Wayne is Out at the NRA
BY Herschel Smith
11 months, 2 weeks ago
END OF AN ERA: Wayne LaPierre announces resignation as NRA chief. Lots of people dislike him, and not without reason, but his era at NRA was also marked by the biggest victories of its history. The challenge for his successors will be to revitalize the organization, which is currently being upstaged by other oufits like the GOA or the SAF.
Victories. Let me see. Would that be support for the NFA, or support for the Hughes Amendment, or support for the GCA, or support for the bump stock ban, or support for red flag laws? Or support for any of the other gun control measures they liked? Or horrible pol grading scheme that utterly failed?
Wayne is gone. We, bye. Maybe your hundreds of thousands of dollars in suits and your little blonde you liked so much will keep you happy.
The NRA will have to do much, much, much better in the future if they expect to regain any resemblance of the authority they had before.
And for the record, ignore the SAF. They embraced smart gun technology.
If the NRA goes for anyone who doesn’t look like the folks we see at the GOA or FPC, then ignore them in the future just like you ignore them now.
UPDATE: In the comments at Instapundit, John Richardson gives wisdom.
“Even with his resignation, he still isn’t taking any responsibility for driving the NRA almost into the ground. He resigned for “health reasons” and not for the good of the organization. I have spoken with ex-NRA employees this afternoon as well as current and former directors. Virtually all think a house-cleaning is needed and I would agree.
Many on the board are hacks that owe their allegiance to Wayne and now are rudderless without him. They need to go. Even worse, Andrew Arulanandam, the PR flack who will be the interim CEO and EVP is not only Wayne’s handpicked successor, is an “acolyte” of Bill Brewer which assures the flow of money to his firm.”
Via email with David Codrea, he believes that there may be a quid pro quo. Wayne would resign if the NRA pays his legal defense. Maybe so. In this case any monies going to the NRA would go for Wayne’s legal expenses.
And until someone absolutely cleans house and does a full blown financial and ethical audit of the NRC organization, they can’t be trusted.
On January 5, 2024 at 7:01 pm, Always Unseen said:
Who?
Ohh…those membership lists that will be used during the Purge?
Why would anyone sign up for that.
Oh foolish man what can you be made not to believe as comrade Weishaupt said.
On January 5, 2024 at 8:05 pm, Allen said:
How long before he’s working with Bloomberg.
On January 5, 2024 at 8:31 pm, Reader said:
(I) see this just like the University BS.
Face change.
Other than that, nothing changes.
The Machine is Turned on and going and know one wants to destroy the machine. There for it chugs along.
On January 5, 2024 at 8:57 pm, Elmo said:
I’m thrilled that Wayne will now have more time to spend with his family and to improve his golf game.
What a putz.
On January 5, 2024 at 9:30 pm, X said:
I’m not going to piss all over Wayne. I admired him 20-30 years ago. Yes, he screwed up and started living high off the hog on the members’ dime. He should be booted for that. Worse, he gave Letitia “Mammy” James the rope to hang him, and the NRA. But there were some great victories by the NRA during his tenure, particularly the proliferation of shall-issue CCW and constitutional carry. Have we forgotten that in the 1980s Vermont was the ONLY constitutional carry state — and now there are 27? That was all grassroots NRA lobbying. It was a brilliant move to get a sunset provision in the Clinton Assault Weapon Ban when they couldn’t stop it from going through.
Yes, they were wrong for supporting NICS and some other things, but I think it is unfair to tag Wayne’s tenure with some of the Fudd shit the NRA supported in the past, like the NFA. Remember, Wayne was considered a radical and a zealot by the 1970s-era NRA Fudds for backing AR-15s and 30-round mags.
The unstated part of the story, though, is that the NRA lost a lot of influence as the country became polarized into Red and Blue states starting in 2000. The NRA once had the loyalty of a LOT of Democratic members and Democratic politicians. As the country divided it became an exclusively Republican and Red State organization. The NRA now has ZERO influence in places like New York, California, New Jersey, and Massachusetts. That’s why James is successfully bankrupting them and crucifying Wayne through lawfare.
