The Truth About the NRA Implosion

“The situation,” he added, “has folks nervous.”

What makes the NRA such a potent force for Republicans, party officials said, are its reach into battlegrounds — such as Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, North Carolina and Ohio — and the sway it holds with its members. The NRA’s appeals play a critical role in turning out sportsmen, many of whom have paid dues to the organization for years and regard it as an important part of their lives.

Chris LaCivita, a national GOP strategist who’s waged congressional and statewide campaigns in North Carolina, said he remains confident gun advocates will turn out to vote in 2020. But he said the NRA’s problems could hobble its mobilization efforts.

“Infighting and accusations playing out almost daily in the national media regarding the NRA have not been helpful. Clearly it will have an impact in the NRA's ability to raise money, which would be used in elections to turn out its membership,” LaCivita said.

With the organization mired in palace intrigue and confronting a daily barrage of negative publicity, some NRA officials are skeptical a 2020 plan will emerge. Many Republicans are convinced the job of turning out Second Amendment supporters will fall to the cash-flush Republican National Committee, which is constructing a massive get-out-the-vote and data machine devoted to turning out conservatives.

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Anti-gunners and the far left are frothing at the mouth because the NRA is apparently falling apart. The GOP is apparently worried that gun rights supporters won't know who to vote for or when to vote without the NRA holding their hands. But what does that actually mean?

I was on a payment plan for a life membership with the NRA. I stopped paying on it about 3 years ago. Why?

When I was a yearly member, I got mailings, emails, phone calls, etc. from the NRA. I got updates about what they were doing, trying to do, supporting, etc. Once I signed up for a life membership, I stopped hearing from the NRA all together. My mom - who was still on a yearly membership - was still getting all of that information. I wasn't. When I stopped paying on my life membership, I began getting a barrage of mailings begging for money. No information about what they were doing to fight for our rights. No updates. Nothing. They were just begging me to send more money. 

What else happened?

Well, some time ago I went to the NRA convention when it came to Charlotte, NC. It was really something to behold. But while I was there, none other than Wayne LaPierre himself walked through the convention. He wasn't speaking, he was just going from point A to point B. I didn't approach him, but I watched as others attempted to. He'd stop at tables for some of the bigger vendors and BS for a minute, but everyone else was not only blown off, but he acted like he heard and saw no one. Even the people working at the tables for the big vendors, he wouldn't even look in their general direction. He would only speak - briefly - to whoever was the head of the table. He was surrounded by goons the entire time, too. He was completely untouchable and had no reaction to anyone around him. These, the people giving their money to the NRA. And before the "but but but" comments come in, not many people actually tried to speak with him. A lot of people waved as they walked past, without any acknowledgement, but few actually tried to speak to him. Other than vendor workers, those guys all tried to talk to him and were ignored. 

Then there was the phone call. I was at my mom's house when she received the call. It was during the 2012 elections. The phone rings with an unknown number and she answers. I watched the reaction on her face. Her eyes got big and her skin went white, then she settled down and angrily hung up the phone. I asked what happened. She said that after her hello a very deep, ominous voice announced, "THEY'RE COMING FOR YOUR GUNS!" My mother - not realizing it was a recorded message - thought she was being threatened with a home invasion. For a moment, they scared her half to death. There are better ways to get your message out to voters than calling senior citizens and scaring the daylights out of them. 

Reactions to the NRA from gun rights supporters have been very mixed in recent years. They've backed several gun controls proposed by government officials, occasionally back pedaling when they realized their members were against it. They don't keep us informed on what they are actually doing with the money. There seems to be a few people with bigger salaries than they should be getting. Their advertising is rarely seen, even though these media outlets keep telling us the ads exist. The organization isn't doing anything. The media loves to scream about the horrors they inflict on the country, and the California liberals love to call them a terrorist organization while patting groups like antifa on their tiny little heads. But the members of the NRA are starting to realize there are better organizations who are doing more for our rights than the NRA, and they are starting to give their money to them. Gun Owners of America. The Second Amendment Foundation. Local grassroots groups. All more deserving of the money than the NRA. 

The other issue to look at, that the GOP especially seems to be ignoring, is that gun rights supporters are generally not one issue voters. They aren't only voting for their gun rights. It's a big issue for them, and most won't vote for an anti-gun candidate. But they also care about the economy. The national debt. National security. Wars, whether for or against, and yes, there is a divide. Most are either members of or at least follow many other organizations that deal with topics not related to gun rights. Not all gun rights supporters are members of the GOP, either. I'm not. The libertarian party is, in theory, a pro-gun party, with a good deal of their members being pro-gun. A lot of Democrats, like my mom, are also pro-gun. A lot of NRA members have varying gun interests. Some are only hunters. Some are all about those AR15s and aren't as interested in other weapons. Some are competition pistol shooters. Some are cowboy action shooters. Some, like myself, like to partake in the joys of military surplus guns and have a few rifles that are 100+ years old. 

And at the end of the day, most NRA members don't want to abandon the organization. We don't. We believe the organization has merit and does stand between us and the gun grabbers. But they need to fix their leadership and they need to get back on track. They need to earn the trust of the people sending them their money. They need to get in touch with the various types of gun owners and gun rights supporters. They need to realize it isn't only the GOP they are talking to. They need to reach younger voters. They need to update their tactics. They need to keep us in the loop as to what they are doing. They recently stopped NRA TV with spokes people like Dana Loesch and Colion Noir. And while both are great spokes people and made great arguments for gun rights, they still never told us what the NRA was actually doing to reach those goals.  

I did a little "market research" at the Facebook page, and this was the feedback I got up until I posted this article. All identifying features of the commenters were removed for their privacy. 

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