Fox NRA / Wayne LaPierre Commentary

[meigsbucks]

Why'd he leave?

He was suspended due to trying to oust Wayne and ended up resigning.

 

[sestoppelman]

Bear in mind this one thing. Like WLP or hate him. There is one organization that the gun grabbers fear, there is only one. The NRA. That counts for a lot in my book. I realize that WLP is the real target here and other places, but some take the NRA bashing well beyond that and in my view that's just shooting ourselves in the foot. NRA is still the big dog on the block with the most clout. If that were not so, you would see the left saying HO HUM at mention of the NRA. They don't do that do they? They fear the NRA and its influence.
I must admit I get really tired of the whining about them asking for money. Money is what keeps it afloat, and the left like the Gov of NY has been trying very hard to break them. Don't want to pay in, don't, but stop whining about being asked!! Bragging about it is even worse!

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

Bear in mind this one thing. Like WLP or hate him. There is one organization that the gun grabbers fear, there is only one. The NRA. That counts for a lot in my book. I realize that WLP is the real target here and other places, but some take the NRA bashing well beyond that and in my view that's just shooting ourselves in the foot. NRA is still the big dog on the block with the most clout. If that were not so, you would see the left saying HO HUM at mention of the NRA. They don't do that do they? They fear the NRA and its influence.

All the more reason LaPierre needs to step down or be booted. The org is far more important than the man!

 

[Sako AV]

Agree with a lot of what's been said. I will always staunchly support the NRA as it's our best chance at keeping our 2A rights but from the looks of it, it would be best for Wayne to stand down. The only problem is that those that wield considerable power rarely ever give it up willingly.

 

[sestoppelman]

Don't hold your breath!

 

[Sako AV]

I'm not, I'm a realist, hence the last sentence of my earlier post.

I also agree with you that we can not turn our back on the NRA as this plays out in regards to dues/donations. How much to you think the liberal elites, Hollywood types and hardcore leftists are spending right now to promote a rift in the 2A faithful?

 

[sestoppelman]

I'm not, I'm a realist, hence the last sentence of my earlier post.

That was actually in answer to Phil. You posted just ahead of me.

 

[Mort Hill]

All the more reason LaPierre needs to step down or be booted. The org is far more important than the man!

Right on. When the man loses sight of the mission, or the mission becomes secondary to personal gain and standard of living, time for a change.

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

That was actually in answer to Phil. You posted just ahead of me.

Not holding my breath either. Good old rich boy clubs are hard to break up.

 

[wesheltonj]

I don’t think either of the two groups involved want to weaken the NRA, they just want the wasteful spending to stop. So do I, I really don’t have a problem paying high salaries, but do have a problem with Board trips for 60 folks. That size of board is too big. SCI suffers also from too many board members.

 

[ack]

https://video.foxnews.com/v/6074244037001/#sp=show-clips

Not pretty.

Thank you ..I knew this piece of crap was crooked but no how much so.......They have to dump him or fall apart...Good thing Ollie North spilled the beans..his contra stuff was while working for the US pres..They need to house clean now ..We need some voice to fight for us...

 

[ack]

I don’t think either of the two groups involved want to weaken the NRA, they just want the wasteful spending to stop. So do I, I really don’t have a problem paying high salaries, but do have a problem with Board trips for 60 folks. That size of board is too big. SCI suffers also from too many board members.

..Pearo was getting 3 mill a year besides the scamming..

 

[Dennis L]

I feel somewhat qualified to respond to this - like it or not. I am also a Benefactor member of the NRA, as is my wife.

I was a member of the Board of Directors for seven years, resigning only so that I could take an executive position with the NRA as their Director of Competitive Shooting. The NRA came to me and asked me to come work for them. At the time I was 65 years old and told them I would do so but only for 5-7 years because by then I would want to retire. I gave them 5 years and resigned. I have been fully retired now for two years.

First, let's talk about memberships. Wayne once said that the reason the NRA is so powerful is because of our membership.

The more members the NRA has the more influence they can generate. When the NRA wants to speak with a member of Congress they usually can do so. Can you imagine walking the halls of Congress asking to speak with congressmen/women because you are the head of an organization that has 10 members. I doubt that you will get much face-to-face time with anyone.

NRA membership fluctuates wildly and that's the fault of the members, not the NRA. If Hillary Clinton would have been elected, the NRA would be flush with money and membership would have increase by a million members, perhaps more. That's because when the members see that there will be a problem, they step up to the plate and donate money and make sure their membership is up to date.

