Campaign to Keep Grover ‘Taxpayer Protection Pledge’ Norquist on NRA Board

Submitted by TTAG reader Todd Rathner

Dear Friends,

Many of you ask me who to vote for in the NRA board elections. I usually tell you to support the incumbents and this year I will tell you the same BUT with a small twist. For the first time in my 16 years on the NRA board there will be a recall on the NRA ballot. I urge you to VOTE NO on the recall of Grover Norquist. Here is a letter I wrote to gun rights leaders nationwide on why I oppose the recall. Ballots will be arriving in the NRA magazines between February 15 – 20 . . .

Dear Fellow Gun Rights Leader,

If you are an NRA voting member your upcoming NRA magazines (March issue) will contain the annual board election ballot AND a question, whether or not NRA board member Grover Norquist should be recalled from the NRA board.

I want you to know that I am vigorously OPPOSING the recall effort of Grover Norquist. I have served with Grover on the board for over 15 years.

I have spent a lot of time with Grover at NRA board meetings and events. Grover shows up at board meetings and works for the NRA. We have spoken at length over the years about many issues, and he is 100% NRA. He supports all of our goals, from CCW to Constitutional Carry.

He has NEVER done anything to undermine the NRA or damage it in ANY way. He has frequently helped the NRA gain access to Washington insiders who have helped us kill bad bills and bad policy in DC. Not every Washington insider is willing to use their personal contacts to help the NRA, Grover always has.

The accusations against Grover are nonsense and the recall is designed to…DESTROY the integrity of the NRA, damage the NRA board, and cause irreparable harm to our cause. Mark my words, if this recall is successful it will be plastered on the front page of the New York Times and the Huffington Post and used as a way to claim the NRA is weak in an election year that could be the most important in our lifetime.

Below you will find a document designed to educate those with questions about this issue. Bear in mind the unfounded accusations about Grover were pushed prior to the last NRA election (2015) and despite this information being available to NRA voting members they saw fit to return him to the board. So this recall effort is simply an attempt to undermine the results of a legitimate NRA election. There is NOTHING new in these accusations.

I encourage you as a gun rights leader to alert your members, followers, and constituents to vote NO on the recall of Grover Norquist.

Please use your Facebook pages, newsletters, and email lists to help defeat this recall.

The people behind this effort have invested a lot of money into trying to undo an NRA election. Don’t let them win!

Feel free to share this letter and document. I also urge you to look at  this website: http://gaffneylies.com

Thank you

Todd Rathner
NRA Board Member
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WHAT’S THE ISSUE: A petition has been filed to recall Grover Norquist, who was elected for the sixth time in 2015 to the NRA Board of Directors.

WHAT’S BEHIND THIS: The recall petition gives — as its only basis — a document entitled “Agents of Influence,” a bizarre conspiracy theory.

-Petition alleges nothing that relates to any issue, problem or lapse by Mr. Norquist in his role for more than fifteen years as a member of the NRA Board.

-There are no allegations in the Recall Petition that have anything whatsoever to do with the NRA, its mission, purpose or programs.

WHO’S ACCUSING WHO? A troubled individual named Frank Gaffney

— has been obsessed with Grover Norquist for more than a decade and

— has absolutely no problem making up, spreading and publishing utterly false statements about Mr. Norquist

— has created an elaborate conspiracy theory, which he has revised several times, to explain events of the past two decades

–ran an unsuccessful campaign to defeat Grover’s re-election to the NRA board in 2015.

WHAT ARE THE ACCUSATIONS?

1. POWER OVER THE BUSH CAMPAIGN IN 2000. Gaffney claims that, for over 15 years Grover Norquist ran (and perhaps still runs) a successful and powerful scheme that controlled decisions by President Bush, Karl Rove and many in the White House.
2. POWER OVER THE WHITE HOUSE AND REPUBLICAN PARTY. Gaffney claims that included decisions as to who had access through the Secret Service to the White House itself, and who was hired or not hired by the Bush Administration.
3. MYSTERIOUS MEETING ON 9/11 WITH “TWO DOZEN MUSLIMS” IN WASHINGTON. Twelve years after 9/11, Mr. Gaffney on Sept. 28, 2013 swore in a notarized statement that:

— he personally saw Grover Norquist at his office in downtown DC on the morning of September 11, 2001, entering the office with dozens of Muslims (dressed in flowing burkas, etc.), in broad daylight, and walked together into a conference room.

— His paid staffer, Mike Waller, lifted ceiling tiles and allegedly heard Norquist plotting with these Muslims.

WHAT ARE THE FACTS, AND WHO STANDS WITH NORQUIST

None of the allegations are true.

Gaffney’s allegations are refuted by Bush’s campaign manager & staff chief, the Bush White House and the head of Homeland Security – and others.