Wayne deserves to be held accountable for mismanagement, his spending, his suits, and all of that, but he deserves to be held accountable by the Board of Directors and the members, not by Letitia James or any court of so-called court of “law.”
On January 6, 2024 at 1:25 am, RSR said:
SAF is a scam. They spend most of their money on fundraising and mailers to members, not legal action.
Gottlieb controls SAF and a couple affiliated orgs (CCRTKBA, keep and bear arms), etc.
A few years back I dug into all of their tax forms and they appeared to spend most of their money at entities that Gottlieb or other directors had financial interest in IIRC.
Basically, my takeaway is that they’re another nonprofit that found ways to profit decision-makers and leadership (like so many nonprofits these days), regardless of success or accomplishment of stated mission…
On January 6, 2024 at 6:30 am, RCW said:
Bravo brother Herschel.
X, no, my mind is closed to overlooking LaPierre’s claptrap & tomfoolery, weighing them against the good he did while at the helm. Were it not for my desire to keep my RSO cred, NRA wouldn’t have received a single sheckel since acquiring it.
On January 6, 2024 at 7:49 am, Milton said:
Wayne is singlehandedly responsible for my cancelled lifetime membership in NRA.
FJB and FWLP
On January 6, 2024 at 11:03 am, BRVTVS said:
The GOA (and Knife Rights to a smaller degree) seems to be the gold standard for defense of right to keep and bear arms. What’s not quite so clear is the NAGR. They say the right things, but I also get the sense that they a much the same as the SAF.
On January 6, 2024 at 1:29 pm, Chris said:
So – no to NRA and SAF, absent effective makeovers. Then who? GOA?
Every time I donate to a conservative cause, I get a flood of mail from other causes. That is due to the donee selling my information to mailing lists – making more money off of my donation. I hate that. I will pick my causes; I don’t want to be sold to other causes.
Is there a pro-2A or other conservative causes that will keep my donation private, and not sell my information? In a decent society that would be the norm.
On January 6, 2024 at 2:29 pm, Herschel Smith said:
GOA and FPC.
On January 6, 2024 at 2:36 pm, Russell G. said:
Just a reminder that if you see that NRA contribution button checked at the bottom of your Midway checkout, first look at the money they have raked in, then second, uncheck that contribution.
Tell me again who initiated and has tentatively won those bumpstock and 80% receiver suits. Tell me again who is making a galactic stink about all of this AR banning crap from the Marxists.
Those lifetime members out there are in, regardless; others are or should be out.
:::spit:::
On January 6, 2024 at 2:59 pm, Plague Monk said:
I donated to and joined GOA some years back while working on a contract, but I got VERY tired of the constant mailings urging me to send more money. I was getting 2-3 mailings per week, even though on the application form I checked the box opting out of mailings.
On my next assignment, the client required all contractors to disclose all groups that we were members of. All pro-firearms groups were listed as terror sponsors, and I was told to resign from each of them or be terminated. I contacted GOA and asked them to remove me, but for the next year they still sent roughly a dozen mailings a month, and maybe twice as many emails. I was allowed to keep my life membership in the OGCA since I have a long time interest in old rifles. They are getting woke, and I may drop them as well.
I’ve completely given up on alleged conservative groups and most writers; I’m tired of the ridiculous ads they run(doctors astounded at this cure for toenail fungus!). What a racket they are, and I’ll leave it at that. At least with Warhammer and GW, I know what is being pitched to me. Over the top, yes, but I don’t see ads for “morning wood” on those sites.
I’ve thought about signing up with GAB, since I’m a fan of Kitler, the Z-Man, and Mojave Man. Torba’s toleration of Flat Earthers and Moon Landing denialists, along with his excessive support for christianity, and the whacko advertisers, keeps me from signing up.
On January 6, 2024 at 9:12 pm, Herschel Smith said:
@Plague Monk
” … along with his excessive support for christianity.”
