Sunday, November 25, 2007

Sportsmen For Fred!

This from the Thompson campaign this AM (colored emphasis mine!):
November 24, 2007
For Immediate Release

Thompson Campaign Announces Sportsmen for Fred Steering Committee

McLean, VA - Today the Fred Thompson campaign announced its Sportsmen for Fred Thompson leadership and steering committee. Iowa State Representative and NRA Board Member Clel Baudler, Gerald Stoudemire, Michael Bane, Bill Bunting, and Lee Ann Tarducci will serve as Co-Chairs of Sportsmen for Fred Thompson.

Clel Baudler has represented the 58th district of Iowa in the state legislature since 1998. He currently sits on the Judiciary, Natural Resources and Oversight committees and is the ranking member of the Public Safety Committee. A retired state trooper, State Representative Baudler also sits on the Board of Directors of the National Rifle Association.

"Fred Thompson has been an unapologetic supporter of the Second Amendment throughout his career and I am honored to be on his team. He is somebody that Second Amendment supporters, hunters, and sportsmen will have as an ally in the White House," said Iowa State Representative and NRA Board Member Clel Baudler. "He has the experience, commitment to conservative principles and understanding of the rule of law that we need leading this nation."

Gerald Stoudemire is a 15-year member and current President of the Gun Owners of South Carolina. The owner of a gun store in Little Mountain, SC, Stoudemire is a NRA Benefactor Member. He has served the Little Mountain community for over 40 years as a volunteer firefighter, including 22 years as the Volunteer Fire Chief.

"I am so pleased to be serving as Co-Chair of Sportsmen for Fred," said Gerald Stoudemire. "Fred Thompson can be trusted on the Second Amendment. He is the only candidate with a consistent record that reflects an understanding of the protection provided under the Second Amendment, and will go to the mat to defend it. I am pleased to offer my support to his campaign and will do everything I can to help Fred win."

Michael Bane is in his eighth season as the host of Shooting Gallery, one of the highest rated shows on the Outdoor Channel. He is the founder and executive producer of Down Range Television, the largest firearms-oriented community website that receives more than 250,000 individual viewers per month. The owner of the Michael Bane Blog, he is a contributor to Outdoor Life Magazine. Bane is the author of 21 books and has been chronicled in numerous publications including Men's Journal, National Geographic Adventure, and Men's Health.

"The so-called 'gun culture' is in fact the mainstream culture of America, and Fred Thompson is the only candidate who understands that simple truth," said Michael Bane. "Through our license fees, our purchases and our contributions, we represent billions of dollars in annual commerce; through our willingness to accept personal responsibility for our safety, we have seen our fellow citizens benefit as crime rates have fallen across our country; through our resolute belief in the Founders' intentions, we have moved toward a better, stronger America. Fred Thompson understands these things because he is more than a candidate...he is one of us."

"I am so honored to have the support of these leading 2nd Amendment advocates, hunters, sportsmen and gun collectors from across the country," said Senator Fred Thompson. "These folks know the real effect of gun control measures is to place onerous restrictions on law-abiding citizens who use firearms for legal activities such as hunting, self-defense, sport-shooting, and collecting. I am committed to fighting for the rights assured to law abiding citizens under the Second Amendment."

Senator Thompson visited with voters today at the Land of the Sky Gun Show in Ladson, South Carolina.

The Sportsmen for Fred Thompson Steering Committee includes:

National Co-Chairs
Clel Baudler (Iowa), Iowa State Representative and National Rifle Association Board Member
Gerald Stoudemire (South Carolina), President, Gun Owners of South Carolina
Bill Bunting (Florida), Chairman, Governor Charlie Christ's Second Amendment Rights Coalition
Lee Ann Tarducci (South Carolina), Board Member and Operations Director, Second Amendment Sisters of South Carolina
Michael Bane (Colorado), Host and Producer of "Shooting Gallery" on The Outdoor Channel

