Why is Hunting Part of Republican Culture?

[dynasaw]

[rfranklin]

1. Actually, pandering to hunters is part of their shtick...

Generally, when you get to the bottom of it, they are not real hunters.

[TalkingDog]

4. What rfranklin said

Politicians do it to appeal to their base.

If you want to know why the base does it, look at a map. Many, if not most rural areas are red. In rural areas hunting is still a tradition because that's what their parents did.... back to the beginning of the country.

[applegrove]

123. To gather the poor & working class male vote for the GOP.

[Inkfreak]

2. Lemme help show what the next 200 posts will look like

Person A- So do Dems, and it's not a bad thing

Person B- Well I don't understand it, and it's horrible

And so it begins.....

[TalkingDog]

3. Touche' !

You have hit upon it exactly.

[alphafemale]

5. As long as the animal is eaten I have no problem with it.

More honest than buying your meat in neat little Styrofoam and plastic packages. The posing with the body is a tad disturbing. I'll give you that one.

[RandiFan1290]

6. Why is trolling part of moranic culture?

[Kolesar]

7. Why is Republicanism part of hunting culture?

The oil company policies that the Republicans follow *do* necessarily mean the destruction of habitat. You know, where the game animals and their food is.

[Iggy]

8. Again, it's the whole "I built this all by myself"

BULLcrap meme.

these sad folks are apparently still living in the early 1800's, when every frontiersman had to have
a gun(s) to survive-- i.e. shoot and eat wild game, and of course to shoot any Indians that
happened to get in the way or try to stop them (the Indians sort of needed the game, too, to
survive).

the meme is irrelevant now, since we have over 300 million people in our nation.. and if we all
had to become big macho hunters again and shoot squirrels or rabbits to survive, we'd be dead in
a week or so.

the image/iconic symbology is portrayed by the GOP'ers in order to send a "message".. i.e. "hey,
I've got guns.. I can take care of myself and my family" (by paying to hunt on private land). and
sorry to play the race card-- the imagery/gun fetish also says: "I'm armed and know how to
shoot, so dark skinned people-- don't try to steal my/our stuff.. I'll shoot you dead".

Keep in mind our nation is chock full o' bigots, so there's no doubt this message is being
sent with the guns/ammo fetish.

[dballance]

14. I think with the politicians it's about their 2nd Amendment Cred

"See, I have a gun so I'm with you. I won't take yours away."

[Iggy]

16. Yeah, It's that

I get that.. but there are several messages/warnings being sent by the gun
toters.

[pipoman]

18. Yeah because everyone knows the only Democratic thing to do

is go to the grocery store where they manufacture real meat, eh? Couldn't have anything to do with culling wild game populations...nah, that couldn't be it.. Couldn't have anything to do with preferring hormone free, grass fed meat..nah, that's not it either....It is because everyone who lives rurally is a bigot...yeah, that's the ticket..see how brilliant that sounds?

[nadinbrzezinski]

62. I love stereotypes that are so ahistorical it is not even funny

For starters not EVERY frontiersman had a gun, of any kind, notwithstanding Hollywood representation of the period.

I will stop there...

[pipoman]

19. What "defenseless" would that be?

[RebelOne]

43. That would be the defenseless animals who did not have weapons to fight back. n/t

[pipoman]

51. Like the hamburger you ate for lunch?

Unless you are a vegan, the animals you eat and byproducts you use are far, far more defenseless than wild game animals.

[Go Vols]

66. +1

[Equate]

121. A deer is not defensless at all

You get close enough to those antler and you'll find out just how defenseless they really are. I hunt deer and elk by stalking them and then once in range, I kill them with a bow and arrow. It takes skill and patience to bow hunt and I love the thrill of the hunt and the satisfaction of hunting my own meat.

Every hunter I know will pose beside their kill, as I do, and I will make no apologies for it.
Hunting crosses political parties and to say that hunting is a repub. trait is idiotic.

[Major Hogwash]

168. Would you like that pizza to go, or are you going to eat it here?

Looks like you ate it on your way out the frickin' door!!!

HA HA HA!!!!

Where's your credentials now, hot shot!?!

[NutmegYankee]

74. I'm sure the many chickens and cows slaughtered for meat have AK-47s or something.

Man the stuff I read here sometimes...

[Peepsite]

84. As do the apples and carrots etc?

Plant or animal, life is life. We kill to live.

[Warren Stupidity]

127. There is clearly a difference between a plant and a cow.

But if you do not see this difference, then aside from the legal issues, why not eat people?

[Codeine]

131. The billions of animals in factory farms all over America

and the general disdain for animal rights/vegetarianism/veganism on this very site would indicate that a "typical lack of concern for the suffering of the defenseless" is hardly a uniquely Repuke trait.

[2pooped2pop]

10. coz shooting people is still illegal

unless you are darth, of course.

[sendero]

11. Because..

... Democrats claim to believe in Darwinian biology but they don't, and Republicans claim to not believe in it, but they do.

[PavePusher]

82. Presumeably you eat plants and possibly animals...

and thus participate in the PRO DEATH scene as well....

See how that works?

[NutmegYankee]

88. ...

