NRA leaders called its membership "hillbillies and fruitcakes

[JLW]

I have known many people over the years who are members of the NRA or GOA. None of them were "fruitcakes and wackos." While I'm sure an element of that exists, as it does in most political organizations, the bigger reveal here is your own bias and gross ignorance.

I was not referring to all members, but the members they raise money off of. If you want to raise the big bucks, you don’t go after the moderates, you go after the loons.

 

[Abatis]

They should have added "suckers and losers".

MSN

www.msn.com

LOL. Are you serious with this dumb shit???

They were not calling the rank and file members those names, they were calling the voting members who, even though there was no event hall (hundreds of vendors and exhibits), would be motivated enough to still come to the meeting and who would be most likely to vote LaPierre and his ball-washing cronies in the BOD out.

They were were deriding the NRA members who they considered enemies of the crooked leadership and hated LaPierre and wanted him out (like me).

Now you know . . .

 

[jbrownson0831]

It's like battered wife syndrome.

Wayne LaPierre, the CEO of the NRA spent $400,000 on suits, flew around in private jets, ate at the most expensive restaurants in the world, and took lavish vacations and the membership of the NRA still won't vote him out.

Wow sounds like a Dimmer.

 

[jbrownson0831]

Correct.

The NRA is nothing but a political arm of the GOP.

Hmmm sound more like Dimmers to me. You own guns right?

 

[Abatis]

Were you a previous member of the NRA's "suckers and losers?" Be honest now.

I'm still a member.

As a voting Life Member for 40 years and an Endowment Member for 28 years, I do consider LaPierre a crook, and have for over 20 years . . . I shifted my considerable financial contributions back then to other gun rights organizations, in particular the Second Amendment Foundation and Firearms Policy Coalition, they are the ones that have done the real heavy lifting bringing the legal cases fighting unjust laws.

I also belong and donate to Gun Owners of America, Citizens Committee to Keep and Bear Arms and my state gun rights organizations and sportsman's clubs. In aggregate, they have been doing a better job fighting for gun owners rights than the NRA, which seems to be, as far as the actual job of fighting for gun rights goes, a welfare program for K Street (not that lobbying isn't important).

I only keep my NRA membership for voting privileges and I have voted the Save the Second reform the Board of Directors platform, to remove LaPierre and his cronies from the BOD . . . (Along with the other members that were being called wackos etc. by NRA "leadership" in the OP's article)

Anti-gun weenies shouldn't gloat too much over the NRA's problems, it's not like the force behind the NRA is going to die, even if the organization is either crushed by political enemies or sucked dry by LaPierre and his attempts to defend himself and his cronies.

Even with a crippled NRA, the legal and legislative tracks are solidly going in the direction of gun rights and that trajectory and speed is going to increase. and is pretty much irreversible.

Sorry, not sorry loser lefties . . .

 

[okfine]

I'm still a member.

As a voting Life Member for 40 years and an Endowment Member for 28 years, I do consider LaPierre a crook, and have for over 20 years . . . I shifted my considerable financial contributions back then to other gun rights organizations, in particular the Second Amendment Foundation and Firearms Policy Coalition, they are the ones that have done the real heavy lifting bringing the legal cases fighting unjust laws.

I also belong and donate to Gun Owners of America, Citizens Committee to Keep and Bear Arms and my state gun rights organizations and sportsman's clubs. In aggregate, they have been doing a better job fighting for gun owners rights than the NRA, which seems to be, as far as the actual job of fighting for gun rights goes, a welfare program for K Street (not that lobbying isn't important).

I only keep my NRA membership for voting privileges and I have voted the Save the Second reform the Board of Directors platform, to remove LaPierre and his cronies from the BOD.

Anti-gun weenies shouldn't gloat too much over the NRA's problems, it's not like the force behind the NRA is going to die, even if the organization is either crushed by political enemies or sucked dry by LaPierre and his attempts to defend himself and his cronies.

Even with a crippled NRA, the legal and legislative tracks are solidly going in the direction of gun rights and that trajectory and speed is going to increase. and is pretty much irreversible.

Sorry, not sorry loser lefties . . .

Call me what you want. I am a long time gun owner who carries at work. I never fell for their BS. Sorry...

 

[whitehall]

Do you realize that nobody cares about this stupid Brandon shit, whatever it is? It`s likely that Wayne was talking about his suckers and losers that keep funding his extravagant lifestyle.

You don't know what Brandon means? The Columbine shooters certainly weren't NRA members. They were border line personalities who were doped up by the teachers union with mood altering drugs. LaPierre was facing the usual backlash by the anti-2nd Amendment crowd and was trying to alert people to that possibility. Most likely (taxpayer supported) NPR was trying to influence opinion about the current Rittenhouse trial with 22 year old manufactured propaganda.

 

[22lcidw]

It doesn’t matter. The truth is whether it is the leadership fo the NRA or the GOA, they know to whom they cater to: the fruitcakes and wackos. They’re the ones who pay the bills. They’re the ones who run in fear of any whiff of gun control laws. Yeah, the leadership, the ones who bring in the seven figure salaries, know that when they need to fundraise whom to target. They are all over this Board.

