Grover Norquist (courtest breitbart.com)

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
——-

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

 

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47 COMMENTS

  1. If Norquist goes, it signifies a rejection of his ideals. If he stays, the NRA is tainted with his “villainy.” The liberal media “wins” either way. That’s why I’ve stopped caring.

    • This man is a belt way rino who supports mass immigration, who cares about his stance on gun rights when he will create a anti gun demographic that will vote the 2nd Amendment out of existence?

      • +1000 on this. I’ll stand with Gaffney. The beltway political class, to which Norquist belongs, has been compromised by the Muslim Bortherhood, among other radical jihadist fronts. Norquist is no friend of Israel. That tells me enough about the man.

  4. At the risk of being flamed, I would urge that mr norquist be allowed to resign from the board. It is my feeling that mr norquist s political baggage is detrimental to the furtherance of the NRA goals. He has his own political crusade, we have ours. Let us pursue them independently.

      • Conflates guns with taxes.

        Remember, we want to, you know, EXPAND the NRA and gun rights to everyone, even people that think we should have higher taxes. Taxes are a political issue inherently, but guns don’t have to be. The goal should be to move guns from ‘political issue’ to ‘respected natural right’ that isn’t a partisan wedge issue.

        If Hillary gets defeated for the nomination by Sanders, it repudiates running on gun control. If a president moves to include republicans and democrats on guns rights issues, it weakens their control.

        The other issue that Nugent’s “know your Jew enemy” poster got wrong is what most of those leaders have in common. Being old. Aside from Giffords, most of the real power in the gun control movement are old people who’ve been pushing for decades. If we can let them die out WITHOUT replacing with ideological hacks like themselves, the gun rights movement wins.

        This is where the future is: making guns nonpolitical.

        • “The goal should be to move guns from ‘political issue’ to ‘respected natural right’ that isn’t a partisan wedge issue.” Perfect point. I agree completely. Thanks.

        • If you think the progtard hate of firearms is not about politics (and control) you are delusional and need to pay more attention before you start preaching.

        • I agree, however in a few ways, guns will be a political issue unfortunately, for example note the NRA’s support of the Citizens United case. By saying that corporate speech during campaigns can be censored, such a law basically outlawed the speech of the NRA, and by extension, all of its members. This was even the stated purpose of such a law when you look at some past statements by politicians who said they wanted to be able to silence the NRA during campaigns so as to be able to get more pro-gun control politicians elected.

          So the NRA supported the striking down of the law, which is pretty much a conservative position, definitely not shared by the liberals. That said, if we can have lots of liberals who support gun rights but disagree on issues like Citizens United, it is still a huge improvement.

  5. What I find most troubling about this is that Todd links an article about Frank Gaffney from the SPLC. The SPLC is the single most racist organization in America today. The inflammatory rhetoric against anyone who dares oppose their agenda is beyond the pale. While I agree that Grover should stay on the board, Todd shoots himself in the foot with this.

  6. Sorry, don’t care. This kind of thing is a manufactured distraction from real issues. The best way to beat a rumor IS TO STOP REPEATING IT!

  7. I’m curious as to how and why Grover Norquist got involved with the NRA board in the first place? This controversy aside(I knew nothing about it before the last election anyway, must have been in one of the 7 or 8 mailings I get thoughout the year asking me to renew early) this explains a lot about what I’ve always wondered how the NRA got cozy with certain politicians that they have over the years and not others.

    • Stands for the Constitution (including the 2nd)? I see no information that he has every held any elected political office.

  9. Grover Norquist is a RiNO pro-amnesty establishment front man big govt Svengali, cut from the same cloth as Karl Rove. Back to Sesame Street with Grover. Or, um, K Street.

  10. Grover Norquist is the subject of a Communist-style whispering campaign cooked up by a conspiracy nut and embraced by a few useful idiots. Joe Stalin would be proud.

    • Ralph is absolutely correct about this. This whole thing began with former Assistant Secretary of Defense Gaffney’s accusation that the US Government has been infiltrated by the Muslim Brotherhood. Specifically the White House, Department of State, Department of Defense, Department of Justice, and Department of Homeland Security. Additionally Assistant Secretary Gaffney accused a number of longstanding Beltway power players of also being compromised. This included Mr. Norquist who’s wife is Palestinian American. And it was solely because of his wife’s ethnicity that the accusation was made. Regardless of Mr. Norquist’s political positions, or what one might think of them, no one deserves to be smeared like this.

