As some of you have noted before, this site occasionally doesn’t process comments and I have to go into the Trash file and manually fix things. That was the case on a comment submitted on the 19th that just showed up today on the post about a comment Jeff Knox made on X.com about TPUSA and the Virginia governor’s race. Rather than bury it there, it merits a standalone post:
For the record, I have had in-depth discussions with Dennis Fussaro about his plan, and supported it from the beginning. I’ve also discussed it with NRA-ILA Director John Commerford and other staff at NRA, as well as with fellow members of the Grassroots and Legislative Policy committees.
NRA has not been, and is not being, “silent” in this election, but I do think we could have done better at rolling out a more comprehensive plan and activating more people.
I’ve been in the trenches of political campaigns for well over 20 years. I’ve run for state office and helped numerous others in their campaigns, both as a volunteer and as a paid consultant.
Dennis’s plan is solid, well-thought-out, and workable, but it comes with a pretty high price tag.
I think it could have worked and been fully funded, if it had been presented and adopted much earlier, but that didn’t happen. Instead, I think NRA looked at the bank account and built their plan on what they reasonably thought they could afford, rather than putting together a plan like Dennis’s and then working to raise the money and implement as much of it as possible.
Dennis and I will continue pushing for this sort of shift in approach.
I threw out the idea of TPUSA getting more involved because they are currently the most prominent players in the political space, not as a way to shuffle off responsibility. I’ve done some work with TPUSA in the past, and I also understand that a whole lot of their folks are very interested in snagging prominent roles in the 2026 mid-terms. I’ve been talking with them and other “young Republican” groups about getting involved in Virginia and New Jersey as good politics and a way for their folks to bolster their resume’s. I’ve also been hoping to see them join with NRA on our political goals.
Please remember that NRA is under new leadership, with many new folks in staff, and a whole lot of new people on the board. We’re just getting our feet under us after a long and ugly internal conflagration. Many people want to move forward with caution, while Dennis and I would prefer to see bold, aggressive action. The comparison of NRA to an aircraft carrier is pretty spot-on. We’ve pretty much gotten the thing turned around, and now some of us are pushing hard to gain speed. It’s a process. What it definitely is not is “same as it ever was.”
Jeff Knox, NRA Board of Directors since April, 2024.
Sorry, but I view that as excuse-making for NRA to blow the most important election facing gun owners today, one that will set the tone for the midterms. I have a new article not yet published submitted to AmmoLand this morning that elaborates on how a Sears loss will be a self-fulfilling prophecy that we’ll never know if it could have turned out differently.
So how long for NRA to get their feet under them working to move forward after the LaPierre et. al. conflagration? And how long can the Constitutional Republic survive while they flounder and swim downstream?
In the same vein, how long (if ever) will it take the other “national” groups to take on some of the heavy lifting, whenever NRA fails to rise to the occasion?
Bottom line, if the survival of our republic and our ability to exercise our rights depend on the survival and full throttle effort by NRA, we’re toast.
I read Jeff Knox’s comment as double talk. He’s never, from what I’ve seen publicly stated his support of Fusaro’s plan. He could, it’s not like it’s “classified”. And he’s never responded to my messages to him about it. And I think TPUSA’s a little busy reorganizing after the assassination of their founder.
The financial excuse, I don’t buy it. What other major elections are going on right now?
And NRA has been effectively “silent” about VA. A few X posts, a couple webinars, and what appear to be just a couple be tiny groups doing door hangers… I think that’s what they’re called. Their “efforts” are pitiful.
Also regarding money, NRA has money for Frontlines Event’s all over this fall, the latest is in Michigan in a few days. And they have the money to put on ‘The Great American Outdoors Show’.
As for excuses about Fusaro didn’t submit the plan early enough, and that there’s so many new people at NRA… I don’t buy it either. How long must we wait for the “majority reformer” board to reform NRA?
Getting Sears in the gov mansion would be far cheaper than 2A groups being bogged down fighting dozens of legal cases from a DEM regime, and diverting resources/focus from the mid terms.
If your spouse cheats on you, there may well be circumstances where you might agree to stay married with suitable counselling and so forth. But regardless, you will have (hopefully) learned the hard way not to trust them.
Lets call that Marriage 2.0
Regardless, if you have any sense at all, and they cheat again, there will not be a Marriage 3.0.
“Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me!”
This is your one shot at redeeming the organization Mr. Knox.
There will not be an NRA 3.0!
Not excuses, just reality.
First, my response was triggered by the suggestion that I was trying to “shuffle off responsibility for the Virginia election” to Turning Point USA, just because I made a comment on X suggesting that TPUSA was in a position to have a significant impact on the election.
That was a bogus conclusion to which to jump.
As a former Virginia resident of many years, I understand the politics of the state, and the importance of this election. I very much want Sears to win, and want to see a Republican majority in the State Assembly. I have encouraged all sorts of groups to be more involved, including urging them to work more closely with the NRA, and encouraging the NRA to work more closely with other groups.
The NRA is not MIA in Virginia. They’re not as active or spending as much money as Dennis and I would like, but they’re not doing nothing. They’ve been working closely with VCDL and other rights groups in the state, and engaging in the campaigns with calls, texts, emails, direct mail, and door-knocking. Again, not to the level, nor as focused as Dennis’ plan called for, but definitely engaged.
Meanwhile, Sears’ campaign has been a mess. She changed up her team several times in the earlier stages of the campaign, backed away from core conservative positions — including gun rights — and managed to alienate a large swath of folks she needed on her side — including the Republican Governors Association and folks in Trump’s inner circle.
I’ve seen good, conservative candidates in Virginia self-destruct several times over the years, often because they were listening to very bad advice from “professional” consultants. I watched Kilgore throw away his good shot at the governorship by saying stupid, negative things about my friend Phillip Van Cleave, the President of VCDL. Ken Cuccinelli tanked his run for AG by following consultants’ advice and running to the middle. I think Sears has succumbed to the same sort of “expert” advice.
Thanks to Democrats demonstrating their crazy on the local and national stage — the assassination of Charlie Kirk, Jay Jones heinous text messages, Schumer’s stupid government shut-down, etc. — Sears got a significant boost in the polls, making a competitive race out of what was looking like a Democrat landslide.
On the other side of the coin, the Republican AG, Jason Miyares, has been doubling down on his support for Virginia’s gun control laws, resulting in loud criticism from GOA in particular. Just as Jay Jones’ remarks have hurt all Democrats in the election, so too do Miyares’ positions and GOA’s focus on those, hurt all Republicans in the election.
We should know the final results tonight or tomorrow, then we can try to figure out what went right or wrong.
I wish the NRA had gone in more aggressively. They didn’t. I wish Republicans weren’t so squishy. They are. I wish Virginia politicians would find better campaign consultants to guide their campaigns. They haven’t. I hope Virginia voters turn out in droves to reject the crazy, authoritarian left. We’ll see. — Jeff