2019 NRA Board Election

Uncategorized

No Adam Kraut On The NRA Board

August 3, 2019 by 5 Comments

When I reported that Tim Knight, Sean Maloney, and Esther Schneider resigned from the Board of Directors I mentioned that it would put Adam Kraut in line to fill their positions. I also reported a comment from Rob Pincus to the effect that Adam wouldn’t take the seat under the current circumstances.

From an open letter posted by Adam it looks like the NRA did follow procedure and reached out to him about serving. He declined. I have posted his letter below.

Another issue that surfaced today is that the NRA will no longer have Directors and Officers liability insurance for the Board of Directors. I have heard it from four different sources. As I understand it, the new premium given all the turmoil and the multiple investigations was so high that the decision was to go without insurance. I am going to speculate that you may start to see more resignations from the board due to this. I know if I was the attorney for one of the well-heeled celebrities or well-to-do business people on the board that I’d advise to give it strong consideration as a matter of risk management.

The letter from Adam explaining his decision is below:

August 2, 2019


In 2016, I began a campaign to run for the NRA Board of Directors by petition of the members.
The idea to run for the Board started with a conversation between myself and two Board
Members at the Great American Outdoor Show in Harrisburg that February. Those two Board
Members were amongst those who recently resigned. After many phone calls, questions, and a
lot of thought, I decided the pursue a seat, in the hopes that I would be able to lend some new
ideas and a different take on issues of the Organization.


Much to my surprise, my well-documented (and freely available) ideas and proposals met severe
institutional resistance. In spite of that, this past year, I hesitantly pursued a seat again, for a third
time, at the encouragement of friends and many NRA members who believed that I could add
value to the Organization. Once I received the results of the mail ballot, I opted to not pursue the
76th Seat at the NRA Annual Meeting in Indianapolis, as I had done the two years prior. While I
gave my best efforts over the past three years’ election cycles, I respect and have accepted the
choice of the voting members.


After the learning that I was not elected to the Board during this year’s election and coming to
understand that my role would have been reduced to simply ‘filling a chair’ even were I to have
been elected, I began to focus my time and energy on other exciting opportunities to accomplish
my genuine personal desire and goal to advance the Second Amendment, individual liberty
generally, and continuing to help educate and inform gun owners about important issues and
challenges.


Between the time I began to collect petition signatures in 2018 and the election results being
returned this year, news about the NRA began to emerge from a variety of sources. Since these
claims and allegations have been the focus of much discussion within the firearms and Second
Amendment community for the past several months, I need not recount them here.


Based on my review and understanding of the by-laws, the recent resignations of the three
directors would potentially allow me to serve until the adjournment of the next Annual Meeting
in Nashville, Tennessee. Just prior to the release of this statement, I was contacted by the NRA
and informed that there was a vacancy on the Board which I would be able to fill. Prior to
receiving the phone call, I devoted time to consider the possibility of accepting the position,
based on the news that three directors had resigned and my understanding of the by-laws.


After careful thought and consideration, and because of the magnitude of time, work, and
attention these exciting and important new endeavors that I am currently involved in require, it
would not be possible for me to provide the NRA Board of Directors, the Organization, and the
Members with the significant time, work, and attention a board of directors role – especially in
the current climate – would require. Further, I am not willing to put the NRA into a position
where my new position and role in our community could even potentially create a conflict, or
even a bad optical light that could be leveraged against it by the media and its enemies. Thus, I
cannot in good conscience accept a position as an NRA director.


It has been my honor to have your support these past few years. It is humbling to know that so
many share my passion for liberty and supported my proposals to improve our NRA. And I
sincerely hope that the Board and the Executive staff of the NRA will do what is right and
necessary to create a healthy, strong, and positive force for our rights.


I am excited to support the NRA’s good work, and that of many others, from my new position
through coalition building, hard work, thoughtful strategy, and undertaking those efforts that
will, I hope, result in a more free America and restored Republic. I am eager to continue
promoting the advancement of liberty and hope that you’ll continue to join me in doing do.


