School of Law

The fastest-growing minority group in America is Latinos. Between 2000 and 2010, the nation’s Latino population grew by 43 percent. Hispanics, which make up 17 percent of the population today, are expected to grow to 30 percent of the population in the coming decades.

Gun control is extremely popular among Hispanics, with 75 percent favoring gun safety over gun rights.

Asian Americans also represent a growing anti-gun demographic. Although only about 5 percent of the population today, the Asian American population is predicted to triple over the next few decades. A recent poll of Asian American registered voters found that 80 percent supported stricter gun laws.

Jews and Gun Control: A Reprise by Andrew Joyce, Ph.D.

Jews and Jewish organizations lead the gun control campaign by Professor Kevin MacDonald

And by successfully changing immigration policy, Jews have reduced the political power of the rural White subculture of America to the point that even though roughly 7 in 10 White males voted Republican (and ~60% of White females), Obama and the Democrats won the recent election. Even if the current push for gun control fails, we can expect that Jewish organizations will continue the push to disarm White males.

Jewish organizations are not at all against guns when they are in the hands of the police and other authorities. The ADL (see the ADL’s Law Enforcement Agency Resource Network) and the SPLC (Law Enforcement Training and Law Enforcement Resources) have made strong alliances with law enforcement in America.

Further, it has often been observed that Jewish organizations have historically favored a strong central government rather than states’ rights. For example, Jacques Berlinerblau, writing in The Chronicle of Higher Education ( (see here), notes that “Jewish voters … prefer cities and federal governments to backwaters and volatile statehouses. … All things equal, Jews like strong central governments, not a pastiche of local decision makers catering to majorities.”
Although Jewish organizations would not phrase it this way, the net result is that the thrust of Jewish activism has been to favor a strong central government with a monopoly on lethal force. Given Jewish hostility to the traditional people and culture of White America, this is a very foreboding combination as we head into the era of a non-White majority America.

[FreedomGuy]

Cannot resist the Jewish thing. Many (not all) Jews are leftists and all that goes with it, especially cutural Marxism. However, it is not just a Jewish thing. You could say the same about blacks, university professors, gays and San Francisco.

On the other side are Jews like Mark Levine, Horrowitz, Friedman, Hayek and a host of others. They never count or are stupidly called "controlled opposition". That is "Uncle Tom" for Jews.

You actually demean, lessen and weaken the issue when you stray off into the conspiracy world. I know I will not change your mind, but you are a worthless ally in any cause we might agree on.

The main issue is the State and control. All who favor that are the loathesome opposition. All who oppose it are potential allies.

Neofascists are worthless. While opposing the State because of invisible Jewish influence they favor a different autocratic state. National Socialism (which need not actually be racist but usually is) and Soviet Socialism are kissing cousins. It is lke arguing the difference between various monarchs while Monarchy is the real problem.

Jewish people are not hostile to White America or even American culture, even many of the Democrats. The Left is hostile to anything that opposes its ultimtate aim of power, which is behind the nice-nice face of the welfare state.

[Lucky Leprachaun]

Jews have been the masterminds behind the anti-White Project.  Feminism and numerous other anti-family measures, open borders (for all White countries but not Israel), Affirmative Action, the bogus 'equality' agenda, forced integration, so-called Hate laws etc.

Agreed, not all Jews are guilty but the Project has been Jewish from the beginning. That some goyim were corrupt or stupid enough to support it doesn't gainsay this fact

[insanelysane]

People realize that the gun laws proposed by the Dems are just petty vindictiveness towards rural Americans.  Yesterday in Boston a drug dealer shot a cop in the leg.  The news was saying how the Mayor Marty "dumber than a box of rocks" Walsh had just attended Obama's gun control town hall meeting.  At night when the facts were in, the drug dealer has been in and out of prison 5 times in 10 years for weapons and drug charges.  MASSACHUSETTS HAS SOME OF THE TOUGHEST GUN LAWS ON THE BOOKS!  but that is where those laws stay because the fucking super liberal justice system keeps turning these criminals out into society.  http://www.bostonherald.com/news/local_coverage/2016/01/evans_headley_a_...

[QE4EVER]

"rural Americans"  you mean hillbillies?

[Wulfkind]

We don't have hills that much in Florida.  We're Crackers down here.

[JD59]

The new NRA advertisements on TV are kicking Barry Soetoro's lies into the trash heap where his failed PSYOPS lies belong. Barry can only do one thing right, SELLING MILLIONS OF GUNS!

[JD59]

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-01-08/chinese-immigrant-turned-citize...

This fine American Patriot, says it all!

[Powder]

...but he cried.. and The Donald authenticated his tears. Shouldn't that be enough to make you a passive little lamb? 

[Phillyguy]

Endemic violence has been a prominent feature of US society since this country was founded. Following their arrival from Europe, the “settlers” proceeded to steal land from the indigenous population and later murder them. A significant fraction of the wealth generated in the nascent country was from slavery- exploitation of Black Africans. It took a civil war (a war that many in the South are still fighting), with circa 500,000 casualties to eliminate slavery. Since 1776, the US has been war 93% of the time (Link: www.washingtonsblog.com/2015/02/america-war-93-time-222-239-years-since-1776.html). So basically nothing has changed- violence is a constant in our society.

