Why isn't the Obama campaign using this Palin aerial wolf shooting video?

[wolverinez]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGPFPBmzRrQ&eurl=http://spiritualdeepdish.wordpress.com/2008/09/03/defenders-of-wildlife-action-fund-video-sarah-palin-supports-aerial-hunting-


It's been out for weeks. What are they waiting for? Using snippets of this combined with her AIP speech("keep up the good work!" - for those that don't know AIP is an Alaska group that wants to secede from the U.S.) What about showing how her family is tied to big oil? Wrap all this up in a neat little package. This election is not about McCain right now. It's about Palin. She has fired up the fundie base, and you have to frame her NOW.

[d_b]

1. that would be best suited for a 527

oh wait...

[MercutioATC]

2. Because most people don't care?

Hell, I'm not even a hunter and I don't really care.

With all of the actual issues we have in front of us, you expect Obama to concentrate on a hunting issue??

[kwolf68]

4. I dont know

The brutality against a living species is an actual fucking issue thank you very much.

Just because people like me care about animals doesn't mean we don't care about the 'important issues' as you would suggest them.

I don't pretend to suggest you should take up the cause of wolves, but spare me your drivel about what an actual issue is.

Your words though say it best...I DONT CARE. Kudos to you, some of us do care.

[MercutioATC]

7. You DO realize that no candidate is going to take an anti-hunting stance, don't you?

...and that's what this is...a hunting issue.

Kill 'em from a plane, an ATV, a blind, or with a trap, they're just as dead. What's the problem with using an airplane?

[wolverinez]

9. Most hunters don't consider that "hunting"

Also, Palin was busted for fishing without a license.

If you even have to ask "whats wrong with shooting mammals from a plane?", you have serious mental issues. I hope you are kidding.

This is not hunting. These wolves are killed by the hundreds and run to exhaustion.

[MercutioATC]

11. How do you feel about commercial fishing?

Or is this just a "mammal" issue?


My mother is all worked up about this, too...I really don't understand the outrage. My contention is that most people feel the same way...and they're not going to respond favorably to an anti-hunting ad.

[wolverinez]

14. You are comparing netting tiny brained fish with intelligent mammals with family structures?

You do realize where dogs came from, right?

This is not anti-hunting. You need to get over that first.

[jberryhill]

31. It's about perception...

Too many voters already buy the "Obama wants to take our guns away" thing, and to them anything that gets near shooting animals would reinforce that.

And, yes, my best friend is a descendant of a grey wolf.

[MercutioATC]

32. So some animals are more deserving of humane treatment than others?

Sorry, but I've heard that argument from the people who shriek about slaughtering horses for meat.

Cows, O.K.

Pigs, no problem.

Chickens? Whatever.

...but horses (and, it seems, wolves) are cuuuuuuuuute!


I think the entire argument is preposterous and, judging by how little anybody but certain extremists talk about it, so do the majority of Americans. It simply isn't an issue for people.

[wolverinez]

35. Over your head.

nm

[MercutioATC]

37. Obviously.

...or maybe the majority of responses in this thread are accurate and it's true that nobody really cares.

[wolverinez]

5. It paints her as extreme. Most people don't like poor sports.

Also, how we treat our ecosystem/creatures is telling of personal character.

[jberryhill]

16. Okay, see post by MercutioATC below

So, allowing an unchecked wolf population, if there is one, to kill off the caribou says what about how we treat our ecosystem.

How would you propose to get at the excess wolf population in a huge state with few roads?

The response to this thing would be some fluffy argument about wolf population control.

I don't know jack shit about the wolf population in Alaska, and neither does Joe Voter.