Yours in Liberty,


/s/Adam Kraut

Uncategorized

NRA Attendance And Voting Statistics

April 30, 2019 by 13 Comments

The official attendance at the NRA Annual Meeting in Indianapolis was approximately 81,000. This is about 6,000 less than last year’s meeting in Dallas. I will say I had no trouble getting about on the floor nor in the hallways of the Indiana Convention Center.

Now to more important statistics.

At the Meeting of Members on Saturday, William Satterfield, chairman of the Elections Committee announced the statistics for the 2019 NRA Board of Directors election.

2,452,893 ballots were bound in the official magazines of the NRA 

145,920 ballots received back 

141,101 ballot were valid 

4,819 were invalid

Ballots that were deemed invalid for a variety of reasons. Among the reasons enumerated by Mr. Satterfield were arrival after the April 7th cutoff date, more than 25 candidates marked, no candidates marked, and some were actually prior year ballots. I think he said there was even one ballot from 2009.

When you do the math, you are left with the conclusion that most members eligible to vote – Life members and 5-year continuous members – don’t give a big rat’s ass who serves on the Board. The response rate for just returning the ballot was 5.94% and the response rate for a valid ballot was 5.75%.

That is pathetic. Moreover, it is scary. Think what could happen to gun rights if Michael Bloomberg just spent a few million bucks on advertising to run a slate of stealth (or Manchurian) candidates. With the proper slate and modern ad targeting, it would be possible to take over the organization in as little as two years. Whether it could be kept secret for that long is another matter.

Uncategorized

Extortion? Oh, Puhleeze! UPDATED

April 26, 2019 by

Adam Kraut had an opinion piece published in Ammoland.com on Monday. It was entitled “When the Levee Breaks – NRA’s Untenable Position”. It discussed much of the ongoing controversy surrounding the leadership and executive staff of the NRA. At the end, it has this mislabeled comment regarding Adam’s candidacy for the board and Anthony Colandro. Adam considered the statement as an assertion and not a “challenge”.

With that out of the way, there is one more issue to attend to. Numerous individuals have asked if I’d be running for the 76th Board Seat at the NRA Annual Meeting. Others have asked if I would endorse or support Anthony Colandro (who is now being supported by Wayne LaPierre, among others!?). I’ve decided to keep my options open. My name will appear on the ballot, however, if Mr. Colandro will join me in demanding that Wayne and the Board Members who failed to exercise their fiduciary responsibilities immediately resign, I will consider stepping aside and offering my endorsement. Without that commitment though, I could not in good conscience endorse any candidate.

For those attending the NRA Annual Meeting this year, I’ll see you there. I hope you’ll join me in demanding accountability from the Officers and the Board.

Mr. Colandro responded in the comments saying it reeked of extortion.

I’m independent and I will make my own decisions. Anyone who knows me will tell you that I won’t be intimidated by ANYONE to make ANY decision. In New Jersey, we’re all too familiar with corruption and Mr. Kraut’s so-called “challenge” reeks of extortion. This infighting has to stop! We all have a common goal in the 2A community. If we stand strong and stand together, we stand a chance.

Extortion? I didn’t realize the self-described tough guy with pit-bull tendencies was such a snowflake.

Mr. Colandro makes much of the fact that he serves as a non-director member of three NRA committees. As Bitter at Shall Not Be Questioned noted, “Those appointments don’t come without the blessing of the leadership and support of the incumbent board.”

Therein lies the problem in my eyes. Mr. Colandro was 33rd out of 35 candidates and had existing board members in the runner-up position ahead of him. I have a feeling – and it is only a feeling – that some sort of deal or commitment was made between Mr. Colandro and the powers that be. The NRA Board doesn’t need any more people beholden to the executive staff. Indeed that is where many of the internal troubles have originated.

As for me, I plan to vote for the second runner-up aka Adam. I have a level of trust that Adam Kraut will do the right thing whereas I don’t trust Mr. Colandro in the least to do what’s right for the organization and its future.

This is my last post before Indy. I will try to post from the NRA Annual Meeting when I have time.

