The National Rifle Association, long known as a gun rights group, has launched an 11-spot ad campaign in a wider culture war [videos above are set to auto-play back-to-back].

The National Rifle Association has unleashed a multimillion-dollar TV advertising campaign that its longtime leader says is aimed at messaging beyond gun rights and reaching middle-class mothers, minorities and other Americans “who believe our country is off the rails.”

The gun lobby’s campaign, launched in the last 10 days, uncharacteristically delves into issues far beyond the Second Amendment to explore the IRS scandal, media elitism and security vulnerabilities, with a call to return “good guys” to power.

“This campaign is a gathering of shared values that gives a sense of right and wrong,” NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre told The Washington Times in an interview. The collection of issues the ads confront are representative of the conversations Mr. LaPierre said he has had throughout the country with NRA members and concerned citizens.

The NRA has never before launched such a broad-based messaging strategy, going well beyond just gun rights to take on much broader cultural issues.

Most people don’t seem to realize that the National Rifle Association is our nation’s oldest civil rights group.

As this campaign takes off, I suspect that millions of Americans are going to see the NRA in an entirely new light.