Dear ROBERT,

I want to alert you that shortly after Thanksgiving you will receive your new 2012 NRA Membership Card in the mail. When you receive it, I hope you’ll give special attention to the letter I’ve enclosed which could be the most important I’ve ever written to you and our other NRA members . . .

Progressives believe in the “don’t waste a good crisis” mantra so deeply that they’re ready, willing and able to create a good crisis. We don’t know if the ATF enabled gun smugglers to inflate the numbers of gun store guns confiscated in Mexico to create a crisis that would justify a budget increase and new gun control laws. But it is B.O.’s M.O.

Is the NRA really that different? OK, sure, they don’t actually put guns in the hands of criminals (although their disloyal opposition would beg to differ). But their mantra is equally inflammatory. The Gun Grabbers are coming! The Gun Grabbers are coming! The us vs. them threat is persistent, perpetual and pending. Can you say Chicken Little? I knew you could.

Increasingly, the NRA has become completely partisan. Drilling down, it’s all about Obama.

As you already know, our country has taken a dangerous turn for the worse with President Barack Obama in the White House.  Our freedoms are at risk like never before — not just our Second Amendment rights but all the freedoms we cherish as Americans.

Is that true? Are our freedoms at risk like never before? I’m not complacent by any means, but it seems to me that gun control is on the run. Heller, McDonald, constitutional carry, Wisconsin’s move to concealed carry, increasing firearms ownership, decreasing support for gun control, etc. And if you want to look for dark days in American history, when the government abridged the Constitution but good, there’s plenty of that to be found: the Alien and Sedition Acts, slavery, internment of Japanese Americans, Lincoln’s press gag, etc.

But by accepting your new membership card and reading my letter, you’ll see how NRA, and you, can take our country back… because this card in your pocket means Barack Obama loses on November 6, 2012!  So please, look for your new card and my letter in your mailbox in the next few days.

Focusing on turfing Obama is all well and good, but the rhetoric deployed here is just as divisive as the President’s class warfare campaign. The letter makes it sound like Obama and his minions are an occupying army, rather than members of a political party.

OFWGs (Old Fat White Guys) are the the core of the NRA’s clientele. This demographic would sooner eat veggie burgers at a PETA party than vote for Democrat. There’s no need to “rally them”—aside from turning them upside down to shake loose some more money for the NRA. So why not try to somewhat kinda maybe sorta appeal to the mainstream by at least tossing a bone to moderates? Perhaps lose the exclamation mark and add a sentence that explains why Obama’s antithetical to American gun rights?

In the meantime, I wish you and your loved ones a Happy Thanksgiving.  Thank you for your leadership, your friendship, and your support.

Interesting that Wayne thanks his members for their “leadership.” Like any member of any large advocacy organization, the vast majority of its adherents are followers, not leaders. But they like to think of themselves as leaders, of course. The question is: where are they leading to? (There’s you prepositional ending iRock350.)

The NRA should attempt to transcend party politics (even a little) and put Americans’ gun rights above the same old left – right “debate.” But their economic model is too strong. So I’m guessing that reaching across the proverbial aisle is not Wayne strategy for the 2012 election. I wonder what is?

Sincerely,

Wayne LaPierre
Executive Vice President

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36 COMMENTS

  1. If anybody is really serious about Obama not getting a second term, it would help to field an actual candidate worth voting for. Nobody in the current circus is worth me even stepping out of the house to vote.

      • I’m a fan of Ron Paul as far as the fact that he’s smart or brave enough to admit the obvious. Facts like how America’s foreign policy is a great cause of terrorism. I saw him booed at a recent Republican debate by stating this utterly obvious, and utterly uncontroversial, fact.

        I’m not a big fan of American “libertarianism”. That people with his socio/economic view point use that word to describe themselves is a pretty good example of how upside down this country actually is.

      • I think Perry, Gingrich, Cain, Bachmann, and even Romney would all make excellent presidents compared to Obama. Good grief, people, do we really want four more years of Obama?

