No Upsets Expected in NRA Board Election despite Controversy

By David Codrea

I am the NRA
Expect eligible NRA members to vote the way the Nominating Committee wants them to, with most unaware that the “pathway to citizenship” threat to gun rights favored by Hillary and Bloomberg is being intentionally ignored.
AmmoLand Gun News
AmmoLand Gun News

USA –  -(Ammoland.com)- Voting members of the National Rifle Association (those who have been continuous members for at least five years and/or those who are life members or higher) will have until May 1 to return their 2016 ballots for Board of Directors candidates.

The ballot, voting instructions and Nominating Committee recommendations have been included in the association’s official journal magazines for March, which, if not yet received by eligible members, should be in the mail.

And this year, despite a unique and emotionally-charged recall measure against a high-profile director, don’t expect to see any significant changes in the makeup of the board.

Those won’t happen unless and until a critical mass of eligible members demands them. That’s not likely to happen.

The recall is against Grover Norquist, perhaps most notable for his role as founder and president of Americans for Tax Reform. In Norquist’s corner is the NRA’s Hearing Board, which “recommends that NRA Members vote NO on the Recall Petition.” Bolstering that view is a plea from director Todd Rathner presenting a list of high-power insider names supporting Norquist, as well as a mass email from Alan Gottlieb of the Second Amendment Foundation and former NRA President Sandra Froman, that’s long on ad hominem and name-dropping, and short on actually refuting any allegations.

Those charges, as documented by the petitioners, center on Norquist’s involvement advancing the interests of various Islamic groups and individuals. They’re certainly interesting, and they certainly bear an independent-minded assessment. But those aren’t the reasons I oppose Norquist on the Board and urge readers to vote YES on his recall.

Simply put, Norquist’s alliance with Michael Bloomberg in supporting “amnesty” for millions of illegal aliens plays into the hands of those like Hillary Clinton calling for an accelerated “pathway to citizenship.”

No one thinks Bloomberg needs cheap labor for his high tech publishing empire, do they?

The Democrats do this because they know all credible data shows an overwhelming preference for the Democrat party and its agenda, including and especially “gun control.” If (when?) they succeed, unchallengeable supermajorities in state and federal legislatures will be able to pass all kinds of anti-gun edicts and confirm judges to the Supreme and federal courts who will uphold those edicts and reverse gains made to date. The unexpected sudden passing of Justice Scalia, and the precarious balances of the Heller and McDonald decisions, ought to drive home for all how dangerously critical that is.

Arguing that guarding the Second Amendment on this front is not part of NRA’s “single issue” focus is demonstrably disingenuous, and ignores the fact that NRA (quite properly) involves itself in tangentially-related issues all the time. Nor does offering anecdotes, platitudes and wishful thinking do anything but enable the continued “fundamental transformation of America.”

The burden is on those arguing otherwise to produce credible data – something that can be independently validated – that “amnesty” and a “pathway to citizenship” for MILLIONS of foreign nationals in this country illegally (and even legally, with current culturally suicidal policies) WILL NOT overwhelmingly favor Democrats and anti-gunners, as we see in the political transformation of California.

None of them, not the NRA, not Norquist, nor any of his enabling apologists has given a compelling, numbers-based rebuttal to that concern because they can’t. So they won’t.

All that said, most gun owners aren’t NRA members, and of the members eligible to vote, The Firearms Coalition estimates only something like 7% even bother. Those who do are going to listen to the leadership.

So then what’s the point of all this?

Perhaps it’s nothing more than to create a record that multiple warnings have been issued and ignored, and by whom.  That and if you know a freight train is coming, you do what you can to urge people to get out of the way.

There are reforms that could help, marginally, stuff like posting the current approved bylaws online so we have a standard by which NRA actions and officials can be assessed and understand the processes for member involvement to resolve concerns. I’d also like to learn more details about board candidates and their core beliefs than is posted in the boilerplate descriptions included with the ballot, along with a way to contact them individually and collectively. Realistically, I don’t expect any of this to happen, and that’s too bad. Insulation from feedback only hurts the members.

