The hatred of — and love for — the NRA and Planned Parenthood will drive much of nastiness of the upcoming secret money political campaign to win or stop a decisive 50th Senate vote (from West Virginia, North Dakota, Indiana, Alaska, or Maine) for Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee.
One Supreme Court judge could reverse cases like the 2000 Stenberg v. Carhart, forcing states to allow late-term partial-birth abortions or the 2008 Columbia v. Heller decision forcing them to allow their residents to buy handguns — meaning nothing is more important to the NRA and Planned Parenthood than the next Supreme Court Judge.
Since starting Take Back Our Republic[1] to find common ground between conservatives and reformers concerned about the corrupting influence of secret money in politics, those willing to start a civil conversation about many issues sometimes add, “I can work with anyone except the NRA,” or “I can work with anyone except Planned Parenthood.” Both sides accuse the other of everything from breaking campaign finance laws (the focus of Take Back Our Republic) to being responsible for thousands of horrible deaths.
It is impossible for anyone to be unbiased in looking at the two organizations — and I am no exception as the pro-life father of nine who even worked for current NRA President Ollie North during one campaign early in my career. For purposes of this op-ed let’s at least understand why these are the two groups are both the most hated by their opponents and loved and recognized as the two groups with the strongest and broadest grassroots organizations in American politics today.
Two Strongest Grassroots Organizations in the US
First, the groups are the ultimate grassroots organizations of
