4 ms·

Is this ballot measure representative? This ballot initiative was two months before the NRA filed for Chapter 11, so I'd expect their spending was constrained.

wl 6y ago
The NRA's financial disclosures and their public statements indicate they are not experiencing financial difficulties. Their stated purpose in filing bankruptcy is to dissolve the New York corporation and reincorporate in Texas to escape an ideologically hostile regulatory environment. It sounds insane to use bankruptcy in this way. Every bankruptcy expert I've read looking at this thinks the approach is nuts and will fail.
- throw0101a 6y ago
  > Their stated purpose in filing bankruptcy is to dissolve the New York corporation and reincorporate in Texas to escape an ideologically hostile regulatory environment. It sounds insane to use bankruptcy in this way. By "hostile regulatory environment" it is meant that they allegedly committed fraud against their donors and the (Democratic) attorney general is going after them for the breaking law: * https://www.npr.org/2020/08/06/899712823/new-york-attorney-general-moves-to-dissolve-the-nra-after-fraud-investigation https://www.npr.org/2020/08/06/899712823/new-york-attorney-g... Some donors also think this: * https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jan/16/nra-donor-bankruptcy-dave-dellaquila-wayne-lapierre https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jan/16/nra-donor-ba... And the NRA has admitted that such things happened in certain circumstances: * https://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying/business-a-lobbying/527615-nra-admits-some-executives-used-nonprofit-money-for https://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying/business-a-lobbying/... With NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre paying back $300K: * https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/nra-chief-lapierre-illicit-gains-report-1096433/ https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/nra-chie... See also the IRS investing LaPierre for possible criminal tax fraud related to his personal finances: * https://www.wsj.com/articles/irs-investigating-nras-wayne-lapierre-for-possible-tax-fraud-11601923467 https://www.wsj.com/articles/irs-investigating-nras-wayne-la...
  - wl 6y ago
    The hostile regulatory environment is far more than the NY AG going after them for fraud. In this most recent investigation, the remedy sought is politically motivated. If the AG were interested in protecting and vindicating the wronged donors, a more apt remedy would be to disgorge the ill-gotten gains and remove those responsible from the organization. Instead, the AG is trying to destroy the organization, which probably isn't what the people who donated to the NRA want. There's also the issue of the governor, Andrew Cuomo, trying to use regulatory authority to blackmail financial institutions into not doing business with the NRA. https://subscriptlaw.com/nra-suit-against-ny-and-cuomo-explained-in-an-infographic/ https://subscriptlaw.com/nra-suit-against-ny-and-cuomo-expla...
    - throw0101a 6y ago
      > more apt remedy would be to disgorge the ill-gotten gains and remove those responsible from the organization That's part of the asked-for remedies as well. * PDF: https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/summons_and_complaint_1.pdf https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/summons_and_complaint_... * https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2020/attorney-general-james-files-lawsuit-dissolve-nra https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2020/attorney-general-james-... And folks have tried to fix it up: Oliver North (of all people) went after LaPierre to route out corruption and lost. The NY AG is arguing that at this point it is irredeemable and should be nuked from orbit. Whether the court agrees is another matter.
    - aksss 6y ago
      The Biden admin just reversed course[0] on the Fair Access provision in federal banking regs, so now banks are free to deplatform organizations which go against the party line. You thought social media deplatforming was bad.. [0] https://bearingarms.com/cam-e/2021/02/01/biden-admin-fair-access-financial-services/ https://bearingarms.com/cam-e/2021/02/01/biden-admin-fair-ac...
bluGill 6y ago
Probably. The NRA's power has always been voters not money. They have a large number of voters who listen. When they spend $.50 on a stamp that money is more likely to result in a vote than anyone else spending $10,000 for a TV commercial. When the NRA speaks their members listen.
Rebelgecko 6y ago
I don't have any aggregate numbers handy, but IIRC Bloomberg has been outspending the NRA for 3 or 4 years
gumby 6y ago
My understanding is that they are not filing necessarily because they are short of cash but as a mechanism for restructuring.