I can’t tell you who I’m going to vote for.  If any candidates would like to fill out my for-the-record director candidate questionnaire, and if they get the answers right, that could change, and those people will be the only ones I endorse. Based on years past, I’m not holding my breath.

What I can tell you is who I will NOT vote for, and this list may expand the more I learn about the nominees.  I won’t be voting for Sandra Froman due to her support of Grover Norquist. The same goes for why I won’t vote for Joe M. Allbaugh. Ditto for Bob Barr, who merits the additional disqualifier of having supported the Lautenberg and Kohl gun bans and a so-called “terror bill” with anti-gun provisions. [UPDATE: I’m also not voting for Ted Nugent  and Larry Craig because they oppose the recall.]

At this point the only thing I’ll definitely be voting FOR will be to vote YES to the question:

Shall Grover Norquist be removed from membership on the Board of Directors?

I expect him to retain his seat by a landslide. That and getting a lot of Fairfax “loyalists” mad at me.

David Codrea in his natural habitat.

About David Codrea:

David Codrea is the winner of multiple journalist awards for investigating / defending the RKBA and a long-time gun rights advocate who defiantly challenges the folly of citizen disarmament.

He blogs at “The War on Guns: Notes from the Resistance,” and also posts on Twitter: @dcodrea and Facebook.

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James Miller

Thank you David and everyone else for this information. I have been a member of the NRA in the past (and am a current member), but I have become more active of late since realizing the desperate state we’re in politically. I was just about to become a life member of the NRA to vote in their elections, and I ran across your article. It makes me think my money would be better spent becoming a life member of GOA. This is the same kind of bureaucracy that is killing us at the federal and state level, except in this… Read more »

Kat O

Thank you everyone for the information. I have been trying to find more information on the board nominees. IM’d the NRA & asked who supported the endorsement of Mitch McConnell for Senate & they wouldn’t tell me. They said they are one-issue. I then said that he votes for liberal judges, which is anti-gun. No response. So now I am wondering if there are any Democrats on the board. And unfortunately, I already filled out Bob Barr’s bubble in ink.

ChicagoGuy

Based on the actions of NRA state lobbyist for Illinois Todd Vandermyde in Rep. Brandon Phelps HB183 “NRA backed” carry bill in 2013, I doubt most NRA members can read past G.E.D. level. Vandermyde cut the deal with the anti-gun Chiefs of Police to put Duty to Inform w/ criminal penalties in Phelps carry bill, NOT Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel. The only Reps. who OPPOSED DTI were Chicago “Machine” Democrat black caucus Reps.! Have Chris Cox & Chuck Cunningham ever set foot in the state of IL to see what their pet rat is up to? If NRA-ILA don’t fumigate… Read more »

trumped

Imagine what larry pratt and GOA could accomplish with the NRA’s budget?

JB Karns

Well, this clear-sighted, clear-thinking Life Member has cast his ballot and voted to flush the Norquist-turd, just as it so richly deserves.

Geoff

All I know is if the Federal Government crosses the gun owners unwritten “Red Line”, there will be Hell to pay.
No Democrats or Socialists as President.
It is THAT simple.

John Rickards

I also recommend voting only for candidates who are not former board members, We need new blood on the BOD. Alan West is high on my list. We also need to vote for anyone who supports competitions as the NRA seems to be further reducing it’s support of all competition divisions.

Joe Wilson

The dark clouds of gun control are forming over our heads as I write this.

Those who believe in the 2nd amendment are in for the fight of their life.

We need a strong NRA to lead this fight, Norquist only weakens the NRA with all of his baggage.

If Norquist truly believes in defending the 2nd amendment he would resign from the board of the NRA, since he will not, our only choice is to recall him.

Joe Wilson
Patron Level Member

Wild Bill

Now you all have done it! This article and the discussion that follows it have spurred me to action, embarrassingly. I have not only decided to vote to recall Grover the insider, but also decided to vote for each and everyone of the candidates that were not nominated by the NRA board, to include: Harold Rocketto, Allen West, Steve Reichert, Stephen Aldstadt, Dave Butz, Steven Schreiner, Mark Humphreville, Robert Thornton, and Richard Kussman.
Now, I suppose I will have to read the bios of the others; make an analytical chart and come to a well thought out decision.

