NRA Should Disclose Russian Ties

[struggle4progress]

By The Editors
February 7, 2018, 8:00 AM EST

The National Rifle Association has long offered its expertise in politics and public relations to gun groups in Australia, Brazil, Canada and elsewhere. The question now is whether during the 2016 presidential campaign the NRA embraced a very different sort of international mission: serving as a conduit to Donald Trump’s campaign for Russian interests.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is reportedly investigating whether the NRA helped funnel money from Russians into the election, which would violate U.S. election law prohibiting the use of foreign money. In recent years the NRA has developed relationships with several well-connected Russians, including Alexander Torshin, an ally of President Vladimir Putin who is deputy governor of the Russian central bank ...

https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2018-02-07/the-nra-should-disclose-any-russian-ties

[dalton99a]

1. The NRA reported spending $30 million on Trump -- more than any candidate in its history

Coincidence? I think not

[Igel]

2. Obviously because of it's Australian connections.

What else could it be? Perhaps because the NRA thought Trump (and some other (R)) would better defend its interests than HRC (and some other (D))?

Nah, gotta be the Australian connection.

Sound silly? It should.

My wife recently bought new clothes and had her nails done. Oh, my. Perhaps she's having an affair.

Oh, wait. For the last 20 years she's bought new clothes, and for the last 10 had her nails done. Why should I attribute customary behavior to a new cause?

Even if I were to find out she is having an affair, that's still not sufficient evidence for saying that her clothes-buying and nails are due to the affair unless there's good reason to believe she'd have stopped that behavior otherwise. In other words, the behavior still wouldn't be evidence in support of my suspicion or belief. Now, for rhetorical points, sure, it's a powerful claim to make, but the conclusion drawn is as much a valid conclusion as a mountain drawn is a valid mountain. But the difference between a demagogue and a democrat, IMHO, is the difference between ars rhetorica and ars logica, between ruling through manipulation and ruling by consent.

[poboy2]

3. truth. Russia to NRA to Traitors. -eom