Category: Gun Rights Organizations

The brain drain continues, with news that David Lehman is out.

Lobbying is a very personal thing, and I believe it’s a talent, like sales, since it’s really a species of sales. Not everyone is going to be good at it. I wouldn’t be good at it.

These folks are not easily replaced. I’ve spent enough time around Wayne, even in closed off events, to think he always looks awkward and uncomfortable. Maybe he’s better at being a lobbyist than he is at being a public figure. I certainly hope so. But I’m really not encouraged by this article that indicates LaPierre signaled to NRA members he had the White House under control and the White House balked at it.

This is not good. I can’t really adequately express how effed I think we are.

Latest Fox News poll, which is being touted by The Trace and no doubt being put in front of lawmakers too, shows NRA has lost ground in approval among gun owners. That’s going to be spun as gun owners coming around to gun control. That’s a lie, but that’s how it’s going to be spun, and the FAANG corporations will do their level best to make sure we can’t get our message out. We all know the reason for this drop is the utter chaos reigning at NRA.

NRA’s high favorables have always been one of its strongest assets. Wayne is pissing that away as we speak. I don’t know how, at this point, any member of the NRA Board can argue with credibility that Wayne can be allowed to remain EVP. He’s got to go. You have to restore confidence.

The time for that was yesterday. Wayne should have retired in 2016 when Trump was elected, we had the House, and things were looking about as good as they were going to get.

People who knew NRA well knew there were a lot of problems like this for a long time, but we also knew the NRA was still working pretty effectively and that fixing the problem would be more painful than letting it continue. We’re all complicit. It’s not just Wayne. But it has to be fixed now. The person primarily responsible for this mess is still running the show. That can’t stand.

I’d even settle for a measly $400k house. I was willing to look past the suits and the travel. That was a nothing burger. But this isn’t. I get that the EVP of NRA is going to have security concerns, and that work is the primary driver of those concerns. So I’d be OK with a housing allotment to deal with security issues at any home the EVP owns. But our membership dollars should not be buying the EVP a house outright. Also, why Dallas?

I’ll be completely honest with you, if NRA buying Wayne a $6MM house in Dallas would convince him to retire, I’d say it’s a deal.

He’s right, you know. I should just note that my beef is with Wayne, not the NRA, it’s mission, or it’s position against banning private transfers. If Trump wants to be a one termer, cross us. Absent guns, I have no reason to show up to the polls to vote for Republicans. None.

John Richardson finds some very interesting material. Granted, I’ve known in my life people who were decent folks, but who had horrible judgement in the kind of people they surrounded themselves with. That’s the best case scenario here.

Also, this is a huge deal if it turns out to be true:

I am away from internet and unable to verify but this is important if it pans out. A credible Source says a highly placed NRA exec has been offered immunity by the New York AG. @aarmark

— dcodrea (@dcodrea) July 31, 2019

This is a good time to start developing local networks in the issue, because none of this is good for RKBA. In fact, it might be disastrous. We might have to do a lot of that self-organizing while NRA is going through all this.

Article here at The Gun Writer. Much of it I don’t take issue with. Read the whole thing. I’ll quote the relevant parts and comment:

After 38 years of working hand-in-hand with the NRA, it is MY BELIEF that one of our vendors attempted to take over NRA leadership in order to preserve its own lucrative contracts. It is also MY BELIEF that this vendor had, for some time, believed that the NRA’s entire success was due to its efforts alone.

OK, I get that. I’ll take that as a given for the sake of argument. There are some who have argued the coup narrative is a smokescreen, even many here in these comments. I don’t really have an opinion on that, because I can believe either. But for the sake of argument, we’ll agree Ollie’s failed revolt was an Ack-Mac planned operation.

Show me that the people who are being retaliated against were also Ack-Mac stooges, were part of the conspiracy, and were not just Directors exercising their prerogative to have an opinion on the EVP who they hire. I don’t just mean they joined Ollie. I mean they joined Ollie at the behest of Ackerman McQueen.

For those who have had negative things to say about the law firm representing us, I ask one simple question: Name one thing the firm has done that has hurt the NRA? Thus far, no one has been able to answer that question.

Some people have legit concerns over the amount of money being spent and Brewer’s background as a Dem donor. For me the jury is still out on Brewer. I haven’t railed against his firm or his fees because he is involved in a good deal of complex litigation on NRA’s behalf at the federal level and that isn’t going to come cheap. But I would not dismiss the concerns of others so readily.

