On his GunTalk radio show and website, Tom Gresham has added his voice to the cacophony calling for the ouster of Wayne LaPierre as Executive Director at the National Rifle Association. “The CEO has failed,” Gresham wrote. “…[I]t’s time for a new leader.”
Gresham has had his “Gun Talk” radio show since 1995 and has seen a lot in his time. Just like a lot of the rest of us involved in gun rights and political advocacy. Gresham’s program was America’s first syndicated gun-centric national radio show. Even today he’s still picking up affiliates.
And now, he’s come out with his opinion piece entitled “Wayne Must Go.” Here is an introductory excerpt from Gresham’s GunTalk website:
It’s time for Wayne LaPierre to retire.
I have put this off for a while as I waited to see how events would develop. The leaders at the NRA and I’m talking about YOU, the board of directors, as well as the hired help, have spent years … decades … setting up a system which gives key people massive financial rewards. In my view, it’s at least malfeasance, and it might even be corruption. Monster salaries, private jets, slush funds, insane budgets spent on TV shows, as well as PR and advertising campaigns designed to do nothing more than generate more funds which can be siphoned off for dubious programs, putting millions into the pockets of vendors (and maybe staffers and directors and even family members of key staffers), have eroded the confidence of members and gun owners to the point where we now see a campaign of “no money until Wayne is gone.”
Whether he directed it, was part of it, or just didn’t see what was happening, this all metastasized under the watch of Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre. The buck stops there.
All in all, Gresham takes a rather gentlemanly approach at calling for LaPierre’s exit. And he appeals to Wayne’s sense of right and wrong, too.
Wayne, if you care about the movement … if you care about the fight for gun rights — recognize that you now constitute an impediment. Take your millions and retire. Staying on to fight the good fight won’t do.
Do the right thing. ~ Tom
Time will tell if Gresham’s call — added to dozens of other prominent voices — will serve as the straw that breaks Wayne’s back.
No doubt many of us believe Gresham’s call, as so many others have so far, will fall upon deaf ears in Fairfax.