[FarCenter]

13. Why are most people with a private well and septic system Republicans?

[datasuspect]

15. lots of Uhhhmericans hunt, not just repubicans

[pipoman]

17. Hunting is largely rural and blue collar

and since the Dems have completely alienated and abandoned both of these groups, the rethugs have been trying to keep them.

[littlewolf]

20. +100

However that is gonna leave a mark ...

[Paladin]

22. "It's All The Democrats' Fault", Right?

Yeah, I knew that gun militant talking point favorite would turn up, here.......

[pipoman]

23. The Dems

have abandoned blue collar, true or false? Most of blue collar America used to vote Democratic...before the Dems abandoned them..they would vote Democratic even if Dems were not friendly to other parts of the rural and blue collar lifestyle. What rural and blue collar issues do Dems currently advocate for?

[Walk away]

27. I don't understand what gun control has to do with hunting.

Although I no longer own a gun I am an excellent marks woman who it pro-gun control. You are confusing hunting and owning a gun to protect one's home with the bizarre, excessive and completely unrestricted platform espoused by the NRA as represented in politics by the Republican party.

[pipoman]

30. Are you sure you responded to the right post?

I'm not seeing any of these things mentioned in the post you responded to.

[Walk away]

46. I don't understand why gun control is anti-rural lifestyle.

How does gun control affect rural people who simply want to hunt or have a gun in their house for protection? The post I responded to implied that somehow all rural people would somehow be adversely affected by reasonable gun control laws.

He basically repeated the lie perpetuated by the NRA and the folks that work for them, that Democrats support gun control in order to stop everyone from hunting and owning guns for protection.

I'm sorry if you are unable to wrap your mind around the idea. Maybe you have been exposed to too much Republican/NRA propaganda. It's not the Democratic position that is the problem, it's the lies that are told about it. That's pretty common with most of the "anti-rural" positions mentioned in the post.

[pipoman]

48. Problems arise from one's definition of

"reasonable gun control laws", considering the 10,000 or so regulations already on the books. The 2nd amendment has not a single thing to do with hunting.

Maybe if you clarify your definition of "reasonable gun control laws", this is the term most often used while advancing the idea of "assault weapon bans", waiting periods, etc. which in most rural gun owners eyes are not reasonable, necessary, or effective.

[Walk away]

80. I see from your profile that you spend quite a lot of time in the Gun Group.

I don't think that your average Rural American posts in 2nd Amendment sites as a rule. They may be more sympathetic with your more extreme need to carry and own unlimited guns but most will never do more in life that keep a gun in the house for protection and/or keep a hunting rifle. More restrictive gun laws that include longer wait times and and restrictions on where and when a gun may be carried will never affect them in any way but ideologically.

More restrictive gun laws will only affect a small but noisy minority and gun manufacturers. Unfortunately that group has lied so long and loud to the unsophisticated base of the Republican party that they actually believe we want to take their household guns away from them.

Anyway, if I wanted to have this useless conversation I would have visited the Gun Group.

[pipoman]

86. Actually the minority

seems to be right here on DU and among Democrats. Every one of the polls in GD since I have been on DU have resulted in landslide numbers against gun control...every time there is a poll...the actual minority are those who wish for gun control restrictions.


BTW, you are the one who brought up the gun control topic, I didn't say a single word about gun control.

[Walk away]

97. You can pound all the polls you want but if you actually ask people if they...

think wait time should be increased, assault rifles should be banned and gun ownership should be restricted to people who pass stricter background checks (and you don't bomb the poll with Gun Groupies) you would see a different result. But that won't happen because the Gun Group is ever ready to jump into a poll or thread that smells of gun and drive their point endlessly.

The post I originally replied to implied that Democrats were against hunting and guns and that all rural people were left out of the Democratic agenda because of it.

I'm now officially jumping off the usual 2nd Amendment/NRA bullshit train. I have other interests.

[pipoman]

108. But people who study the issue know

that the number of people buying a gun then immediately committing a crime with it are infinitesimally small..to the point of complete statistical insignificance. OTOH, there are many people who are in immediate danger from a deranged partner, stalker, or other risk who will die waiting through your waiting period. Therefore a waiting period is ineffectual at best and destructive at worst.

Nobody has been able to define "assault weapon", not even the director of the BATFE in testimony before congress. Why? Because to define it by action would bring in family heirloom guns up to around 100 years old. Define it by looks? Now there's a smart way to legislate...By make and model? Good luck keeping up with the manufacturers changing the names. Not to mention that the AR-15 platform rifle is the #1 selling rifle in the US for like 15 years, there are millions of them and millions of voting owners. No, the failed assault weapon ban is forever dead..and proven ineffectual.

There are a few good ideas which would have a great effect on gun violence, but alas those who can only think about banning from their throne of conceit refuse to actually care about saving lives...only restricting civil liberties of the innocent in the cause of safety.

As with every issue, there is a reason people who study the issue feel the way they do. Those who refuse to learn about this or any other issue, yet adhere rigorously to simple ideology will never understand why they are on the loosing side of the issue..

[Fumesucker]

59. You mean before the Democrats embraced the civil rights movement.

Why not just go ahead and be honest about it?

[underpants]

32. Lee Atwater - God Guns and Gays

everyone has abandoned blue collar workers but the Republicans have been able to convince them that they haven't. In fact they attack blue collar workers repeatedly - basically it is an abusive relationship-- Fox News doesn't let them see what the neighbors are doing "You just listen to what *I* say" type of thing.

