It’s hardly an Earth-shaking insight, but it’s occurred to me that the NRA’s descent into utter madness has paralleled that of the Republican Party. Looking at the NRA today, it is mind-boggling to realize that they actually supported both the National Firearms Act of 1934 and the Gun Control Act of 1968. As with so many things, the rot really set in during the 1980s and the Reagan Administration. Since the accession of Wayne LaPierre in 1991, this process has accelerated, with the NRA actively and openly courting the extreme right. We see the results today, a huge and well-heeled organization made up largely of paranoid conspiracy theorists.