[Duc888]

"So basically nothing has changed- violence is a constant in our society."

Yea, but the violent crime rate has dropped in the last ten years.

[Lucky Leprachaun]

There was no society in what's now the USA when Whites arrived. It was populated by a small number of illiterate Stone Age savages who hadn't even invented the wheel.

[Duc888]

There are some seriously fucking stupid people out there running amok.

"I'm less afraid of the criminals wielding guns in Baltimore, I declared as we discussed the issue, than I am by those permitted gun owners."

I had to read that about 5 times, really slowly, to make sure my eyes were not deceiving me. 

and then this....  "I have the luxury of being white and middle class in a largely segregated city that reserves most of its shootings for poor, black neighborhoods overtaken by "the game."

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bs-ed-bishop-0108-20160107...

[onlooker]

Clinton may have stated that the Republicans are the enemy. However, when the inquisition gets under full steam, the question via a Democrat Joe McCarthy will be

ARE YOU NOW, OR HAVE YOU EVER BEEN A MEMBER OF THE NRA?

If the answer is yes, the next question is--- Are any other members of your family also Terrorists?

The hate for the NRA by some left is not to be discounted or trivialized.

Join at your own risk. Do not join at the risk of loss of the 2^nd Amendment.

Obama may have had good intent with his Mandate of this week re gun control. HOWEVER, he stated that it will be interpreted on a case by case basis (because there are some non hard rule definitions). There are 2 problems

1. There are not enough people in the US Government to inspect every non-FFL transfer.

2. It leaves every non-FFL transaction open to be a CRIME because it can be defined as such.

3. The NRA understands this.

4. NO media is telling you this. WHY?

5. Maybe it is because they understand??

[Celotex]

But as you learned or should have learned from the movie Goldfinger, you cannot shoot a gun off in a jet without probably killing yourself.

[pupdog1]

Pussy.

[QE4EVER]

Who gives a fuck? Let them all shoot each other. we'll have less iliiterate americans running around.

I'm all for that. The fly over states are worthless!

[The Wedge]

"The fly over states are worthless!"

Yep, who needs food anyway.

[just the tip]

fuck you.

[Chris88]

I remember in 2008 the NRA called me and said that they were endorsing McCain.  When I asked why they were endorsing someone who consistently opposed the 2nd amendment and really entire Bill of Rights, they essentially said they felt he was the best "choice".  I asked why they didn't endorse a 2rd party candidate who had supporting gun rights more strongly, they refused to answer.  I told them they were a total joke, and the next day cancelled my membership.  

[Kagemusho]

"Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?" - Who shall guard ther guardians? Who shall police the police?

The first national gun control legislation came about courtesy of a false-flag operation in 1933 to supposedly overthrow the government led by certain business interests of the day. It was appropriately named, The Business Plot'. General Smedley Butler was approached by several members of the supposed plot to lead the coup against FDR.

Whether this actually had a chance of ever succeeding is doubtful, and given Congress's later lack of interest in legally pursuing those accredited with formulating the plan, it seems that this was nothing but a false flag.

But it served its purpose; the next year the first national gun control law was passed, the National Firearms Act of 1934, restricting civilian access to automatic weapons. How very convenient for those in power, to make the citizens less able to match the firepower of government forces, then seen to have been captured by the very same 'special interests' whose descendant still run - and ruin - things in America.

All later gun laws merely added one odious restriction after another, one more turn of the screw, one more diminution of our rights under the rubric of 'protecting us', when, as recent history has shown us, it is we who need protection from those intent on 'protecting' us.

[tribune]

owning a gun does not liberate you it imprisons you. "one mans freedom is another mans prison" everyone has the capacity to be irrational and when there are guns around then people can get killed. if i were the president by executive order i would remove guns from american society like john howard did in australia. it can be done

[Chris88]

Just a question - how would you remove guns from American society without using guns?  You'd need government agents to enforce this decree by threatening others with their guns. A hypocrite and coward, perfect candidate for government employment.

[The Wedge]

No

[Kagemusho]

My, how wonderfully, naively trusting you are of a government that once sought to kill us. Look up Operation NORTHWOODS and then try to rationalize that childish degree of trust in the face of its existence.

People like you remind me of what Solzhenitsyn said:

“And how we burned in the camps later, thinking: What would things have been like if every Security operative, when he went out at night to make an arrest, had been uncertain whether he would return alive and had to say good-bye to his family? Or if, during periods of mass arrests, as for example in Leningrad, when they arrested a quarter of the entire city, people had not simply sat there in their lairs, paling with terror at every bang of the downstairs door and at every step on the staircase, but had understood they had nothing left to lose and had boldly set up in the downstairs hall an ambush of half a dozen people with axes, hammers, pokers, or whatever else was at hand?... The Organs would very quickly have suffered a shortage of officers and transport and, notwithstanding all of Stalin's thirst, the cursed machine would have ground to a halt! If...if...We didn't love freedom enough. And even more – we had no awareness of the real situation.... We purely and simply deserved everything that happened afterward.”