Members:
South Carolina
Kirkman Finlay, Columbia, South Carolina City Councilman
New Hampshire
Stephen Lee, Endowment Member of the NRA (18+ years) and member of Gun Owners of America
Paul Erhardt, Firearm Industry Executive
California
Wally Beinfeld, Shows Director, Beinfeld Productions MB
John Bianchi, Author, Blue Steel and Gun Leather
Tennessee
Ronnie Barrett, Founder, Barrett Firearms Company
Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, Tennessee Lieutenant Governor
Texas
Jerry Patterson, Texas Land Commissioner
Arizona
Scott Moore, Firearm Industry Executive
*Affiliations listed are for identification purposes only

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow! Looks like Thompson pulled in the A-Team...especially with Michael Bane heading up the squad. I feel good about Fred being the right choice to protect our 2nd A rights. Seeing that you are helping and supporting him really nails it for me. There are a lot of people I don't trust when it comes to politicians but In Bane I Trust!

Anonymous said...

Cool news. Glad to see Sen. Thompson knows who to go to on this issue.

Anonymous said...

Just what is the mission of this steering comittee? The role of a steering comittee is too have a vested interest in the completion of a project by the working peons. You know, to make sure they have the resources and support to "do the job". What peons is this steering comittee going to be supporting? What is the function? Who is the head honcho? How often will they meet? Will they meet at all?

The current press release is little more than puffery to feed egos. Unless this steering comittee has an important role to play in somehow gathering the votes of gunowners it is little more than bovine excrement.

Anonymous said...

Well, so you know how to use a dictionary. Congratulations. Perhaps you should try spending a little time on a campaign. Coalitions are established on all campaigns and each coatilion is headed by one or more opinion makers or leaders that are well versed on the subject that is the focus of the coalition. In the case of Guns, inlcuding somebody like Michael Bane is obvious. A great many people rely on Mr. Bane for information on firearms and they get that information from his articles, his show, his podcasts and his blog. When a campaign uses members of their coalition to speak on behalf of the candidate it helps to have somebody who knows what they are talkin about and knows the issue. When it comes to Guns, Mr. Bane is an ideal spokesperson for a pro-gun candidate. In this case it's Fred Thompson.

Now, go learn soemthing about campaigns before you start your next attack.

Anonymous said...

The real question is when do you jump off the Thompson train and get on another? I have contributed to and spoken up for Thompson from the day he announced he was "exploring" running for the nomination. I am sorry but he has not ignited yet. I just watched tonight Thompson on CSPAN. Geeze he just has zero fire. Nothing. I am NOT saying he is un-informed, not intelligent, not a 2A advocate etc. He is a wonderful guy. But this is politics gentlefolk. Or you can call it marketing. Bane should understand that. The dynamic is the candidate stands up, and people go ahhhh….the Kennedy kind of thing. It is JUST NOT HAPPENING. I don’t care if Jack O’Connor and Elmer Keith jump up from the grave and endorse this guy. There is just no SPARK here. I will say that it is there for others like McCain and even Ron Paul.

I respect everyone backing Thompson. I have no problem with that. But I would argue that you prepare mentally for a switch when it is needed. I also respectfully argue that the time is getting close to that point. Iowa and NH will be coming up the first couple weeks in January. Do you ride Fred to the bottom of the Grand Canyon? Or do you take a look at Mike Huckabee now and say “yup when the time comes, he will be my man.” Then you need to establish some criteria for the change. If Fred winds up with single digit results in Iowa and NH do you call it quits then? Will Fred call it quits? A little truth in advertising here. I have already made the switch to Mike. I am sorry, but we have a lot at stake here and I am not willing to ride a dead horse when I have an option.

Anonymous said...

Do you ride Fred to the bottom of the Grand Canyon? Yep.

Only one worth my vote at this time.

Unknown said...

Michael;

Let us know how to get yard signs, stickers, and various other support stuff.

JM24

Anonymous said...

