Hillary Clinton appears to be reaping the fruits of a faith-based, hunter-friendly campaign. In the past, Clinton has campaigned hard on her faith in seeking support of religious voters. She has also insisted recently that she is a long-time supporter of hunting and even shot a duck. Now, however, she is being hounded for the last date that she actually went to church or fired a gun. Clinton insists that such questions are no longer “relevant.” My concern is that with the duck-gap with Obama will lead to his shooting a goose, then Hillary shooting a deer, then Obama shooting a rhino . . . It could lead to the largest non-asteroid loss of animals in history.
The account of the Hillary vs. the Duck encounter is also as gripping as the dodging of snipers in Bosnia. For the video, click here.
Clinton describes how she has been a lifetime supporter of gun rights (big in Pennsylvania) and has drawn blood by her own hand:
“I’ve hunted. My father taught me how to hunt. I went duck hunting in Arkansas. I remember standing in that cold water, so cold, at first light. I was with a bunch of my friends, all men. The sun’s up, the ducks are flying and they are playing a trick on me. They said, ‘we’re not going to shoot, you shoot.’ They wanted to embarrass me. The pressure was on. So I shot, and I shot a banded duck and they were surprised as I was,” Clinton said drawing laughter from the crowd.
She is being challenged over the claim of lifetime support for gun rights, click here.
On the church question, the lack of relevance seem to contradict Hillary’s open use of her faith on the campaign — as has both Obama and McCain. For an earlier column on why religious faith has become fair game for reporters in questioning these candidates, click here
For more on the controversy, click here.
Jill:
I agree with you that kids get left out. They probably deserve better parents who think before they vote. But for the parents, they do get the government they deserve.
Hi Mespo,
What I’m noticing is that it’s not just the religious right that wants the pound of flesh on religiosity, left wing religious people want it too. (And actually I know many wealthy Unitarians who have guns for protection.) When I wrote this I was thinking about what you have said before; “that we get the govt. we deserve”. I don’t entirely agree with that statement because, for example, children don’t deserve to starve, be homeless and have crappy education because adults voted for candidates who won’t address these problems. But I do agree with it in other ways, and this is one of them. Why are we asking so many irrelevant (or marginally relevant) questions and going all out about them while ignoring those issues that will absolutely make a difference in our lives? I’m even for asking the really dumb-ass questions as long as the other ones get at least equal time/attention (and I would hope, more). But if we do keep concentrating on chicken poop then we are going to keep ending up with really crappy candidates.
Jill
P.S. I don’t mean we shouldn’t poke fun of candidates when they do really ridiculous things, we should! !
Jill:
Like you I am very distressed by this idea prevalent among the some in the Christian right that they are somehow under cultural assault by the rest of us. This fascination with guns and secrecy is clear-cut paranoia, and serves only to dehumanize the “infidels” defined, of course, as those who do not accept their theology-based world view. Of course, this is reminiscent of our Muslim brothers who also feel put upon by both Christianity and the perceived evils of the modern world. I know that a common enemy bands the tribe together, but isn’t it incumbent on the tribal leadership to be sure the outside force really is an enemy and not merely those who disagree with them? If not,I suspect there is something more sinister afoot than mere self-defense.
I am not impressed with either Obama or Clinton as neither of them has peppered a friend in the face with buck shot. Evidently, there shall be no separation of church and weapons (a fact that applies to wealthy as well as blue collar church members. (Please check out a heavily armed gated community. Many of the people who live there belong to megachurches.)
However, I am worried about the increasing demands for candidates to show their religiosity in this election. I do want to know the connection each candidate feels between their faith and their actions. But why are we demanding so much religiosity from these candidates? Both religiosity and gun skills have not shown themselves to be an excellent test for competency in high office, as the current occupants of the whitehouse have made abundantly clear.
Pandering run amok! Who do they think we are, morons, cretins, Republicans?
Our only chance to elevate JT to the high court is to have Obama in the WH. Hillary will not forgive this!
This is tangential to the topic but I think many will enjoy this story…When I was in Oklahoma, it was the first day that conceal carry permits were ready to go. The churches opened precisely at 12 midnight and people were lined up to purchase permits at the church of their choice. I always loved that!
Jill