Wayne LaPierre is the executive vice president of the NRA and the main mouthpiece of the organization. I haven’t been much of a fan of how Wayne has handled the post-Newtown gun control fervor. Nevertheless, he was the man at the tiller when the storm hit and by all counts he has weathered it well. But now that the initial battle has been won and appears to have turned into a drawn out conflict, is it time to find a new face for the NRA? One that isn’t an old white guy? Especially after the NRA Annual Meeting, where he was lauded by the powers that be within the NRA, it would be a logical time for him to step aside, going out on top, and let a younger, fresher face take it from here. What do you guys think?
Maybe his mother loved him, but I don’t think anyone else does.
I think there are things that he excels at behind the scenes that helped prevent obama from getting his way. He needs to stay out of view though and let a pr person do the talking.
Yup, that’s it. In public, he came across as confused and not terribly bright. The NRA needs someone who’s more commanding and intellectually quicker.
But I’ve got nothing against old white guys, or old any guys. I don’t consider that a reason to replace anyone.
No, he came through loud and frickin’ clear to millions of video gamers in the first press conference where, instead of making a principled defense of firearms, the idea of self-defense, and seizing the moral high-ground, he tried to move a still-metaphoric target from his own back onto theirs.
That was his major mistake; one that could have sunk us all right at the beginning and one we’re still paying for.
But I haven’t seen him significantly add to that misstep since then (I was pleasantly astonished when he did not support Manchin/Toomey with Gottlieb) and your second point is well taken. I’d rather see all the “new” spokesmen just do their thing and see if one rises to the top. Let the best advocate make their arguments in the arena of ideas.
Concur. Let Wayne do what he does best- schmoozing and arm-twisting on Capitol Hill. Obama and the Brady Bunch gave it everything they got after Newtown, and they got nothing. Wayne deserves a lot of credit for that, and it’s not clear that anyone else could have done it.
+1
WLP has a lot of juice with the lawmakers. That’s what matters. The rest is frosting.
This is the most serious battle gun rights has had in recent times. Like him or not, Mr. LaPierre is the voice of the NRA. Changing him now will give the impression that the message was wrong giving the wrong impression. Having said that , there is a fatigue factor with public faces- legislators get tired of the same old voices, the media avoids hearing the same old song. Lets get through this, get stable, then look for a new face.
“Get through this”? Let me help you catch up: the “this” of which you speak is an unparalleled, not merely sustained attack, but, by most accounts – and the gun-grabber-in-chief’s own words, NEVER-ENDING.
Wayne LaPierre is NOT going to outlive never-ending. Time for someone with more savvy and stamina to lead us through the darkness ahead.
Time to gracefully step aside, Wayne. Thanks for all the hard work, but I feel too much of that work did not best serve our interests.
In stepping aside, he sends a message of the ascent of younger energy, and redoubling of efforts.
+1
How about easing in another spokeperson. It would obviously be understandable that the NRA could use another person speaking as well, without seeming to back down, and then they can shift that responsibility more and more to the new guy…this also allows them to vet the new guy more. Until one really clicks, you can hold off giving up the mantle.
I think Wayne is far better than many here give him credit for. That said, I do think, in light of the sheer ignorance and even stupidity out there that clouds the issue, he is not ideally suited. If our opponents were rational and fair-minded, I think he would do very well. But as it is, they are not. If you are wrong on a tangential point, they focus on that, and forget the main message. Heck they rip things out of context and twist words. I don’t think Wayne is cut out to sustain that kind of debate.
Didn’t we just do this question, maybe even twice, within the last six months? I’m pretty sure that many (if not most) people think it’s time for him to step aside. I’m equally sure that he’s going nowhere until he’s damn good and ready.
That’s why it keeps getting brought up.
9 vs. .40 vs. .45, AR vs. AK, Should Wayne LaPierre step down. These are the never-ending debates of gun culture these days.
I met Wayne a couple of years ago when he came to Michigan — very nice guy — and he remembered me as the guy who suggested that he hire an image consultant. I had e-mailed him with the suggestion after he appeared on some news program. As he is known to do, he got very vehement, looking very angry and hot-headed, and he also used jargon that might confuse non-gun people. (Even “pro-gun” and “anti-gun” aren’t good terms when Joe Average is watching.) Anyway, he laughed and said that although he didn’t hire any consultants, he took my point, and I must admit that he’s seemed much more measured and thoughtful in those times I’ve seen him since.
