Posted on 12/26/2007 10:36:06 AM PST by NormsRevenge
OSCEOLA, Iowa - Presidential contender Mike Huckabee bagged a pheasant Wednesday, offering Iowa voters the image of an experienced outdoorsman on the hunt, shotgun blasting and dogs braying.
Just a campaign gambit? "Maybe it will show that I certainly understand the culture of being outdoors," Huckabee said. "It's not something we had to go out and get a primer in. It's very much ordinary to me."
The former Arkansas governor said back home he would be duck hunting on the day after Christmas, but pheasant hunting in Iowa — eight days before the state's leadoff nominating caucuses — was a good substitute. He also offered a lecture declaring that hunting is good for wildlife.
"The truth is hunters are the ones who preserve the species," he said, since hunters have an interest in preserving wildlife and their license fees pay for conservation efforts. "In many cases extinction comes from not having some level of hunting. It's the hunters who actually keep the wildlife alive. A lot of people think that when you hunt you're destroying the wildlife."
Huckabee led a motorcade of photographers along gravel roads in hilly rural Iowa, hopping out of a pickup truck to take to a snow-covered field wearing his bright orange vest along with Dude, an energetic hunting dog. Huckabee and three hunting companions tramped slowly across the field and their shotguns were blasting within minutes.
Of four birds flushed by the party, three were felled. Huckabee claimed the third with his .12-gauge shotgun. He proudly displayed the birds and said jokingly, "See that's what happens if you get in my way."
He also jested about Vice President Dick Cheney's hunting accident in which a fellow hunter was shot. Asked why Cheney hadn't been invited, Huckabee chuckled, "Because I want to survive all the way through this."
Huckabee's folksy approach and familiarity with hunting offered a contrast with leading rival Mitt Romney, who said early in the campaign that he was a lifelong hunter, only to have an aide say he had been hunting on only two occasions. Romney later said he had hunted more than twice but only for "small varmints" and that he did not own a gun or have a hunting license.
Huckabee said he began hunting at the age of 11.
"It's an opportunity to experience Iowa at its best," he said. "Hopefully we'll just shoot pheasants and not each other. We'll name the pheasant for the other candidates. It gives us a real incentive."
Polls indicate Huckabee has moved ahead among Republicans in Iowa, and he's offering contrasts to the very wealthy Romney.
"The people of Iowa don't want to be forgotten when someone goes to the White House," he said. "People in middle America feel like folks will come and campaign in Iowa and then they get elected and they forget that people out here in flyover land still exist. Some of us grew up in the middle of the country and still live here."
Did he go out with the ‘boys’ afterwards and have some Cocktails and cigars?....Oh, never mind....
Probably went back to the hotel room to pluck the feathers in solitude.
Uh yeah, that’s what I thought.
Kerry’s hunting license and mincing out of the woods photo-oops cost him far more votes than it gained.
Another “opie moment.”
He should have to do it like the rest of us and walk 2-3 hours to maybe see 1 or 2 birds.
(And yes, if this had not been a game farm, taking a hen would equal a large fine and possible confiscation of his shotgun.)
‘no, it’s not natural. It used to be a need....not anymore.’
I guess you and PETA define ‘natural and need’ now.
Should be out any minute. (As soon as they insert the giant glowing cross into it.)
I’m going to wait to see what Dan Rather has to say about this first.
Yep. Game farm = planted birds.
No better than Kerry, in my book.
FR is starting to resemble DU more and more w/the hatred of anyone listed as Liberal. Even hunters are now fair game. Talk about hypocrisy.
Nice Shooting Mike.
Pray for W and Our Troops
And just how would you know that? from two pictures and the one we don’t even know it it is him. Like I said the one flying is a rooster and the one he has is a hen. DUhhhhh
That’s nothing. Bill Clinton has probably bagged a bird in every state in the Union.
http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/birds/upland/pheasant.htm
"These two roosters were both taken on October 10, 1992 — opening day of pheasant season last fall — within a mile of each other. Both are young-of-the-year birds. The bottom is obviously a juvenile. The top bird is fully colored. To tell whether the top bird is an adult or juvenile, you need to check the length and apperance of the spurs."
Don’t forget your Depends.
I hate .gov sites; nobody can spell - I had to edit four times to get thet last post “right” only to post it and see that “appearance” was still misspelled, along with juvenile twice and is once.
You may be wrong, I believe the one on the bottom is a cross dresser or transvestite. LOL
Huckabee has surged because he won a couple of debates and he’s got evangelical support. If a quick rise can happen to the liberal pro-life evangelical Huckster, it can happen to the conservative pro-life evangelical Hunter.
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According to Intrade, the winner of the December 12th GOP debate was... Duncan Hunter.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1938773/posts
Why the smart money is on Duncan Hunter
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1926032/posts
In this poll Hunter is up 3% and even with Paul and Thompson.
http://www.wxyz.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=3481ef60-8195-46a9-af04-b87b907bcfdd
Crap, I just misspeleed that!(thet?)
$#@%%$
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