Some notes from NRA Board meeting

>(David Keene moved up from 2nd VP to first VP, and Ron Ron Schmeitz from first VP to president. John Sigler stepped down as president and was elected to the Executive Council).

Hmmm... could that be "DA DOO Ron Ron" Schmeitz? ;)

David:

Do you (or anyone else here) know of reliable sources for hard numbers on NRA membership, including over time?

I always hear the "4 million" number, which of course is disputed by Josh Sugarmann and others. But I've also read lately that the NRAs membership has increased by 30% since the 2008 election. If that is the case, and the 4 million number had been true, the NRA would be up to some 5.2 million members now.

But ... it all just seems so "hear-say" to me.

Interesting...while looking for statistics, I came across this...

"Does anyone have any statistics about the percentage of NRA members and/or supporters who have committed murder and/or other violent crimes? ..." at Democrat.com

While we're looking up statistics, wish I could find number for how many murderers were Democrats and how many gang bangers voted for Obama.

Carl, from my occasional positions within the local California NRA Member's Council, I've politely asked and been politely told that number is closely held.

I have found it to be effective to accost the local federally elected officials with the information that on average there are between 9,000 and 10,000 NRA members per Congressional District (~4,000,000 members / 435 Congressional District). I also tell them we all vote and that we're all single issue voters.

It is an effective statistic on candidates who are in close races. And, in a tribute to the perfect hindsight of politicians, it is most effective after an election on candidates who lost by less than 10,000 votes.

Shoulda, woulda, coulda -- LOSER!

(Oops! Cleared my cookies. I made the previous post about NRA members and CD's.)

Interesting aside. Sorry I can't locate the source, but statistically, NRA membership is reported at a higher level by gun owners than is actually the case. NRA is one organization that people will claim to be a member of, even if not in actual fact.

Ron Ron Schmeitz from first VP to president?

Who is he? What is his bio? Profile? Web site? blog? etc.?

"Ron Schmeitz from first VP to president? Who is he?"

All I know for sure is that he is a banker of some sort.

So, what happened to Wayne LaPierre? Is he out?

Never mind. He's still the CEO.

> "While we're looking up statistics, wish I could find number for... how many gang bangers voted for Obama."

Thesmokinggun.com has a bunch of mugshots of people wearing Obama t-shirts (see, e.g., http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2008/1217081mugyear20.html).

I was hoping Uncle Wayne would be shown the door myself.

It may not be perfectly on-topic, but I am always amazed at how disappointed I am in the on-air performance of nearly all of our high-profile advocates during interviews or debates, whether the Nugents or LaPierres or whomever.
Heavens, don't we have anyone with a solid command of the facts and the debating skills to drive them home? Instead of the usual sidestepping, dancing around and giving forth with platitudes so tired they almost sound like the other sides?
How about some common sense?

A good article in today's Politico should give some hope for the 2A in Congress this session:

www.politico.com/news/stories/0509/22685.html

Democrats hold fire on gun control
The Politico, 19 May 09

Last week, 27 Senate Democrats joined Republicans to pass an amendment that allows concealed weapons in national parks. This week, the Senate could take the first step toward overturning a gun control bill passed by their own Democratic brethren more than a decade ago.

After a soul-searching exile, the Democratic Party that regained control of both Congress and the White House in the past two election cycles is proving in many ways to be a distinctly different breed than the one that last ruled the capital.

Nowhere has that transformation become more evident than on the issue of gun control, which was promoted by Democrats in 1992 to attract suburban voters and abandoned by Democrats in 2008 to gain support among rural voters....

"Heavens, don't we have anyone with a solid command of the facts and the debating skills to drive them home?"

Of course. Why would NRA use any of us that do?

Wayne LaPierre may be a good EVP as a manager, but PLEASE NRA, get someone who can articulate our side better than he does in a debate.

He comes across as a tongue-tied rube, and that's not good. It's embarrassing.

"He comes across as a tongue-tied rube, and that's not good. It's embarrassing."

You would think that with a salary of $900,000 plus perks the NRA could find someone who was a good manager and a good speaker. Of course with each board EVP for Life Wayne has the fix in before the vote for EVP ever starts.