            • Let’s take a closer look at her beliefs, shall we?

              She believes that the earth is only 6000 years old.
              She believes that a fertilized egg is the same as a human being.
              She believes that homosexuality is a disease that can be cured.
              She believes that the richest 1% must be protected at any cost.
              She believes that anything Obama does or wants to do is bad, no matter what it is.
              She believes that she can be president.

              You can’t make that sh!t up.

  2. Between the post-1986 full-auto ban and banning open (loaded) carry while Governor of California (the Mulford Act), Ronald Reagan signed more gun control legislation than Obama has so far. In fact, he was quoted as saying that he saw “no reason why on the street today a citizen should be carrying loaded weapons.”Just sayin’. There’s a lot of reasons to not vote for BHO – but guns…well, if we hold him to the low standard set by Reagan, we could’ve done a lot worse.

  3. “Is the NRA really that different? ”
    Yes, in their intent, which is positive.

    “Is that true? Are our freedoms at risk like never before? ”
    Yes. Just because we have successfully preserved the right doesn’t mean the threat has gone away. That would most certainly be complacent.

    ” The letter makes it sound like Obama and his minions are an occupying army, rather than members of a political party.”
    Good! I think folks are tired of hearing pols talk in measured tones, calculated to not offend anyone. Look at Newt’s recent numbers, he has been taking an aggressive stance against Obama and a largely liberal media and people have responded positively. Ever hear the saying “The pen is mightier than the sword?”

    “The NRA should attempt to transcend party politics (even a little) and put Americans’ gun rights above the same old left – right “debate.” ”
    They have. Remember their work with Harry Reid? Washington is providing the partisan politics, the NRA is responding appropriately.

    I don’t think of vigilance or partisan politics as secret weapons, I see them as reasonable responses in a world full of dangers. To fail to acknowledge the dangers and to fail to acknowledge and defend what is right and good is suicide.

  4. Good for the NRA. Is the NRA’s rhetoric overheated? Sure. So what. Political rhetoric has always been overheated because the great unwashed doesn’t understand anything else. I don’t see an army of Einsteins out there lining up to vote. So let the NRA agitate in public and cut deals in private. Let the SAF carry the ball in court. And let’s remember who votes the way we want, and who wants us unarmed and compliant.

  5. I hate it when libs/Dems hold up Amtrak and National Park carry as proof of Obama’s “2A credentials” when in fact the latter was something tacked onto a much larger, and unrelated bill.
    The NRA might be engaging in a bit of hyperbole, but with nothing to lose if he actually ascends to office a second time, Obama might actually go for some federal legislation. I remember someone (town hall meeting?) asked Obama about renewing the federal AWB, and his response: “We can’t get it done right now.”
    In addition, you don’t need new laws to crimp our style. “Administrative rulemaking” can accomplish far more if it succeeds. Using the EPA to ban lead projectiles and disallowing shooting on BLM land are just two examples, that luckily were fought off.

  6. Bravo. Well written and accurate. The Second Amendment does not belong to the GOP, and pretending that it does will only limit the ranks of Second Amendment supporters. If the last three years have constituted a gun rights crisis, then we should all wish for many more crises in the future, because as far as the Second Amendment is concerned, there have been precious few steps back since Obama was elected, and many steps forward. LaPierre’s letter is just another example of the extremism and unreality of contemporary politics, where people are evil only because of the party they belong to, and not because of the actions they have taken.

    I have a saying where I work: “Show me an expert, and I will show you someone who has something to lose.” We can amend that for the NRA: show me a lobbying organization, and I will show you an organization with something to lose.” Without a boogey man, NRA loses money, and LaPierre will need to find another job.

    • I’m a life NRA member, and I’m proud of that fact 99% of the time.

      But they send me just enough of this partisan claptrap to make me feel a bit ashamed the other 1%.

