Posted on 04/27/2019 8:30:16 AM PDT by Sub-Driver
“So called 2nd amendment politicians are there because of the NRA NOT from any personal beliefs.”
That’s true of most politicians, I’ll grant you that...
But President Trump is not most politicians - he’s the real thing - and my vote for him has already done a hell of a lot more for the 2nd Amendment than my NRA membership.
So it was North admitting nothing, denying everything, and making counter accusations? He’s never been a spook. Right?
I’m hazy on the details of this but one thing is clear. The NRA is in trouble right now, it’s not being run well.
They need to get it together, now.
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Not good at all. Without the NRA we’d all be taking lie detector tests and requesting Mayor Blasio to check out a single shot shotgun for duck hunting!
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No, there’s GOA and other, smaller, groups.
Unlike the NRA, they @ least uphold/defend the 2nd based on the plain English therein...not some “we’ll not only look the other way, but we’ll actively SUPPORT your infringement on the 2nd” via lobbying & supporting “gun-control” measures.
Unlike many here I have never hated the NRA. Wayne LaPierre has always been an articulate advocate for the 2nd amendment as has Larry Pratt of Gunowners for America.
I don’t get the anti-NRA sentiment either. They are the largest 2nd amendment lobby and have long standing and effective training programs for youth and adults.
I think like any organization that grows to the national level, the members have to be vigilant that the national organization doesn’t become vested in their own interests (paying for the full time staff, etc) rather than the members interests. We have witnessed this in many organizations like BSA and many other less notable organizations. So its a natural progression of any organizations growth to eventually hire a national level full time staff, and that’s where protections against corruption or self interests need to be chartered by the membership.
I like Oliver North, but I also think that he was a poor choice for President of the NRA. Picking him sends a clear signal that the NRA is preaching to the choir - having him there pleases movement conservatives but does little to attract people who might support the 2nd Amendment but disagree with or dislike North for other reasons. Also, like it or not, telegenic celebrities make the best public figures - a lot more people on the political fence would give a Charlton Heston a fair hearing than an Oliver North. I don't much care for our celebrity-obsessed mass culture, but unfortunately that's what works.
For similar reasons, I'm not convinced that NRA TV has made the right choice by pushing "culture war" issues unrelated to the right to keep and bear arms. Not because I disagree with them, but because the NRA should stick to its single issue focus in order to be effective. What good do they do by alienating someone who supports the right to keep and bear arms but who disagrees with them on various social issues?
Way too many gun owners voting Democrat. If all the gun owners in NYS voted the R line they would get rid of Cuomo, but they don't.
Here’s some interesting food for thought:
The NRA presidency, according to its IRS forms, is an unpaid gig.
By contract, LaPierre’s annual salary as NRA VICE President was close to $1 million dollars — $985,885 in 2014 alone, example. In 2015, NRA contributions totaled $95 million. In that year, LaPierre received a $3.7 million “employee funded deferred compensation plan”, which was required by federal law, according to the NRA, raising his total annual compensation to $5,110,985.
Seems to me the job of the “NRA President” is a ceremonial role as the public “face” of the NRA. The President is told to shut up about any internal problems and do whatever “Vice President for Life” Wayne LaPierre tells him to do. Anyone who questions those marching orders, like Ollie North, will swiftly be purged as President.
As I stated earlier, I am a Life Member of the NRA.
HST, if certain NRA management types have been misappropriating NRA funds, they need to be exposed and prosecuted to the full extent of the law!
I just hope the NRA survives the internal turmoil and the NY state persecution - it is a tough situation.
The NRA is incorporated in New York State, and New York's (Dem.) Attorney General has already announced that she is investigating.
I agree, except I am not in anybody's camp at the NRA until I can see how they are using the money the members provide. In my opinion people managing an important organization like the NRA that is founded to preserve our liberty should not be greedy with their compensation. I'm with President Trump - we need the NRA to be focused on defending our rights, safety training, and promoting firearms related causes. Not screwing around trying to get rich off the members.
Until Col. North shined a spotlight on LaPierre’s outsized compensation package, I was not aware that greed was a factor in NRA management ranks.
I am hopeful that it can be worked out to everyone’s satisfaction.
Lapierre re-elected unanimously. The NRA may well not survive until 2020.
They will do to themselves what the left has been unable to do for 50 years.
It happens to all organizations over time, eventually somebody wants to turn it into their own little fiefdom.
Yes LaP is the CEO and has been as long as he’s been there. I couldn’t tell you if any past Presidents have ever been the CEO or whether it’s always been a ceremonial position.
It makes sense that the organization would want a “face” type guy and a guy who actually runs it.
I believe Ollie was getting paid big bucks from the Ad Agency.
I think the big problem is that NRA has been spending money like there’s no tomorrow and their membership has dropped quite a bit since Trump was elected. Maybe they thought they were going to make money with projects like
NRATV, but that hasn’t happened. Anyway, seems to me they are wasting too much money on salaries and that ad agency and not enough on actually defending the second amendment. They also got involved with providing insurance to gun owners which undercuts their non-profit status, in my opinion.
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