Chaos Reigns At NRA: Top Lobbyist Resigns, NRATV Shutters
The hits just keep coming for the NRA.
On Tuesday evening, the
New York Times reported that the NRA has officially severed ties with NRATV, meaning that personalities like Dana Loesch will be at least temporarily booted off the air.
Just a day later, the organization’s second-in-command Christopher Cox resigned after being put on administrative leave following accusations of participation in an extortion scheme,
according to Times reporter Danny Hakim. The longtime operative’s stepping down is somewhat predictable, after
details of his beef with NRA Chief Executive Wayne LaPierre surfaced.
As to its broadcasting arm, the NRA is reportedly dumping Ackerman McQueen writ large, the advertising firm behind NRATV, ending a 30-plus year partnership with the Oklahoma City-based company.
“Many members expressed concern about the messaging on NRATV becoming too far removed from our core mission: defending the Second Amendment,” LaPierre wrote in a message for members. “So, after careful consideration, I am announcing that starting today, we are undergoing a significant change in our communications strategy. We are no longer airing ‘live TV’ programming.”
Ackerman’s response was biting.
“When given the opportunity to do the right thing, the NRA once again has taken action that we believe is intended to harm our company even at the expense of the NRA itself,” the company wrote. It added that it “will continue to fight against the NRA’s repeated violations of its agreement with our company with every legal remedy available to us.”
The bad blood between the two entities runs
deep and the schism has been a long time coming, since the NRA
sued the advertising agency in April and revealed the major disputes rending the partnership.
