Kerry and Edwards on Hunting

[Multidigits]

For well over a year, John Kerry has done his best to act like a hunter. Now, sidekick John Edwards is adding comic relief, mangling his own efforts to don the mantle of outdoorsman.

Kerry has set a new low in pandering to hunters, with his incredible response to a reporter`s query about his favorite kind of hunting. "Deer, "he replied and then expounded as follows:
<b>"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,</b> "said Kerry. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 7/5/04).
So "that`s hunting, " according to Kerry. That description is so utterly bizarre it makes me wonder whether Kerry has ever hunted a deer in his life. He could have answered "pheasant hunting" and at least he would be able to describe it in rough terms--we`ve all seen the photo-op of Kerry grinning in an Iowa field.

But he`s had trouble with describing his bird-hunting expertise as well, such as when he told The Washington Post about his love for <b>dove hunting</b>. Once again, he felt the need to expound on methods: <b>"You clean them, let them hang ... you might have it at a picnic, cold-roasted. </b>"Anyone who hangs dove is making an artistic statement, not cleaning their game. Contemplate the picture of John Kerry at a Nantucket wine and cheese picnic, taking down dove inexplicably hanging from a clothesline, and "cold roasting" them for his horrified guests.

Does Kerry know anything about hunting at all? I`d say that`s doubtful. However, he has clearly decided he needs to appeal to the enormous number of deer hunters in America. As a result, his made-up response makes him look like a fool. And please, if you`re thinking of trying his deer hunting tactics yourself, at least wear some blaze orange so other deer hunters won`t think you`re a snake slithering through the brush.

How about Country-Boy-in-Chief John Edwards? He`s a lot slower on his feet, and seems more apologetic about polishing his fake credentials. According to the Raleigh News and Observer, a visitor from the North Carolina Wildlife Federation once asked him his favorite species of wildlife. Edwards hesitated and thought, then volunteered, <b>"When I was growing up it was rabbits and squirrels. "He went on to admit that he used to hunt them, and then apologized, saying, "I`m sorry to admit that to you.</b>" The mystified visitor later told the paper that the question "wasn`t supposed to be a stumper, " and wondered why Edwards apologized for hunting.

Edwards hasn`t done much better with specific queries about his sportsman skills. The same paper asked him first whether he was a fan of NASCAR or country music. "I don`t follow anything except politicking, " he said, noting, "I have in the past been a country music fan. "<b>Fading memories also characterize his fishing days:"I haven`t fished in years either. Just no time.</b> "The reporter, growing desperate for something specific, finally asks how long ago did Edwards own a gun. He seems taken aback, answering, <b>"When I was growing up. I haven`t had a gun in--you mean personally?--in years. "And what kind of gun was it? "Get out of here, " Edwards laughed.</b>

The words of President Bush, on the other hand, not only reveal an intimate knowledge of hunting and conservation, but his words are also backed up by actions. The president recently announced several initiatives to expand the landmark "Conservation Reserve Program, "or CRP. He told the audience, "First we`re going to expand and extend the CRP. The CRP is the largest public-private conservation partnership in the nation. Approximately 800, 000 farmers participate in the program. In return for an annual payment, farmers retire some of their land, letting it turn back to its natural state. It`s good for the soil. It`s good for habitat. .. contracts covering roughly two-thirds of the existing land in the program are scheduled to expire in 2007 and 2008. To make sure these farmlands stay protected, I directed the secretary of agriculture to offer early re-enrollments and extensions of existing contracts . . .

"Secondly, we`re going to expand the borders of the conservation program to cover vital grasslands that often serve as borders of farmlands. I`m ordering the secretary of agriculture to help protect 250, 000 acres of grasslands, which are home to several species of birds, including the northern bobwhite quail. By expanding this program, our goal is to increase the quail population by about 750, 000 birds per year.

"Thirdly, we`re going to expand the conservation program to cover wetlands that are not in a flood plain. .. these wetlands are what farmers around here call prairie potholes, and offer a home for pheasants and ducks and other birds. These prairie potholes will now be a part of CRP, and that`s good for wildlife. "
In just a few short minutes, the president announced initiatives that will benefit wildlife throughout the nation, and made it clear he knew the details. His command of the issues, along with forceful resolve to act on behalf of hunters and wildlife alike, stands in stark contrast to the bumbling efforts of the Johns--Kerry and Edwards--to portray themselves as hunters.

Fooling the tens of millions of America`s hunters and sportsmen is a top priority of the Kerry/Edwards campaign. You would think they would make an effort to sound convincing. Most likely, they have no idea how foolish they sound, nor do their advisers. That alone should be enough to convince any hunter that this pair shouldn`t be put in charge of our outdoor heritage and traditions.

After all, if you wouldn`t hunt with them, why would you vote for them?

http://www.nraila.org/issues/Articles/Read.aspx?ID=145

Size does matter!

[EC]

Multidigits, it's even better than this. Apparently, Kerry uses birdshot hunting deer. Here's a follow up from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel published on Sept 19th.

