NRA Joins Mitch McConnell Against Rand Paul and Gun Owners for America

Senator Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) said moments ago that the National Rifle Association wrote him a three-page letter explaining the organization's opposition to Senator Rand Paul's gun amendment, which is being debated on the floor now and which Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has been trying to kill all day. 

This fits with what a Senate staffer told me yesterday, which is that Paul's office didn't even bother reaching out to the NRA. But it doesn't exactly help the group's Tea Party credentials, certainly not when you consider that it supported the DISCLOSE Act and opposed Dick Heller taking his case to the Supreme Court. 

UPDATE: 85-10, Paul's gun amendment is dead.

UPDATE II: 91-4, Paul's banking records amendment is dead. Time for a vote on reauthorization. 

UPDATE III: Read the NRA's response here.