UPDATE: Rob Pincus has a post on Facebook expressing much of the same misgivings about a deal between Mr. Colandro and the existing executive leadership.

Anthony Colandro has been endorsed by the NRA. Nothing about the NRA suggests they would support him unless a clear deal was in place for him to support the current regime.

Read the whole thing. If you are here and want change, then vote for Adam Kraut. If you are satisfied with the status quo and don’t care if the NRA goes down the tubes, then by all means vote for Mr. Colandro.

Uncategorized

This Saddens Me

April 10, 2019 by 4 Comments

There were two candidates running for the NRA Board of Directors who had been nominated by petition. They were Adam Kraut and Anthony Colandro. Both had a good deal of support from grassroots Second Amendment activists.

You can guess what I’m going to write next.

Neither Adam nor Anthony were elected.

From Adam on Facebook:

Earlier this morning, I received word that I was not elected to the NRA Board of Directors.

I want to express my deepest gratitude to everyone who supported me the last three years. The amount of time and effort many of you put in was nothing short of amazing. I am forever grateful that so many of you believed in me.

This was never about me obtaining a seat on the Board but about trying to put the organization on a path that reflected our values. I hope that you all continue to remain engaged, communicate your frustrations with the Board directly, look for new candidates that reflect your values and put the same tenacity in your support behind them as you did myself.

Anthony posted a video about it on Facebook and it can be seen here.

This saddens me. I’m sure when I see the final results that a celebrity who never attends meetings will have come out in first place or within the top five. Moreover, just like last year and the year before, I’ll wager that there will be a concerted effort to elect an establishment candidate for the 76th Director.

This sucks because Anthony is doing yeoman’s work behind enemy lines in New Jersey and Adam (along with Joshua Prince) is leading the legal battles against the phone and a pen, wink and a nod bump stock ban rule as well as the illegal activities of the Pittsburgh City Council. They are in the trenches. They are actually fighting for the Second Amendment in all its glory. I wish I could say the same for the NRA which has given President Trump cover on both the bump stock ban and red flag laws.

Uncategorized

2019 NRA Board Of Directors Election – A Round-Up Of Endorsements

February 4, 2019 by 5 Comments

Voting members of the National Rifle Association – Life or higher members and five-year continuous annual members – should have received their Board of Directors ballot in the February 2019 issue of the NRA magazine that they have chosen. Mine came in my American Rifleman. The ballot this year contains 35 candidates. 33 of these candidates were chosen by the Nominating Committee and two are on the ballot as petition candidates. The Nominating Committee per their usual named a mix of politicians, celebrities, the usual hanger’s on, and, believe it or not, actual gun people.

Out of these 35 candidates, you are allowed to vote for up to 27. However, to be very blunt about it, if you vote for 27 people you are an idiot just checking boxes and you really don’t give a damn about who is on the board or the direction it takes. I say this because you are giving equal weight to both the best candidates and to the worst candidates out of the 27. If you bullet vote or pick a small number of candidates, then they stand a greater chance of actually being elected to the Board of Directors. In other words, the vote for your favorites isn’t diluted.

Lt. Col. Robert Brown of Soldier of Fortune magazine is a long-time NRA Board member who is not afraid of shaking things up. He traditionally publishes a list of his endorsements and this year is no exception. He has endorsed six people for election this year. They are Anthony Colandro, Tom King of the NY State Rifle and Pistol Assn, Adam Kraut, Willes Lee, former NRA President Jim Porter, and Dwight Van Horn. I think it is interesting to note the Lt. Col. Brown has endorsed the two candidates overlooked by the Nominating Committee – Adam Kraut and Anthony Colandro.

The hunting and conservation organization Safari Club International has endorsed Paul Babaz for the Board of Directors. Given he is their current president this is not surprising and should be expected. Babaz was appointed to the Board last year to fill an empty position and is up for election this year.