But Hillary wasn't elected, a pro-gun president was. The members no longer saw that there was a problem since it was unlikely that in the immediate future gun control legislation was going to pass. The members quit donating money and dropped their membership. For some reason being in it for the long haul was not on many members agenda.

This activity takes place every election cycle. If an anti-gunner is elected the NRA gains members and is funded to fight the fight, if a pro-gunner is elected the NRA struggles financially and has less cash to fight the fight.

Want to hurt the NRA, while unintentionally supporting the anti-gun movement, drop your membership (that way the NRA will have less influence) and quit donating to the cause (that way the NRA cannot fund the fight for your guns).

Second, lets talk about those requests for donations.

The NRA is not a guru that can see into the future and tell when you will donate. They are just hoping that you will donate at some point in time. They fully expect that you are not likely in a position to donate every time but just don't know when you will choose to do so. They also fully expect that if you cannot donate, you will simply trash the mail you received. When I was on the Board, each mailing was costing the NRA about $300,000 but the return was about $600,000, so you can see each of those requests is worth making.

I might donate on this month's request but you do not, but you might donate on next month's request while I do not. The NRA might not have received any money from either of us if it had not made two requests.

Don't get mad about the requests for donations, be thankful that somewhere, somebody is donating and helping to support the very same organization that you reportedly support. Just toss the mail and forget about it until it's time to donate.

Wayne has once said that the NRA survives on the $25-$35 donations.

This, let's talk Wayne La Pierre.

Wayne is bargain, financially. He makes far less money than CEOs of for-profit companies. However, Wayne is a believer when it comes to gun rights and fights the fight with a vengeance. Trying to find a replacement that is such a believer might prove to be difficult. Many people will take the job for the money but do they believe?

It's fine if you think he should go or stay but don't kill the organization and lose the fight over who the CEO is. Wayne has served us well in the past and if the Board believes that a new CEO is in order, they will replace him. I will not enter into that fray.

Fourth, the Board of Directors.

The NRA is chartered in the State of New York. This occurred long before New York became anti-gun (New York is trying to destroy the NRA through that charter). This charter requires the NRA to have a Board of Directors and requires them to meet. It also requires that the NRA hold a meeting of the general membership once per year. The NRA complies with these requirements. The Board meets three times per year, twice in Virginia near the NRA HQ, and once at varying locations throughout the USA to hold the General Meeting of the Membership. This meeting is moved around so as to make it easier for NRA members to periodically attend a General Membership Meeting. Not everyone can fly around the country to attend a meeting so the NRA attempts to move the meeting closer to them.

As a result of these required meetings, the Board of Directors incurs costs, for which they are reimbursed, dollar for dollar. They must turn in receipts and a voucher listing all of their expenses. They are not reimbursed for any more than what they were allowed to spend ( yes there is a cap on their authorized expenses).

Board members are NOT paid, they are volunteers, so to speak. They receive no compensation for their time or services but are reimbursed actual costs. Board members also must disclose any conflict of interests each year. They must disclose if they paid the NRA for any services the NRA performed for them or if the NRA paid the Board member for services outside their duties as a Board member.

I hopes this has helped in this discussion.

Denny

 

[sestoppelman]

Very well said and thanks for posting this important explanation. Many members seem to be very short sighted.

 

[meigsbucks]

Thanks for posting this info Dennis.

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

It's fine if you think he should go or stay but don't kill the organization and lose the fight over who the CEO is.

The thing is that knife cuts both directions.

 

[Red Leg]

I feel somewhat qualified to respond to this - like it or not. I am also a Benefactor member of the NRA, as is my wife.

I was a member of the Board of Directors for seven years, resigning only so that I could take an executive position with the NRA as their Director of Competitive Shooting. The NRA came to me and asked me to come work for them. At the time I was 65 years old and told them I would do so but only for 5-7 years because by then I would want to retire. I gave them 5 years and resigned. I have been fully retired now for two years.

First, let's talk about memberships. Wayne once said that the reason the NRA is so powerful is because of our membership.

The more members the NRA has the more influence they can generate. When the NRA wants to speak with a member of Congress they usually can do so. Can you imagine walking the halls of Congress asking to speak with congressmen/women because you are the head of an organization that has 10 members. I doubt that you will get much face-to-face time with anyone.

NRA membership fluctuates wildly and that's the fault of the members, not the NRA. If Hillary Clinton would have been elected, the NRA would be flush with money and membership would have increase by a million members, perhaps more. That's because when the members see that there will be a problem, they step up to the plate and donate money and make sure their membership is up to date.

