A humble suggestion to the THR mods, simply create a new discussion forum for politics and ruthlessly move all such derailments to there.
What I have witnessed over the years is the usual suspects arguing over team red versus team blue politics with the NRA as a pinata. Certain folks tend to bring emotions rather than rational talk with rapidly leads insults and thence to a degenerating thread that will get locked. Logical fallacies abound--No True Scotsman, Appeals to Emotion, the Texas Sharpshooter, Appeals to Authority, and so on. Now, I enjoy a spot of rhetoric now and then but most of the stuff in these threads deals with external politics outside the realm of the 2A or even the NRA.
Look, if the NRA does not do things that you like, then QUIT or else make yourself up a campaign and run for the board yourself. Or, found your own organization with like minded individuals. Griping about how in the good ole days where everyone just got along because the NRA did this or that is boring and repetitive. Folks that are current NRA supporters will simply tune you out because you never suggest concrete actions that can be actualized and you are left to preach to the choir of amens on social media. The fact is that the current activists and donors of Democratic Party are hostile to firearms and very little of this is the fault of the NRA. The media, in part, plus urban crime, is more causative.
It is more to the point that urban and suburban areas in general are less friendly to firearms and the U.S. is becoming more urbanized every day. Notably, jurisdictions like Chicago, New York City, Philadelphia, DC, etc. were not favorable toward firearms even during the heyday of the bipartisan NRA in the 1970's. This attitude has spread to even cities like Pittsburg
For example, the origin of the jackbooted thugs of the ATF quote came from no less than John Dingell, D-MI who holds the record for being the longest serving member in the House but his district is more urban now. His daughter now holds the seat as did Dingell's father before John but is less favorable toward firearms and certainly would not appear on a promo film for the NRA as did her father in the day.
https://www.nytimes.com/1995/05/08/...iation-has-long-practice-railing-against.html
LaPierre, himself, was a VA Democrat and worked for one prior to becoming executive director.
What has basically happened is that the Democratic party base is urban now and in opposition to the rural Republican base. What one likes, the other hates, what it important to one is not important to the other. Note the mockery by urbanites over the drug epidemics of meth and pain killer abuse in rural America toward the folks in "flyover" country while urbanites snort their coke, use Special K, and other "party" drugs. Cities have empty churches while life in rural communities often revolve around churches. For the most part, actual growth in population of most cities has been declining or flat. Thus, the road to power in politics now lies in the growing suburbs. This is the political battleground with suburbs tilting toward favoring handguns, shotguns, etc for home defense but afraid of "assault" rifles threatening their kids in school. The swing voters in these areas are not the sort to approve much of "bump stocks".
Notably, most of the loser school murderers that are widely publicized and promote national "conversations" from incidents in suburban schools. Urban schools are more at risk from drive by gang shootings and the national media pretty much ignores these. And rural school shootings, when they occur are more or less ignored by the national media.
For example, gangs in Chicago, St. Louis, Memphis, etc., annually kill many more people including kids than the most recent suburban school shooting. Gun controllers shrug and blame firearms instead of a disfunctional culture of violence present in many urban areas. One can see the disparity in media coverage and as a result, gun controllers focus on the relatively rare violence using so-called assault rifles rather than the mundane slaughter using handguns.
The reason is that the suburbs are the current battleground for the 2A and making moms afraid for their kids at school is the purpose to undermine support for the 2A. The bad boy used to be G-locks which everyone knows are laser like in accuracy, indetectable, fully automatic, more lethal when shot sideways, use exploding bullets, throw people across the room when hit with one shot, and only criminals and terrorists love. Movies and media that suburbans love to consume "told" them these facts. Good guys used revolvers. Then you got every handgun shooting portrayed by the media as done by a "Glock" when the real firearm was something like a Jimenez or Lorcin.
The split in today's politics comes from society and culture, which is reflected in every mass social organization, is because the universal acceptance of ground rules are no more. Increasingly the common ground is disappearing beneath our feet due to political leaders in part for opportunism, and elites in society who want to remake it. Identity politics is a reflection of this with its whole hierarchy of oppressed and oppressors. There, different rules of behavior apply to different groups and public policy should be based on what favored groups like and disfavored groups should shut up and be quiet as their oppressing days are over. Repeatedly in history and sociology, we can see that cultural (and politics is downstream of culture) diversity inevitably result in greater conflict due to different experiences, culture, and socialization if the dividing market is one's tribal identities that trump a search for common ground.
In a similar vein, there are ideological tribes too. Those on the left argue that those on the right are evil (and increasingly should be eradicated through some unspecified means) and those on the right believe those on the left are stupid (but increasingly accepting that those on the left are evil as well). We see similar arguments between sides regarding the Boy Scouts, the Girl Scouts, the Methodist Church, and so on and so on. Those who are moderates believe both sides are idiots because the true virtue of moderation is uncertainty about what is right which can lead to bridging the gap and the true vice is lack of commitment to any principles where moderates prevent or water down timely action to address a situation in the interest of vague general principles such as Peace or Civility.
