Sportsmen For McCain: Why Your Vote Is So Important To Our Outdoor Heritage
Posted by Jason A. Hendricks on October 9, 2008 |
Being a political pundit is not my forte. I don’t care much for the dirt and grime that most Presidential elections bring out against each other-nor do I take much notice of pre-election speaches. This is all part of the process of deciding who is best for our country, but in my own mind, I always feel like God will put in place those that can lead this great nation in to the future.
This election is different.
The economy is in shambles, our foreign affairs are out of line, and just yesterday the world markets took another hit. Many of us are confused about what is going on. Why was nothing done sooner..AND …does this election even matter to middle-class Joe.
I am of the firm belief that everything runs in cycles. It might take a couple of years for the economy to straighten out, but it will straighten. Our foreign affairs will come back around and be corrected, and the world markets will find a way to prevail. That is just the nature of the world. Sometimes there needs to be a correction, or at least an eye opener, to make us realize that what is good can be swiftly taken away.
If you are visiting this site for the first time, then I am going out on a limb and suggesting that you are here because you love and enjoy the adventure of the great outdoors. In turbulent times, there is no better place to be than away from it all: hunting, fishing, climbing, perhaps kayaking the Keys. Anyplace is better than being in front of that television and watching the latest he said-she said $%#*.
I have covered this topic in a previous post on U.S. Outdoors Today. Our outdoor heritage could be one of the biggest issues at stake in the 2008 election. Not much is being said about this in the press. That is why i am making it ‘The’ issue for my vote and across the websites that I write for. To put it quite simply, Mr. Obama wants to take your gun rights away.
I have discussed this with a few people in my neighborhood. Most of them had no previous knowledge of Mr. Obama’s gun stance (or lack there-of). I have pointed people in the direction to get this information, suggested why this is such an important issue, and then I ask them why they were not aware. The number 1 answer I get is that the politicians aren’t really discussing this issue.
I beg to differ.
Sen. John McCain has been very active in supporting his stance on guns and the rights of outdoor enthusiasts. He even mentioned this briefly in his last debate. He knows this issue is important to the American people and he cares about what his own legacy will be. He understands that hunting and fishing are very useful measures in the conservation fight and he will fight to protect those measures. He also understands that this is every American’s constitutional right and nothing he can do, personally, will take that right away. He doesn’t want it taken away. He enjoys the great outdoors like we do.
John McCain recently went hiking in the Grand Canyon. He talked of the splendor and awe of being able to enjoy this great country of ours. While Barack Obama was off shooting hoops, John McCain was contemplating the future while rafting the Colorado, and hiking the Grand Canyon trails.
Everything’s gonna change. That seems to be the focal point of the 2008 campaign. Both sides are discussing change, about bringing about a new Washington, but you and I both know that even the President of the United States will have a very tough time getting the right people in the right places to make that change happen. These changes won’t happen overnight. They may not happen in the next four years. One thing that could happen in the next four years is the loss of our rights concerning the outdoors, and how each American has the same rights to share in the national beauty of our parks.
Sen. Barack Obama’s home state of Illinois is closing 13 state parks for lack of funding. If he can’t help his own state’s financial burden and keep these parks open, what do you think is going to happen to our National Park Service? Illinois’ lack of $13 million to keep these parks open could have easily been fixed with a simple $1 park entry fee. Illinois’ parks are currently free, but $1 per vehicle would result in over $45 million annually. That is plenty of money to not only pay for the Illinois state park system, but also build up a $32 million surplus–and that is every single year. Millions of people will now be forced to spend their hard earned money in other states, or less than adequate parks, or just not go at all. That is ridiculous. Especially for a state that is already on the verge of a financial collapse because of the lawmakers that would rather be jet-setting between Chicago and Springfield.
I am not out to force you to vote one way or another. What I am doing is trying to make you aware of some of the ‘lesser’ issues that the media isn’t grasping. This could be the most important election in the last 50 years. The consquences of getting it wrong could last a lifetime. Everyone should be educated on where the politicians actually stand on the issues, and not be voting for a simple word. I agree. Some things do need to change, but others, like our outdoor heritage and gun rights need to be protected. John McCain will support this protection and offer each of us our own rights in our nation’s parks. That is something worth voting for.
To show your support for the cause, please visit Sportsmen For McCain and join the 45 million other American sportsmen who believe that this issue should be first on the table. Not only does John McCain support this cause, but he interacts and gives updates to issues relevent to the great American outdoors and gun rights. Once you see the video of John McCain’s outdoor stance, why would you want to vote for someone who completely side-steps the real issues?
Get out there and vote. Make this nation proud.
To read more from some us that enjoy our great outdoors, be sure to check out the following articles on why this election is such an important part of our nation’s future. Obviously, I am not alone.
- Sportsmen Make Your Vote Count–From the Hooks and Bullets blog
I doubt this comment will be approved, but…
I really have a hard time supporting a candidate whose fans cheer “Drill baby, Drill” We may have a candidate who supports outdoor sports, but will he take away our outdoors? There’s no safe or “light-footprint” method for extracting oil from the earth.
Palin doesn’t think Global Warming and Climate changes are manmade, but merely part of the universe’s natural changes (or the Apocalypse).
