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Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) is gunning for the NRA, which recently urged West Virginians to pressure their elected official to get in line. Manchin, who supports extending background checks to buyers at gun shows and online, was previously supported by the NRA because of his voting record on their issues. Now he is on their public enemy list.
On the Morning Joe show, Manchin debuted his own new ad, and explained he didn’t go to Washington to serve the NRA.
“What other purpose do we have here?” Manchin asked. “Why do we ask to be policy makers and be involved in the public process when we’re afraid to engage? I’m not. I’m not afraid to engage. The worst they can do is defeat me and send me home to my family and the state I love, West Virginia. That’s a pretty good consolation. What are we afraid of?”
Manchin added that the strategy of the NRA and Gun Owners of America is to use lies and innuendo to work up the gullible and keep those donations flowing in.
“The only thing they use against me is: ‘we just don’t trust government,” Manchin said. “Well, I’m sorry if you don’t like it. Get involved and make it better. Don’t just sit and curse the wind. But they don’t want to get involved, they just want to keep this paranoia going on.”
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