Russn8r

Good strategy. One suggestion for refinement: Vote ONLY for those candidates who were not nominated by the Norquisling nom com. Otherwise, they will have to compete with more votes for the corrupt-insider nominated candidates. For the “outsiders” to have a chance of winning, they need you to not only vote for them, but to decrease the votes for the insider noms.

Wild Bill

Good idea!

Russn8r

Thanks. Not that I recommend any of them, there’s some world-police-state types on that list, like Thornton, but at least it’s a poke in the eye. I’m sure West is no fan of Norquist.

Wild Bill

Ok… probably should have mentioned that world police state thing a little earlier, but I can fix it!

Steve R

I’m only 1 of 8 candidates who are not “recommended” by the NRA’s Nominating committee. I don’t play their political games and hope to crush this election. Google Steve Reichert NRA, you can find where I stand a a majority of the issues you had ID’d. Semper Fi Steve

Bobby-Patron Member

Mr. Ted Nugent is another board member , up for reelection, who urges NRA members to vote “NO” on the recall petition . He was not mentioned as one that you will not be voting for. Is there any particular reason for that?

David Codrea

Bobby– because I hadn’t read and correlated enough of the fine print to see that yet. I did a post on Nugent this morning on War on Guns and also found Larry Craig supporting Norquist. I did an update to the “Who I will NOT vote for” paragraph to add their names.

Jack

Of the several million NRA members who are eligible to vote for the Board and on the Norquist situation the number cited in the post is sort of correct at the 7% figure; it actually is somewhere around 41/2 to 5 percent of eligible NRA members bother to vote-does not even break 100,000 of the millions who can vote.

don

Thank you for this article. I will be changing my vote and voting to recall Norquist and against Bob Barr, whom I have supported in the past

Martin Wade

Grover Norquist has numerous strikes against him including his connections with “Nanny” Bloomberg and the anti-gun crowd. He also has ties to the Islamist community and the folks who are pushing amnesty. True, he has the Americans for Tax Reform which is a good thing, but one “good thing” does not outweigh the negatives. When I receive my ballot, I will fill it out after I read the bios of each person on the list and then do some research on each one. I have been a member off and on since 1955 and am presently a Patron Member. I… Read more »

David Cotner

Sorry, David, but you are wrong on several accounts and right on a few others. I appreciate the information passed on in your article as I was unaware of Mr. Norquist’s positions on the areas you covered. As a long-time member of the NRA, I say that you have no right to assume that members will blindly follow the NRA leadership’s recommendations. I will not approve his election if I verify your claims. You make a mistake assuming members of the NRA blindly follow like sheep. Gun owners who belong to the NRA are fiercely independent and focused or else… Read more »

Rick O'Shea

Lets see what happens before we call David’s opinion worthless, eh.

Russn8r

Are you done with your self-righteous Rodney King metro-wussy routine? Codrea is dead on, from long experience. Do you think he takes pleasure in stating the sad truth and having some delusional ignoranus like you shoot the messenger? You have no clue.

JB Karns

‘Fiercely independent’ my hairy-arse…. Many NRA members are more than content be lazy and simply follow the suggestions or dictates of the Org and a plethora are amongst the most blindly-faithful of the populous, equalling the Obama-faithful, as evidenced by their utter ignorance and rejection of the plethora of factual and available information showing NRA complicity and involvement in gun-control, going back nearly to its inception. Simply bear witness to any exchange with NRA-faithful when specifics of their long and sordid history of chicanery and complicity in gun-control is raised. For me, if I had known then what I know… Read more »

JOSEPH M. KENNEDYy

GROVER NORQUIST SHOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN ON THE LIST OF NOMINEES CONSIDERED FOR DIRECTORS OF THE NRA.HE TURNS MY STOMACH AS BEING A LIFE MEMBER FOR OVER 35 YEARS !