      For full disclosure: I had to burn about 72 hours of duty time answering requests for information for US Army Training and Doctrine Command about what was and was not being taught about Islam, extremism, and/or terrorism in order to answer the Congressional requests that Assistant Secretary Gaffney’s conspiracy mongering in pursuit of fundraising, television and radio time, and influence inspired. That was time I could have spent doing much more productive things. And remember I was only one of thousands of people across the government that had to waste taxpayer dollars on this stupidity.

  11. I don’t need evidence to refute Gaffney’s charges. On their face, they are the delusions of a paranoid conspiracy freak.

  12. As with most people, Mr. Norquist appears to have a mixed bag of beliefs–some of which I agree with, some of which I don’t. His views on the Second Amendment I obviously agree with, but his views on open borders and immigration I vehemently oppose. I used to have a great deal of respect for Frank Gaffney and his work (See “War Footing” from 2006), but after reading Gaffney’s account and the information linked in the post above, I have to conclude he has an unhealthy and disturbing obsession with Mr. Norquist.

    • Having people on the NRA board with differing views from the Republican base would held to undermine the idea that the NRA is really a conservative organization instead of being an organization devoted to gun rights.

  14. All have to say is Mark Levin does not like Grover, and open borders with be the death of the 2 adm. So that’s good enough for me.

    • There is. In short former Assistant Secretary Gaffney is convinced that the US government, as well as a number of Beltway stalwarts, have been compromised and infiltrated by the Muslim Brotherhood. This includes the White House and the Departments of State, Defense, Justice, and Homeland Security. He was able to convince 5 members of Congress to instigate an inquiry within these agencies and departments to demonstrate that they had not been. In the case of the Beltway folks he just started dashing off accusations. Mr. Norquist was one of them because his wife is Palestinian American.

      • “Mr. Norquist was one of them because his wife is Palestinian American.”

        KEEP REPEATING YOUR BS.

        “Grover Glenn Norquist (born October 19, 1956) is an American political advocate who is founder and president of Americans for Tax Reform, an organization that opposes all tax increases, and a co-founder of the Islamic Free Market Institute. ”

        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grover_Norquist#cite_note-60minutes-4

        more

        In 1998, Abdurahman Alamoudi, a self-described “supporter of Hamas and Hezbollah,” took an interest in Norquist, whom he knew to be one of the Republican Party’s most influential networkers. For years prior, Alamoudi had cultivated ties with the Democratic Party and had contributed significant amounts of money to its candidates. These donations had given Alamoudi access to the Clinton White House and enabled him and his associates to secure the right to select, train and certify Muslim chaplains for the U.S. military. Eager to retain this influential role even if the Democratic presidential candidate, Al Gore, were to lose the upcoming election, Alamoudi wrote two personal checks (a $10,000 loan and what appears to have been a $10,000 gift) that enabled Norquist to establish, and to become the founding chairman of, the Islamic Free Market Institute. Better known as the Islamic Institute, this entity’s stated purpose was to cultivate political support (for Republicans) from Muslim and Arab Americans who embraced conservative family values and free-market economics. In addition, Alamoudi in 2000 and 2001 made payments totaling $50,000 to Janus-Merritt Strategies, a lobbying firm with which Norquist was associated at the time.

        http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/individualProfile.asp?indid=2508

        Norquist supported building the mosque next to Ground Zero

        http://articles.latimes.com/2010/aug/17/nation/la-na-mosque-politics-20100818

    • Barr is a NUT. Why anyone would use his name is beyond reason. He went from U.S. Atty to pushing life sentences for defendants selling a half a rock of crack to libertarian? Wonder what he is now.

  17. Grover is a turd….flush it.

    Speaking of turds…the NRA itself is a huge turd.

    The NRA has been knowingly assisting govt in the slow-sell of gun control and of abrogating Amendment II, since their inception.

    The NRA = the ‘Official Govt Approved’ ‘gun-privilege’ organization.

