Actually, no. It is, and always has been, a "Representative Democracy". There are major fundamental differences. The founding fathers gave much reason for making it so.
By jumping in, it created a divided scenario that doomed all possibles.
On the other side of the issue, John & Senator Enzi could have/should have spent quite a bit on P.R. effort with NAR/TRA. An ounce of problem prevention is worth a 100 pounds of cure in legislation. They were focused on the direct object and all the angles, and not on the other "proponents". One must sell one's own "kind" before/while taking on the other side... just like in political caucus races... and continue to do so during the entire life of the process. Being blind-sided by those you thought were on your side always leaves one staggering for footing.
But that's hindsight... and I, and I do believe most here, certainly would not have done a better job... far worse in fact, but it is teaching.
That may be their "right" but was it the "correct" thing to do?
As a NAR and TRA member at the time, I say NO! The "correct" thing to do was to work WITH JW/Enzi, as they were driving the effort, and not throw in the "Kyte Steamroller" to take over.. Support JW and not side-step him, would have been the "correct" thing to do..
BTW, and Bunny can correct me if I'm wrong, but I understand that NAR spent more on Kyte last year than they did on the lawsuit.
Kyte had ABSOLUTELY no reason for being involved (at the cost paid by TRA/NRA members), as the end result wouldn't have been worse if he'd had no involvement, and could have been better!
Think of JW as your corner store, and NAR/TRA as Walmart.. Yup, Walmart can come in and demo the whole block to get their way, as it is their "right", but is it the "correct" thing to do?
My recollection is that Wickman invited the NAR and its members to jump in. I think Wickman could have easily snuck it in under the NAR/TRA radar, but not under the Judiciary Commitee radar.
Complete and utter BS detected here Ray! From day one, NAR/ TRA BOT/BOD would tell members NOT to support JW/Enzi, and then a few days latter say "well, ok", only because the realized that the members were doing what they thought was right, and ignoring NAR/TRA anyway! NAR/TRA BOT/BOD were throwing "stop sticks" in front of this effort at every turn! NAR/TRA DID attack the effort on an ongoing basis, that is until they realized that no one was listening to them.. So they brought in Kyte to "take control", at a cost greater than the lawsuit in 2003 (correct me if I'm wrong Bunny)... And what did Kyte buy us? Zip - Nada - Zilch!
Hey, this is why SR is in B+W - too much was spent on Kyte! (and BTW, did I mention the dues increase?)
You obviously weren't paying attention. They clearly said, "Wait until we get can confirm this is the best course of action." Since this was a letter writing campaign, a delay of a few hours or even a day or two was insignificant to the outcome. (Even more so, if as you claim everyone was doing it without waiting for NAR/TRA to give the ok.)
Personally, I don't want an organization that goes off half-cocked everytime some yells "jump". I want some thought behind the actions, not action for the sake of action.
And they made poor decisions because it's their right...? Instead of letting Wickman pursue the legislative effort, and they the legal one, their resources were split to fight on two fronts.
Why? It wasn't theirs to start with. In other areas, that's called "theft". ;-)
If I as a consumer gets better selection and lower prices while employing more people than the corner store, then yes Walmart should move in and put the corner store out of business. That's how our system works.
Every American citizen has the right (some would say the duty) to get involved in legislation that affects them. Poor decisions were made all around. Actually I think the NAR/TRA did Wickman a huge favor. They presented a perfect scapegoat for the eventual failure of the bill. Never mind that Mr. Wickman himself admits it was doomed from the start. In retrospect I wish the NAR/TRA had stayed out. Maybe JI/Izzy would have been silenced. Nah, they would have blamed the NAR/TRA for inaction and failure to support.
Check your history: When Enzi first proposed the bill, he requested, by way of Wickman, a show of support in the form of a _specifically_ timed _fax_ campaign, to be coordinated with his planned letter to his colleagues in the Senate proposing the legislation... the idea was to make sure that when Enzi made his proposal, the other Senators would be thinking, "oh, yes, we just got some messages about that ourselves!" This was _not_ the time for TRA to circulate a request to the membership that "nobody to write anything just yet untill our lawyers check it out"...
Further NAR/TRA "responses" to the Wickman/Enzi effort were in a similar vein at every turn...
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