David Codrea is a journalist and blogger whom I greatly respect. He and the late Mike Vanderboegh were the ones who first brought the BATFE’s gun walking to light. Their articles on Project Gunwalker aka Operation Fast and Furious exposed the plan that ultimately led to congressional hearings and a finding of contempt for former Attorney General Eric Holder. David has endorsed only one person for the Board – Anthony Colandro – based upon his answer’s to David’s hard-hitting questionnaire.

Ammoland.com has been instrumental in collating a number of candidate statements and endorsements. In addition, they have asked that you consider both Anthony Colandro and Adam Kraut for the Board.

Knife Rights traditionally doesn’t make endorsements for the NRA Board of Directors. However, this year they are endorsing a few individuals running for the Board who also serve on their Advisory Board. They sent this out in an email on Jan 31st. The people they endorsed are Sandra Froman, Lt Col. Ollie North, Pete Brownell, Anthony Colandro, Esther Schneider, and Paul Babaz.

My friend Amanda Suffecool of Eye on the Target Radio is bullet voting for Willes Lee. On her ballot she also highlighted Ted Nugent, Oliver North, and Allen West as people she would endorse.

Rock Island Auctions is endorsing their president Kevin Hogan for the Board of Directors. The endorsement points out that in addition to being a collector, he has raised $2.1 million for NRA-ILA.

Lt. Col. Willes Lee has too many endorsements to count. Included in his list of endorsements are Alan Gottlieb of the Second Amendment Foundation, Maj Toure of Black Guns Matter, Kenn Blanchard, the Virginia Shooting Sports Association, and many others. You can find all of them on his Facebook photo page.

Of all the people issuing endorsements and recommendations, the one I examine most closely is that from Jeff Knox and the Firearms Coalition. I say this because I trust Jeff’s judgment, I recognize his unparalleled institutional memory regarding the NRA, NRA-ILA, and the Cincinnati Revolt, and because I think he truly loves both the NRA and the Second Amendment and he is willing to fight for both. Jeff has endorsed both Adam Kraut and Anthony Colandro for the Board. He goes on to say that he would give consideration to Mark Vaughan, Mark Geist, and Mark Robinson.


I think all of these guys would probably be good additions to the Board, but it is very unlikely that all 5 can win seats, and every vote for one of them, reduces the likelihood of the others winning. It’s something of a conundrum, and there’s no simple solution.


Personally, I am going to cast a Bullet Vote with only Adam Kraut’s name marked.

As for myself, I’ll start by saying that I’ve long held that 90% of life is just showing up. Ted Nugent, Karl Malone, and Marion Hammer have not attended one BOD meeting to the best of my knowledge since winning election to the Board. I find that reprehensible. You either serve and show up or you resign. I don’t care if the reason for not showing up is due to a health issue, a family issue, or a prior commitment. Running for the NRA Board was a promise that you would serve and these people failed.

I’ve never been keen on the celebrities on the Board with the exception of R. Lee Ermey who took the role of serving on the Board seriously. The same goes for former politicians. I’d make allowances for Rep. Don Young (R-AK) as he is still in Congress and still carries weight.

People whom I consider worthy of your vote include Sandy Froman, Pete Brownell, Willes Lee (whom I consider a personal friend), and Adam Kraut (whom I also consider a personal friend). Mark Robinson of my hometown of Greensboro would also be worth your consideration. My fear with Mark is that he is a newbie to the defense of the Second Amendment and was nominated due to “optics”. However, I don’t doubt his sincerity in the least.

I think Sandy Froman, Pete Brownell, and Willes Lee have enough backing to get re-elected without my vote. I fear the same cannot be said of Adam Kraut and for that reason I will be bullet voting for him. I hope my friend Willes will understand.

Change needs to come to the NRA or we will have lost all we have won in the last few decades. I see the gun prohibitionists getting stronger, better organized, and certainly better funded. Their misleading messages are repeated daily by the mass media. In an era of changing demographics, they are doing a better job of targeting women and suburban voters as well as the younger voters. If the NRA doesn’t return to its Second Amendment roots and leave the broader social conservative commentary to other organizations, we will lose.

I think Adam is the change that the organization needs.