Allegation # 1 is best rebutted by this letter from Joe Allbaugh, who actually ran the Bush Presidential campaign.

JOE ALLBAUGH, NRA board member since 2004, writes:

I have known and worked with Grover Norquist for over 18 years…beginning when I served as Chief of Staff to then -Texas Governor George W. Bush. Mr. Norquist’s efforts to build a national network of conservatives and work together for common goals, has been exemplary.

I have also known about Frank Gaffney for many years and Mr. Gaffney is simply not a credible source. He has generated these attacks against Mr. Norquist. It is quite disturbing to me that he and his small band of zealots have created this situation, using lies and falsehoods against an NRA member to achieve their ends.

I am aware that Mr. Gaffney alleges that Mr. Norquist was somehow responsible for interjecting certain Muslim individuals into the Bush 2000 campaign. That is completely false.

Allbaugh also writes:

It is my sincere hope that the Recall Board will reject the efforts by those individuals who are trying to use the NRA for their own purposes, and urge that you unanimously reject the recall of Grover

Allegation #2 – influencing and controlling the Bush White House – was rebutted by the White House itself in 2003, when asked by the Wall Street Journal about Gaffney’s attacks: “There is no there, there.”

The man who actually led the fight against terrorist threats to America – MICHAEL CHERTOFF, head of Homeland Security for four years – states:

I do not know the motive of the Frank Gaffney’s scurrilous and continuing attacks against Mr. Norquist, but they should not be given any weight . . . I have had the opportunity to work with Grover Norquist on important efforts to combat violent Islamist extremism. Grover Norquist is a natural leader and a patriot. He has exercised leadership on numerous issues of importance to the nation at some personal sacrifice to himself. His efforts to advance religious tolerance are admirable, and reflect an approach that supports our homeland security efforts.

Allegation #3. As to the fantasy “meeting” on 9/11 — in fact, Mr. Norquist was never in his office that day, as he had flown in that morning from California, and been caught up in the transportation shutdown on the East Coast that day. This has been attested to by numerous witnesses.

OTHERS STANDING WITH NORQUIST:

ED MEESE, President Reagan’s Attorney General:

I have known Grover Norquist for over 25yrs and have worked with him in a number of organizations and projects. On this basis I have been able to closely observe him and know of his commitment to this country.

Grover is a patriot and loyal to the United States. He is a leader in the conservative movement and has distinguished himself throughout his professional life to the cause of freedom and responsible government. He has served several major civic and public policy organizations, in which he has demonstrated his ability and dedication. He has been a great asset to the groups he has served and should continue as a valuable member of the NRA Board.

MORTON BLACKWELL, founder and president of the Leadership Institute, dean of conservative activists, says:

I have heard Frank Gaffney’s presentation against Grover Norquist for many years and have not found the presentation persuasive.

BOB BARR, NRA Board Member since 1997, a leader in Congress for 8 years on Second Amendment issues:

I have known and worked with Grover Norquist for 25 years. I have reviewed the charges on which this Recall Petition are based, and I find them to be without merit. I strongly urge a “NO” vote on the Recall Petition.

DAVID KEENE, past national NRA President and Chairman of the American Conservative Union:

I’ve worked with Grover for 20 years. He has dedicated his life to constitutional principles. NRA Members should vote NO on the recall ballot.

DOV ZAKHEIM, the former Undersecretary of Defense and Chief Financial Officer at the Department of Defense:

I have known [Grover] for years and I can attest to his being an exceedingly decent and honorable man. I can only urge you to disregard any scurrilous attacks on Grover originating with Frank Gaffney; they are untrue, baseless and unfair.

IN SUM:

Grover Norquist has been a loyal and outstanding member of the NRA Board of Directors since his first election in 2000. Mr. Norquist has been a staunch defender of the Second Amendment and has devoted many years to that mission. This recall was driven by a troubled individual who has obsessively run a vendetta over nearly two decades.

Grover Norquist has been the President of Americans for Tax Reform, (ATR) since 1985 when President Reagan asked him to run it. ATR asks all candidate for office to sign The Pledge to oppose all tax increases. Grover also chairs the “Ronald Reagan Legacy Project” which works to name things after President Reagan. Reagan Airport in Washington was his first success back in 1995. Grover also serves on the board of the Parents Rights Organization defending homeschoolers.

Grover has written four books including: “Leave Us Alone: Getting the Government’s Hands Off Our Guns, Our Money, Our Lives”; “Debacle”, co-authored with gun rights leader John Lott, and “End the IRS, Before it Ends US.” He is married with two daughters. Lives in Washington D.C. He is a Methodist.

The CBS 60 Minutes profile on Grover’s real life work is here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wx30xbYo_co

VOTE NO ON THE RECALL