When Charlton Heston passed, I’d always hoped that Wayne might get another celebrity to help him reach the general public. My first choice would be Tom Seleck. He’s staunchly pro-gun, but I’m not sure he’d willingly take on such a role. (Since I’m a total outsider, for all I know they DID ask him.) Another good choice would be Joe Mantagna, host of “Gun Stories,” not to mention being the star of “Criminal Minds.” Again, maybe the NRA honchos approached him already… who knows? But an approachable, popular figure would be just what the doctor ordered. Firearms rights cannot be won by making it partisan, or abandoning those who are undecided. Maybe with a bit of education and less heated rhetoric, we might even be able to change some minds. (I know I have!)
So maybe Wayne could step, or at least bring in some help. The NRA needs a public relations makeover, to be sure.
Mantegna, not Mantagna.
Picky, picky… 🙂
I totally agree, it about has to be a celebrity that everyone “knows” and likes. If Magnum, or David Rossi, says something the masses may just listen for once instead of the knee jerk reactions based on all the realities of the Terminator movies.
realities of the Terminator movies…
it had realities?
I believe that’s his point.
I understand Alan West isn’t busy right now…
No! Pick someone without the crazy-pants conspiracy/court-martial baggage.
No, DO!!
Today its perfectly ok to talk crap about old white guys. Gotta love it.
I’ve been saying it for years. His public persona just isn’t helping and he’s an easy target for disarmers.
Whenever I watch or listen to him, he invariably misses the mark. I almost always feel I could make a better case than he does. Sometimes, it’s almost cringe-worthy. The NRA needs someone who concisely makes the connection with non-gun owners and members alike. He doesn’t even connect with me and I agree with him.
I nominate RF for NRA spokesman. And I ain’t kissing up. Who has seen or heard better rationale for the RKBA than here on this blog.
You never change horses in midstream!
The stream has no banks. It’s infinitely wide. If we don’t change horses, there’ll be no horses left.
No, but if it went crashing in irrespective of commands and is headed for a waterfall, you jump and swim for it.
Not that this describes WLP, mind you; just offerin’ some friendly advice to equestrians.
He may not be the best spokesman but he is getting the job done, have to give him credit for that.
In the last six months Wayne has gotten to be less “shrieky”. Before the election I found him to be quite annoying, but having heard him speak recently I became a member again.
That being said, a tag team member might not be a bad idea. A well prepared female speaker of the NRA talking points might be a good idea. Emily Miller might even be a good choice.
Having read Emily Miller-I agree. Judge Jeanine Pirro would be another great possibility. A woman to assist at the helm of the NRA would be a wonderful way to create appeal for the growing numbers of gun owning and toting women, while at the same time attracting people on the fence who may not feel comfortable with the sometimes brusque Mr. LaPierre. The NRA has often times been portrayed by the mass media as being nothing but a bunch of OFWGs. That is a perception that needs to be changed in a country with close to 100 million gun owners, most of whom have no affiliation with gun right supporting groups. They have brought on younger people via their ads, Natalie Foster, Mr. Colion Noir, and Dom Raso are excellent examples, yet while they can appeal to the young gun owner, they may not necessarily appeal to the soccer mom-typically amongst the ones most uncomfortable about guns, that is where a woman in a co-leadership position could really make a difference.
Is a bear Catholic? Does the Pope crap in the woods?
Wayne’s time has been up for awhile. Just because he didn’t drop the ball doesn’t mean that he did a good job with things these last few months.
Is he a nice guy? I think it is probably. Is he intelligent? I think some would certainly think so. Is there someone better qualified than him? That’s fairly certain because there is someone always better out there.
When is the time to replace him? Now that can be hard for some to answer. If it’s to soon people will say they have “won” by making our guy step down. If it’s to late then the damage could be worse than doing it to soon.
Personally I would like to see him step down and have someone step up who is younger and more diverse than the typical white guy status step up. If they could find a more typical American who may of served and is intelligent we could see a great boon in this for the NRA and gun owners a like. Our image is in need of being updated. There are people out there, we just need to look and want change.
