SMELLS LIKE DESPERATION: Brady Campaign Re-Brands Itself Yet Again

Whew!  Nothing fouls the olifactory glands like the smell of desperation.  And the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence has gone heavy on the eau de parfum "Desperation" of late. 

The nation's oldest gun control group, the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, has changed their name again. Earlier this week, they rolled out their latest moniker, Brady…and hardly anyone noticed. 

This marks the fourth name for the civilian disarmament operation that started out as The National Coalition to Control Handguns. Then, when that dog didn't hunt, they changed their name to much warmer and fuzzier Handgun Control, Inc.

That identity didn't gain any traction either, so they re-branded yet again, becoming the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. And now they're simply going with the name Brady.

Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer made sure to show up for the re-branding announcement earlier this week. I wonder how much that co$t the Brady bunch. Amazingly, the event got some coverage at The Hill.

The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, the nation's oldest gun violence prevention advocacy group, is rebranding, changing its name to Brady and expanding its efforts.

The group announced the rebrand at an event on Tuesday night with Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) while celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Brady bill, which required background checks on gun sales by federally licensed firearms dealers.

For three-plus decades, NCCH/Handgun Control, Inc./BCPGV served as the main players working to strip Americans of their constitutionally protected rights. They commanded a lot of respect as the big dogs on the block among gun control operations.

And then Michael Bloomberg started dumping $50 million a year into his Everytown for Gun Control. Then Gabby Giffords came along with her Americans for Responsible Solutions…now itself re-branded as Giffords.

Suddenly, the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence had a hard time raising cash, getting attention or finding anyone in the media who cared enough to call them for a quote.

For the past five years or so, the Brady bunch have struggled to hold their heads above water. Desperate for the oxygen of publicity, they've struggled for traction.

About their only meaningful events nationwide took place in Riverdale, Illinois as they protested outside Chuck's Guns.

Some of them actually drove all the way from Washington State for the event. For those keeping track, that's 2,085 miles from Seattle. Could they not afford plane tickets?

That's Rhonda Ezell, the woman who successfully challenged Chicago's ban on shooting ranges in the city in court.  Twice.

Leading the march: Dan Gross, the former big cheese of the Brady Bunch.

They made sure to bring their armed bodyguards with them, including the one who was arrested later for carrying a gun without a license.

That particular day, Jackson and Pfleger wanted to get arrested for obstructing the entrance to Chuck's Gun Shop, but Mr. Gross had only rented the buses for four hours. The drivers told Jackson and Pfleger that their passengers would have to walk back to St. Sabinas if they didn't cut short their little photo op.

When he heard that, Jackson's anger boiled over. I saw it with my own eyes and ears. The Bradys didn't (or couldn't) spring for an extra few bucks to pay the buses for the whole day and Jesse Jackson doesn't like it when anyone gets between him and some national publicity.

So all the bused-in bodies boarded the vehicles and the entire event fizzled out.

In all likelihood, this latest "re-branding" came about as an attempt to get the Handgun Control/Brady Campaign/Center for another shot of some much-needed publicity. Because donors don't donate when they can't see any results.