  7. It’s not the tone or the inflammation that bothers me about the NRA. That’s been politics since cave man days. What I’d like to see them try is a mailer that says, “Hey, Democrat, want to make sure Obama gets elected in 2012? Tell him to call off the ATF dogs and end the long gun registry. Or become a member and we’ll tell him for you!” I think the battle in the coming years will be what are considered “reasonable restrictions”, and the NRA should be working to get the majority of Americans to understand and accept that adding restrictions on guns doesn’t do anybody any good. Gun rights need the public’s support. The NRA has about 5 million members. There are about 50, 60, 70, 80 million gun owners in America. There’s room to grow.

  8. to be honest me and my younger shooting fans all of us in our mid 20’s couldnt help but laugh when we got this months American Rifleman which as a similar article in it.

    the problem is not that the NRA is over-zealously protecting our 2A rights its that they are acting like chicken little when the sky is not falling, its only raining. Honestly between the spam and constant political rants I wont be renewing my NRA membership. there is also the problem of the NRA pushing nongun related policy like the September NRA Values Conference which the brochure was as much focused on Right to life and only invited prominent republicans to talk to the NRA constituents when there are Pro Gun Dems. being center left its become clear the NRA does not care about making me feel like I am a equal member its more interested in preaching how I should think and feel.

  9. Somewhat related, I suppose, but as someone who recently received the NRA “pay for the DVD or return it or else, oh the invoice is not really an invoice” letter I think their fundraising has gone a bit too far. The “it looks like an invoice but is marked “not an invoice”” schtick is normally the domain of mail fraud scams.

  10. This country has a lot of problems right now, but our 2A rights being “at risk like never before” is certainly not very high on the list. But, it’s the NRA – what are they going to do, send a letter that says “Things are great on the 2A front, please send your money to a different lobbying group this year!”

  11. According to the infallible, inerrant, plenary, verbally inspired Word of God the earth IS only about 6,000 years old. Where have you been for the last three years if you think Barrack HUSSEIN Obama would make a better president than someone who believes this?

    • “According to the infallible, inerrant, plenary, verbally inspired Word of God the earth IS only about 6,000 years old.”
      —–
      Please, PLEASE tell me you’re joking. Please. I’m begging.

  12. BTW it is exactly the NRA’s sensationalism and aggressive fund raising that caused me to drop out of the ranks many years ago.

    • I was thirteen when I quit the NRA over 50 years ago, and I dropped out for the same reason. I rejoined recently and discovered that I could actually throw their solicitations in the trash with no ill effects.

    • So be it. Although the site’s writers, commentators don’t all see things the same way, we call it like we see it. That’s how TTAG rolls.

      • I applaud you, Rob. I’m always trying to convince my Democrat friends that you can be a Dem and be pro-gun, but when the most prominent pro-gun group is anti-Dem in rhetoric I feel like they’re working against my grassroots efforts.

  14. Obama has done a wonderful job of alienating White folks. For that alone I love him. The less of us who have faith in the System—-the better.

  15. I like that you dont mind taking on sacred cows, Robert. You certainly are appealing to a wider crowd than the traditional OFWG segment, and thats a good thing, too, speaking as an OFWG, as we are a shrinking demographic and gun-rights are for everyone.

    FWIW I joined NRA about 5 years ago, and then let it lapse, partly because I got so much junk mail on stuff I didnt want, and couldn’t seem to turn off, that they reminded me of AARP.

    Then I rejoined again a year ago, as I was reminded how much money they spent, successfully, defending and taking on new legislation- and how that had helped turn the tide, I believe, on Heller and McDonald.

    In CA, more of the same is working as the tide is slowly turning on a couple of important things, more to come to prove that point in near future, we hope.

    Be hard to say what else WOULD work, in the face of equally partisan and long-well organized opposition on the other side, but I defer to more experienced marketers like yourself and others with lots more experience here.

    In the meantime, I’ll accept the NRA, warts and all, for sake of more success. Our opponents are getting more desperate, and that means we need to pull together even more now, rather than overly nitpick or attack one another, which is one of Reagans most memorable “laws” of politics, too.

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