Unless the person who replaces Wayne LaPierre can withstand criticism from both sides, it isn’t even close to being time to replace Mr. LaPierre.
Remember, leftists/progressives are scum who own the media, and, as such, are able to mount incredibly malicious and extremely public smear campaigns. Along with the public smear campaigns, I’m quite sure Wayne LaPierre also has full time security to deal with the constant death threats.
On the other side, you get threads like this, where Mr. LaPierre is attacked by people who do not stop to think, even for a moment, just how much Wayne LaPierre has to deal with. And this is from people ostensibly on the same side as Wayne.
Wayne LaPierre is not perfect, far from it. Considering what Mr. LaPierre has to put up with, I think Wayne LaPierre is doing a great job.
Being the face of the NRA is not just about getting out the message. It is also having the character and fortitude to withstand constant vilification.
Hey! *I* was thinking. The entire time. You should have seen me. Furrowed brow. Licking lips. Just because we have a different view doesn’t mean we’re not thinking.
Wayne is hit or miss.
His CPAC speech and last appearance on Meet the Press were brilliant. Other times he stumbles badly.
Having said that, if you don’t like Wayne, you really, really aren’t going to like James Porter.
The NRA should just let Chris Cox do the public appearances.
Let him do the behind the scenes work he does well (or so I’ve heard).
Don’t let him open his mouth in front of a camera for anything longer than a one-liner.
I prefer the strident attack over anything polished. The grabbers are rules by emotion, as are most Americans, when you get down to it. Cold and calculated doesn’t hit home with them. EMOTION does.
I’m going to admit something a bit disturbing here: I don’t own a TV. In fact I haven’t had a TV for going on a good five years now. Nor do I stream anything off the airwaves, etc. All I have is an old laptop (5 yrs too) and most of my news comes off various blogs such as this one as well as a number of news outlets, both foreign and domestic.
Here’s the deal. From what relatively little I’ve seen of WLP on the zombie screen he’s not the most gifted, telegenic guy around, but then again, be honest with yourself and ask how well YOU would come across? I know I wouldn’t do very well. I’m undeniably very smart and those who know me well claim I’d make a good leader, but I’m an OFWG with a hearing and speech impediment (which is why I don’t care for TV much), and I certainly have that Scots-Irish temper thing going. So thanks, but no thanks.
More to the point, is this: How well would anyone, ANY of us, be able to do when under such intensely vicious and loathsome attack from an increasingly unified media campaign. We’ve all read the usual anti-NRA agitprop and hate mail, whether it’s here, the MSM or Facebook (That’s another sore spot altogether but I digress). What’s to say anyone else could have done much better? They say the best defense is a good offense, and the enemy is certainly on the offense. Thus, the logical conclusion is that we may have to go on the offensive, quite literally speaking, at some point in the future. Many wars have been started in just such a manner throughout history, regardless of the propaganda medium.
If that is the inevitable outcome of this conflict, then so be it. I’m resigned to that much. But, in the meantime, we DO need to do all we can to avert this oncoming catastrophe (and that’s exactly what it will be), and yes, we DO need some fresh faces. That fatigue thing. Or at least a good sidekick, sorta like Batman and Robin?
But who?
Not exactly a fair question where I’m concerned: I’m a professional DJ. As a communicator, I could run circles around him. That said, though, I’m no more “telegenic.” I’ve got a face for radio. 🙂
Don’t tell me you don’t know about Batman and Robin! Holy lanolin, Batman!!
Not being an old white guy, I’m just fine with old white guys who do a good job, and when you take a step back, and consider the scale of the onslaught Wayne has managed to overcome, he gets an A+++. Let’s not buy into the multicultural nonsense that sees everything through the lens of race, and try some affirmative action pose that gets us no approval from our enemies, and someone other than the best man (or woman) for the job. And all you OFWGs, resist the temptation to apologize, and give the Left’s intellectual blackmail the Bronx salute it deserves.
This is not about race or age. This is about WLP not having enough charisma, especially the kind of it that could sway fence-sitters.
