The Harris-Walz campaign recently announced the unveiling of their hunter and angler coalition group.
It’s not unusual for Democrat and Republican presidential campaigns to launch these coalition groups. But knowing where Harris and Walz stand on true conservation and sportsmen/women issues, most hunters and anglers are naturally skeptical of their outreach efforts this late in the game.
“This effort is about channeling our passion for the outdoors into meaningful action, uniting our community, and standing up for the values that sustain our way of life. We’re proud to have early support from respected members of our community, including lifelong hunters, anglers, and conservationists who understand the importance of protecting our natural resources,” the Hunters and Anglers for Harris-Walz website reads.
They list three key principles: conserving wild places, expanding outdoor opportunities, and protecting the Second Amendment.
Sounds nice, right? Alas, nice-sounding empty platitudes ring hollow when you examine policies of both the Biden-Harris administration and Walz governorship.
Regarding the “conservation” of wild places, the Biden-Harris administration has locked up over 41 million to multiple uses under its controversial America the Beautiful (or 30-by-30 plan) under the guise of “conservation.” Preservation and rewilding isn’t conservation - or the wise use of natural resources. Preservation means no use. This admin is ultimately preparing these lands to become National Parks, hoping to become off-limits to all uses–even recreational ones. National Parks are wonderful and necessary, but policies used to create legitimate ones are being exploited by Biden-Harris. My fellow hunters and anglers need to be aware that Harris-Walz will double down on 30-by-30 by twisting conservation to shut down access.
Speaking of expanding outdoor opportunities, the Biden-Harris has closed millions of acres to hunting and fishing opportunities. Over 60 million acres in Alaska are now off-limits to caribou hunting. And just this past week, the Bureau of Land Management announced that recreational shooting would be entirely prohibited in Utah's expanded Bears Ears National Monument - totaling 1.3 million acres. New hunting and fishing openings in national wildlife refuges are now conditioned on mandatory lead phase-outs. This flawed policy will impose economic burdens on sportsmen and women by pricing them out of these activities. Not to mention, Biden-Harris is expected to finalize a slow vessel speed rule in the Atlantic Ocean, tentatively this November, that will limit public water access to recreational anglers and boaters for half the year. Sadly, this is barely scratching the surface.
VP Harris, allegedly a Glock owner, also has an extensive record of making lawful gun ownership harder for Californians. She supports mandatory gun buyback programs - which makes no conceivable sense since the government doesn’t sell guns; private stores do. She also supports universal background checks - a redundant and dubious policy that isn’t shown to reduce one crime involving firearms. She also supports a so-called “assault weapons” ban on semi-automatic AR-15 rifles and red flag laws. She has supported repealing the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA), among her many radical positions. Walz isn’t too far behind his running mate.
As I noted here at Townhall over the summer, Walz - at best - cosplays as a hunter and gun owner. I explained at the time: “Walz is an acceptable kind of gun owner and hunter to progressives because he capitulates to gun confiscation and refuses to defend all forms of hunting–including highly-regulated wolf management. So the guy goes pheasant hunting with shotguns and wears blaze orange? He also signs National Hunting and Fishing Day proclamations every year. Hooray for doing the bare minimum! Millions of Americans and I fish, hunt, and shoot guns, too. But how does Waltz act beyond the bluster and “cool” midwestern dad in a camo hat persona?”
This past weekend, Governor Walz participated in the Minnesota Pheasant Opener to kick off the Hunters and Anglers for Harris-Walz coalition launch. It unsurprisingly didn’t go as planned. Fellow hunters and gun owners would soon mock the “folksy” VP candidate for mishandling his shotgun.
CBS reported, “Reminiscing Saturday about going on previous shoots with his fellow Minnesota congressional delegation, Walz said, "I used to love that congressional shoot, but it was kind of dangerous because it was all Second Amendment guys that didn't really know" how to shoot.”
Except the CBS reporter shadowing Walz posted a now-viral of the “cool Midwestern dad” struggling to load his Beretta shotgun properly. Yikes! I got secondhand embarrassment watching him on video.
As I told Spectator’s Amber Duke, no $40 camo hat exclusively catering to vegan or anti-hunting D.C.-based progressives will entice legitimate sportsmen and women to support the Harris-Walz camp. This is political pandering at its worst.
Both the Trump-Vance and Harris-Walz campaigns recognize the hunter, angler, and gun voter bloc is up for grabs. Millions don’t vote and could decide the outcome in critical swing states.
Who will covet this vote? That remains to be seen. Keep an eye on election results to see if this group - my brothers and sisters - plays a decisive role in the outcome.