Ever notice how just plain old feelings can sometimes be a helpful guide in life?
At the NRA convention last month, I had a chat with RF over lunch about the anti-gun folks, and I said words the effect of: “Bloomberg’s a smart man. I just don’t understand why he keeps Shannon Watts around.” There’s lots of stuff I could’ve used to back that statement up. Her attempt to jump-start a grass roots anti-gun movement is on life support, its thready pulse kept going only by Mike’s millions and an obliging media. The “victory” her movement won last year in Nevada by the skin of their teeth is already unravelling.
But things like that weren’t prominent in my mind. The thing that was? Just a feeling that there’s something….not there about the former Monsanto propagandist. Feelings I definitely don’t get when I see Bloomberg himself (say what you will about his politics, he is a force to be reckoned with,) or even folks like Nancy Pelosi or the late Sarah Brady.
A news story today just puts more confirmation toward my own feelings. The Daily Caller’s Kerry Picket reports that Everytown is racked by internal dissention. The cause? Shannon Watts herself.
After multiple staff departures from gun control group Everytown for Gun Safety and its spinoff Moms Demand Action, activists say a top decision-maker at both groups is making life difficult for those in the movement.
According to sources close to Everytown, Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action and advisory board member of Everytown, remains a problem within both groups. Watts, while not a staffer with either organization, is a full-time volunteer who lives in Colorado. Critics of Watts say that despite that status, she is involved with all major leadership decisions.
That wasn’t the most damning quote. Here’s the money shot:
“Staff who worked for Shannon quit or are fired faster than the organization can replace them. She’s a nightmare,” the source told TheDC.
Another source close to the organization said in a written statement, “Two beliefs unite nearly all gun control supporters: background checks save lives, and Shannon Watts is a self-promoting tyrant.”
The two staffers who are leaving are Debra Rosen, Managing Director, and Isaac Bloom, Deputy Organizing Director.
Of course, this could just be my mind looking for ways to confirm what I already want to believe. Maybe the DC’s anonymous source is just a malingerer with an axe to grind. Maybe these two were the dead weight holding Everytown back, and now it’ll turn into some amazing NRA-pwning force.
But…I’ve learned to trust my feelings in such matters. And it’s just as possible that Mike B. is not as quick on the draw as The Donald when it comes to sacking people.
I wonder how much longer Shannon will last?