Most of his speeches lark that spark, lack the drive and confidence that I think could help the cause. I’m no authority on this, though…
It is actually about race, age and gender. We white guys, old and young, simply don’t have the numbers to effectively defend our rights. If we are to continue being gun owners we are going to have to reach out and unify with the non white, non male demographic.
I agree with this, though I hesitate that the best way to accomplish it is by picking a spokesman on the basis of his race or gender. Get someone who can reach as many people as possible, or better yet, create a team.
The Avengers come to mind.
Amen
the nuge would shake things up!
In debate with some gun prohibitionists and/or less than sympathetic News People, La Pierre. sometimes comes across as a tired older man who is just repeating the same old stuff. He misses cues where he could eviscerate the argument stated against him and gives the impression he is “sticking to the script” and thereby letting opportunities to make major counter-points go right past him. Often he seems flat and less than passionate.
He has got the job done, however, and I would wish he could step to some elevated position and hand the Public Image to a more dynamic, sharp witted, outgoing person who comes across as someone you don’t really want to debate if your a gun phobe because he/she will make you look like the idiot you are.
So, in my book, having LaPierre “step down” would send a bad message and do a disservice to a man who has carried the NRA Standard bravely and faithfully in good battles and bad. Noting that the new President of the NRA epitomizes an OWFG…I think the NRA is headed for a downturn.
It may not be time to replace him, but it is time to start grooming an eventual replacement. We will need someone (old/young/black/white/man/woman, whatever) who can win the media game, and they are tough to find, so we should start searching now.
That said, the NRA needs more new media/meme/pop culture savvy talent in house, and you could hire a team of 20-30 somethings for a fraction of Wayne’s salary. That should be done asap.
Good time to start grooming, but any replacement in the forseeable future would be viewed as the NRA tucking tail and showing signs of weakness. I think Wayne will be here through 2014 at the very least.
The left loves to vilify the NRA. Tom Selleck is probably tied up with his television and movie contracts.
I am ambivalent on this issue. One part says yes, he needs to retire (or not retire, get “promoted” for a job well done) in favor of a more modern look. On the other hand, the head of the NRA needs to state the obvious – which even newscasters were saying, for example: people in Boston probably wish they were armed during the lockdown. Selling self protection is inherently a difficult message – who wants to believe they could be rousted out of bed by an intruder? Thank god brandishing is often enough because in a real situation people freeze, crap themselves, and miss more often than they hit. I expect the head of the NRA to be vilified as a corporate devil selling death to children no matter who is in charge (“Let the police do their job” “we dont want the gunfight at the ok corral” ” Please leave the guns to the police and I’ll stay indoors while they take care of the bad guys.”.)
If I were nominating someone, I would nominate Sheriff David Clarke, a law enforcement official with charisma, based solely on the fact that I liked his PSA commercial very much.
If it’s time for Wayne to move to a strategic, behind the scenes function, and it probably is, then I think a charismatic, ex-LEO or military type would be a very good, strategic move.
Travis Haley had a pretty damn good take on the 2nd Amendment which he posted to YouTube a few months back.
I wasn’t real impressed with the NRA when LaPierre went from President to Executive Vice President for Life. However, Charlton Heston as President did a lot to help the public face of the NRA.
IMHO, the real problem is that David Keene has been nearly invisible on this one. Supposedly, Jim Porter is next up on the carousel. He needs to be on CNN, MSNBC, and whatever is left of Air America daily, if that’s what it takes. If Jim Porter isn’t up to the job, then appoint a first vice president that is.
“Charlton Heston as President did a lot to help the public face of the NRA.”
Well, people remembered he fought for civil rights, marched alongside Dr. King.
That went a long way. In the spirit of that, I’m “nominating” Mr. Colion Noir!
He’s a politician, let him continue to do his work lobbying or whatever. Make Colion Noir the media guy.
OK, here’s something you keyboard commandos don’t realize:
LaPierre has an exceedingly hard job. His real job is lobbying and changing votes on legislation and knowing the internal procedures in Congress, who is who in elected offices and what battles he can and must win.
You guys are all about the puffery – the PR mission. You want to be liked. You want the NRA to be liked, to have “wider appeal.”