    Quislings.

  18. It’s been quite a week here at TTAG. First the Holocaust deniers and now a modern-day McCarthy-esque witch hunt. Is there a full moon or what?

    • Is Grover part of the elitist that are pushing that? That is a major issue with me and only proves he is an establishment, neo-con, that is working against the best interest of our country.

      So I guess I will vote after all, to recall him.

  21. I have know Grover since we were both College Republicans. He was Jack Abramoff’s buddy, I love Ed Meese but he has got to be in his 90’s, he could not possibly know what is going on.

    I doubt Grover did the things accused of but he is in politics for the money. Worse he is an establishment neo-con, who is in part responsible for serving up loosing centrist candidates like Romney, Dole and McCain.

    It doesn’t matter anyway. If members of the NRA Board don’t know that they have absolutely no power they are fools: 1. Look around and see how many Board members there are; is it 76 or 80 now? That means the staff runs it and the Board just gives them cover. 2. The Ackerman McQueen ad agency has total control over the NRA. The last time some Board members (like Neal Knox) wanted to fire them, it was Knox who was fired. They are responsible for all the trinkets the NRA sells and the attempt to gut the Heller litigation. Because they liked the status quo, they didn’t want to win anything.

    Mr. Farago, I love The Truth About Guns but whether Grover says or goes makes no difference. I will probably throw my ballot away again because the Board does not matter as long as you have Ackerman, McQueen running OUR organization. Let’s have a report on them and see if you stay on the Board.

    • Best comment yet, because it’s truth. La Pierre is the tool of that agency, and all they care about is cash flow.

  22. “…DESTROY the integrity of the NRA, damage the NRA board, and cause irreparable harm to our cause.” What integrity? Look at what NRA does, not what they say. NRA contract lobbyist for Illinois Todd Vandermyde put Duty to Inform w/ criminal penalties in Rep. Brandon Phelps “NRA backed” HB183 carry bill in 2013, NOT Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

    Tim McCarthy of Orland Park was president of the anti-gun IL Chiefs of Police when Vandermyde cut the deal on DTI. That’s the same Tim McCarthy who was a Secret Service agent when President Reagan was shot, and who does press conferences with Jim & Sarah Brady to promote gun control. If Chris Cox & Chuck Cunningham at NRA-ILA pay scum like Vandermyde to get their own members set up and killed by police criminals, then how many other rats work at NRA HQ?

  23. Judge Johnston is correct. There is no greater threat to gun owners in America than NRA. Illinois had no concealed carry for citizens since 1963. When the U.S. Federal Appeals Court in Chicago overturned IL’s concealed weapons statute in Dec. 2012 (Moore v. Madigan) NRA contract lobbyist for IL Donald Todd Vandermyde aka Todd Vandermyde cut deals with police unions to put Duty to Inform w/ criminal penalties in Rep. Brandon Phelps “NRA backed” HB183 carry bill.

    Vandermyde and NRA promote the criminal police state so armed citizens can be set up, arrested and killed at will by police criminals and police impersonators. Chris Cox & Chuck Cunningham at NRA-ILA pay this vile rat scum to sell out the lives of their own members because it creates job security to “fix” their own garbage bills. NRA made $1.3 MILLION in legal fees on Otis McDonald v. Chicago, so dead gun owners is big business for NRA lawyers.

    Vandermyde worked as lobbyist for William Dugan at the Intl. Union of Operating Engineers local 150 in Countryside, IL. Dugan was convicted by U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald in 2010. NRA hires lobbyists with possible organized crime associations and pays them to sell out their own membership to get disarmed, raped and killed with DTI.

  24. I can find you copies of checks he received from radical islamists like Khaled Saffuri and provide stories of his pal-ing around with those arrested for crimes pertaining to terrorism. Google Abdurahman Alamoudi, and you will see. Norquist was the guy, right after 9/11, who legitimized CAIR, by dumping Nihad Awad on the doorstep of the terminally gullible George Duh-bya Bush. CAIR went from about 2 branches in 2001 to 30 today.

    Don’t take it from me. Read Pam Gellar, David Horowitz, Robert Spencer, Steve Emerson and from the left, Franklin Foer (http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/fr/561786/posts)

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