Atwater created the illusion that the Republicans are more Godly, love their country more, will protect your guns (a never-ending non-issue), and protect "American values" meaning they don't like gays and if you go to church you are SUPPOSED to be a Republican. It is called "Identity politics" and it follows "identity marketing". If you describe yourself as ______ then you should buy/be ________.

[pipoman]

38. I believe the blue collar voters would come flooding back to the Dems if

we showed and acted in opposition to unfair trade agreements and fell on the side of labor on union issues.

As it is neither party is acting in the interest of US labor, so US labor vote will pivot on other issues...currently religion and gun rights are issues more strongly supported by Rethugs..

[Fumesucker]

60. As long as Democrats continue to not hate minorities they will lose the redneck vote..

I'm pretty close to a redneck myself and know a whole lot of actual rednecks, I listen to what they say when they think they are among like minded people.

It's all about hating the NiCLANG for most of them.

[pipoman]

112. Or if Democrats embraced the needs of the rednecks...i.e. jobs (labor)..

but alas here we are discussing yet another even bigger behemoth of an assault on US labor to be signed by a Democratic President..We can bitch about the rednecks or embrace our shared concerns...the 99% and the Baggers have need for jobs and hatred of unfair trade agreements in common..labor has been strategically divided by the puppet masters..a refusal to shift back to labor by Democrats is what is keeping Democrats wondering if they will keep the White House or gain/maintain in the houses...Beware of bipartisan agreement..it's usually connected to bipartisan distribution of money by someone..

[Fumesucker]

113. Bipartisanship is one of my main problems with the current administration..

I'm not surprised by the muscular campaigning going on by the Obama team but I fully expect them to go back into bipartisan mode right after the election.. "To heal the wounds of the campaign".

But at this point the Democrats could lower the actual unemployment rate to 2% and very few of the people I know would give them any credit whatsoever.

[Robb]

40. "Everyone has abandoned blue collar workers but the Republicans have convinced them they haven't."

Man, that needs repeating. Well said.

[pipoman]

110. Yep..I'll go along with that

to a point.

[madinmaryland]

96. It should read: "largely rural, white and blue collar". This group has never

really in the democratic camp since 1965.

[flvegan]

21. It's part of human "culture"

It's not just republicans any more than it's just Americans. And I'm willing to bet it's not Freepers any much more than it is DUers. I don't happen to practice it, nor do I like that others do it, but that's that.

That line in the sand gets washed away with each tide because it just can't, won't and shouldn't stand as things are now.

[RandiFan1290]

24. The last pic is Chuck Schumer

Stop taking the troll bait ffs.

[GeorgeGist]

25. They enjoy killing.

They hate living.

[oneshooter]

28. And you orefer to have others do your killing for you? (store bought meat)

[Paladin]

29. A Little Side Of Superiority With That Roadkill?

Bon appetit......

[oneshooter]

33. Roadkill stew!!! Love it!!!!

ROAD KILL STEW
4 lb. road kill (raccoon or opossum, squirrel is too meager) Preferably 2 to 3 days old. Should marinate in road oil and other highway grease at least 1 day
1 lb. whole garlic cloves
3 c. Jalapeno peppers with seeds
1 bucket of green onions
1 gal. flat beer (Pabst is GOOD)
5 c. toadstools
3 tbsp. cumin
3 c. wild weeds
Any deserving vegetables you can think of

[SlimJimmy]

26. I don't know, why don't you ask Chuck Schumer?

[ibegurpard]

31. hunting is not part of Republican culture

If you're going to try to make hunters into villains then you're picking a losing battle with a lot of allies.

[gollygee]

34. In the midwest and the south, lots of people hunt

I imagine more Republicans than Democrats, but lots of people of both political parties. I think it's a way to try to appeal to people from those parts of the country.

[lonestarnot]

35. So they can shoot 'em in the face and get an apology for doing so.

[marlakay]

36. Most republicans live in rural areas

Even dems hunt in my rural area, but there are more conservatives here....

[pipoman]

37. ...as mentioned you posted a pic of Chuck Schumer hunting..

It's about appealing to a voting block..

[Shankapotomus]

39. Is that Harry Wittington

in that pic with Cheney? The dude he shot in the face?

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-february-13-2006/dead-eye-dick

[gulliver]

41. What I hate is "hunting"

There's the Dick Cheney "hunting" where someone goes out and finds all the birds for you. Then you down a couple of cocktails and drive around shooting the birds. There's no telling how many of those "hunts" the virile Cheney went on before he finally shot one of his fellow "hunters."

And Palin shooting the caribou was truly kind of sickening. Real hunters were probably repulsed.

And Ted Nugent using "C'mere Deer..." It's just not hunting. It's an abomination really.

Of course camera hounds Paul Ryan and Chuck Schumer had to get in the act. We can't just hear that they enjoy hunting and that they bagged a deer or pheasant. We need to see them smiling pretty for the voters. It's pathetic, but at least Ryan and Schumer may have actually hunted, unlike Cheney, Palin, and Nugent.

[muntrv]

42. I believe Ed Schultz is a hunter. So is Jimmy Carter. So was LBJ, I think.

[Bluzmann57]

93. Tom Harkin is also a hunter

And he's a good Democrat. A real good Democratic Senator. This is Iowa. People hunt.