LaPierre has long since realized that there are days he’s going to be the single most hated man in the press – and he’s able to withstand that hate, invective and the ad hominem attacks that are the stock and trade of the American left now. Most people here couldn’t handle LaPierre’s job for a week, even if you knew what you needed to know to not give away the store without knowing it.
Want to replace LaPierre? You’d better have someone in mind who will be better at the job before you start talking about replacing him. That means you need to have someone in mind who knows all the inside baseball of Congress, who is who, what the obscure procedures and legislative tricks are in Congress, the executive branch, you’d better be able to read the Congressional calendar and the Federal Register pretty quickly every morning. This isn’t a job where you can afford on the job training.
Actually it looks like WLP is more of the outside face, with Chris Cox and especially Jim Baker doing the inside baseball (http://www.politico.com/story/2013/03/the-nras-inside-man-89296.html).
WLP makes a good war-time conciliary (sp?) but after this calms down a bit the NRA needs to expand its appeal, since many current NRA members are aging out, I’m not sure WLP is the man for that job. Like I said above it may not be time for him to step down but it is time to identify a successor and start grooming.
I agree, but Mr. Colion Noir should be brought in to handle most of the press and debates. The media doesn’t get their scandalous “WLP got fired,” and we get someone who’d actually be quick on their feet in the midst of a debate.
WLP did a lackluster job against David Gregory, and Colion would have slaughtered that one.
Who said we didn’t realize that? Aside from you, I mean.
Is Wayne a great public mouthpiece? Probably not. He is, however, one of the finest lobbyists on the hill. There are simply few better at what he does. Elected reps are scared to death of him. He stays. You may not like it, but to win “the game” you have to play by their rules. That includes lobbying, campaigning, and fund raising. If you haven’t lately, this weekend might be a good time to fire off some dough in the direction of Fairfax.
Agreed. The heavy lifting within the NRA is by its base. Donations and a loud and passionate voice to elected officials. WLP moves the base when the base needs to act. The Senate’s vote is a reflection of having heard loud and clear what the NRA’s base told them in millions of emails and phone calls. I personally feel WLP is a both a great spokesman and leader for the NRA. His message is simple and articulate. He is also uncompromising, a trait that is needed now more than ever.
The fight for 2A rights is not a PR campaign, never has been, and never will be. If it was, the fight would have been over a long time ago, and this site would never have existed.
I sick and bloody tired of “old, white guy” being used as a criticism and a pejorative. Why does this matter, except to the race-hustling, post-modern losers that will oppose us at all costs (and who consider young, black guys for our cause to be traitors to their race anyway)? If someone is good at what they do and do it with a passion that puts more Ws in the win column than Ls in the lose column, why do they need to go?
Yes, the NRA needs to think about the next generation of leadership. We’ll need passionate, intelligent, savvy people with excellent communication and organizational skills. But with something as important as defending our rights (and by extension, our very freedom) we must take a colorblind approach and choose the very best. Window-dressing with our freedoms on the line is folly.
You make a good point. Look at the RNC, for example…they ran out just about every race, gender & in-between they could at the past convention thinking it would magically cause entrenched voters to jump to their ship and it fell entirely on deaf ears. Even RGIII was attacked on ESPN of all places for not being a “real” brother. The issue of race has been hijacked by the Democratic party and they make the rules.
This is modern America, where someone being strong, intelligent, and good at what they do matters nothing next to race, gender, looks, and every other bit of superficial junk the small-minded, brainwashed public obsesses over.
He may be a very competent administrator and organizer and fund raiser, but the NRA needs a VERY skilled and gifted “public face” who knows how to speak well, to present himself well and who really understands all aspects of modern mass media communications, social media, etc.
He, or she (!!), needs to be somebody who is smart, savy, winsome and, frankly, YOUNGER than some 55-65 year old white guy who comes across stiff and boring, flat footed when trying to speak and think on his feet.
Yes, it is time for Wayne to step out of his very public role and turn the reigns over to a public face for the NRA who can really do a much better job.
One good thing the NRA has done is to get Colion Noir and I forget the other two ‘commentators’ to post vids on youtube. We must take command of the new media as the old media is already bought & paid for by the enemies of freedom.
As for celebrities I don’t personally care about them, but many are vocally anti-gun so it stands to reason we could use help from the few who aren’t.