But Hillary wasn't elected, a pro-gun president was. The members no longer saw that there was a problem since it was unlikely that in the immediate future gun control legislation was going to pass. The members quit donating money and dropped their membership. For some reason being in it for the long haul was not on many members agenda.

This activity takes place every election cycle. If an anti-gunner is elected the NRA gains members and is funded to fight the fight, if a pro-gunner is elected the NRA struggles financially and has less cash to fight the fight.

Want to hurt the NRA, while unintentionally supporting the anti-gun movement, drop your membership (that way the NRA will have less influence) and quit donating to the cause (that way the NRA cannot fund the fight for your guns).

Second, lets talk about those requests for donations.

The NRA is not a guru that can see into the future and tell when you will donate. They are just hoping that you will donate at some point in time. They fully expect that you are not likely in a position to donate every time but just don't know when you will choose to do so. They also fully expect that if you cannot donate, you will simply trash the mail you received. When I was on the Board, each mailing was costing the NRA about $300,000 but the return was about $600,000, so you can see each of those requests is worth making.

I might donate on this month's request but you do not, but you might donate on next month's request while I do not. The NRA might not have received any money from either of us if it had not made two requests.

Don't get mad about the requests for donations, be thankful that somewhere, somebody is donating and helping to support the very same organization that you reportedly support. Just toss the mail and forget about it until it's time to donate.

Wayne has once said that the NRA survives on the $25-$35 donations.

This, let's talk Wayne La Pierre.

Wayne is bargain, financially. He makes far less money than CEOs of for-profit companies. However, Wayne is a believer when it comes to gun rights and fights the fight with a vengeance. Trying to find a replacement that is such a believer might prove to be difficult. Many people will take the job for the money but do they believe?

It's fine if you think he should go or stay but don't kill the organization and lose the fight over who the CEO is. Wayne has served us well in the past and if the Board believes that a new CEO is in order, they will replace him. I will not enter into that fray.

Fourth, the Board of Directors.

The NRA is chartered in the State of New York. This occurred long before New York became anti-gun (New York is trying to destroy the NRA through that charter). This charter requires the NRA to have a Board of Directors and requires them to meet. It also requires that the NRA hold a meeting of the general membership once per year. The NRA complies with these requirements. The Board meets three times per year, twice in Virginia near the NRA HQ, and once at varying locations throughout the USA to hold the General Meeting of the Membership. This meeting is moved around so as to make it easier for NRA members to periodically attend a General Membership Meeting. Not everyone can fly around the country to attend a meeting so the NRA attempts to move the meeting closer to them.

As a result of these required meetings, the Board of Directors incurs costs, for which they are reimbursed, dollar for dollar. They must turn in receipts and a voucher listing all of their expenses. They are not reimbursed for any more than what they were allowed to spend ( yes there is a cap on their authorized expenses).

Board members are NOT paid, they are volunteers, so to speak. They receive no compensation for their time or services but are reimbursed actual costs. Board members also must disclose any conflict of interests each year. They must disclose if they paid the NRA for any services the NRA performed for them or if the NRA paid the Board member for services outside their duties as a Board member.

I hopes this has helped in this discussion.

Denny

Really appreciate you writing this Denny.

I am a Benefactor, and respond periodically to the requests for additional donations. I am fully on board that the NRA is our best organization to support our right to bear arms. I also am not walking away from it. My only quibble with your comments above is with respect to Wayne's compensation. It is true that his salary is less than the typical CEO of a "for-profit" corporation. However, his compensation is significantly more than the typical non-profit CEO - for some - quite a bit more. And there are a number of large non-profits with significant donation level a work load that correspond to the NRA. For instance, the public documents would indicate he is compensated roughly 2x the CEO of the Red Cross. That does not include his retirement buy-out that skewed things a couple of years ago. Moreover, the perquisites he enjoys have largely been eliminated from most major publicly-traded corporations. The clothing allowance is not a good look.

On the whole, I think Wayne has done a great job for organization. But everyone becomes stale. It is why those for-profits you noted have turn-over. It is always better for a CEO to plan it himself than to have a board or general membership stage a revolt. I hope he considers that.

 

[johnnyblues]

Yes we need the NRA. Wayne needs to go. Greedy bastard lost sight of what he was put in place to do. Timing couldn’t be worse.

 

[Wheels]

I feel somewhat qualified to respond to this - like it or not. I am also a Benefactor member of the NRA, as is my wife.