October 9th, 2008 at 3:08 pm
I have to differ with you on this one. McCain strikes me as the perfect example of a Republican politician who pays lip service to outdoors causes, believing that outdoors lovers will support him no matter what. His voting record on energy and environmental issues, however, suggests that he’s well practiced at saying one thing and doing another. Check out this article on Salon.com, http://www.salon.com/env/feature/2008/09/20/john_mccain_environment/
He also keeps using a recently concluded study of grizzly bears in Montana as an example of wasteful spending, even though that study was supported by and is beneficial to ranchers and farmers in Montana, most of whom are quite conservative, and hunt and fish. I blogged about his misleading stance here: http://skinnymoose.com/thinkingoutside/?p=1110
I have no doubt John McCain is a supporter of gun rights, I believe he was endorsed today by the NRA. But there’s a lot more to outdoors and conservation issues than guns, and the reason gun rights haven’t been a large issue in the campaign is that no one out there is seriously suggesting taking away hunter’s guns.
Meanwhile, Mccain and Palin are turning their followers into a mob that’s screaming “kill him” and “traitor” whenever Barack Obama’s name is mentioned. That mob mentality, and John McCain’s support of it, is the scariest thing I’ve seen in American politics in my lifetime.
October 9th, 2008 at 11:11 pm
It is nice to see some intelligent discussion going on about this issue. Anytime a person takes a stance, there is bound to be some backlash. This nation is divided on what it wants and what direction it should go in. Like I said, I am not telling you to vote for John McCain. Each of you are smart enough to make your own decisions. What I wanted to do was discuss my personal feelings and which way that I am leaning. I am not here to bash politicians, but do wish that whoever gets in office, recieves the support from the other half of the nation–it is going to be a tough battle, but this country does not deserve to be tore apart any more than it already is. It is time to put it back together.
Thanks for your thoughts and views. As long as they are done in an intelligent fashion and talk about some interesting points, I am all about non-censorship of the comments area. I have posted my thoughts in the above article, and won’t be rehashing, or arguing my points throughout the comments–I will let the discussion be the focal point.
Anyone else with their thoughts?
October 10th, 2008 at 1:08 am
While I do believe that you have the right to express your feelings and your personal support for your candidate, I do object to the lack of depth in your arguments. First why would you link in your article McCains stand on gun rights to a McCain website but Obama’s stand to a NRA anti Obama website? Would it not be fair to link your article also to a Obama website on this issue?
http://obama.3cdn.net/7d467fe75a3029d7df_hum6injwr.pdf
Why is it relevant whether the Illinois state legislature is closing state parks and historical landmarks for budget constraints? As a matter of fact if you followed the recent debates you might have noticed that McCain is for a spending freeze for everything not related to national security or veterans affairs, which makes me believe the national park system will not be very high on the radar screen of a McCain administration.
Certainly McCain thinks 3M for a Planetarium is a waste of money.
http://www.adlerplanetarium.org/pressroom/pr/2008_10_08_AdlerStatement_aboutdebate.pdf
I will not rehash the “drill baby drill” points already raised by other posters.
And lastly you have been very silent on Governor Palin’s support to sue the US government on including the polar bear on the endangered species act or her support for areal hunting of wolves in Alaska.
Thus it seems to me that your positing simply was NRA position thinly veiled as “Outdoors Lover”, which is fine but not very honest in my view.
October 10th, 2008 at 2:22 am
To put this issue to rest, I am not an NRA backer, or even a member of that organization. I am a John McCain supporter, and thus, accordingly, was just sharing my personal views. I expressed this in the article. My opinion is not your own, which is fine, and I encourage each of you to find and understand where and how your candidate fairs on these issues.
In regards to Governor Palin and the polar bear issue, it has been my expressed viewpoint that this is a highly controversial subject and one that I unfortunately have to agree with her on. Placing the polar bear on the endangered species act is a little complacent without the proper studies in place to warrant this issue. Alaska has roughly 1,500 polar bears in and around the Beaufort Sea. Canada has an even larger population. When the reintroduced wolf population reached those numbers, it was opened up to the discussion of hunting for controlled purposes. Why single out one and not the other? The wolf was taken off the list, yet, the polar bear, because of it’s environment warrants an addition for the same numbers.
In regards to wolves in Alaska, they aren’t endangered there so that shouldn’t be a subject. Even in states where wolf populations are low, it is currently being batted around to let people hunt these animals. There are many more people huntng wolves illegally, so why jump on Palin with this issue?
Once again, here is my stand on the issue of hunting. I will also tell you that I am not a hunter–I believe that the efforts of hunters do benefit certain species. It is also known that the hunting community is one that leads many, many conservation and protection initiatives.
In regards to global warming and drilling, I differ somewhat on the McCain/Palin stand. I think global warming is a huge issue that will be affecting all of us in the near future. The act of drilling in ANWR or any other protected land should be considered very, very carefully. If it takes 7-10 years to extract, what will become 1% of our nation’s oil usage, then I am definitely against going that route. Their are other ways that better suit this nation that we could spend that money on.
Barack Obama believes in a few things that I am very strongly against, outside of the Outdoors issues. Not to take away from this discussion, I will not be presenting those issues here at this time.
Most of this information, and my thoughts shared on these issues should not be new information to anyone that has read this site over the last few months. I have covered everything from polar bears to the environment, to my stance on hunting and conservation. I have even discussed McCain and Obama in another controversial article on roughly the same issues. These views are not new, but are expressly my own. I encourage you to make your own decisions on these regards. My thoughts on posting this article and putting it out there was to spark some general discusssion on some of the issues that I feel are being missed during this election.
Once again, I appreciate everyone’s thoughts and look forward to hearing your own. As long as the thoughts come in an intelligent and respectful way, feel free to post your differing views for discussion.
It is not my goal to completly agree with every issue that our next President will take. I try to find which candidate carries many of the same values that I hold–but no one will match any of our views 100%. To that extent John McCain best matches up with my own personal beliefs, even if it is a controversial stand and not the way the media is leaning-
October 10th, 2008 at 11:09 am