[PD Turk]

44. I'm a liberal Democrat

And I am also a hunter. I lay up the meat my family will eat in the freezer and I donate the rest for the hungry.

The idea that hunting is a republican thing is a bunch of BS perpetrated by their propaganda machine.

[Glassunion]

45. Why do people hunt?

Every demographic that hunts probably has their own reasons.

Personally I only hunt once a year with a group of friends to fill my freezer. After travel, lodging, guide and processing it costs each of us less than $2.50 a pound for all-natural organic meat. That price is hard to beat, plus we get a cheap vacation in one of the most beautiful places in the US.

Over population is just as harmful as under population. Here on the east coast where I live, white-tail deer populations before European settlement were at about 20 per square mile. In the early history of settlement the deer's natural predators (wolves, mountain lions, bobcats and bears) were either killed or displaced due to settlements in the area. On top of that, the deforestation/cultivation of the area actually gave the deer and easier life by providing them with a much broader and steady diet. By the end of the 1860's the deer population had increased to about 25 to 35 per square mile.

Fast forward to the turn of the century deer populations were hunted to near extinction. However through conservation efforts by the late '30s the deer population had swelled to over 40 per square mile. This however caused other issues with damage to crops and hemlock. The latter being consumed at a pace faster than it could grow.

Today the PA game commission has a target goal of 20 per square mile, with actual populations being around 30. Sure, we could all stop hunting, but that would have devastating consequences to the vegetation in our area.

Life, all life is a delicate balance. We should all work to protect the entire environment, not just particular species. Sometimes to maintain a healthy environment, hunting can benefit the conservation of that same species.

[Cleita]

47. Because they are sociopaths and have no feelings for the suffering of others.

That's why Ayn Rand is so appealing to them. Even hunting cultures, that depend on hunting to survive, honor the spirits of their prey, and say prayers to them in thanksgiving for giving them life. They don't do it just for the fun of watching another creature suffer and die.

[pipoman]

54. Only the twisted believe such complete idiocy,

"They don't do it just for the fun of watching another creature suffer and die.". I am sure the only reason you wear leather shoes is to walk on the sacred spirit of Deity of the cow..

[Cleita]

58. I don't wear leather shoes. I can't afford them, but other than that, if you read

the content of my post, you would know that I don't have anything against people hunting to actually obtain meat for their families. I lived in the northwest long enough to know the difference between real hunters and those who do it for "sport" and those entitled rich assholes are doing it for "sport" because they have no feelings of empathy for their prey. Real hunters do.

[blueamy66]

102. great post

Fine, hunt if you're doing it for food that you are actually going to eat or donate....but just for the "sport" is BS. Go play football if you want "sport".

[arely staircase]

67. ann richards was not a sociopath! nt

[Cleita]

68. I never said she was. I don't think she blew up quail in a blind just for the fun of it.

But Dick Cheney did and he is a sociopath. So is Sarah Palin and the Ryan guy. Honestly, wake up and smell the coffee.

[arely staircase]

70. ann richards "blew up" quail while walking on foot following dogs

not from a blind. nobody hunts quail from a blind. she did however "blow up" ducks from a blind.

[Cleita]

72. That isn't the kind of blind I was talking about.

I used the wrong word. It has been documented that farm raised quail were herded into a spot they couldn't escape from so they could be blown away by Dick Cheney, who shot his friend in the face instead. Also, having lived in Texas for a few years, I don't appreciate the attitude that ordinarily good Texans have toward animals. It's like this whole culture of "we have a right to do whatever we want" to lower species permeates it. It isn't just about hunting but also how some ranchers often treat their farm animals with no compassion whatsoever.

[arely staircase]

75. so your problem is with canned hunts like cheney went on

and not hunting in general? if that is the case, i agree. i am not a hunter btw. i know a lot of people who are and many of them are quite liberal democrats like the late governor richards.

[Cleita]

78. No as I replied on the post above yours, I know the difference

between real hunters who feed their families, but otherwise appreciate wildlife, and those who just like to blow living things up to watch them die.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

95. you've been watching too much Avatar

Even hunting cultures, that depend on hunting to survive, honor the spirits of their prey, and say prayers to them in thanksgiving for giving them life.

What a pantload...there are cultures on this earth that hunt to eat and yet do no such thing. Please tell your 'prayer' theory to people in rural parts of the country that hunt to eat... especially those who are of a judeo-christian background who have no belief in the 'spirits' of animals.

sP

[Cleita]

103. Really, you believe that?

I agree that people of present day judeo-christian background have lost whatever respect they had for lesser creatures. But the shepherd's prayer that many Christians recite as a matter of course today would indicate that back in those biblical times there was a reverence between the sheep and the shepherd so much so as they would regard God as their shepherd and themselves as the sheep because they would be protected and cared for just as the shepherd cared for his flock.

I lived up in the woods, and I mean deep in the woods in north Idaho and eastern Washington for five years. I got to know the locals, who were all hunters, pretty well. Yet, they were respectful of which prey they culled. They usually preferred bucks, not only for the rack but because the does usually had families and the hunters respected that the young needed their mothers. They tried not to break up a goose or duck couple because they knew they mated for life and mourned their lost mate. They killed and fished for what they needed, no more, and seemed to live in harmony with other predators, the lions and the bears. No one really thought of killing one of those guys unless they attacked and most of them didn't unless they were stressed. One year when the salmon couldn't swim upstream to spawn because the stream was too dry, they lifted them up in buckets to their spawning grounds so they could complete their cycle of life.