Thinking (such as it is) like you have demonstrated has always led to the same  tragic results. And those who thought that way usually were the last ones in the death camps, wondering why their cowed subservience to tyranny didn't save them.

[g speed]

actually tribune is a snich and should be eleminated--first

[Kagemusho]

“If you love wealth greater than liberty, the tranquility of servitude greater than the animating contest for freedom, go home from us in peace. We seek not your counsel, nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you; May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen.” Samuel Adams

“Let me give you a word of the philosophy of reform. The whole history of the progress of human liberty shows that all concessions yet made to her august claims, have been born of earnest struggle. The conflict has been exciting, agitating, all-absorbing, and for the time being, putting all other tumults to silence. It must do this or it does nothing. If there is no struggle there is no progress. Those who profess to favor freedom and yet depreciate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground, they want rain without thunder and lightening. They want the ocean without the awful roar of its many waters."

"This struggle may be a moral one, or it may be a physical one, and it may be both moral and physical, but it must be a struggle. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will. Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have found out the exact measure of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them, and these will continue till they are resisted with either words or blows, or with both. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress. -  Frederrick Douglass  (Emphasis mine - Kagemusho)

Would that those who would trade their liberties for 'security' would 'go home', and not trouble those intent on preserving those liberties. For they are as Douglass described, enablers of the tyranny they think they can placate.

[22winmag]

Sam Colt just rolled over and barfed.

[didthatreallyhappen]

LMAO

[Irish Yoga]

You gunners are slaves and your slavery of licensing is proof of it. I build shit from household chemicals that have a much bigger BANG effect. No license needed.

[The Wedge]

Sure, it's easy to keep and deploy household chemicals tucked under your shirt when a wacko opens fire in movie theater.

[Irish Yoga]

See, you just don't get it, do you? Nobody in their American addled brain that has any semblance of life goes to a fucking movie theater these days when YouTube provides free shit.

And yes, I can pack a lot more destructive force simply packed into my pockets that far outweigh your pea shooter in a crowded movie theater that I will never enter. I'll be the guy rushing in to save your dumb ass and hopefully get you a refund on your ticket costs.

[The Wedge]

Aside from the state, the only people that can be persuaded to alter their opinions on the second amendment are those oposed to the second amendment.

[orangegeek]

Who cares what Bullshit-barry wants or does?

Bullshit-barry is finished.  Bullshit-barry can implement his little gun thingy plan, but there isn't enough time for any time of realistic implementation.

Billary is about to be prosecuted and the Dems will then be gutted.

It's Trump's show after 2016.  This Bullshit-barry gun babble is a sideshow.

The real issue for Bullshit-barry is the tanking global economy - and he his plan will be to bend over and take it.

[The Wedge]

The idea that the state or Obama wants to "make you safer" is the height of absurdity. The state goes around the world killing and displacing millions both directly and indirectly....but he loves you and wants to keep you safe.

[indaknow]

Governments don't care about people killing themselves. They care about them defending themselves.

[Cthonic]

Lifetime member of NRA, GOA, JPFO since the 90's... though apparently NRA conveniently forgets this fact from time to time.  In the end, all they want is your money.  Save your fees and take someone shooting instead.  The only way to protect common law rights to keep and bear arms, is to have the majority respect them.

[Dronehunter]

Thoughts? DHS drone?   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NInQhCdp72o

[Vlad the Inhaler]

Are you sure they weren't just polling paid actors?

http://www.politicususa.com/2015/06/18/donald-trump-busted-hiring-actors...

[Bloodstock]

The president who cried wolf one (thousand) too many times. No one believes you anymore Barry. Loser!

[22winmag]

Tens of millions of battle-ready carbines and countless deer rifles perfectly suited to insurgent sniping aren't going anywhere.

Nor is the largest army on Earth, which is firmly in possession of said rifles going anywhere.

Get a grip, literally and figuratively.

[opport.knocks]

LOL - If he wanted a positive result, the best thing Obama could have done was stay quiet on the subject and gone golfing.

[unwanted flatulence]

Gun Owners of America and Jews for preservation of FireArms are the two orgs I still belong to, much more aggressive than NRA who is just part of the system enjoying big salaries.

I quit my Benefactor membership of NRA 5 years ago, after numerous sell-outs.  I love freedom, my 21 year old son said he just found his Life Membership card - which I had issued ten minutes after he was born.

I love this country and my SCAR 17 - I'm sorry to see the USA fall into dictatorship, but no one takes my SCAR.  Fuck the elite, they are very scared of free men, that's armed men, because they know what they plan is evil.

[J J Pettigrew]

Obama wants the open discussion

hey where is the NRA? He quips before millions

He forgot to mention they would have been constrained to one screened question

Very reminiscent of the mischaracterization of the Citizens v US in his SOTU speech

[Haydukez]

Methinks the Prez ain't a Democrat, actually.