Looks like blogs got a mention in the shooting wire, in an article about Cerberus in the gun industry:
That aversion was one that led gun bloggers, some of the new power-brokers in the gun world, to run an anti-campaign against a senior Cerberus member’s campaign for a position on the NRA board. After he failed to get elected, one blogger laughingly told me “maybe now they’ll realize if you don’t talk to us, we don’t have any use for you.”
I wouldn’t say we ran an anti-campaign against Kollitides, but we definitely aired concerns, and asked questions. I agree with Jim that he needs to talk to people if he wants the grass roots support. I’d be reluctant to suggest blogs are serious power brokers, but we definitely reach an audience, and in that sense can be a useful way for organizations and people to communicate with opinion leaders in the issue. If George Kollitides ever wants to avail himself of that, he knows where to find us. I think you’d find from talking to some of our other board candidates that we’ll be fair, and respectful of personal circumstances.
The goal in issuing endorsements isn’t really to broker power, so much as to make the board election process more transparent and available to members. I think this is good for members, and good for NRA, as a whole. Members benefit from the extra information, and NRA benefits from having a way to communicate with its membership in a more casual manner. It helps both parties establish more credibility and trust with each other.
