Congressman Keith Ellison, co-chair of the Progressive Caucus, says the NRA's new ad targeting the Obama daughters is offensive and indicative that the NRA will go to any length to support the gun manufacturers who are the lobby's true constituents.
But that doesn't mean he wants the NRA to take the ad down. "I want them to show it because I think the more American people see it, the more offended they will be," he said. "They will know that this is a group of unscrupulous people who know no low point and I think that the public will continue to turn against them as it has been."
Ellison also called into question the NRA's motives. "The NRA doesn't really represent gun owners, it represents gun manufacturers," he said. "And they don't want to have any reasonable restrictions on guns, because every high capacity clip that's sold, perhaps one of their people is selling them." He continued: "Every accessory, every gun, every AR-15 Bushmaster, one of their people are selling it, and so they're in the business of supporting people who traffic in death, and so they don't want to prevent that or they don't want anyone to even curtail that."
"If you're a gun owner, you're in no jeopardy of losing your gun or having it taken away," he said. "But if you make a lot of money selling high capacity clips, you might be in trouble, that's why they're fighting back so fiercely."
Ellison is still hopeful that reasonable Republicans and gun owners will come together in opposition to the NRA's extreme stance. "Law enforcement, gun owners, moderate Republicans, other folks who really are putting people first, I think we are the overwhelming majority."