Progs history when inroads starts on their agendas is not good.

 

[August West]

I'm still a member.

As a voting Life Member for 40 years and an Endowment Member for 28 years, I do consider LaPierre a crook, and have for over 20 years . . . I shifted my considerable financial contributions back then to other gun rights organizations, in particular the Second Amendment Foundation and Firearms Policy Coalition, they are the ones that have done the real heavy lifting bringing the legal cases fighting unjust laws.

I also belong and donate to Gun Owners of America, Citizens Committee to Keep and Bear Arms and my state gun rights organizations and sportsman's clubs. In aggregate, they have been doing a better job fighting for gun owners rights than the NRA, which seems to be, as far as the actual job of fighting for gun rights goes, a welfare program for K Street (not that lobbying isn't important).

I only keep my NRA membership for voting privileges and I have voted the Save the Second reform the Board of Directors platform, to remove LaPierre and his cronies from the BOD . . . (Along with the other members that were being called wackos etc. by NRA "leadership" in the OP's article)

Anti-gun weenies shouldn't gloat too much over the NRA's problems, it's not like the force behind the NRA is going to die, even if the organization is either crushed by political enemies or sucked dry by LaPierre and his attempts to defend himself and his cronies.

Even with a crippled NRA, the legal and legislative tracks are solidly going in the direction of gun rights and that trajectory and speed is going to increase. and is pretty much irreversible.

Sorry, not sorry loser lefties . . .

There`s a lot of words here to remind us that the gun huggers own Congress. Shocking! Who knew?

 

[Abatis]

Call me what you want. I am a long time gun owner who carries at work. I never fell for their BS. Sorry...

What BS, that the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed?

 

[Abatis]

There`s a lot of words here to remind us that the gun huggers own Congress. Shocking! Who knew?

Can an elected official support gun rights and/or oppose gun control, without being coerced or bribed by "gun hugger" groups?

By your lack of response / reply / rebuttal to what I actually said about your OP, I'm surmising you do not take any issue with my assessment of the comments reported in the NPR hit piece.

Good.

.

 

[okfine]

What BS, that the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed?

How much did they (NRA) steal from you? Must make you feel good to get taken.

 

[August West]

What BS, that the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed?

When you`re stopped at a metal detector with your gun, give the police that little infringement speech. Cops enjoy a good laugh now and then just like the rest of us. Thousands of armed drunken football fans at an NFL game is a really bad idea.

 

[Abatis]

When you`re stopped at a metal detector with your gun, give the police that little infringement speech. Cops enjoy a good laugh now and then just like the rest of us. Thousands of armed drunken football fans at an NFL game is a really bad idea.

Private property owners can prohibit guns on their property. "Sensitive places", controlled entry public buildings like courthouses etc can also prohibit weapons but I have often entered them armed and availed myself to the secure weapon lockers these buildings are mandated to provide.

I'll point out, where I live, (Pennsylvania), for the buildings without controlled access (malls, stores, restaurants) who declare themselves "gun free", that declaration nor the signs proclaiming it, have the force of law. I ignore those signs and the policies as a matter of course performing my daily activities.

And again, you decline to comment on my remarks about your OP . . . So I'm just confirming here, you accept my assessment and condemnation of NPR's (and others in this thread) characterization of the NRA official's comments?

 

[bodecea]

They should have added "suckers and losers".

MSN

www.msn.com

That's what LaPierre thinks they are.

 

[Abatis]

How much did they (NRA) steal from you? Must make you feel good to get taken.

It cost me a couple grand in dues and upgrades to get to Endowment Member status. I first joined the NRA in 1979, I was 18 and within two years I upgraded to a Life Member. Once you are a Life Member you no longer pay annual dues.

I upgraded again in 1993 to Endowment level (and was the same year I bought a computer and began having a blast debating gun rights vs. gun control).

I went to many "Friends of the NRA" banquets over the years up to 2000 (when as I said, in 2000 I stopped all $$$ going to the NRA). The Friends events are fund raisers for local programs and the NRA Foundation. They always cost you some money; they have fantastic raffles and auctions and I never got out of one for under $1000, sometimes a few times that (if there was an auction item or trip I really wanted), every couple months.

So, to answer your question, let's say $2500 in actual dues to the main NRA and then on average about $4K to $8K a year for Friends of the NRA banquets and then intermittently to the ILA, the legislative arm of the NRA. . . So somewhere around $60K over the last 40 years or so.

It felt great, the Friends money went to fund grants to local gun clubs and school shooting teams and gun rights in general and I had incredible meals and won a ton of nice stuff and trips too.

Now I give about $7K a year to other gun groups plus more to political candidates, especially in the last 10 years.

All in all, looking at where gun right stand now to 1980, and hearing how hard you anti-gun lefties are crying, it was definitely money well spent, donated and even stolen if that works for you.

.