We also must reach out as individuals to bring more people into the gun culture. We have to reach out to a diverse group of people and take them to the range. This is one goal I have, taking new people to the range, especially young people, I hope to take several out throughout the year. It would help if I could find some 22lr.
Bottom line is WLP is just one guy and we need multiple well spoken people out there putting the message forward while we (us, you and me) take people to the range. Must he go? I couldn’t say, as others have mentioned he has been in the lobbying arena for years and has valuable experience there. I do think he needs to get in touch with SAF and CCRKBA and do some strategic planning.
Personally I thought he did quite well after the Sandy Hook shooting. Proposing to put armed guards in schools was pure genius. The left didn’t see that one coming and scrambled to explain why protecting our money and our politicians was good but protecting our children was bad.
If the selection of Jim Porter as President is any indication, Wayne’s replacement won’t be an improvement. They, and by extension, all you guys are a laughing stock.
I see your Mother turned your web access back on. So good to know you’ve been eating your veggies!!
Yeah, we’re laughing stocks mikey. Where’s the new AWB? Where’s the new UBC? We got Wayne, you got slow joe. Who’s laughing now?
I admit you’ve got a point there about Biden. But, since he discusses which is the best weapon for home defense and how to use it, it could be said he’s one of yours. “My people” don’t offer such advice.
“Your People” mikey? Did the short bus riders elect you king or did you just self appoint?
“Your people” are why the 2A was crafted by the founding fathers and why so many true Americans own guns. Without monsters, sociopaths, and tyrants, we wouldn’t need protection.
I don’t mind taking sh!t from douchebag elitist liberals, I mind not being armed.
So if your side got soundly thrashed in the Senate and overall American support by a “laughing stock”…what does that make your side?
Nick, I agree. It is time for him to step down. The NRA needs a new face that is not that of an “old fat white guy” association. The NRA needs someone far more polished, charismatic, and great at public speaking. Another matter: a NRA official (an attorney from Alabama) who is taking over a senor NRA position made a dumb ignorant public comment about the war of northern aggression. Regardless of an individual’s views on the issue comments and thinking such as that will only stereotype and limit the growth in numbers and influence of the NRA. That type of talk and thinking is bad pr and must end.
Wayne’s time really is past. And no, it doesn’t have anything to do with “Old White Guy” or any such nonsense. The fact is that Wayne has gotten his ears boxes in on way too many occasions, by guys he should have creamed. Someone earlier mentioned when he was on with that little weasel David Gregory not too long ago. Gregory is a half pint weasel, and Wayne should have chewed him up and spit him right out. But he didn’t. He doesn’t think fast on his feet at all. Perhaps he did at one time but that time is past.
There are many people out there on our side who can run rings around Wayne, and win debates, which means winning for US ! When I watched that weasel boy Gregory clobber Wayne again and again I just cringed. Watching it on live TV I found myself yelling the correct responses at the set, and getting angrier each moment.
Remember, the gun issue is not some part time gig for Wayne. This is ALL he does. He should be like the heavyweight champion of the world, where all challengers to our gun rights tremble to debate him. It just ain’t that way. Wayne sometimes does alright, and sometimes he does our side no favors at all.
A super articulate and passionate woman would be great for our team right now. We’ve got no shortage of them, but this stranglehold Wayne has on his position has kept anyone else from emerging. Sandra Froman (past NRA Pres.) can debate Wayne right into the ground. Why not her ? She’s a proven commodity.
This crap about “don’t change horses in mid-stream” is just that: crap. We need the absolute best, sharpest, quickest, and most passionate defender of the 2nd Amendment possible out there for us. Wayne ain’t that guy.
Nothing wrong with old white guys.
Washington, Lincoln, Jefferson, Franklin.
Dumb question.
+1000
Wayne appears to ignore the media’s crap better than most, but I will say that he is very uninspiring and underwhelming. He does sort of come off sometimes as the confused old guy that the media believes us all to be. I would start putting Colin Noir “up front” more. It would be funny just to see how the media would try to attack him for being a racist or supporting the Second Amendment that they believe is an artifact of slavery. If they want to throw racism at us, we need show that race has nothing to do with our right to bear arms.
