The Other NRA

This morning I read several references to the upcoming  "NRA Show 2014" next weekend, and automatically assumed that referred to the National Rifle Association. But it turns out that there's another NRA, too: the National Restaurant Association.

I'd never heard of that NRA before. Its website (Restaurant.org) states that it is based in Washington, D.C., suggesting that its primary function is government lobbying. (According to Wikipedia, it has fought successfully across the country to block efforts to raise the minimum wage. It also apparently opposes legislation that would lower the Blood Alcohol Content threshold for Driving Under the Influence.)

How does it do that?  The primary vehicle appears to be Restaurant PAC ("Sound public policy begins by supporting and electing candidates to federal office who understand the restaurant industry...")

The NRA has actually been around for almost 100 years, apparently.   I laughed when I read on their History page that one of their slogans in the 1930s was, "Take Her Out to Dinner at Least Once a Week."