Posted on 01/07/2006 7:46:45 PM PST by SJackson
Kerry Blasts Romney On Hunting? Who's He Kidding?
I was sitting on the commuter rail when I nearly laughed myself out of my seat while reading a discarded copy of Friday's Boston Herald What was so funny? Not the comics, but on John Kerry criticizing Governor Mitt Romney's hunting trip at the "Sportsmen’s Challenge" at this week’s Republican Governor’s Conference.
Gov. Mitt Romney admitted he shot at quail in a fenced-in preserve during a GOP outing this week while his possible 2008 presidential opponent — and fellow hunter — Sen. John Kerry slammed the so-called “canned” hunting excursions.“I’ve never hunted in that kind of a preserve. It’s not really my concept of hunting,” Kerry said while visiting Boston Medical Center yesterday.
Kerry, who could face off against Romney in the 2008 race for the White House, is an avid dove and quail hunter who claims he only hunts birds he intends to eat. The Herald reported yesterday that animal rights groups were fuming that Romney and 15 other GOP bigwigs blasted quail at The Lodge at Cabin Bluff, a 45,000-acre Georgia hunting preserve surrounded by fence and stocked with animals for sportsmen to kill.
This article caught me as funny because Senator Kerry is the last person in Washington who should be criticizing the hunting habits of anyone.
Kerry has been caught in quite few hunting lore gaffes. Take for instance, this one while on the campaign trail the summer of 2004:
He was in Wisconsin the other day, pretending to be a regular guy, and was asked what kind of hunting he preferred. "I'd have to say deer," said the senator. "I go out with my trusty 12-gauge double-barrel, crawl around on my stomach... That's hunting."This caused huge hilarity among my New Hampshire neighbours. None of us has ever heard of anybody deer hunting by crawling around on his stomach, even in Massachusetts. The trick is to blend in with the woods and, given that John Kerry already looks like a forlorn tree in late fall, it's hard to see why he'd give up his natural advantage in order to hunt horizontally.
But it doesn't end there. How about Kerry's hunting trip in swing state Ohio, just under two weeks before election day. An obvious attempt at garnering some votes while putting on a pro-hunting facade, Kerry emerged from the woods in full hunting gear, holding his 12-gauge, but someone else was holding the dead goose.
In yet another swing state called Iowa, another Kerry hunting photo op went awry--for him anyway.
My own suspicions were raised as soon as I saw the picture of Kerry firing his shotgun in that Iowa field. It looked suspiciously like a photo op picture, and a bad one at that. While Kerry was shooting to the right of the picture, Buck, the bird dog, was behind and facing left. Why wasn't Buck in front and facing the birds?
Then there is Kerry's shooting stance, knees bent and leaning backward, as if the pheasant broke at his feet and scared the dickens out of him, but one likely to put him on his rump if he fired from it (and no Secret Service agent nearby to blame either). Normally hunters lean forward into their shotgun when firing. Again, this looks fishy.
Real hunters were not fooled when photos of John Kerry's one-eyed shooting stance made the rounds.
But no, it doesn't end there, as many Second Amendment rights group were vehemently opposed to Kerry. The National Rifle Association is most certainly no friend to Kerry, and vice versa. The NRA gave Kerry an F on their last report card and bought a full-page ad in a Youngstown, Ohio newspaper around the time of Kerry's Ohio hunting trip, accusing Kerry of pretending to be a sportsman while opposing the rights of gun owners.
And who is Kerry to criticize Romney for shooting "canned" quail? Harold Hough, a hunter and shooter, talks a bit about Kerry's gaffes regarding hunting, but this in particular about Kerry's pheasant hunting in Iowa.
However, to give credit where credit is due, Kerry reportedly shot two pheasants with two shots. That's a good record, but nothing spectacular for a combat veteran, with a good bird dog and a good field to hunt in. Pheasant are large, slow moving birds in the air, probably one of the least challenging of the game birds to shoot. Dove, quail, and wild turkey are definitely more of a sporting challenge.
While the Herald described Kerry as "an avid dove and quail hunter who claims he only hunts birds he intends to eat," his record leaves little to be desired, particularly by real hunters. He can claim all he wants that he doesn't particularly like "canned" hunting, but one thing is for certain, when Romney goes hunting, it's not to garner votes based on an issue he is not an avid proponent of. Kerry went hunting when it was convenient for his presidential campaign (noted by the various swing state hunting trips), and while Romney doesn't have the strongest pro-gun owners rights record, he is a member of a political party that believes in our right to bear arms.
Kerry is criticizing Romney on the merits of this hunting trip because both are likely after the same thing: the Presidency. Kerry can point to the ridiculous photos above and say "aha! I'm a real hunter" and then say something ridiculous about how "fake" and "staged" these "canned" hunting trips are. That may be, but when it comes around election time, the NRA and hunters and sportsmen are more likely to stand behind only one of these two politicians, and it isn't John Kerry.
Perhaps.