They were also aware of the "neighborhood" they lived in. Did you know animals know the families of other species they share the forest with? Many predators don't hunt in their neighborhood but go to another to hunt because they are familiar with their neighbor friends of other species and don't want to eat them unless they are starving. I knew most of the families in my neighborhood, the squirrel families, the raven and eagle family. The mother bear and her two cubs, the deer herd, and the elk herd and the cougar I never saw but whose paw prints I saw in the mud near the lake. They were all familiar individuals to me and well so many other species I can't recount here.

But if you want to snear down your nose at me because you think I've drank too much Avatar be my guest. Oh, btw I spent a good part of my early years living in South America away from the cities and among indigenous people. They may not seem at times to treat animals well, but they have a tremendous respect for their spirits.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

119. it is not about respect

it is about a belief that animals do not have spirits/souls.

your backwoods credentials mean nothing. i grew up in the woods too...we killed to eat and feed others with that we did not need. we were very in touch with the ecology around us... so take your holier than thou baloney elsewhere. you weren't the only 'culture' aware of how the world works.

when did you or one of your relatives say a prayer to an animal in thanksgiving? (ONEDIT : ok, that was unfair...maybe you are pagan or animist. but you would be in a huge minority were that true) that it what I am talking about here...not hunting in an ecologically friendly manner...which can certainly be done without praying to your kill. that is what has drawn derision...it is a vastly ignorant statement. maybe animistic and pagan cultures do this...they PROBABLY do...but your blanket statement is just wrong.

sP

OnEdit : i honestly hope you don't think the Shepherd's Prayer is about reverence for sheep...that is just... i can't even believe you wrote that.

[Cleita]

122. You didn't learn the lessons of the woods, did you?

Also, I don't pray to my kill because I don't kill, other than my plants and frankly I thank each spirit who gave me a tomato. I'm sorry you live such a spiritually deprived existence.

You should study more about how people who were close to their animals felt about them. Even the biblical ritual of sacrifice was about reverence for the animals whom they believed they were sending to the gods or God.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

129. and i am sorry you live in a fantasy land

you know nothing of my life...literally nothing other than that i think your statement is ludicrous. oh, and your 'understanding' of biblical ritual is about as flawed as it can be... you may THINK or WANT TO BELIEVE that they loved/revered these animals in the way you describe, but you would be wrong... hideously wrong. perhaps you could find a jewish historian to help you with that.

i leave you to your 'spirit filled' life...

sP

[Cleita]

144. And you know nothing about my life do you?

I don't live in fantasy land anymore than you do. However if you want to say that my statements are ludicrous makes your's rather incredible and really stupid.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

145. yes, it is ludicrous to suggest that cultures who hunt to eat pray to their kill

like it or not...unless they are pagan/animist it just doesn't happen. having participated in this exchange I know everything I need to know about you or want to know about you...

sP

[Zoeisright]

49. Because they're impotent.

And a gun makes them feel like they actually have power.

[NutmegYankee]

77. You realize that viagra is cheaper than hunting equipment right?

Part of hunting is the challenge and the other is the chance to fill a freezer full of meat that lasts months. Cheaper to hunt a deer (and there are too many anyhow) than buy overpriced meat from the grocery store.

[arely staircase]

50. ?

[Spider Jerusalem]

52. It isn't, it's part of rural culture.

The two are not the same thing. Please don't assume they are, thanks.

[tawadi]

53. Republicans like to kill

Yeah, I said it. Capital punishment and hunting are just two examples.

[arely staircase]

55. so why do liberal democrats hunt?

[ProdigalJunkMail]

56. I hope you are 100% vegan

and that goes to include your clothing/shoes...

sP

[hack89]

63. So why do I know so many Democrats that hunt? nt

[NutmegYankee]

73. Yeah, better to just buy the meat at a store...

and pretend that you are not responsible for that animals death.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

94. nice drive by post...

too bad you haven't returned to answer any of the queries here.

sP

[tawadi]

134. I'm sorry. I don't live on the internet.

And now everybody has probably gone to bed.

[Politicalboi]

57. Because most of them are sick in the head

And they think it's manly to hunt. I think it's cowardly myself, unless it is for survival. I only wish the wildlife could hunt the hunters with guns, that would be fair.

Hunters make me

[NutmegYankee]

87. I hope your not puking up half digested chicken or beef.

You wouldn't want to to be a hypocrite.

[blueamy66]

104. and the wildlife should have beer, RVs with microwaves and satellite tv

rifles with sights (sp?), packaged food and cell phones

fair is fair

[nadinbrzezinski]

105. Here you go, ask and you will get it

Should we give the Rabbits body armor and rifles too?

I was looking for something else, but that image is somehow on point, no pun.

[blueamy66]

106. Hahahahahaa

good one

[nadinbrzezinski]

61. Pandering to hunters is

it is part of rural America, and yes even DEMOCRATS hunt in rural areas.

