Well, if he was not making an inference towards Kerry, what in the hell was the point of his post?
Well, I took it as a shot at Kerry’s advisers, especially the way in which they carefully planned to cover all their bases.
"Appeal to the 90% of Americans who believe in the second amendment, don’t offend the animal lovers, remind folks that Kerry served in Nam, show 'em he’s a regular guy.
“And a good shot, a sportsman, rugged, a lover of the great outdoors…”
You just explained perfectly why politicians pull stunts like this: the conflation of “believing in the Second Amendment” with opposition to any kind of gun control, the PR campaign that anybody who favors any kind of gun control wants to take away everybody’s guns and ban hunting, the idea that everybody is against gun control… you’ve artfully captured what I think is a masterwork in the medium of bullshit.
I can see that, but if that is what was meant, it could have been written in a manner much less obtuse, kind of like, oh I don’t know, what you said. It seemed to me to be just another dig at an unfavored politician, and a poor dig at that.
Marley, is this a compliment?
It is if you’re explaining that point of view. If you were actually trying to make that argument, probably not.
No, honestly, I don’t totally follow you, especially “the PR campaign that anybody who favors any kind of gun control wants to take away everybody’s guns and ban hunting”. Is this the sort of campaign that the Republicans are running?
The combination of clauses left me a bit confused overall, although you write beautifully as always. What exactly are you saying is bullshit?
If you mean the whole PR game - on both sides - then I think I’m probably with you.
No, I don’t mean the Bush campaign. It’s what (I suspect) the NRA has been telling people for years and years to scare them. “They want to take all your guns,” “they want to ban hunting,” etc. As a result, Democrats (most of whom favor some kind of gun control; their urban base favors it too) always have to run uphill in other parts of the country. People in more rural states have been convinced that they really do want to ban hunting and all guns, so the Democrats end up pulling the hunter/regular guy stuff.
You know, the Democrats should hire me to go round the country telling people that they don’t want to take away everyone’s guns. It’s the one revelation I was vouchsafed when I visited your great country!
It must really be tough being you…
About Kerry’s windsurfing adventures: a few weeks ago he was talking about it…he said that he “surfs with plumbers, electricians, just regular guys”! What is this compulsion he has to try to fit in with blue-collar types?
He also stumbles when he talks for his love for the Boston Red Sox.
That’s John Kerry…a real “man of the people”!
You think you have to be a millioniare to windsurf?
Appealing to all kinds of people is part of running for President. Where the fuck have you been?
If he stumbled while talking about everything else, THEN he’d be a man of the people like his opponent. You’re just saying the same thing over and over again. This is getting boring FAST.
This is a profoundly disturbing statement, in that you seem to be saying that the only legitimate purpose of privately owned firearms is hunting, and that banning semiautomatic firearms is somehow an obvious, desireable step. This is far, far away from the current point of engagement in the gun control debate. Are you sure you know what “semiautomatic” means?
To the topic at hand, could somebody please explain to me once and for all why politicians indulge in this kind of silly baby-kissing? I look at these obviously staged events and wonder why anyone would bother. Who’s going to be swayed by something like this? Doing something you wouldn’t ordinarily do purely for campaign purposes doesn’t impress anybody, and at worst could put people off because no one likes to be manipulated. Skip the dog and pony show and just tell me what your plan is.
To hell with it. Later this week when I do my ballot research (we always have some bond initiatives and whatnot) I’m going to see who’s on it besides the two major-party dillweeds. Maybe I can come up with an appropriate protest vote.
Your view is more optimistic than mine, I guess. I’d say they keep doing it because it’s expected and it works.
Maybe he just likes hunting.
This is what I’ve been trying to find out since this thread started. I understand that in the middle of a presidential campaign, anything the candidates do will reported and scrutinized. The candidates know that too, and plan their activities accordingly.
But this couldn’t have been John Kerry’s first time to go windsurfing. I’ve seen people on their first time; they fall down a lot. I’m not so cynical that I think he learned and practiced windsurfing for years just to get 30 seconds of regular-guy coverage on the evening news. I believe that John Kerry likes to windsurf. That has no bearing on who I will vote for.
So, was there anything about Kerry’s trip that made it clear that he was not an experienced hunter?
What a dumbfuck. If this is the same trip that was reported on last week, there were 4 dead geese. Talk about regurgitated old news by now…Besides, what does it matter if he killed one or not? I’m not voting for him because he’s got good aim with a flying target and some bird shot.
Sam
If he’s a bad shot, how is he supposed to keep the homeland safe from terrorists?
[QUOTE=roger thornhill]
“Appeal to the 90% of Americans who believe in the second amendment, don’t offend the animal lovers, remind folks that Kerry served in Nam, show 'em he’s a regular guy…”/QUOTE]
You mean the minority of Americans who believe only in the Second Half of the Second Amendment?
Pretty much everything, from the brand new clothing to the borrowed shotgun, the odd choice of shotgun, and the time of day. He also seems to have managed to cut himself somehow - I’m guessing he closed the breech on his hand. The comments on deer hunting he made earlier this year were even worse. He should stick with sports he actually does by choice, like snowboarding and windsurfing.
That’s all sort of beside the point, though. My complaint is that this was all so obviously staged, especially the “buying a hunting license” part. I’m not particularly down on Kerry over this, either. They all do this crap, and it’s really starting to annoy me.
It’s kind of like when Bush pretends to be a rancher or a fighter pilot, isn’t?
Anyway, how many of those gun nuts mocking Kerry on the internet have actually been in a fucking jungle getting shot at? Fucking posers.