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The NRA is likely to be disappointed

<p>Whether the NRA believes its own rhetoric is unclear, but the conservative organization certainly excels in sounding the alarm.Wayne LaPierre, the president
The NRA is likely to be disappointed
The NRA is likely to be disappointed

Whether the NRA believes its own rhetoric is unclear, but the conservative organization certainly excels in sounding the alarm.

Wayne LaPierre, the president of the National Rifle Association, says his group is prepared for an "unprecedented" fight over gun control when the 113th Congress arrives in Washington next year.In an interview with CNN Monday, LaPierre "did not offer specific legislative examples of what he thinks is going to happen next year, but added the NRA has good sources in Washington, DC who said it is coming.""I think it is going to come hard, I think it is going to come fast, and I think it is going to come soon," LaPierre said.

The problem, of course, is that LaPierre says this every year, and every year he's mistaken. The NRA leader was certain President Obama would wage a tireless crusade against guns after taking office in 2009, but in his first term, Obama actually expanded gun rights.

More recently, LaPierre said the fact that the president hasn't pursued gun-control policies is proof that he will pursue gun-control policies -- that rascally Obama is only lulling folks into a false sense of security.


Remember this LaPierre gem of a quote from CPAC?

"When he got elected, they concocted a scheme to stay away from the gun issue, lull gun owners to sleep and play us for fools in 2012. Well, gun owners are not fools and we are not fooled."We see the president's strategy crystal clear. Get re-elected and with no more elections to worry about, get busy dismantling and destroying our firearms freedom, erase the Second Amendment from the Bill of Rights and exercise it from the U.S. Constitution. That's their agenda."

No, it's really not. In the unlikely event that the president pursued "unprecedented" restrictions on firearms, Congress wouldn't pass them anyway, suggesting the NRA should win this imaginary fight without breaking a sweat.

I realize that the NRA is a membership organization, and donors usually don't grab the checkbook when a group's leader says, "Everything looks great; there are no meaningful threats to the issue we care about; but send us money anyway."

But for those concerned with reality, anyone expecting an onslaught of gun-control bills coming "hard ... fast ... and soon" is likely to be terribly disappointed.