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My vote goes to the candidate who is best on Constitutional issues like the Second Amendment. There are plenty of good candidates to vote for and no reason to defend Reid on any level. A "B-" from the NRA with "grade inflation" tells me a whole lot.
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Regardless of what you think of Sen. Reid, the NRA, or anything else, the fact remains that Reid has one of the better 2A records in the Democratic Party. Whether you think they're "sellouts," "grade inflators," or anything else, the fact also remains that the NRA is the largest and most powerful special interest group on 2A issues and probably one of the largest and most powerful special interest groups in all of American politics. As such, it behooves Sen. Reid not to draw their ire if he wishes to continue being re-elected. Supporting renewal of the AWB is a surefire way to draw the ire of the NRA and would severely hurt Sen. Reid's re-election chances since his constituents are, by and large, pro-gun.
Likewise, renewal of the AWB would not be good for the Democratic Party as a whole right now and Sen. Reid knows this. Gun control is and has been a losing issue for the Democratic Party for nearly 20 years as it played a large part in the Republican takeover of congress in 1994, the election of President Bush in 2000, and the re-election of President Bush in 2004. There is also good evidence that support of gun control played a part in the failure to win re-election of the previous Democrat Senate Majority Leader, Tom Daschle, in 2004. The "usual suspects" like Feinstein, Schumer, Rush, and McCarthy all come from very liberal districts that are supportive of gun control, so pushing for the renewal of the AWB is politically expedient for them. The majority of the Democratic Party, however, come from moderate or conservative districts where gun control is not popularly supported. By allowing Sen. Feinstein's bill to die in committee, Sen. Reid allows her to pander to her own base without endangering himself or the Democratic Party at large politically.