GOP grows deaf to call of the wild

[Cereal Kyller]

Source: Politico

House Republicans fighting the Obama administration’s environmental agenda are finding themselves making decisions that threaten the party’s carefully nourished relationship with the hook and bullet crowd.

Anglers and hunters once courted by President George W. Bush don’t like what they’re seeing in the GOP’s mad dash to cut spending and have made their feelings clear in meetings this month with top aides to House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.).

As the Republican leaders no doubt know, this is not a crowd to mess with. The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation estimates that nearly eight in 10 hunters always vote in presidential elections, while six in 10 go to the polls in off years.

The outdoorsmen typically lean Republican, but Democrats say they could capitalize with a constituency that’s also known to be pretty independent minded.



Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0711/58838.html

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See, these folks are real conservatives: They don't want us to bomb every Muslim country on the planet. They just want to go on hunting and fishing with the knowledge that their children and grandchildren will be able to do the same.

My dad was "conservative" in this way.

[provis99]

1. man, who gives a shit about trees and bugs?

I'd rather pave over Yellowstone with concrete.

[pmorlan1]

10. Sarcasm?

I hope this is just a sarcastic comment.

[Ineeda]

2. Though ambivilent about this issue,

I support just about any constituency that will turn from red to blue. ;)

[gejohnston]

6. why ambivilent?

Maybe it is because I grew up in the sticks, but buying part of a dead cow that someone else killed for you (under very inhuman conditions) is not morally superior or more "civilized" than someone who kills some of his own food.

If you are talking some rich guy doing trophy hunting (and wasting the meat) or if you are a vegetarian, my apologies.

[iamthebandfanman]

8. unfortunately not everyone has your

'use it all' mentality.

i know in my kneck of the wood ive come across shot deer just laying completely intact in the middle of a field.

unless you are poor and cant afford something else(or have religious beliefs that dictate), saying you hunt for food is kinda silly. its unnecessary. your arguement on that seems to be 'well other people kill animals too!', which is kinda lame and required little thought on your part.

be honest, you get joy out of hunting and killing things. no biggie.

more power to ya.

[Chalfont]

3. Ducks Unlimited

Ducks unlimited is one of the most successful wetlands conservation groups out there, and most of its members are hunters.

http://www.ducks.org/

[Kolesar]

4. Well, the picked a bushie for their leader--H. Dale Hall, an anti-Clinton asshole

He's on page one of the article.

[Joe Bacon]

5. Republicans are now following the Call Of The STUPID!

:rofl:

[EC]

7. I was wondering when the hunters and fishers would

figure out that gutting regulations for pollution would affect them.

In WI Walker trashed the whole environmental agency here and already got rid of many regs, so I'm still waiting on WI hunters and fishermen to say something.

[Kolesar]

9. In Pennsylvania, a "hunting club" ran off some enviros who were documenting fracking pollution

The activists had driven into the woods to photograph a gas-fracking "spill" or some similar problem. The hunting club owned the land and ran them off.

I guess that the hunters are ok with the oil companies' destroying their surface water and woods.

[EC]

11. At least until it becomes the reason hunters will not go

to that hunting club anymore because of the lack of game and fish.

[Bigmack]

12. One observation...

"They just want to go on hunting and fishing with the knowledge that their children and grandchildren will be able to do the same."

Problem is, they are prey for the RW assholes who can scare them with the "They're after your guns!" bullshit. Our fishing club has more than it's share of people who are paranoid that the banning of lead sinkers in some lakes... to preserve the Loons nesting on the lake... is an attempt to kill fishing. A lot of hunters think the ban on lead bullets is the same kind of thing. A guy posted on FB that the new ammo is more expensive, so that means "they" are going to take away our guns. I wrote back that ammo is probably the least expensive part of hunting. He responded that the lead ban is just the foot in the door.

Off Topic: in our area, hunting and fishing is really important, but fewer younger people can afford it... or take up those activities.