A popular taking point coming from the left at the moment alleges that the National Rifle Association, the lobby group known to promote 2nd Amendment Rights in America, essentially owns every single Republican on Capitol Hill.
Not only is this contention far from the truth — it suggests that the organization is the only single-issue group to do what it does.
According to OpenSecrets.org, the NRA made just over $1 million in campaign donations during the 2016 election cycle. But let’s look at Planned Parenthood, which shelled out $700,000 to federal candidates alone during that same time period. Would it be just as valid to claim that the Democratic Party is owned by abortionists?
Of course, Planned Parenthood is not the DNC’s only source of income. Democrats also take a considerable amount of money from labor union donations — funds which are often collected involuntarily from members in the form of union dues.
There is definitely room for discussion on the proper role of political action committees in campaign contributions, but to suggest that this equates to some sort of ownership is simply intellectually dishonest.
~ Facts Not Memes