I prefer to bag my game with 300 mm lenses, but round where I live, it helps people put meat on the table... it is party independent.

(In case this makes zero sense, I prefer to be behind a camera, not a trigger that shoots ammo down range)

[zappaman]

99. "round where I live, it helps people put meat on the table."

Same here.
Los Angeles is very much like San Diego.

[Odin2005]

64. Plenty of us Dems go hunting, too.

But you knew that, you just wanted to insult hunters

[jmowreader]

65. It's simple economics

According to a Republican I know, buying...

a gun ($600-plus once you get all the accessories, optics, etc.)
and a pickup ($7500 for a decent used one)
and a freezer ($350-$800) to put your kill in
plus licenses, tags, etc. (about $100 if, like most hunters here, you buy a deer, an elk and a bear tag plus a combination hunting-fishing license)
and spend thousands of dollars on fuel for scouting trips to find a place to hunt
and then once you killed something spend another couple hundred getting it cut and wrapped

is less expensive than buying meat at the supermarket.

[Go Vols]

69. or

I can kill a deer or turkey in my backyard with a shotgun I have had for 35 years and put it in a freezer I already own.

Pretty cheap meat indeed.

[xmas74]

137. Or use that freezer for more than just meat.

Big yard can mean big garden, which means lots of canning and freezing.

A good freezer is a great investment for many years down the road. It saves money if filled up regularly, whether with meat or produce or even sales on bread.

It's not as if you spend money on a gun and on a freezer, knowing that they won't last. They're both investments that, taken care of, will last for years to come.

[NutmegYankee]

79. Over multiple years, yes.

The gun and freezer are one time expenses. The pickup is a ridiculous line item. Plenty of people who hunt drive cars.

[PavePusher]

85. Well, most hunters I've known had all that (save the licence) for other purposes already.

So no, those are not direct expenses, and are also amortized over a long period of time and multiple tasks.

Hopefully the rest of your economics doesn't work that way.

[xmas74]

135. Gun handed down from family member,

freezer found on Craigslist or in a classified for $40, tags dependent upon the state.

http://mdc.mo.gov/permits

I know a fishing permit is $12.00 per year. The equipment, if taken care of, will last for years.

Oh, and the pick up is usually a junker that someone bought for around a grand years ago and is still used for everything under the sun. As to processing, I know a number process the meat themselves. If you've been taught it's not that big of a deal-it's just time consuming. And most rural don't spend thousands in fuel-they already know the spots because their parents, grandparents, family friends, etc, already know where to go. Info for good spots is handed down through families.

Another thing about the freezer-even if purchased new it's more than worth what they paid. ($800 sounds a bit like the Rent-A-Center payment plan, at least in my area.) Many of those same rural hunters also have large gardens. They can, dehydrate, and freeze their produce from their gardens making that freezer a sound investment.

[NutmegYankee]

71. Hunting is a Democratic trait as well. nt

[Aerows]

76. Dear Lord

Democrats, Independents, Republicans, Moderates, and people that aren't even registered to vote hunt. Hunting isn't political. Republicans pose for photo-ops like this, though, because it makes them appear to be "macho" and "tough", which appeals to the demographics that like this rugged individual ideal, and men that think that bloodshed equals power (even when they are afraid or incapable of doing it themselves - many Republicans are this way and couldn't if they had to).

I'd imagine there as many hunters and fishers among Democratic folks as there are among Republicans, if not more so - Republicans just get off on crowing that they make their own way. Like Sarah Palin. Hunting from a helicopter.

Families have survived by having family members hunt and fish, and it wasn't politics, just the fact of life.

[nadinbrzezinski]

101. Posing with the animals and well, fish stories, precede modern American Parties as well

It is also party independent.

[WooWooWoo]

81. hunting is part of rural culture

and most rural areas lean Republican because they tend to have more churches, military bases and wildlife areas where people go hunting.

Most of those people really don't care at all about politics, but vote republican because of one or two issues that do affect them. Guns are one, taxes is the other.

[Aerows]

83. Taxes aren't a hot button issue for rural areas

I should know - I've lived in one. The hot button issue in most rural areas seems to be "others", and churches that stir up trouble. Others being everyone from women that don't know their place, to the LGBT community, to immigrants to ethnic communities.

Taxes have never had much to do with it, because in rural communities, there aren't many taxes. Inclusiveness, and the resistance against "outside" influences - that is the problem.

[nadinbrzezinski]

90. I will make an exception for a rural areas I KNOW

aka my back yard.

Taxes ARE a hot issue. Even when you want to raise a small tax, to go exclusively to fire protection. You'd think my locals who scream WHERE ARE THE FIRE TRUCKS every time... would get it and agree to a small tax to cover that fire protection.

They might get it someday, but for the moment, no, not really.

[Scootaloo]

89. Hunting isn't

Posing with guns and a dead animal are.

Hunting is something you do for necessity. It's food.

These guys? It's just about killing something and looking happy about it. Like Cheney and his canned quail, or Rick Perry and that coyote. It's not hunting, it's simply "LOOKIT ME Y'ALL I KILLT SUMTIN!"

[nadinbrzezinski]

91. By the way, I forgot to ask

when did Shumer become a REPUBLICAN?

Here is another Republican hunting...



Oh wait, that be kerry... did he change party affiliation too?

