Manchin hits back at NRA in ad over background checks

WASHINGTON — The battle over background checks for gun sales is escalating in West Virginia as two former allies, the National Rifle Assn. and Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin III, square off over the airwaves.

Last week, the NRA debuted an ad attacking Manchin for supporting expanded background check requirements, accusing the senator of breaking his promise to honor 2nd Amendment rights.

On Thursday, the West Virginia senator fired back with a commercial of his own. “I’m a lifetime NRA member, but I don’t walk in lock step with the NRA’s Washington leadership, this administration, or any special-interest groups,” he tells viewers.

The sparring comes as Manchin attempts to revive a measure to require background checks for some private gun sales, including those at gun shows and over the Internet.

The deal, crafted with Sen. Patrick J. Toomey (R-Penn.), fell five votes short in the Senate last April. The White House staunchly supported the measure, and gun-control advocates, including New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, have spent heavily on advertising to keep the heat on senators who voted no.

Until last week, the NRA had spent money defending senators who opposed the measure. Its $100,000, two-week buy against Manchin marks the first time the group has gone on offense against lawmakers who supported the deal.

“Tell [Manchin] to reject the Obama-Bloomberg gun-control agenda,” the NRA urges viewers.

Manchin’s ad, which he first premiered on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” depicts the former West Virginia governor walking outdoors with his hunting rifle, at one point looking through its scope, ejecting the cartridge and cleaning the gun. The buy cost just over $100,000 and will run for a week.

“West Virginia, you know me. I haven’t changed. And you know I’ve always fought for our gun rights,” he says in the ad. “I believe that we can protect the 2nd Amendment and make our communities safer. I think most law-abiding gun owners agree with me. Call the NRA, and tell them to support criminal background checks.”

It’s not the first time Manchin’s rifle has had a starring role in a political ad.

In 2010, Manchin, seeking to distance himself from the Obama administration, pledged “to get the federal government off our backs,” a promise that included taking “dead aim” at the cap-and-trade bill for global warming, which the state’s coal interests opposed. He did so literally in the ad, shooting a hole in a copy of the bill mounted on a target.

The 2010 ad opened with a prominent mention of his endorsement from the NRA.

This time, the gun-rights group had harsher words for the senator.

“He may speak like an NRA member and tout NRA values when he’s in West Virginia, but when he’s in Washington, D.C., he votes the way Mike Bloomberg tells him to and repeats all of Bloomberg’s talking points,” said Andrew Arulanandam, a spokesman for the group.

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melanie.mason@latimes.com

Twitter: @melmason