"Sportsmen For Bush"

[SHRED]

I have seen this sticker and just don't get it.
Considering all the rollbacks and environmental law gutting that W has done; how does that make a better environment for the "sportsperson" who likes to hunt and fish?
Man those damn rednecks, who follow shrub, can be such dolts. I guess it's the "good ole boy" image, the elitist pig portrays, that fools them.
Obviously they are oblivious of his policies.

Sure, he's the kind of guy "you could have beer with" but do you want your drinking buddy being the President?

[patdem]

1. Every time I hear the 'beer drinker' comment I say next time you are

at a bar look around and pick out which looser there you would want to be president!..Shuts them up pretty quickly! :bounce:

[BlueCollar]

2. you see a few of those here in Texas also

but a lot of them have seen what the damage has been...especially here in Texas where petro-chemical industries are king.

There has been a slow but steady erosion of bush* support amongst the "sportsmen", unfortunately, I think most Democrats would rather cede than support "sportsmen" who might believe in their rights to fish and hunt.

I mean, when was the last time you heard any Democrat anywhere at the national level complain that the bush* environmental policies were poisoning the lakes for fishermen, and that the "healthy forests" initiative was destroying hunting opportunities?

Personally, I neither fish nor hunt, but a healthy environment provides opportunities for both...oppportunities that I believe should be afforded to those who care to do so.

[montana500]

3. Bush has been losing support from sportsmen

over the last 4 years. Those bumper stickers dont have the same impact. Many western sportsmen are really upset at the Bush admin for the oiland gas drilling on their hunting lands, and for opening the Tongass national forest to road building. The big game sportsmen flock to these areas because they like to get away from roads.

[BlueCollar]

5. I agree

with the "impact" part of your statement. I think there's a slow move toward understanding that hunting and fishing will be seriously impacted by a long-term anti-environmental policy.

The problem I see though, is that our party would rather cater to the anti-hunting and anti-fishing lobby.

I really think that the Democratic Party is making a huge mistake here.

[BigDaddyCaine]

13. dont go telling that to the anti gun lobby around here

or the peta followers.

[SHRED]

4. Good points

I will add that on a fishing forum I frequent, many there truly believe that "environmentalists", and the Dems, want to take away their fishing. I mean outlaw fishing! They are always quoting some obscure PETA statement and assuming that is the mainstream line for the enviros and the Dems.
:wtf:

It doesn't get any goofier then that folks.

[BlueCollar]

7. I haven't fully researched this

issue, but apparently there was a real uproar down here awhile ago...seems that the bush folks wanted to stop protecting some wetlands down on the coast...not really sure...anyway, the duck hunters and fishermen went nuts and raised hell. I think the issue was resolved in favor of the wetlands.

On the other hand, some of these fishermen and hunters have some legitimate concerns/beefs and I think that the Democratic party needs to really take a look at their "perceived" positions on hunting and fishing.

I'll look around and post any info I come up with.

[RhodaGrits]

6. NRA - thats the only reason bush still owns the hunters.

The NRA and Repubs are virtually inseparable and as long as they can make guns=hunting, the sportsmen will continue to be brainwashed.

Nobody does mass mind control better than the NRA... I think the Repubs took lessons from them.

[zbird]

8. Think the NRA.

My husband and his friends hunt and fish and they are buying into the NRA/Repug line that the Dems want to take away their guns as well as take away the public hunting lands. I didn't understand where that all was coming from, so I did a little google searching and found that the NRA was claiming that Kerry and the Dems would "take away 26 million acres of hunting land". What that refers to is the reinstatement of the "Roadless Area Rules" from the Clinton era that * rolled back. Kerry would reinstate the rules, thereby "taking away" those 26 million acres from hunters. Which, of course, is utter bullshit. Hunting is not prohibited in that area, there are just no roads into the area.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A39731-2004Jul9.html

In Spokane, many of the outdoor writers said they disputed Robinson's statement that roadless areas are closed to hunters. In fact, roadless areas are open to hunting and fishing, if sportsmen are willing to get out of their cars and ply these areas on foot or horseback.

snip

The NRA wants to make access by car to hunting areas a priority, Arulanandam said. He added that Robinson's major complaint about roadless areas is that they limit "mainstream hunter access to valuable hunting land.

"You are talking about people having to hire hunting guides, which is a financial burden, or you are talking about trekking," Arulanandam said. "It would take exceptionally long to hunt, and what about disabled hunters?"

The NRA's insistence on drive-close hunting has, itself, generated considerable heat among outdoor writers. An editorial last month in the Lewiston, Idaho, Tribune said that "most of the legions of people insisting on a driveway right" to hunt "simply have more invested in their beer bellies than their boots."



The way I see it, these "sportsmen for bush" can't see past all the NRA rhetoric that Kerry and the Dems would take away all their guns. They aren't even thinking about the disastrous environmental policies, including public land drilling and building roads into the pristine lands, and the effect on the future of wildlife. What good will their guns do them if there are no animals to hunt?

[BlueCollar]

9. sadly

the issue is again "defined" by the NRA/Republican Party.

The Democrats will allow this type of rhetoric to go unanswered and the Republicans rely on the theory: "If it's not disputed it must be true"

Since the NRA magazine is distributed nationally they have a good sized audience.

Since Democrats will not say anything to dispute the story it will be perceived to be true.

Arulanandam would like to be able to hunt from a helicopter or a moving vehicle...someone on our side needs to tell him that Real hunters and Real fishermen aren't afraid of a little hard work to get their catch or kill, and real people make a living acting as guides, and real people with real disabilities can be accomodated.

The editorial in the Lewiston Tribune appeared to be on the mark

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

10. Saw a lot of them in 2000 around here....

haven't seen any this year. Only one pickup truck with Veterans Against Kerry, too. No Veterans for Bush, which was another popular sticker last election.

[Lefty48197]

11. That's the usual NRA bullsh*t

They, or their buddies, put out those orange bumper stickers every single election.

[BigDaddyCaine]

12. if my drinking buddy was the president

We wouldnt be in Iraq and the environment would be top priority.

[MISSDem]

14. If I had a choice of who to have a drink with my choice would be

Kerry. Bush seems boring to me. I mean to bed by 9 every night.

[Kolesar]

15. The NRA is a perverted GOP message-machine-organization

Their only purpose is to milk a wedge issue for the Republican party. They prey upon the weaknesses of a segment of the American population who display a dangerous combination of paranoia and a lack of skepticism.