Posted on 07/15/2004 8:59:24 PM PDT by Mr. Mojo
A National Wildlife Federation poll of Wisconsin's hunters and fishermen shows the solid majority are Republicans who voted for George Bush in the last election.
Results of the nationwide poll conducted by Bellwether Research & Consulting that were released Wednesday show while sportsmen are opposed to some of Bush's conservation policies, 68 percent voted for Bush in 2000 and 66 percent identified themselves as conservatives this time around.
In Wisconsin, 72 percent of the sportsmen surveyed said there are "very" or "somewhat" conservative, while only 19 percent said they're liberal.
That may come as bad news to Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, a liberal Democrat, and his running mate, John Edwards.
Of the Wisconsin sportsmen responding to the poll, 59 percent said they voted for Bush in 2000, while 26 percent voted for Al Gore. Two percent voted for Ralph Nader, while 13 percent didn't volunteer information about their voting records.
When asked their political affiliation, 42 percent of the Wisconsin sportsmen said they are Republican, 29 percent said Democrat and 27 claimed to be independents.
The NWF said it is "the nation's first poll of its kind" about outdoor issues. A total of 303 Wisconsin sportsmen were surveyed.
Nationwide, 71 percent of the respondents said coal-fired plants should clean up mercury emissions within the decade, rather than be given two decades, and 73 percent said they prefer alternatives to oil and gas drilling as solutions to America's energy needs.
About two-thirds of the respondents believe global warming is having an impact on hunting and fishing, while 34 percent said concern about it is overblown.
A whopping 86 percent indicated hunting and fishing issues will be important in deciding their vote for president.
In Wisconsin, only 22 percent of those responding to the poll were members of the National Rifle Association. Asked about the quality of hunting and fishing in the past few years, 70 percent said it's improved or stayed the same, 26 percent said it's worse and 4 percent didn't know.
Asked to rate outdoor concerns from 0 to 10, Wisconsin sportsmen listed limits on gun rights as their top concern, followed by pollution.
Asked who should appoint the secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, 79 percent favored the Natural Resources Board, while 13 percent said the governor. Since 1995, the secretary has been appointed by the governor.
The NWF said more than 40 million Americans hunt and fish, generating about $70 billion in annual expenditures.
Complete poll results are available at nwf.org/news, under the newsroom subtitle.
Out-of-the-closet men back Kerry.
BackDoorsmen back Kerry :-)
They're behind him all the way.
bird watchers
"Out-of-the-closet" what's backed Kerry?
Let's not forget that the vast majority of America prefers to do it's bird watching at KFC. :)
Golly. I thought his last photo-op sewed up the backward redneck vote! Shucks.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.