by Stephen Gutowski’s The Reload has an excellent summation of the conclusion of the NRA’s trial in New York. It includes Judge Cohen’s ruling, some of the history of the case, the reaction to the ruling by the various parties, and a bit on the closing arguments.
What caught my eye was attorney Sarah Rogers’ closing arguments on behalf of the NRA. After accusing the New York Attorney General’s Office of interfering with NRA operations, she went on to say this.
“The NRA is a democracy,” she said in her closing. “Like American democracy, it sometimes errs. It contains imperfections, factions, century-old habits, and traditions. The NRA has done more- for its members, mission, stakeholders, its governance, its controls, its future – than any lawyer could cover in an hour. It can do more, and it will, on its own.
My first response to this nonsensical statement that the NRA is a democracy.
My second response is that Ms. Rogers ought to know better the difference between a democracy and an oligarchy. She does after all have a degree in International Relations from Dartmouth College according to her firm biography. Her first introductory course in IR or PoliSci would have covered it.
I can’t speak for how the NRA was governed in its distant past but it has always been an oligarchy since I’ve been a member. Power in the NRA has never rested with the members but rather with a small group of influential insiders. I and others would not write about the Old Guard or the Cabal if this was not the case.
It was moreover this same insulated group that ignored the problems that led to the lawsuit against the NRA in the first place. If they had called Wayne to task early on, if they had done their fiduciary duties with diligence, and if they hadn’t ignored the grifting, self-dealing, and other corruption, Tish James would have had no grounds to sue the NRA. So while Barr, Cotton, Coy, Brewer, and the rest of the Cabal would like to blame the downturn in both revenues and membership on the NY Attorney General, the reality is that they themselves are to blame and most of us know it.