The NRA at this point in time is a powerful organization that has control over all branches of government. It has become powerful due to its sheer popularity with its base, and also the donations it makes to members of Congress. The NRA wields enough power and influence to make Senators hesitate when talking about it, as they fear losing an organization that provides crucial motivation for the GOP base. The NRA is essentially profiting off of weapons of war, it is comparable to powerful weapons manufacturers, with the main difference being that it controls domestic gun consumption. The NRA doesn’t profit off of war, it profits off of domestic gun violence since each act of gun violence can lead to even more weapons being purchased- the cycle of death continuing. The NRA is popular because of its messaging, which is you need a good guy with a gun to fight off a bad guy with a gun. This mentality runs deep without conservative minds and leads to an interesting conversation on guns. The NRA may not donate an extreme amount of money to Congress, but its popularity is enough to make Marco Rubio hesitate when asked a question on the NRA.

The NRA receives an extensive amount of support from their right-wing base. The NRA doesn’t necessarily rely on dishing out massive bribes to Congressmen, but they still help. The NRA truly gets its power from holding on to a significant portion of the GOP base. This significant portion of the GOP base is extreme and necessary for a Republican victory, which results in the Republican party kowtowing in front of the NRA. The Republican party, just like the Democratic, is extremely divided and has to make sure its base comes out to vote. For the Republicans, this means supporting the NRA which holds many key voters across the country. The NRA makes it impossible for the GOP to disobey it, since at any time they can withdraw support for candidates and cause them to lose. This would anger Congressmen, but rather make them even more obedient to the NRA. The NRA keeps Congress as its lapdog by controlling its food, which is its base and campaign contributions.

The NRA is one of the worst organizations in the US. It’s supported weapons of death for decades, and wields influence over both the Democratic and Republican parties, although it has much more control over the Republicans. The NRA is not afraid to endorse candidates, and it is also perfectly willing to let Republicans lose to tell the rest to get in line. Republicans at this point, only have 1 possible way of breaking the shackles of the NRA. They must destroy its popularity. If the popularity of the NRA can be destroyed, it will collapse in on itself. In all likelihood, the NRA will continue wielding influence for decades even if assault rifles are banned, since it still controls a significant part of the voting base’s population. The NRA is not a money machine, it is a political machine that arguably wields more power than any other organization.