wl 6y ago

The NRA's financial disclosures and their public statements indicate they are not experiencing financial difficulties. Their stated purpose in filing bankruptcy is to dissolve the New York corporation and reincorporate in Texas to escape an ideologically hostile regulatory environment. It sounds insane to use bankruptcy in this way. Every bankruptcy expert I've read looking at this thinks the approach is nuts and will fail.

throw0101a 6y ago
> Their stated purpose in filing bankruptcy is to dissolve the New York corporation and reincorporate in Texas to escape an ideologically hostile regulatory environment. It sounds insane to use bankruptcy in this way. By "hostile regulatory environment" it is meant that they allegedly committed fraud against their donors and the (Democratic) attorney general is going after them for the breaking law: * https://www.npr.org/2020/08/06/899712823/new-york-attorney-general-moves-to-dissolve-the-nra-after-fraud-investigation https://www.npr.org/2020/08/06/899712823/new-york-attorney-g... Some donors also think this: * https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jan/16/nra-donor-bankruptcy-dave-dellaquila-wayne-lapierre https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jan/16/nra-donor-ba... And the NRA has admitted that such things happened in certain circumstances: * https://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying/business-a-lobbying/527615-nra-admits-some-executives-used-nonprofit-money-for https://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying/business-a-lobbying/... With NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre paying back $300K: * https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/nra-chief-lapierre-illicit-gains-report-1096433/ https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/nra-chie... See also the IRS investing LaPierre for possible criminal tax fraud related to his personal finances: * https://www.wsj.com/articles/irs-investigating-nras-wayne-lapierre-for-possible-tax-fraud-11601923467 https://www.wsj.com/articles/irs-investigating-nras-wayne-la...
- wl 6y ago
  The hostile regulatory environment is far more than the NY AG going after them for fraud. In this most recent investigation, the remedy sought is politically motivated. If the AG were interested in protecting and vindicating the wronged donors, a more apt remedy would be to disgorge the ill-gotten gains and remove those responsible from the organization. Instead, the AG is trying to destroy the organization, which probably isn't what the people who donated to the NRA want. There's also the issue of the governor, Andrew Cuomo, trying to use regulatory authority to blackmail financial institutions into not doing business with the NRA. https://subscriptlaw.com/nra-suit-against-ny-and-cuomo-explained-in-an-infographic/ https://subscriptlaw.com/nra-suit-against-ny-and-cuomo-expla...
  - throw0101a 6y ago
    > more apt remedy would be to disgorge the ill-gotten gains and remove those responsible from the organization That's part of the asked-for remedies as well. * PDF: https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/summons_and_complaint_1.pdf https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/summons_and_complaint_... * https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2020/attorney-general-james-files-lawsuit-dissolve-nra https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2020/attorney-general-james-... And folks have tried to fix it up: Oliver North (of all people) went after LaPierre to route out corruption and lost. The NY AG is arguing that at this point it is irredeemable and should be nuked from orbit. Whether the court agrees is another matter.
  - aksss 6y ago
    The Biden admin just reversed course[0] on the Fair Access provision in federal banking regs, so now banks are free to deplatform organizations which go against the party line. You thought social media deplatforming was bad.. [0] https://bearingarms.com/cam-e/2021/02/01/biden-admin-fair-access-financial-services/ https://bearingarms.com/cam-e/2021/02/01/biden-admin-fair-ac...

bluGill 6y ago

Probably. The NRA's power has always been voters not money. They have a large number of voters who listen. When they spend $.50 on a stamp that money is more likely to result in a vote than anyone else spending $10,000 for a TV commercial. When the NRA speaks their members listen.

Rebelgecko 6y ago

I don't have any aggregate numbers handy, but IIRC Bloomberg has been outspending the NRA for 3 or 4 years

gumby 6y ago

My understanding is that they are not filing necessarily because they are short of cash but as a mechanism for restructuring.