There is more, but I think these two, one provided by you, will be enough.

[RegieRocker]

92. Why is it that the minority part of the

Democratic culture doesn't accept that many democrats have guns and many hunt?

[nadinbrzezinski]

100. I will be honest, this is not democrats,

this is truly a rural-urban split.

I am a city girl, but I get it. Sadly many of my urban counterparts do not...

And I would not hunt for one simple reason, I admit it... I am a lousy shot!

[zappaman]

107. "I am a lousy shot!"

Don't be so modest.
No one who has experienced "multiple shootouts" like you have could be a "lousy shot"!

[NutmegYankee]

109. I agree, it's a rural vs urban divide.

We often associate it with Democrats because we as a party have far higher support in urban environments.

I live in a rural region in Connecticut. The village I live in is mostly blue collar, and we don't have the density of a suburb. A real grocery store is an 8 mile drive away. I do stand out by education and earnings as I'm a mechanical engineer, but I still love the rural lifestyle.

[RegieRocker]

115. You are wise and can see well.

[zappaman]

98. Why is breathing part of Republican culture?

Why is eating part of Republican culture?
Why is drinking part of Republican culture?

These are all things only Republicans do, right?

What a moronic post.

[smirkymonkey]

111. They have no respect for life unless it's fetal.

[nadinbrzezinski]

120. The last photo is Shummer

Here one of Kerry hunting too



There are many things to go after Republicans, hunting is truly NOT one of them.

[smirkymonkey]

146. Way off the point.

I wasn't even referring to hunting. Just the hypocrisy of the Repulicans.

[nadinbrzezinski]

154. Care to look at the op.

Mind you, a series of ops like this one have come since, gasp, we found out Paul Ryan hunts.

[smirkymonkey]

157. Yes. And again I am referring to the hypocricy

of a pro-life stance on someone who hunts.

[nadinbrzezinski]

160. I hope you do not eat steak, or any other form of animal protein

I am sorry, but I will not go down that path with you... as that path is extreme.

We as a species have hunted for at least 100,000 years, and fished too. Our predecessors in the evolutionary tree did so for close to a million years.

[smirkymonkey]

163. Again, I am not referreing to hunting.

Simply put, It is about the exteme Pro-Life Stace in the case of someone who hunts. I cannot understand why it it is ok to kill animals, but it is absolutely wrong to have an abortion under the most exteme cicumstances.

He is a a hypocrite, and there is no apologizing for him.

[nadinbrzezinski]

164. Nobody is apologizing, my head can actually contain both

sorry.

And anyway, the OP had a couple Democrats as proof that Republicans are evil.

That in itself is a problem.

[smirkymonkey]

169. Apolgie acccepteted.

No hard feelings, just tryiing to point out the hypocrsy of the other side.

[11 Bravo]

114. I'm a life-long democrat. I hunt, and I eat what I kill.

Sorry I don't fit your narrative.

[nadinbrzezinski]

117. Rattler is good eating

Don't ask, long story. And no, it was not me.

[Alduin]

116. It's a power thing.

They have the power to take the life of something that can't defend itself. They get off on that.

They take that power and use it against people.

[nadinbrzezinski]

118. You live in a city, don't you?

You of course realize the last photo there is that well known REPUBLICAN CHUCK SHUMER right?

Good... I s'pose I should also show you the photo of that other well known Republican, yup Kerry, hunting too.



Oh wait, these two are DEMOCRATS, my bad.

There are MANY reasons to go after Republicans. Hunting is a sure way to lose voters.

Oh gets worst, that is SHUMER and NELSON

[Alduin]

124. They were pandering.

And I was questionable about Kerry in 2004.

FYI, I grew up in the country for the first 18 years of my life.

[nadinbrzezinski]

125. So you telling me that NO DEMOCRAT hunts unless they are pandering?

Jaysus age, that IS an NRA talking point.

Good, so since you grew up in the country, you must remember a few dems hunting to put food on table... or are all the people you know who hunt just republicans? I know locally we have a mixture of both parties, and quite a bit of decline to state members.

[Alduin]

136. Yeah no one hunts to put food on the table anymore.

Argument fail.

[nadinbrzezinski]

138. Really. I am sure this will come as a surprise to a few

of my back country residents. Wild Turkey (next you will tell me it does not exist anymore) is popular, as well as duck, some geese, and yes, white tail deer. Some smaller game like rabbit and squirrel is also in the menu. But I am sure this would be a shocker to many in my back country.

Sheltered, all I can say.

[Alduin]

141. People go to the grocery store to buy food.

You can't hunt all the animals you want and live off them for the whole year.

I'm not an idiot and don't treat me like one.

[nadinbrzezinski]

142. Yes, they could, but you really think that is what people in the back country are doing

I am not treating you like an idiot. Just telling you that people still hunt... to supplement their food supply.

That is the reality in my back country RIGHT NOW.

We have people who hunt because they need to. They live well bellow the poverty line, and hunting allows them to eat a little better.

What, you think people lie?

[Alduin]

143. People living in poverty don't hunt.

The cost of guns, ammo, camo, decoys, permits, etc. is too much for someone living in poverty.