[wolverinez]

19. TROLL

nm

[jberryhill]

20. Look up my name on opensecrets.org and kiss my ass /nt

[wolverinez]

21. Federal Airborne Hunting Act - Ever hear of that?

http://www.fws.gov/laws/lawsdigest/AIRBORN.HTML


"This Act, Public Law 92-159, approved November 18, 1971 (85 Stat. 480) and subsequently amended by P.L. 92-502, approved October 28, 1972 (86 Stat. 905) added to the Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956 a new section 13 (16 U.S.C. 742j-l), which is commonly referred to as the Airborne Hunting Act or Shooting from Aircraft Act, prohibits shooting or attempting to shoot or harrassing any bird, fish, or other animal from aircraft except for certain specified reasons, including protection of wildlife, livestock, and human life as authorized by a Federal or State issued license or permit. States authorized to issue permits are required to file reports with the Secretary of the Interior containing information on any permits issued."

[jberryhill]

23. No, and neither has Joe Voter

You're not only missing the point, but you have now made a personal accusation against me.

I'll bet you haven't donated or volunteered one nickel or one hour to this campaign, and you call me a troll?

Ciao.

[wolverinez]

25. Yes..Joe Voter routinely flies helicopters to shoot bears and wolves...

nm

[jberryhill]

28. Joe Voter has his hands full here in the lower 48 with more immediate concerns

Seriously, anyone who cares about wildlife issues is already a D voter.

[wolverinez]

29. Ever hear of the "dolphin politics"?

Even Repblican suburban moms jump in when dolphins were getting caught up in tuna nets.

This wolf shooting issue is a cahracter issue - swift and to the point.

[jberryhill]

34. Yup... "treehuggers"... "environazis"... "environmental extremists"...

The tuna campaign took years to sink in.

[wolverinez]

36. More trolling. Which side are you on?

nm

[jberryhill]

40. You don't know how to do a search on opensecrets.org, do you?

And you apparently don't understand the use of quotation marks.

The wolf thing would be played as "ecofreak" stuff.

How much have you donated to the campaign to win this election? Seriously. Put up or can the troll accusation.

Here, I'll make it easy for you:

http://www.opensecrets.org/indivs/search.php?name=berryhill&state=&zip=19808&employ=&cand=&c2008=Y&sort=N&capcode=fjbj4&submit=Submit

Check it again after the next reporting cycle closes, because that number will have increased by a factor of four.

You?

[PermanentRevolution]

41. Which side are YOU on?

All your OP's have been gloom-and-doom hand-wringing about what Obama's campaign is doing wrong. A cynic might feel that the true troll here is not the person you're accusing...

[Plaid Adder]

3. Because, sadly,

there are plenty of people in this country who would just think she was really @#$! boss for being able to shoot a wolf from a helicopter. This is the same group of people who feel that the ability to field dress a dead moose is absolutely relevant to serving as vice president of the united states.

:argh:

The Plaid Adder

[wolverinez]

6. That's not who we are going after though.

This video goes after suburban moms.

[jberryhill]

8. I like wolves.... I'm not a hunter... here's what that video makes me think....

Is there a wolf overpopulation problem in Alaska threatening other wildlife?

I dunno. The video doesn't say, and I'm not an expert on wolves or Alaska.

A video of wolves dying from disease or outrunning their food supply wouldn't be pretty either.

I'm skeptical of a lot of the "population management" arguments, but what little I do know is that the issue is not as simple as "OMG shooting wolves!" from planes in remote areas.

Without context, I don't see "OMG shooting wolves" as likely to persuade too many undecideds as much. Any serious environmentalist is not voting R already.

[wolverinez]

10. More info

http://www.defendersactionfund.org/newsroom/sarah_palin.html

"Palin offered a $150 bounty for wolves to entice hunters to kill more wolves in certain parts of the state, with hunters having to present a wolf's foreleg to collect the bounty.

She actively opposed a ballot measure campaign seeking to end the aerial hunting of wolves by private hunters and approved a $400,000 state-funded campaign aimed at swaying people's votes on the issue.

She also introduced legislation to make it easier to kill wolves and bears and which would have also removed the aerial hunting initiative from the ballot and block the ability of citizens to vote on the issue.

