Second most damaged brand? The NRA.

I have no intention of making this a political blog, but I couldn't resist. America's second-most damaged brand has got to be the National Rifle Association.

Why? Let's begin with their response to the Newtown, CT tragedy. Simply put, their proposal was more guns. And they seemed completely unwilling to consider anything that did not involve - you guessed it - more guns.

Here's another question - why doesn't the NRA take up a position similar to that of the alcoholic beverage industries after groups like MADD were critical of them? The brewers and distillers have done a pretty good job of promoting responsibility - asking their consumers to enjoy responsibly and getting behind efforts to prevent or reduce the sale of alcoholic beverages to minors.

This leaves all but those who make a living selling guns without background checks wondering - why doesn't the NRA come out and say, "Yes, we hear you. The recent shootings in Connecticut, and in Colorado, etc.  were tragedies, and we want to do our part to be sure that people buying and owning guns are doing so legally and responsibly. We support background checks, always, whether you buy the gun at a big box retailer, a small gun shop or a gun show at the county fairgrounds, to protect our law-abiding citizens, our kids, our future." In other words, to be the adults in the room.

Why not? Perhaps because to do so would be to resist pandering to the radical right - those who believe we must have guns to protect ourselves against the government. No doubt this is the same crowd who believe President Obama wasn't born in the U.S., or call him lazy or an elitist.

It goes further. Last night, on the eve of the White House gun policy announcement, the NRA doubled down on its hard-right stand and released a new TV ad that calls President Obama an elitist and a hypocrite for being skeptical about placing armed guards in schools while his own children are protected by the (armed) Secret Service. Really? Did they really go there?

This brand is digging a very deep hole for itself.