Bloomberg dismisses NRA's power as 'overrated'

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Sunday that it was a "myth" that the National Rifle Association could destroy political careers.

"One of the things I decided to do in this last election was to support some candidates that were running against those that had great records with the NRA. Where the NRA was putting their money into one side, I decided to put my money into the other side," Bloomberg said on NBC's "Meet the Press."

"We won four out of seven," he said. "And we won with a small amount of money. There is this myth that the NRA is so powerful."

"Today, the NRA's power is so vastly overrated. The public, when you do the polls, they want to stop this carnage. And if 20 kids isn't enough to convince 'em, I don't know what would be," Bloomberg said in the aftermath of the deadly shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, Conn.

The mayor — an outspoken advocate against illegal guns — said that the lobbying group failed to unseat President Barack Obama in November's election as well.

"The NRA's number one objective this time was to defeat Barack Obama for a second term. Last time I checked the election results, he won and he won comfortably," Bloomberg said. "This myth that the NRA can destroy political careers is just not true."

In the aftermath of the latest shooting, some critics are calling for a revision of the nation's gun laws — something that the NRA has long opposed.

"If Congress wasn't so afraid of the NRA — and I can show you that they have no reason to be — but if they were to stand up and do what was right for the American public, we'd all be a lot better off," Bloomberg said.