I was a member of the Board of Directors for seven years, resigning only so that I could take an executive position with the NRA as their Director of Competitive Shooting. The NRA came to me and asked me to come work for them. At the time I was 65 years old and told them I would do so but only for 5-7 years because by then I would want to retire. I gave them 5 years and resigned. I have been fully retired now for two years.

First, let's talk about memberships. Wayne once said that the reason the NRA is so powerful is because of our membership.

The more members the NRA has the more influence they can generate. When the NRA wants to speak with a member of Congress they usually can do so. Can you imagine walking the halls of Congress asking to speak with congressmen/women because you are the head of an organization that has 10 members. I doubt that you will get much face-to-face time with anyone.

NRA membership fluctuates wildly and that's the fault of the members, not the NRA. If Hillary Clinton would have been elected, the NRA would be flush with money and membership would have increase by a million members, perhaps more. That's because when the members see that there will be a problem, they step up to the plate and donate money and make sure their membership is up to date.

But Hillary wasn't elected, a pro-gun president was. The members no longer saw that there was a problem since it was unlikely that in the immediate future gun control legislation was going to pass. The members quit donating money and dropped their membership. For some reason being in it for the long haul was not on many members agenda.

This activity takes place every election cycle. If an anti-gunner is elected the NRA gains members and is funded to fight the fight, if a pro-gunner is elected the NRA struggles financially and has less cash to fight the fight.

Want to hurt the NRA, while unintentionally supporting the anti-gun movement, drop your membership (that way the NRA will have less influence) and quit donating to the cause (that way the NRA cannot fund the fight for your guns).

Second, lets talk about those requests for donations.

The NRA is not a guru that can see into the future and tell when you will donate. They are just hoping that you will donate at some point in time. They fully expect that you are not likely in a position to donate every time but just don't know when you will choose to do so. They also fully expect that if you cannot donate, you will simply trash the mail you received. When I was on the Board, each mailing was costing the NRA about $300,000 but the return was about $600,000, so you can see each of those requests is worth making.

I might donate on this month's request but you do not, but you might donate on next month's request while I do not. The NRA might not have received any money from either of us if it had not made two requests.

Don't get mad about the requests for donations, be thankful that somewhere, somebody is donating and helping to support the very same organization that you reportedly support. Just toss the mail and forget about it until it's time to donate.

Wayne has once said that the NRA survives on the $25-$35 donations.

This, let's talk Wayne La Pierre.

Wayne is bargain, financially. He makes far less money than CEOs of for-profit companies. However, Wayne is a believer when it comes to gun rights and fights the fight with a vengeance. Trying to find a replacement that is such a believer might prove to be difficult. Many people will take the job for the money but do they believe?

It's fine if you think he should go or stay but don't kill the organization and lose the fight over who the CEO is. Wayne has served us well in the past and if the Board believes that a new CEO is in order, they will replace him. I will not enter into that fray.

Fourth, the Board of Directors.

The NRA is chartered in the State of New York. This occurred long before New York became anti-gun (New York is trying to destroy the NRA through that charter). This charter requires the NRA to have a Board of Directors and requires them to meet. It also requires that the NRA hold a meeting of the general membership once per year. The NRA complies with these requirements. The Board meets three times per year, twice in Virginia near the NRA HQ, and once at varying locations throughout the USA to hold the General Meeting of the Membership. This meeting is moved around so as to make it easier for NRA members to periodically attend a General Membership Meeting. Not everyone can fly around the country to attend a meeting so the NRA attempts to move the meeting closer to them.

As a result of these required meetings, the Board of Directors incurs costs, for which they are reimbursed, dollar for dollar. They must turn in receipts and a voucher listing all of their expenses. They are not reimbursed for any more than what they were allowed to spend ( yes there is a cap on their authorized expenses).

Board members are NOT paid, they are volunteers, so to speak. They receive no compensation for their time or services but are reimbursed actual costs. Board members also must disclose any conflict of interests each year. They must disclose if they paid the NRA for any services the NRA performed for them or if the NRA paid the Board member for services outside their duties as a Board member.

I hopes this has helped in this discussion.

Denny

Denny,

Thank you for your explanation. It certainly helps me understand things better.

I do have questions regarding the travel, wardrobe and housing that was part of the original news telecast. Do you think the board knew this was going on and accepted it as the perk of a CEO, and wanted it hidden from the general membership? Or, do think this was hidden from the board?

 

[CTDolan]

The NRA lost me in 1977 and I doubt they'll ever get me back.