I’ve tried to explain this before a number of times but have apparently failed miserably. It’s the sign of a bad teacher to have to keep explaining things. I must be a bad teacher.
There are two types of “Christians,” and one is and one really isn’t at all.
The first kind is the one who goes to church most Sundays, wants to feel something spiritual about the world and life in general, whose grandmother sang in the choir for decades, and who then goes about his life living it according to what he thinks is “common sense” or something else.
The second kind is the one who is saved by the Holy Spirit, whose heart has been changed, and who sees his savior in everything. He votes according to God’s laws, he lives his life according to the Scripture, he is faithful to his wife because His savior expects it and he loves his savior, he sees art as a function of his command to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, he sees science as a function of how God controls the world, and he lives his week knowing that his worship of his savior is the highlight of his week. In short, he sees everything as part of a new world and life view, everything subsumed by his relationship with the almighty.
Now. The former isn’t really a Christian, and will face judgment one day for knowing and hearing but not bowing his knee to his maker.
The second one is a Christian, albeit an imperfect one.
Gorba is a Christian. His “excessive” support of Christianity isn’t excessive at all to him. In fact, I’m certain he asks forgiveness for failing every day as all true Christians do.
It’s who he is now. It’s what he does. It’s how he lives.
See the difference?
Did I succeed that time in explaining the difference between a co-religionist (who isn’t really a Christian except in name) and a true believer?
In Islam you do certain things to become a Muslim. In Christianity, you have a new heart and mind and world and life view that is all-controlling. Christianity isn’t Islam. Islam is false.
Doing certain things and reciting certain things doesn’t make you a Christian.
On January 6, 2024 at 10:58 pm, Latigo Morgan said:
LaPierre tenders his resignation as the Epstein list starts leaking out. Cohencidence?
He went from being dug into the organization like a tick to just resigning suddenly. Seems strange to me.
Harlon Carter and Neil Knox were right about Wayne. Nobody wanted to listen, though.
On January 7, 2024 at 4:24 am, Miles said:
LaPierre tenders his resignation as the Epstein list starts leaking out. Cohencidence?
More likely is
NY AG Letitia James Flips NRA’s Former Second-In-Command
https://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/ny-ag-letitia-james-flips-nras-former-second-in-command/
“A new court filing in Letitia James’ case against the NRA reveals that she has flipped the former chief of staff of the NRA. In exchange for limiting his personal liability, he has agreed to testify against his former employer in court.”
On January 7, 2024 at 10:13 am, Ned said:
Our club allegedly gets an insurance benefit for having a certain number of NRA members. I stopped supplying my Life Member number long ago, and dropped my RSO creds. Won’t use anything that indicates I was ever a member. Watching to see if they really clean house in the future. (they likely won’t)
On January 7, 2024 at 2:13 pm, Latigo Morgan said:
“More likely is
NY AG Letitia James Flips NRA’s Former Second-In-Command
https://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/ny-ag-letitia-james-flips-nras-former-second-in-command/”
The FBI raided and secured a bunch of stuff from Epstein’s island. It wouldn’t be beyond them to take what they got and use it to blackmail powerful people.
So, I still wonder if that isn’t still on the menu as to why he would have retired, and flipped?
On January 7, 2024 at 3:04 pm, X said:
“LaPierre tenders his resignation as the Epstein list starts leaking out. Cohencidence?”
I seriously doubt it had anything to do with the Mossad agent Epstein. The entire Epstein honeypot was a blackmail operation so that the U.S. politicians would give the Zionists a free hand in the Middle East and rip off the U.S. taxpayer to bankroll it all.
It was Mammy’s lawfare that forced Powell to rat.
On January 7, 2024 at 10:17 pm, June J said:
In the midst of the NRA’s financial troubles, WLP resigns and will get his $17million golden parachute.
On January 8, 2024 at 10:43 am, george 1 said:
Oh Wayne. We knew you all too well!
And Herschel, I don’t see you as a bad teacher at all. Quite the contrary.