In the wake of the horribleness that was the Parkland shooting, there has been much discussion about how much money specific Congress members receive from the NRA.
The idea is that these people receive so much money from the NRA that they are beholden to the organization and will do their bidding.
This is completely wrong.
The reality is that politicians don’t follow the money, the money follows the politicians.
I saw a post which said something to the effect that John McCain (a great American hero, to be sure) has received like $7.7 million from gun lobbies in his career. There’s a reason for that: McCain is a reliable vote for gun rights. McCain doesn’t vote as he does because he gets the money; he gets the money because he votes the way he does.
The NRA isn’t stupid. They know that they could give millions to Nancy Pelosi, but that wouldn’t change her voting habits one bit. I’m no fan of Pelosi, but I will say that I doubt seriously that any amount of money could sway her from her gun control beliefs. That’s the reason the NRA doesn’t give Pelosi money. If they could sway her with money, they most certainly would.
And of course they give more money to Republicans — Republicans tend to vote for gun rights more than Democrats do. But if there is a reliable gun rights vote in the Democratic party, you can bet that the NRA will donate to them.
It’s the same for any and all special interest organizations — they don’t buy votes, they support politicians that support what they support. NARAL doesn’t give money to pro-life politicians, and politicians aren’t pro-abortion because NARAL gives them money.
So the next time you read some post like “<Politician’s Name> received <some amount of money> from <some special interest>”, remember, it’s because of how they vote, not the other way around.