Conservative media powerhouse Glenn Beck told The Blaze, a news and editorial outlet he founded, that following a one-hour telephone conversation, National Rifle Association Executive Vice President Wayne La Pierre is opening a “fully transparent” ethics investigation into NRA director and Americans for Tax Reform president Grover Norquist. The development comes after Beck announced that he will resign his membership if Norquist is re-elected to the board.

While allegations that Norquist is “an agent of influence” on behalf of Islamic interests will raise concerns of many NRA members and gun owners in general, Beck did not cite one reason why his activities in that regard conflict with NRA’s bylaws, the charter that defines director eligibility and all other matters pertaining to operational policies. And while it’s useful for NRA’s voting members to know the truth about such ties (not surprisingly, Norquist and his American Conservative Union allies dispute and condemn the legitimacy of such criticisms) so that members can decide if that’s a personal show-stopper for them, chances are his reelection is already a done deal.

That’s because the mail-in ballot was sent to voting members (continuous membership for five years or life member and higher) in the February issue. With only an estimated seven percent of those bothering to vote, odds are not too many of Beck’s callers qualify and that Norquist, who enjoyed Nominating Committee support, already has enough votes. Besides, based on the non-specificity of the “influence” allegations, there is no unequivocal rule La Pierre can use to overturn election results and boot Norquist off the board, meaning he can either throw the guy under the bus on a trumped up charge and lose much influence and access through “insider” alienation, plus face a lawsuit, or else offer Norquist some kind of secret deal to get him to take one for the team.

[Listen to the author’s interview last week here:]

Or just tell people there are no actionable justifications he is authorized to pursue…

Still, if nothing else, this shows the effects of high-profile influence on getting NRA’s attention and eliciting some kind of action out of Fairfax. Back when there was a much clearer case for ridding the association of a subversive member who was in demonstrable violation of its bylaw-defined eligibility criteria, NRA refused to respond to a rules-compliant request to expel anti-gun propagandist Michael Moore. NRA management ignoring that request was also a violation of the bylaws, but they could get away with it due to the limited venue the complaint was effectively buried in. Beck has a much more amplified voice, as evidenced by all of the related reports qualifying for the Google news feed.

And the thing is, even if Beck and the noise he’s making on this somehow succeed in keeping Norquist off the board, it distracts from another issue NRA is deliberately ignoring that this column has repeatedly raised, and that again, is confined to a relatively obscure venue: the danger a “pathway to citizenship” for illegal aliens poses to government recognition of the right to keep and bear arms.

Norquist supports amnesty, absolving and keeping foreign lawbreakers in this country. He supports it despite Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson’s insistence that illegal aliens have “earned the right to be citizens.” He supports it despite Democrat Rep. Kurt Schrader claiming immigration will decide “who is in charge of this country for the next 20 or 30 years.” He supports it despite all credible polling showing that giving Johnson what he and his boss and his party demand will result in millions of new anti-gun Democrat voters, with the capability of establishing unchallengeable majorities in the legislatures, a resultant stacking of the courts through confirmations of anti-gun activist judges, and a reversal of all legislative and judicial gains enjoyed in recent years.

Heller and McDonald were 5-4 decisions in favor of gun owners. Who thinks that won’t be reversed when Schraeder and pals control all three branches of government?

Note anyone dismissing the danger will offer arguments based on anecdotes and platitudes, but they will not offer data that contradicts these contentions. If they have knowledge to convince us this is not a concern directly impacting government recognition of gun rights, why do they not share specifics so their claims can be validated?

Yeah, if Beck wants to go after Norquist, fine. But aside from amnesty, he’s also ignoring other NRA-specific disconnects. For instance, he could challenge him on conflict of interest, such as the time Norquist put his tax interests ahead of gun owner interests, and endorsed anti-gun politician Bob Dold, who then went on to win a “leadership” award from the citizen disarmament zealots at Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence.

How does that make the director worthy of a Nominating Committee endorsement?

Perhaps if LaPierre really intends to investigate Norquist, he can look into his amnesty collaboration with Michael Bloomberg, and see if other Dold-style conflicts exist depending on which hat he’s wearing. No one thinks the politically-savvy Mayor of Everytown doesn’t pay attention to polls and isn’t working toward actualizing his vision of control, do they?

Pressuring Norquist off the board without raising that flag gives NRA a pass to continue ignoring the threat posed by making sure the vote is given to current criminal foreign invaders with documented Democrat sympathies. If anything, his removal without considering the “pathway to citizenship” dangers will undermine that bit of leverage and allow NRA to keep playing the access game, and avoid scoring amnesty support as anti-gun in its political ratings.

As things stand, that pressure is unlikely to happen. With the exception of Gun Owners of America, which has bravely stood alone on the issue, no national gun rights group has made the 2A/amnesty connection. Alan Gottlieb, head of the influential Second Amendment Foundation and the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, has rejected it outright in his recent endorsement of Norquist. That further relieves pressure from NRA to acknowledge relevancy and then do something about it.

Also showing deliberate indifference to the political effects amnesty will have on gun rights are ostensible immigration watchdog groups, and of paramount significance, so-called “conservative news” outlets, including Fox News (created by a Hillary Clinton supporter), Newsmax (headed by a Bill Clinton admirer), Beck’s The Blaze, Townhall, The Daily Caller, WND and Drudge. What that means is, most gun owners will never be exposed to the evidence of why a “pathway to citizenship” should even concern them. Unless the readership of those sites challenges them in sufficient numbers to report on that danger, those relying on the issue being ignored will have their way.

One notable exception with a national presence is the syndicated Armed American Radio program. Continuing its practice of bringing breaking news and information to gun owners no one else provides, host Mark Walters will be speaking tonight with Grover Norquist, about Glenn Beck’s allegations, his stance on immigration and more. The program broadcasts from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. Eastern time, and can be listened to on stations nationwide, or via live streaming. (See “Glenn Beck’s Charges against NRA Director Divert Attention from Amnesty Threat”, originally posted HERE)

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