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The liberals and liberal press (especially the liberal press—which is almost all of them) are loving the chance to hammer Paul Ryan because he is what he is. Father, husband, outdoorsman, hunter, bowhunter. They love to tell you that he is a lover of the Second Amendment, a good-ole dad who loves Jesus, and a hunter who rides roughshod over wildlife.
That just makes my skin crawl and I’m sure it does the same to you. Ryan came to Congress in 1999 and he was an instant friend of hunting. Most hunters know about the Pittman Robertson Act whereby we pay 11 percent excise tax on hunting equipment and that money goes to state wildlife agencies where it is combined with license money to basically run wildlife management in this country. Well, the arrow part of that tax was all screwed up. I won’t bore you with the details but essentially that problem needed solved or all arrow manufacturing would all end up done in foreign countries. I realize that some of that is still being done overseas but without a fix, it all would have gone there. Congressman Ryan led the legislative fight to change that so that American arrow manufacturers could play on a level field.
He has voted several times to open up off shore drilling for oil. He voted no on extending payments for the Cash For Clunkers program. What a waste that program was. Wonder how many jobs it created? He voted no on continued protection for wild horses. Wild horses are great but they need managed because there are too many. Animal protectionists won’t let us shoot them so they are rounded up each year, held in captivity at a cost of multi millions and the captive numbers go up year after year because there are not enough people who want to adopt them. He votes on the common sense side on gun issues.
OK, no one person would agree on every vote he has made since 1999, but most of us would agree with most of his stands. A common sense man. Do we need common sense in the White House? Just asking.
Of course the press goes after Paul Ryan. One article referred to Ryan’s interest in hunting as “bloodthirst.” That article tried to put a positive spin on his bowhunting, but as a non hunter (apparently) the writer just missed what hunting is. Bloodthirst just isn’t us. One writer on an animal rights website stated, “It takes a certain callousness, perhaps even malice, to take pleasure in killing, gutting and skinning an animal with your own hands, then mounting that deer’s head on your wall.” Can you say shallow appreciation for the values of hunting? Then she followed with this in the next sentence…“But when I heard that Republican VP candidate Paul Ryan is an avid bowhunter, I kept an open mind while researching his record on other animal protection issues.” Sure you did. No bias there. I’m sure she “kept an open mind.”
This is what Congressman Ryan will have to put up with as he stands his ground that hunting has been a big part of his family life, his value system, and his core beliefs.
Hunters need to do something many do not do this November. They need to vote. And since the day of the election will find many bowhunters in the woods (it’s the rut) you need to vote in October. Go to your courthouse, or wherever you get absentee ballots where you live, and vote. Please take this election as a mandate to the future of our country. It is that serious. Vote.
Hey, when did you last see someone in Washington running for political office (much less the White House) pose for pictures, in his office with a bow?