The Board of Game, which she appoints, has approved the killing of black bear sows with cubs as part of the program and expanded the aerial control programs.

The media is currently looking into reports that state officials implementing one of the aerial wolf killing programs illegally killed five-week old wolf pups just outside their dens. "

[jberryhill]

13. I know all that...

What I'm asking about is whether there is a wolf population problem that would be used as an excuse for expansion of these hunting programs.

Alaska is not known for its extensive statewide road system, so if there was a wolf population problem that provided a basis for culling the wolf population, I assume the hunters wouldn't self-levitate to where the wolves are.

I doubt there is a population control problem. My point is "OMG shooting wolves!" without more context doesn't suggest there was or was not any underlying justification for the policy.

[wolverinez]

17. There's no justification for the wholesale slaughter of pack mammals

nm

[wolverinez]

18. There's no justification for the wholesale slaughter of pack mammals

nm

[MercutioATC]

12. There is a wolf overpopulation problem...

...according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Additionally, caribou populations have been declining and, as wolves are their primary predator, reducing the wolf population is seen as a way to aid the recovery of the caribou population.

[wolverinez]

15. Sorry, there isn't. It's been well documented.

Nice troll though.

[jberryhill]

22. You're missing the point

The point is not about whether there is or is not a wolf population problem in Alaska. It will be used as an excuse, and no undecided voter is going to fly their ass to Alaska to count wolves to figure it out.

But by the time you have a "debate over the wolf population in Alaska", the point of the negative has been lost.

[wolverinez]

24. You're outhinking this

Most people don't go to that point. This isn't a debate or a policy speech. This is snippets used to paint someone as extreme, and this is extreme.

[jberryhill]

27. "God wants a pipeline" is extreme, and freakin' creepy

But voters in Ohio don't spend a whole lotta time thinking about how or when it is or is not appropriate to shoot wolves in Alaska.

That's all. Take it for what it's worth.

[wolverinez]

30. You are wrong. Killing mammals for no reason is creepier.

nm

[stolivodka]

26. I'd respond with something like..

..most people in middle America regard wolves as vermin, but you'd just call me a troll, like you did everyone else who didn't share your "wolves are mammals and should be protected" viewpoint.

Frankly, making commercials where we whine about Palin's hunting methods would make us look stupid. Normal people don't give a crap about wolves. Sorry.

[wolverinez]

33. 100% wrong. Wolves have giant support numbers in the midwest.

Also, it's not about wolves. It's about character. This election is about character and the economy. You have to play that game.

[wolverinez]

38. Science

http://www.salon.com/env/feature/2008/09/08/sarah_palin_wolves/


"Gordon Haber is a wildlife scientist who has studied wolves in Alaska for 43 years. "On wildlife-related issues, whether it is polar bears or predator controls, she has shown no inclination to be objective," he says of Palin. "I cannot find credible scientific data to support their arguments," he adds about the state's rationale for gunning down wolves. "In most cases, there is evidence to the contrary."

Last year, 172 scientists signed a letter to Palin, expressing concern about the lack of science behind the state's wolf-killing operation. According to the scientists, state officials set population objectives for moose and caribou based on "unattainable, unsustainable historically high populations." As a result, the "inadequately designed predator control programs" threatened the long-term health of both the ungulate and wolf populations. The scientists concluded with a plea to Palin to consider the conservation of wolves and bears "on an equal basis with the goal of producing more ungulates for hunters."

[ContinentalOp]

39. I have a hunch that 99% of people who give a shit about animals are already voting for Obama.

This isn't really a winning approach.

[wolverinez]

42. It's about elitists slaughtering animals from their airplanes

Your "average Joe" hunter doesn't have access to this sort of thing. Not only that but your average hunter doesn't think shooting animals from the air is sporting.

This goes right after Palin, right after her perceived "backwoods" strength.

[Tom Rinaldo]

43. That simply isn't true

I know lots of Republicans who love animals, and some conservative Dems too.