The rest of Joel Friedman’s article is defending the revelations about the clothes, travel, etc, that came out. I agree with him here. I think given the long time period, the proximity to Sandy Hook to some of the travel expenses, these issues amount to a big nothing burger. What is a bigger issue, if you ask me, is that the dissolution of the Ack-Mac relationship, and house keeping that is now needing to be done, happened on Wayne’s watch while he was actively supportive of the parasitic arrangement with the PR firm.

I’m with Michael Bane on this one: I won’t deny Wayne credit for his accomplishments over the years. I don’t begrudge him his parachute. I would hope he has an enjoyable retirement. But no one is giving me a good reason he shouldn’t be falling on his own sword like I would expect of any other Chief Executive in this kind of position.

I ask you to consider this for a moment – do you think that there’s anyone better equipped to guide the NRA during these challenging times?  The neophytes who are agitating would get their clocks cleaned in about 2 hours! 

There was, but you guys drove him the hell off. And I think anyone who can manage Trump the way Chris has can’t also manage the NYAG? I don’t take serious issue with this letter when it sticks to facts, but this one bit is the same kind of over-the-top nonsense I’ve seen from other Board Members, and smacks of a cult of personality I can’t really abide by.

I’m not a Wayne hater, and I’ve spent a lot of time here defending NRA and it’s leadership when I think they are right. I don’t think Wayne is right here. The removal of insufficiently loyal board members from key committees has to stop. If you want unity from the membership, you ought to be driving unity within.

I accept my outside status, and given the plethora of lawsuits afoot, I accept I can’t have all the information. But insiders should have a lot more, and I’m still seeing division from within. It’s not just the usual Wayne haters. The punishments that are now happening are not the actions of an EVP with strong arguments and who is in an unassailable position.

The fact that I see little internal unity tells me the EVP needs to go and be replaced by someone most everyone has confidence in. It doesn’t really matter if Wayne is a good guy and doing the right thing now. Taking one for the team, even when it’s not really your fault, is part of being a CEO. That’s why they have golden parachutes.

I’m open to the possibility that I might be wrong, but if I am wrong, I want to see better arguments being presented than mindless cheerleading.

“Millions Mourn As Rocker/Activist Ted Nugent, Age 68, Found Alive“

Not that I’m complaining, but I feel like I’m not really seeing Ted Nugent’s name in the news lately. Not that I want to jinx it. Maybe it’s like Beetlejuice: don’t say his name three times.

Miguel:

And make no mistake: there is a snitch or working enemy operative inside the NRA.  There is no way that all the records would suddenly go from the NRA HQ in Virginia, somehow bypass the Washington Post which is basically next door, and land in the desk of  Bloomberg’s The Trace/NYT.  I am almost willing to bet that two decades from now, we will see in Bloomberg’s bio that he managed to buy/insert somebody inside the NRA and create its downfall from the inside and the same time to pay or convince other organizations to badmouth the NRA to create dissension within the ranks and proving that Fifth Column works every time.  

I disagree with the last part. You don’t have to pay most of those orgs to badmouth NRA. They were willing to do that long before this shit started up. But I’m starting to seriously consider that the possibility that Bloomberg has a plant in Wayne’s inner circle. What would look different if he did?

A reader commented a few days ago, I and I think it’s very true, that when things go this sideways, the CEO has to go even if it’s just to restore confidence. This is the case here.

If you managed to travel back in time to 2015:

Time Traveler: “In just a year, Chris will announce NRA’s endorsement a well-known Manhattan socialite.”

Me: “I’m sorry sir, but do I need to have you fitted for a straight jacket? I’m happy to testify at your commitment hearing.”

Time Traveler: “It gets better.”

Me: “How can you possible top this tall tale?”

Time Traveler: “Well, Sebastian, you see, in 2019, Ack-Mac will be gone. Wayne will kick Ack-Mac to the curb after Chris Cox is accused of conspiring with Ack-Mac to oust Wayne.”

Me: “Well, now I know you’re nuts. There’s no way Wayne would ever kick Ack-Mac to the curb. And it’s no real secret that Cox isn’t a big fan of that relationship.”

Time Traveler: “The Board will back Wayne. Chris will be out, accused of being an Ack-Mac stooge.”

Me: “I think you need to take your meds.”

Time Traveler: “NRA will further consolidate their Public Relations. ILA will no longer have a separate PR outfit.”

Me: “Well, I’ve always thought they should do that, really. Once Ack-Mac is out of the picture.”

Time Traveler: “No, you won’t think it’s a good thing in 2019”

Me: “OK Buddy, I’ve had just about enough of you and your psychotic delusions.”

Time Traveler: “Whatevs, I speak the truth from 2019. You can believe me or not believe me.”

Seriously, I’m starting to wonder if I’m checking out from reality. Because this one is frankly too bizarre for me to believe.