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<b>Candidates open up
Bush likes bass fishing; Kerry's comments on deer hunting draw fire</b>
By CRAIG GILBERT
cgilbert@journalsentinel.com
Posted: Sept. 18, 2004
George Bush says he likes to hunt quail and dove but prefers fishing to hunting.

John Kerry says he likes to hunt deer.

In interviews with the Journal Sentinel this summer, both men were asked about their personal interest in hunting, since their campaigns have targeted sportsmen as a key voting group in Wisconsin and other swing states that have large numbers of people who hunt and fish.

Kerry's comments about how he hunts drew a fair amount of commentary after they were first printed in the Journal Sentinel on July 5, many of those responses posted on the Internet.

Some of the reaction came from critics and opponents who contended that Kerry's embrace of hunting was in conflict with his support for certain gun restrictions. The Bush campaign posted the comments on its Web site.

But a lot of the reaction came from hunters who thought Kerry's description of deer hunting was odd. Others wondered whether his remarks were taken out of context.

Here, then, is a fuller account of the exchange, and a look at some of the questions readers raised about Kerry's statements.

Asked in the July 4 interview about his favorite kind of hunting, Kerry said, "I'd probably say deer . . . because it's tough, depending on where you are."

"You don't bow hunt, though?" he was asked by a Journal Sentinel reporter.

<b>"I don't bow hunt. I shotgun-pellet. Go out with my trusty 12-gauge double-barrel. Crawl around on my stomach," </b>said Kerry, who was completing a bus tour of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa that included a much-photographed round of trap-shooting.

"You don't sit up in a deer stand?" Kerry was asked.

"No. I do not. I track and move and decoy and play games and try to outsmart them," Kerry said. "You know, you kind of play the wind. . . . That's hunting."

Hunting techniques vary
Reaction to those comments focused on Kerry's use of a double-barrel shotgun and his description of "crawling around on my stomach" - not common practice for many deer hunters.

In Wisconsin, for instance, most hunting is done from a deer stand or in a deer drive, and it's done with a rifle or a single-barrel shotgun using slugs (large single projectiles).

"You don't crawl around on your belly. That's really odd," said Greg Kazmierski, co-founder of the Wisconsin Deer Hunters Coalition, a group that has endorsed Bush.

Kerry's choice of gun and ammunition would be strange in Wisconsin, where buckshot - Kerry used the word "pellet" - is prohibited for deer. But hunting practices vary by state.

In Kerry's home state of Massachusetts, rifles can't be used to hunt deer. With shotguns, slugs are typically used. But buckshot is permitted in Massachusetts, and favored by some hunters in areas with thick brush.

In response to follow-up questions about Kerry's hunting experiences, the Kerry campaign put a reporter in touch with a distant Kerry cousin, Bruce Droste, who said he hunted deer with Kerry roughly half-a-dozen times in Massachusetts, most recently about seven years ago. Droste said the hunts were tied to an annual house party on private property, and the hunters used buckshot, partly for safety reasons, because of its short range.

"When you see (a deer), you absolutely freeze. Then the game is to see how you can get closer. . . . So you crawl along until you know you have a dead ringer shot," Droste said.

A lifelong pursuit
Kerry, who has shown himself to be a competent shot on the campaign trail, also responded in the interview to Republican assertions that he was posing as a sportsman.

"I've been hunter and fisherman all my life. I started fishing when I was 5 years old. I started hunting when I was 12 years old. I graduated from a BB gun to a .22 to, you know, shooting shotguns and rifles and so forth. . . . I've gone deer hunting and duck hunting long before I thought of getting into politics."

Bush goes for bass
Bush also was asked about his outdoor activities in an interview July 14 during a Wisconsin bus tour.

Asked what he likes to hunt, he said: "Quail and dove. It's about the only kind of hunting I do."

Bush said he likes to shoot a 20-gauge over-and-under shotgun.

Bush also described himself as an "avid fisherman." In a just-published interview with Field & Stream magazine, Bush talked about his enthusiasm for bass fishing. He said that while he likes to hunt quail, "I'm not a very good shot - I'd be the first to admit it. But I like to be outdoors. I like the exercise. I love to watch the dogs work."




From the Sept. 19, 2004, editions of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

http://www.hilltopperhaven.com/newtowel.gif

[Multidigits]

Thanks for posting the truth.

Size does matter!

[buckfever]

I'll call BS on the Droste cousin and his lies. I'd bet every one of my firearms that the events he descibed never happened. Let's see: annual house party /deer camp where the participants all wander around looking for deer. Limited to slugs out of "safety" concerns. Kerry said pellets, and if you were concerned about safety, you sure as hell wouldn't have a "party" of people still hunting through an unfamiliar farm. When they see one, they "freeze" and then try to belly-crawl up for a shot. Bull Sheet. Kerry's an idiot, and now he's got his extended family lying for him. Any firearm owner (actually anybody) who votes for that moron will get exactly what he deserves: the gov't will take guns (and his money) and sell the guns to redistribute the wealth to people who refuse to work themselves.