Cris Cox would be a great replacement, He is a gifted speaker. His speech was by far the best and most importantly, the most concise. and so was last years….and the year before that. Thats the kinda stuff we need.
Let’s find strong intelligent people, several faces. Guided by Wisdom of the current powers. How about some Hispanics, black women, and white women. And, Colion Noir.
Time to go.
“is it time to find a new face for the NRA? One that isn’t an old white guy?” That’s a pretty RACIST statement to make, no? If LaPierre was BLACK, would you say it’s time to find someone other than an old black guy? I don’t think so.
Wow. Let’s attack one of our own on the Internet and implode from within. That’s very productive. Wayne LaPierre is not perfect, and yes the NRA could use any help that it could get in regards to the PR front. However no amount of PR will change the fact that the NRA is coupled with the GOP, which automatically alienates a lot of people. On the plus side, LaPierre does have the institutional knowledge about the Byzantine Labyrinth of Washington DC. In the meantime, it does not help adding fuel to the media fire that the “NRA leadership is out of step with its membership” (even though this statement is a distortion of the truth by the press). A house divided cannot stand. Love him or hate him, we got him.
The NRA succeeded in defeating anti-gun legislation in the Senate and you want to get rid of Wayne? The NRA has added about a million members since Newtown and you want to get rid of Wayne? The NRA brought Mrcolionnoir into the fold and you want to get rid of Wayne? The NRA is lobbying its @ss off in Chicago to get a good CCW bill and you want to get rid of Wayne? The only organization that the gungrabbers hate and fear is the NRA and you want to get rid of Wayne?
This is why we will ultimately lose all our rights. We don’t know who our friends are. “I have seen the enemy and he is us.”
+1000. Well said sir!
Kind of reminds me of Britain tossing Churchill after WWII. Not their cleverest move.
Well said Ralph. Wayne wins. That is all that matters.
While not fitting with the Diverse theme being kicked around, I would like to see someone like Col. Tim Harmsen take the helm. Very clear, decisive, and a great speaker. His political outreach as of late has been great (at least for me) at making our world make sense to non gunnies.
Every anti-gun or on the fence individual that take the time to discuss the issue with me get linked to this site, MAC on youtube, The Cato Institute, and other sites for reference to my side of the discussion. Tim has, by far, the biggest impact on them. Once they are finished with the links on his outreach, they watch some reviews, and usually ask when I’m going to the range next.
Wayne haters are like Tebow haters. To them, he does everything wrong. Except win games. So they want to get rid of him, because he doesn’t earn sufficient style points.
But listen up: Politicians fear Wayne. The media hates him, the gun grabbers crap their pants every time they see him.
“…is it time to find a new face for the NRA? One that isn’t an old white guy?”
“…is it time for a new President of the United States? One that isn’t a middle-aged black guy?”
Doesn’t seem right, eh? How about we keep the thinly-veiled reverse racism to the leftists. They can vote in their overlords based on race, we can choose our representatives based on qualifications and intelligence. Fancy that.
Though I wouldn’t mind Colion Noir as NRA prez. Let’s see the leftists attack that.
Well, the part about getting a new POTUS seemed right to me.
I vote for Mr. Colion Noir. THen we get to call his detractors racist.
The minorities on the left will attack Colion Noir the same way that they are attacking Dr. Benjamin Carson.
I think Wayne LaPierre is an effective advocate for the NRA. I like him.
I think it would be good to have a pro gun celebrity/movie star in the position since it requires so much image projection and HR work.
I’m not a fan but he gets the job done. The best thing would be to have a few more “common man” spokespersons to pull all the media off of him.
He does come across like a lobbiest to me; looks like he hasn’t had fun since Nixon was in office.
The only thing that bothers me is that he seemed to go to the typical old “violent video games” nonsense in reaction to Newtown. Given that games have helped create a hell of a lot of young gun enthusiasts (lots even from normally gun grabbing areas), I’d say this is a tactical error.
Other than that, he’s getting the job done. Though I wouldn’t mind seeing someone else take the “public face” role, as LaPierre seems to be much better as a strategist than as a public speaker.
I think a new “mouthpiece” for the NRA would be helpful.
And what the heck is wrong with being “an old white guy”? I don’t come to this website to hear anti-white bigotry. Leave the racial politics out of it.
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