NRA moves to new arena in fight over surgeon general

In recent years, the National Rifle Assn. has stepped into fights over judicial nominees it views as weak on 2nd Amendment rights, but its decision to oppose a surgeon general nominee takes the powerful lobby into new territory, expanding its campaign to a post that has no direct power to regulate guns.

President Obama’s nominee, Dr. Vivek H. Murthy, a Massachusetts internist and former emergency room doctor, has called for more stringent gun laws. But he also testified at his Senate confirmation hearing last month that he would not use the surgeon general’s office as a bully pulpit to push for them.

The NRA, though, has pledged to block his appointment, arguing that it reflects the Obama administration’s intent to extend the gun control debate to new arenas.

“Gun owners in this country don’t have a guarantee that this surgeon general will not engage the gun issue,” NRA spokesman Andrew Arulanandam said.
The lobby’s new move could help keep the volatile issue alive in an election year when Democrats hope it will disappear because it could hurt moderate senators in competitive races.

Some political analysts who closely watch the influential organization suggest that the NRA’s stance also reflects an organization that needs such high-profile skirmishes to keep its more than 5 million members energized and that is increasingly pushed to compete with smaller firearm groups that are farther to the right.

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Just what we need - the Overton Window working on gun fetishists.