Ollie North ousted from his NRA role

[BillSWPA]

Unfortunately I have only had time to very quickly scan this thread, but I am glad to see Tiffany Johnson taking point on addressing what needs to be addressed with the NRA. I signed the letter, and added the following comments.

As an attorney as well as a board member of a much smaller nonprofit, I am deeply concerned by recent events for multiple reasons.

1) Millions of dollars are going to line the pockets of a small number of top executives while our Second Amendment rights are under attack and opportunities to advance our cause go wasted.

2) The board oversight that should have prevented this mismanagement does not seem to be present.

3) None of us have been informed of any specific steps that have been taken to correct the lack of oversight and prevent this financial mismanagement from ever happening again.

4) The NRA seems to be far more concerned with exciting its base to raise money than actually accomplishing anything. One small example: the Twitter broadside against all doctors when the problem is a few doctor organizations, which succeeded only in alienating many potential friends in the medical profession.

5) We, the members, are continually asked to contribute our hard-earned, finite, after-tax dollars, which we have now learned have gone to support financial mismanagement, bloated salaries, and ineffective advocacy for our cause.

6) While I have always believed, and continue to believe, that the NRA is the most important guardian of our Second Amendment rights, I am deeply concerned about its ability to continue to do so in light of the response to the current financial mismanagement.

The members of the NRA need to know exactly what is being done to correct this mismanagement and ensure that it never happens again. Any board member unwilling to address this issue directly has no business being on the board.

[BillSWPA]

Agreed, and it should not be offering blanket support to politicians beyond "We (endorse) (do not endorse) Candidate XYZ because of their track record on 2A issues".

That's it.

Tiffany and others have the right of it: If the NRA does not actively and openly broaden its served population, then it is going to fade to irrelevance. The NRA lost a huge opportunity by keeping silent over the Castile shooting. It is a damned shame that it has been the ACLU, not the NRA, which has been active in that case.

The NRA, in my opinion, needs to get public with representatives of the NRA that are young, minorities, women, and openly LGBT. The NRA needs to sell itself and 2A issues to Millennial and Gen Zs

(And yes, I signed Tiffany's letter.)

While I completely agree that the NRA should focus on one issue only, when people are specifically recruited because of who they are or what lifestyle choices they make, then it invariably becomes an advocate for other causes.

I will agree that the NRA needs to focus much more effort on reaching young people and women rather than simply exciting its base and making unnecessary enemies in the process.

[willie]

The organization has had its ups and downs over the years but seems to spring back. Perhaps nonprofits occasionally are screwed by people running them. United Way and Red Cross, for example, seem to take hits over the years. I care not about these two but use them to make a point. Ollie has a credibility problem outside conservative groups and was a poor choice anyway even though he was probably correct about his criticisms.

[Ed L]

The NRA lost a huge opportunity by keeping silent over the Castile shooting. It is a damned shame that it has been the ACLU, not the NRA, which has been active in that case.

As Josh explained, the NRA does not get in individual shooting cases such as Castile or Zimmerman. The ACLU is hardly pro-gun.

[Ed L]

There is more to the world than gun rights and horrors to our 'conservative' friends, so other issues are equally important. Conservative gun people say that it is the only issue because of the high correlation of conservative gun folk with their other views. They don't face a moral dilema, voting for some wack job who waves a gun, if they like the stuff he or she spouts.

The short term mantra of only the conservatives support gun rights is short sighted. Perhaps, some deeper strategic thinking might start to move away from that view. However, short term financial maximization is too attractive. Why not have an cover article for one of the house organs, that starts with a cover story:

Perhaps you can point out the pro-gun Democratic candidate for president.

[GardoneVT]

Perhaps you can point out the pro-gun Democratic candidate for president.

Could you show me the pro-gun Republican President?

[Stephanie B]

As Josh explained, the NRA does not get in individual shooting cases such as Castile or Zimmerman. The ACLU is hardly pro-gun.

No, the ACLU isn't. But in that case, we had an African-American man who was lawfully carrying a gun killed because he was carrying a gun. The ACLU is there. Not the NRA.

Do you see how that looks? "The NRA is for the rights of gun-owners, unless they're carrying while black and get shot by the cops."

[Stephanie B]

While I completely agree that the NRA should focus on one issue only, when people are specifically recruited because of who they are or what lifestyle choices they make, then it invariably becomes an advocate for other causes.

I will agree that the NRA needs to focus much more effort on reaching young people and women rather than simply exciting its base and making unnecessary enemies in the process.

Bill, if you're taking the position that being gay, lesbian or transgendered is a "lifestyle choice," I cannot disagree more. People are what they are. The choice is to whether hide in a closet and lie to everyone around them or to be honest about who and what they are.

A leather queen who carries a G43 should be as welcome in the NRA as is an old Fudd with his grandfather's Auto-5 16-gauge.

[Tiffany Johnson]

I’ve signed Ms. Johnson’s letter. I wonder if she’ll get a response from a board member who doesn’t deny some kind of relationship with Ackerman McQueen.

So far, only one. Julie Golob.

As many of you know, Julie is a professional shooter and brand ambassador. She's also got a show on NRATV, which means she's on the AckMac payroll. She emailed me almost immediately after I sent the letter the first time. She confirmed that she does and will continue to abstain from any vote involving AckMac. She was gracious, thoughtful, professional, and polite. When I sent the letter the second time, again she emailed me immediately. She's been the most responsive board member by far.

I haven't posted her response yet because she said she was working on a blog post of her own to address everyone directly. I'm not sure if that's been published yet, but I think I'll go ahead and post her email in the meantime (she gave me permission to). I think it's important that folks do see that - as shocking as it may be - there are board members who are even more pleasant and humble than Marion Hammer. [emoji4]



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[11B10]

Thanks, Blues. I took a hiatus for a bit, then returned as a silent lurker, and now Drang has dragged me out of the bushes, so, hey everybody! LOL. Hope you guys are all doing well. [emoji4]

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Much better now, Tiffany! Thanks for checking in - I can relate to the "lurking.". Please don't be a stranger.