Calif. Hunter
Active member
POLITICAL OUTDOOR MUSINGS -- 11aug04
Outdoor
politics at
a glance
Outdoor News Service
Mostly outdoorsmen hate politics. But in Presidential election years, it
becomes too interesting to ignore.
In the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel recently, there was a story about John
Kerry trying to appeal to the huge gun-owning and hunting community in
Wisconsin. He stopped by a local trap range, shot, and spoke with reporters.
After shooting a relatively dismal round, breaking just 17 of 25 targets, he
said he thought current gun regulations were reasonable.
"I think the Brady ban is reasonable, the assault weapons ban is
reasonable. It's reasonable to have some waiting period. I'm not for
registration. I've never been for registration," said Kerry, not making any
points with people who know all of those laws he supports have been
ineffective, if not counter-productive, as crime fighters. But he set some
minds at ease with his avowal to not support gun registration .
But then Kerry went on, telling a reporter he'd rather have been
hunting. So the reporter asked what type of hunting he preferred.
"Probably I'd have to say deer. It's tough, depending on where you are,"
Kerry was quoted as saying. "I go out with my trusty 12-gauge double-barrel,
crawl around on my stomach. I track and move and decoy and play games and
try to outsmart them. You know, you kind of play the wind. That's hunting."
Now, for those of you who don't hunt, that might seem like hunter-speak.
But for those of us who hunt, it's pretty clear this guy's never been in the
woods. This is not the language of a hunter. Those are not hunter's terms.
It's just hard to trust a guy who's trying to convince you he's something
he's not.
At the same time, President George Bush was announcing an extension and
expansion of two of the most important conservation programs in the nation,
but got zero media coverage for it. The Conservation Reserve Program, which
sets aside marginal cropland just for wildlife and has been an amazing
success, and a wetlands initiative that expands the "no net loss" program to
one that actually will grow the number of marshes and swamps because of
their value to wildlife, have been lauded by conservation groups across the
nation. I found out about it in an e-mail from Ducks Unlimited.
The general media ignored this important conservation story, but it was
quick to pounce on the news about an oil drilling plan being pushed through
in New Mexico. The drilling, which it seems everyone in the nation is
against except someone in the Bush White House, is proposed for one of the
most pristine areas of New Mexico on the Carson National Forest -- an area
with one of the best elk herds in the West.
While Bush doesn't much care about the increasingly radical
environmental community and its shrill cries, he is a hunter. In the last
election, I remember that Bush took opening day of dove season off to hunt
on his Texas ranch. He told a reporter back then that he was going to shoot
a few birds, breast them out, and barbecue them with jalapenos for dinner.
The language was that of a real hunter.
When Bush finds out that elk hunters are furious over the New Mexico
drilling plan, don't be surprised to see a policy change. It won't be about
the just-under 400 votes that cost him New Mexico last time. It will be
about caring about his hunting buddies and their conservation concerns. When
it happens, it will probably be ignored by the media or spun as some
vote-getting ploy.
Outdoor
politics at
a glance
Outdoor News Service
Mostly outdoorsmen hate politics. But in Presidential election years, it
becomes too interesting to ignore.
In the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel recently, there was a story about John
Kerry trying to appeal to the huge gun-owning and hunting community in
Wisconsin. He stopped by a local trap range, shot, and spoke with reporters.
After shooting a relatively dismal round, breaking just 17 of 25 targets, he
said he thought current gun regulations were reasonable.
"I think the Brady ban is reasonable, the assault weapons ban is
reasonable. It's reasonable to have some waiting period. I'm not for
registration. I've never been for registration," said Kerry, not making any
points with people who know all of those laws he supports have been
ineffective, if not counter-productive, as crime fighters. But he set some
minds at ease with his avowal to not support gun registration .
But then Kerry went on, telling a reporter he'd rather have been
hunting. So the reporter asked what type of hunting he preferred.
"Probably I'd have to say deer. It's tough, depending on where you are,"
Kerry was quoted as saying. "I go out with my trusty 12-gauge double-barrel,
crawl around on my stomach. I track and move and decoy and play games and
try to outsmart them. You know, you kind of play the wind. That's hunting."
Now, for those of you who don't hunt, that might seem like hunter-speak.
But for those of us who hunt, it's pretty clear this guy's never been in the
woods. This is not the language of a hunter. Those are not hunter's terms.
It's just hard to trust a guy who's trying to convince you he's something
he's not.
At the same time, President George Bush was announcing an extension and
expansion of two of the most important conservation programs in the nation,
but got zero media coverage for it. The Conservation Reserve Program, which
sets aside marginal cropland just for wildlife and has been an amazing
success, and a wetlands initiative that expands the "no net loss" program to
one that actually will grow the number of marshes and swamps because of
their value to wildlife, have been lauded by conservation groups across the
nation. I found out about it in an e-mail from Ducks Unlimited.
The general media ignored this important conservation story, but it was
quick to pounce on the news about an oil drilling plan being pushed through
in New Mexico. The drilling, which it seems everyone in the nation is
against except someone in the Bush White House, is proposed for one of the
most pristine areas of New Mexico on the Carson National Forest -- an area
with one of the best elk herds in the West.
While Bush doesn't much care about the increasingly radical
environmental community and its shrill cries, he is a hunter. In the last
election, I remember that Bush took opening day of dove season off to hunt
on his Texas ranch. He told a reporter back then that he was going to shoot
a few birds, breast them out, and barbecue them with jalapenos for dinner.
The language was that of a real hunter.
When Bush finds out that elk hunters are furious over the New Mexico
drilling plan, don't be surprised to see a policy change. It won't be about
the just-under 400 votes that cost him New Mexico last time. It will be
about caring about his hunting buddies and their conservation concerns. When
it happens, it will probably be ignored by the media or spun as some
vote-getting ploy.