Even you should know that.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

150. you are wrong...again

guns get handed down

a single bullet/shell costs less than a pound of ground beef

you don't always hunt with decoys

resident annual all game hunting license in AL (as an example) is $24...

you are woefully uninformed

sP

[Alduin]

152. Show me your statistics to back up your claim.

Otherwise, I'm done arguing this.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

153. hahahahahaha

you get your ass handed to you and you're 'done'...yes, you are.

you don't need stats. get outside of a city sometime. go visit just about any rural poor area...seriously. you are totally sheltered in your beliefs and wrong. i guess because i have lived it, it COULD be true...

sP

[nadinbrzezinski]

156. Sure, because we all know all guns used in every hunt are well, new

Some of the riffles a few folks are using go to the civil war...a Henry, then there s the Winchester...well maintained, very serviceable, thank you very much. Most folks who regularly hunt in the back country do not have new rifles, just well maintained hand me downs. A few use shotguns as well, that go back a long time. Guns and Ammo magazine is not part of the reading diet.

Of course, you realize in the reservation, independent nation, those silly things issued by the California Bureau of Fisheries are worth less than the paper they are printed on. And especially the poor in the back country hunt.

Son, you need to get out more.

That has had few bad effects in BLM lands, believe or not, again Cali has little to do with permits and Federal Rangers patrol them, but we have had a few fires tracked to hot shot gun shells. Don't believe me, call the fire people.

All I can say is sheltered

One last thing, if you are talking of urban poor, you are correct, alas I am not. Rural poor and urban poor are very different. Rural poor also try to raise some of their own food...next you will tell me chicken feed is expensive.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

149. well, your comment was idiotic

even if you're not an idiot. there are loads of people who hunt and fish to provide ALL the meat for their family and even more that hunt to supplement their food budget...

sP

[ProdigalJunkMail]

148. you are wrong...

so wrong it is almost comical...

sP

[Alduin]

161. What's comical is that you think hunting produces enough food to last a year.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

162. yeah, cause it's never ever been done

yes, i can see how much time you have spent with people who hunt and fish. you are uninformed...period.

sP

here's some basic math for you :

We'll use legal hunting in Alabama
1 average sized white tail deer will yield about 90lbs of meat ... one person can kill 3 per year (thats 270lb for the math challenged)
1 south eastern turkey will yield about 12lbs meat ... one person can kill 5 per year (thats 60 more lbs)
fishing can easily yield 20 lbs per trip... let's make 5 fishing trips per year (another 100lbs)

OK...so there you go...430lbs of meat per person per year...

think that might last? now, let two people hunt for a family...

sP

[Alduin]

166. You can provide statistics without being an asshole.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

167. you can stop treating people like they don't know what they're talking about... n/t

[mog75]

171. Good point

167. you can stop treating people like they don't know what they're talking about...

+1

[Skittles]

126. gun nuttery and cowardice are repuke vices

[HooptieWagon]

128. You don't think Democrats hunt?

Wow, are you ever willfully ignorant. I'd say quite a few rural Democrats hunt.

[nadinbrzezinski]

130. Well given the third photo are Shumer and Nelson

both Democrats.

Chuckle

[upaloopa]

132. I used to live in the mountains east of Bakerfield, CA. It was open range horse country. Just

about everyone living there hunted at some point in their life. Just about everyone there was a

right winger. But there is no correlation between their hunting and their politics.

Here is the logic error people are making.

1. All dogs are animals.

Cats are animals.

Therefore dogs are cats.

2. All these people are repugs

All these people hunt

Therefore all republicans hunt

[emilyg]

133. I have Dem friends who hunt.

[mrmpa]

139. May I suggest that you read "Deer Hunting with Jesus", it puts.........

a lot of this in perspective. It was published about 2 years before the mortgage fiascoes began. The author predicted this failure because of what he saw in those that deer hunted with Jesus.

[Yo_Mama]

140. It's part of rural culture, not GOP culture

Rural people hunt, in part to get healthy meat to eat. Lower incomes and healthier food.

It is very bigoted to feel superior to people who hunt to eat just because you have the money to go buy your organic lean meat at the supermarket.

[OnionPatch]

147. I actually know more hunters that are Democrats.

Including my own very liberal husband and most of the men in my family.

If you eat meat, an animal has died whether at the end of a hunting rifle or in a factory farm. At least the hunted animals have experienced a normal, natural life, unlike the factory farmed animals.

[lynne]

151. It's not -

- it's a part of rural culture as well as recreation/outdoors-man culture and isn't confined to any political party.

[tinrobot]

155. It's not about hunting, it's about guns

The GOP panders to the gun lobby and the NRA. Guns also get more people put into the private prison system.

Killing a random elk or pheasant is simply the easiest way to show you support guns.

[hamsterjill]

158. To me, there is a BIG difference between hunting for food and hunting for trophy.

When the goal is to put food on the table, that makes it moral.

When the goal is to hang a stuffed head on a wall, to me, that makes it immoral.

[nadinbrzezinski]

165. Realize with Deer you can do both

and I highly recommend you do NOT eat anything close to the central nervous system of the deer, that be the head. The reason for that, mad cow has been migrating to the herds.

[slackmaster]

159. My dad was a New Deal Democrat who hunted.

He learned how to hunt out of necessity, growing up poor on a farm.

[nadinbrzezinski]

170. Oh wait, according to some folks

the poor do not hunt...



And these days people who are poor still hunt.