"Thanks for Your Email to NRA-PVF"

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Bradey, Jennifer
Date: Nov 6, 2006 11:17 AM
Subject: RE: New website submission
To: [edited for privacy-DC]@gmail.com

Dear Mr. Hofnann [sic*],

Thanks for your email to NRA-PVF.

We have been receiving a bit of communication from NRA members after the latest publicity campaign from GOA regarding Ron Paul's NRA-rating. [1] GOA does this to encourage folks to join their organization rather than NRA. Think about it: if they said NRA was doing everything right, they wouldn't have any members. Only in trying to stir up disagreement among our members, do they reap the benefits.

NRA has accordingly graded Congressman Ron Paul a "B". We have NOT endorsed against him - as widely MISreported.[2]

Congressman Paul is a staunch libertarian, and as such, would not vote for the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act on countless occasions over the past decade. Although he opposed it on libertarian grounds, he still voted against us on one of our top legislative priorities for over a decade. We cannot make exceptions for the reasons WHY Members of Congress don't vote for a bill because they will all come up with some reason not to be supportive. This bill was critical in protecting our firearms heritage in this country, and NRA very successful shephered its passage through the Congress in 2005.

Feel free to let me know if you have any other questions.

Thank you.

___________________________________________
Jennifer Bradey
Manager, Political & Legislative Activities
National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action
11250 Waples Mill Road
Fairfax, VA 22030
(800) 392-VOTE / (703) 267-1195

There's only one problem, Ms. Bradey. GOA says it is "unaware of any publicity campaign" on this. If this is true, someone owes someone else a sincere and public apology. I have forwarded the NRA email, including the header information that validates it is "authentic", to GOA.

[1] All I can even guess that Ms. Bradey is referring to is an article by Kevin Smith that appeared on Alex Jones' website where Larry Pratt defends Ron Paul upon learning of the NRA rating. But Pratt does not mention NRA. This is hardly a GOA "campaign," and certainly not one conducted with a hidden motive to skim off NRA members to swell GOA's ranks, as Ms. Bradey accuses.]

[2] Ms. Bradey is correct and the Smith article is in factual error on one point. NRA never "endorsed" Shane Sklar, and WarOnGuns took care to point this out--along with how the Sklar campaign's presentation of their rating blurred the distinction so that it would be likely to infer an endorsement. Besides which, give one candidate an "A" and his opponent a "B" and the average person will understandably assume a preference has been expressed. But technically, she's right.

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* "Mr. Hofnann" is Kurt Hofmann. He's the activist who initially wrote to NRA and reported their response on the 1911 Forum, so this story is really his. Kurt is new to blogging, having recently created Armed and Safe, which I am adding to the blogroll as soon as I get done posting this. Go on over and check it out.