Manchin and the NRA: Is the Gun Lobby Out of Touch?

Senator Joe Manchin III of West Virginia (2010-present)

When former governor and current Senator from West Virginia Joe Manchin III ran for former Senator Robert Byrd‘s seat in 2010, he was strongly backed by the National Rifle Association (“NRA”). The now-Senator famously shot a bullet through a copy of the cap-and-trade bill in a campaign commercial—literally. It is widely credited with helping turn around his campaign and winning him a full term in 2012. Later in the election, he walked around with a gun resting on his shoulder and told the camera he didn’t have to shoot the bill again because it was already dead. Repeatedly, the senator has said he does not regret the add. He has a lifetime NRA rating of A. The falling out he has had with the most prominent gun lobby, then, came as something of a surprise.

In the aftermath of the school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut, much fanfare was made of imposing new gun control legislation, both in individual states and nationally. While some jurisdictions–Connecticut and Colorado in particular–enacted tough new laws, the Federal government found itself mired in the slog of obstructionist Republicans and gutless Democrats. Vice President Joe Biden‘s special commission went nowhere. So when a bipartisan duo of senators historically backed by the NRA stepped up to the plate to push for almost universal background checks, a modest proposal, it looked like the best deal that could pass.

Mr. Manchin and Senator Pat Toomey (R-PA), both of whom are among the more conservative members of their respective parties, co-sponsored and pushed the bill. Both had credibility among gun owners because of their close ties to the NRA. The bill was fiercely fought, with Vice President Joe Biden personally helping lead the charge. It was a modest bill, too modest for many liberals’ taste, but Democrats supported it en masse while Republicans mostly opposed it. The measure would extent background checks on gun purchases to include sales at gun shows and from person to person except in some circumstances (gifts, sales between family members, etc.). Republican opposition was, and is, odd because poll after poll has shown for months that a majority of Americans, and majorities in most Red states, support these near-universal background checks. The bill went on to fail 54 to 46 (it was being filibustered) with only four Republicans supporting it (John McCain (R-AZ), Susan Collins (R-ME), Mark Kirk (R-IL) and of course Mr. Toomey). Four Democrats (and Harry Reid, the majority leader, who supports the measure but voted against it at the last-minute for procedural reasons) also broke with their party to oppose the bill. When it failed, the families of victims of gun violence heckled the Senate.

While Mr. Toomey has since said he is moving on to other issues, Mr. Manchin has continued pushing for new gun laws, including a discussion of an assault weapons ban. As more polls come out showing Americans favoring these laws, some Senators have reputedly said they may want to switch their votes. While no legislation has been passed, this is the most serious effort to enact more gun laws in 2o years. And the NRA is scared.

Recently, the NRA and other pro gun organizations that did not support the Manchin-Toomey bill have come out with ads against the West Virginia senator despite his lifetime membership and A rating. Mr. Manchin though, is not taking it laying down, and has used his campaign reelection funds to defend himself, an unusual move from an incumbent who does not face voters again until 2018. The fact that he is a West Virginia Democrat in Washington, a species that may be rapidly becoming extinct, makes this even more perplexing (West Virginia’s senior senator, John D. Rockefeller IV, a Democrat, is retiring at the end of his term in 2014 and the chances of keeping the seat Blue at tenuous at best, and only one of the three House members is a Democrat).

This begs the question: is the NRA out of touch? If large majorities of Americans favor background checks, most NRA members favor such checks, and prominent NRA endorsed senators from both parties are pushing the issue, how can the gun lobby continue fighting it? Isn’t it a membership organization, as they often like to brag? The answer to that question is undoubtedly yes. Especially because for most of its history, the NRA has supported sensible gun control legislation. This is an issue I hope to address more later, but for now, this recent skirmish with Mr. Manchin has provided a glimpse into what maybe is the beginning of the end of NRA influence over gun legislation in the United States.