The dog seems to be thinking anywhere out of range. He's looking that way, I'm bugging out. Let me out of here. I'd trust a dog's judgement over Kerry's any day.
LOL
that too....
The picture of Kerry with the butt of the gun on his bicep instead of his shoulder, that's gonna leave a mark.
I still just love the dog. More brains than nearly half the country.
John Kerrys here, run away
Your photo of kerry "hunting" reminded me of a joke I've posted numerous times before on FR, but it's one of my favorites:
Maybe something like this happened to F'n durring his "goose hunt"....(It's an old Buddy Hackett joke...I had to post it again after seeing your pic....)
John Kerry, in dire need of carrying Ohio in his 2004 presidential bid, decided he should go "goose hunting" to maybe shore up the NRA and hunter's votes.
Kerry goes and buys his hunting licence, full camo gear, and brandishing his new shotgun, paused for the pre-hunt photo ops, and then takes off with a few other hunters, and begins his goose quest.
Going quite far off the "beaten path", to remain out of sight of the press incase he comes up "empty" in his "endeavor", Kerry and crew finally see a chance for a goose as a flock finally flies overhead within shotgun range. The rest of Kerry's team hold their fire to give Kerry his chance for a "kill".
Kerry fires twice and misses, but quickly reloads, and his third shot at the flock, hits it's mark and wings one of the geese. The bird does not go down right away, but injuredly glides on a downward path ahead of Kerry's party and lands out of their site near what appears to be a farmers barn and house.
Kerry's party quickly goes to redeem their "prize", and climbing over the farmer's fence that marks his property, see the goose still flapping beside the farmer's barn. Kerry quickly heads to the barn, but is stopped short of retrieving the goose, as he is suddenly met by the farmer who owns the property.
Kerry says to the farmer:"Hello, I'm John Kerry, the Senator from Mass who is running for President. I shot a goose, and it landed by the barn and I was going to retrieve it."
The farmer replies:"Yes, I recognize you Senator, but it seems like you are unfamiliar with the goose hunting rules here in Ohio. If the goose lands on someone elses property, you do not have ownership of the bird, unless you are the winner of the challenge by the owner of the property."
Kerry replies: "I didn't know about the Ohio rule challenge. What is it?"
The farmer replies:"The owner of the property gets to pick the challenge. If you refuse, I get to keep the goose."
Kerry questions the farmer: "Well, it sounds fair, but what is your challenge ?"
The farmer replies: "You and I will have a contest. The contest is, we will take turns accepting a kick to the groin, and the last one standing gets to keep the goose. Agreed?"
Kerry thinks for a moment. He doesn't want to come away from his well publicized "goose hunt" empty handed, and the farmer doesn't look very strong. The war hero Kerry says to the farmer: "Well, it's a strange challenge, but let's go for it !!"
The farmer replies: "Ok Senator, but because I am the property owner, I get to start the challenge."
Kerry agrees. He hands his shotgun to one of the members of his party, and takes an open stance ready to accept the farmer's first attempt.
The farmer approaches Kerry, and gives him such a kick, that Kerry is lifted off his feet, and crumples into a writhing ball of pain. The farmer backs away, waiting to see if Kerry will survive his first kick. Kerry groans in pain, but after a few seconds, with his friends cheering him to get up, rises to his feet.
With Kerry's party cheering him on, Kerry says to the farmer: "Well that was pretty good, but now according to your rules, it's my turn to kick you !!"
The farmer replies: "Aw, you can keep the goose !!"
Only if you pull the trigger.
"Be vewy vewy quiet...I'm hunting for bawwets! Eh heh heh heh heh heh heh heh!"
Maybe they can get him in their ballgame, he'd probably catch like Lucy!
He prefers wounded Vietnamese children.
Oh course, for a photo op you don't have to pull the trigger.
LOL, close but it's not Daffy!
Just for fun use your photoshop to zoom in and you will clearly see his finger is not on the either of the triggers, plus the pixels around his upper body are a different size! Looks like a paste job to me.......and what's with that forearm grip? He looks as scared as the dog that's running for his life! Every hunter knows the buttstock should be placed against the shoulder, not under it. What a joke this guy is.
Kerry's criticism of hunting quail on a "fenced preserve" is a little misplaced. This is not a "canned hunt" as he says, and if he knew anything about hunting he'd know that.
There are many areas, often owned by hunting clubs or other organizations, that are set aside specifically for bird hunting. But they are large areas covering many many square miles. There might be annual releases of juvenile birds to maintain populations in the area-- but birds are birds. It's not like the fences keep them there. The habitat keeps them there, and the properties go on for miles.
A "canned" hunt is usually for exotic [often non-native] animals in small fenced areas where they cannot escape. That's not hunting, its just shooting. For Kerry to confuse the two just displays what a city-boy he is.
obviously he was using blanks for the photo op and had a fake duck thrown up in the air.
OMG! That is a keeper!
LOL!! I hadn't seen that one before. :o)
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