Joel Friedman Comes out in Favor of Wayne

Article here at The Gun Writer. Much of it I don’t take issue with. Read the whole thing. I’ll quote the relevant parts and comment:

After 38 years of working hand-in-hand with the NRA, it is MY BELIEF that one of our vendors attempted to take over NRA leadership in order to preserve its own lucrative contracts. It is also MY BELIEF that this vendor had, for some time, believed that the NRA’s entire success was due to its efforts alone.

OK, I get that. I’ll take that as a given for the sake of argument. There are some who have argued the coup narrative is a smokescreen, even many here in these comments. I don’t really have an opinion on that, because I can believe either. But for the sake of argument, we’ll agree Ollie’s failed revolt was an Ack-Mac planned operation.

Show me that the people who are being retaliated against were also Ack-Mac stooges, were part of the conspiracy, and were not just Directors exercising their prerogative to have an opinion on the EVP who they hire. I don’t just mean they joined Ollie. I mean they joined Ollie at the behest of Ackerman McQueen.

For those who have had negative things to say about the law firm representing us, I ask one simple question: Name one thing the firm has done that has hurt the NRA? Thus far, no one has been able to answer that question.

Some people have legit concerns over the amount of money being spent and Brewer’s background as a Dem donor. For me the jury is still out on Brewer. I haven’t railed against his firm or his fees because he is involved in a good deal of complex litigation on NRA’s behalf at the federal level and that isn’t going to come cheap. But I would not dismiss the concerns of others so readily.

The rest of Joel Friedman’s article is defending the revelations about the clothes, travel, etc, that came out. I agree with him here. I think given the long time period, the proximity to Sandy Hook to some of the travel expenses, these issues amount to a big nothing burger. What is a bigger issue, if you ask me, is that the dissolution of the Ack-Mac relationship, and house keeping that is now needing to be done, happened on Wayne’s watch while he was actively supportive of the parasitic arrangement with the PR firm.

I’m with Michael Bane on this one: I won’t deny Wayne credit for his accomplishments over the years. I don’t begrudge him his parachute. I would hope he has an enjoyable retirement. But no one is giving me a good reason he shouldn’t be falling on his own sword like I would expect of any other Chief Executive in this kind of position.

I ask you to consider this for a moment – do you think that there’s anyone better equipped to guide the NRA during these challenging times?  The neophytes who are agitating would get their clocks cleaned in about 2 hours! 

There was, but you guys drove him the hell off. And I think anyone who can manage Trump the way Chris has can’t also manage the NYAG? I don’t take serious issue with this letter when it sticks to facts, but this one bit is the same kind of over-the-top nonsense I’ve seen from other Board Members, and smacks of a cult of personality I can’t really abide by.

I’m not a Wayne hater, and I’ve spent a lot of time here defending NRA and it’s leadership when I think they are right. I don’t think Wayne is right here. The removal of insufficiently loyal board members from key committees has to stop. If you want unity from the membership, you ought to be driving unity within.

I accept my outside status, and given the plethora of lawsuits afoot, I accept I can’t have all the information. But insiders should have a lot more, and I’m still seeing division from within. It’s not just the usual Wayne haters. The punishments that are now happening are not the actions of an EVP with strong arguments and who is in an unassailable position.

The fact that I see little internal unity tells me the EVP needs to go and be replaced by someone most everyone has confidence in. It doesn’t really matter if Wayne is a good guy and doing the right thing now. Taking one for the team, even when it’s not really your fault, is part of being a CEO. That’s why they have golden parachutes.

I’m open to the possibility that I might be wrong, but if I am wrong, I want to see better arguments being presented than mindless cheerleading.

6 thoughts on “Joel Friedman Comes out in Favor of Wayne”

  1. Apparently, if one is to judge from that last pull quote, Friedman believes the NRA is Wayne, and Wayne is the NRA.

    Problem is, it has become more and more obvious that Wayne has pulled the classic “warrior politician” move, and ensconced himself as head and apparently ultimate arbiter of what’s “good” for us little people and we’re supposed to just keep giving money and not challenge him. Except for the election of Donald Trump, I haven’t seen the NRA take a stand as a leader on much at all over the last 10, 12 years. Strike that, they HAVE been a leader on “signalling compromise” in the enemy’s favor, over and over. The latest big compromise was the bump stock regulation, where they turned belly before the fight had ever begun. They didn’t even TRY.
    Yeah, Teh Donald was to blame there as well, and regulation vs law 4D chess, blahdeeblah etc. Thwy didn’t even try to stiffen Trump’s spine against the reg, nor did they do anything in Congress to prevent them from banning by law. If that’s what our “bought and paid for by NRA politicians” gets us, Wayne needs a few fewer Armani suits and more grease to the bought politicos; we’ve gotten a bad bargain.
    I am a life member, the son of a life member, grandson of a Golden Eagle. I won’t tear up or cancel my membership. Bit I also won’t send a single cent to the NRA until the Wayne crew, including Brewer, Cotton, and anyone else associated with their corruption and dog-in-the-manger-politicking is gone.
    And they know this.

  2. I’ve had reservations about the NRA for years, anyone else remember the NRA promising they would get the GCA repealed in a year?
    Sadly they seem to be the best we have, but I don’t see much changing for the better and I Do see them actually advocating for passage of some pretty bad bills.
    When did the NRA lose its collective balls?

  3. It doesn’t matter whether their was a coup attempt or not. It doesn’t matter whether the NRA was weak or strong.

    It only matters that WLP was the CEO when the wheels came off. Therefore he has to go so that the organization can go on.

    1. Yep. Time for him to go and to get a clean up and audit crew in there. If he cares about the organization, he’ll go.

    2. I was willing to back Wayne, until he started his retaliatory moves. With Cox forced out, and with good members pulled off committees, my support has ended.

  4. Time for Wayne LP to go. He has done great work for the past XX years. BUT the shadow left by Ack Mac and Brewer are on him. I say Bring back Chris Cox and pay him what he is worth. I wonder how much Marion Hammer and Charles Cotton are protecting their own pocket linings. Clean house. Lower the board to 36 and keep the VIPS that just want the swagger of “being a NRA board member” off the board. NRA is THE organization for gun rights. As well as SAF, JCCABA and a few state orgs. If NRA is taken out, we WILL LOSE! FIX IT NOW!

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