Is anon #4 worried about getting the best candidate or being on the "winning" side? Texas doesn't vote until March. NO ONE other than Fred gets my vote. Ron Paul, Huckabee? Are you insane? Guiliani and Romney are the SAME as Hillary.

If you are just concerned about "winning", stick to watching football games.

Anonymous said...

Glad to hear you jumped to Huckabee. It is always important to remembers that selecting a president of the single most important and powerful country should not be any more complicatedd than picking the class president. Glad to see that the issue isn't what drives you but the "popular" appeal. Rudy is pretty popular too, just not a gun guy. You might want to prepare to jump to that ship or the Romney ship. Just figure out which way the wind is blowing first.

Thompson has always been this kind of campaigner. He doesn't change his tune just because he is running for president like Romney and Rudy have. They both claim to be pro-gun now but really and truly aren't. As for Ron Paul, he's got the same kind of internet appeal as Howard Dean had, just with a whole lot less money.

If you need to hedge your bets and then wait until the polls close to declare you were on the side of the winner. You cna have your fabricated "I told you so" moment and we'll all feel much better knowing we are in the presence of the smartest guy around.

I support Fred Thompson. I don't give a damn if he ain't full of fire and brimstone. He's full of character, conviction and honesty that's what I want in my president.

Anonymous said...

At some point out of all the current Republican crowd there will be just one left standing. I hope to hell that he is pro gun. There are three pro gun fellows now. And Huckabee is one of them. If you wind up with Giuliani don't complain. The captain of the Titantic had all his pride intact as the water washed over him also. This is called realpolitik. And yes it is better to be in power than not. I hope you remember the Clinton years. That was real fun for gun owners. Some estimates show losing another 40 to 60 seats in the house and maybe 4 more Senators. This is not the time to be eliminating viable candidate options.

Anonymous said...

We definately need politicians and industry leaders to continue the strong tradition of Second Amendment freedoms within the United States.

As we are all aware the 2nd Amendment is a core value that our founding fathers believed in and all of us have to stand up and fight to keep!

Hopefully this committee and candidate will prove themselves in the coming months and years as alleys of our right to keep and bear arms.

Chad from A1-hunting.com

Pete said...

It would be nice if Fred Thompson appeared to be as excited about his campaign as his supporters (not to mention potential supporters waiting to see if he's serious about this) seem to be.

Right now Thompson seems to be running for President of the South -- a position that was abolished in 1865, if I remember right.

Anonymous said...

LOVE Fred's plan for taxes. Have you seen it? Have you seen Rudy's? How about Romney's? And Fred may not show the "fire" you think the others do. But then he has to keep up with that "trophy" wife. Have you forgotten what it's like to be "young and in love"? And to raise 2 young kids? That might take some "fire" out of anyone. Who knows, their may be a 3rd kid by the time Fred is sworn in.

Anonymous said...

Michael, you need help in central Texas, you tell me what to do.

\\wbw said...

Come on guys - do your research.

Fred Thompson has voted against the Second Amendment 13 times. www.gunowners.org. Probably, the biggest sin he's committed was crafting the majority of the McCain-Feingold legislation that has hand tied the fundraising efforts of the NRA and created groups like MoveOn.org. Senator Thompson claims the language that created the now "un-Constitutional" black out periods was slipped in by the Dems at the last hour - the truth is - that language came from a Senate Sub-committee (Governmental Affairs) that Thompson chaired in 1997 & 1998.

Right up there with McCain Feingold was voting to approve President Clinton's anti-gun judges. That's important because Thompson claims he will appoint constructionist judges but as Senator he voted for judges that we not constructionist.

In claiming, "Fred is one of us..." Has anyone asked to see his CWP or his most recent hunting licenses? To claim he is the only one of us in the race is a bit of hyperbole. Mike Huckabee is one of us, as are Duncan Hunter and Tom Tancredo. But that's right, according to Thompson's consultants and the mainstream media - Huckabee isn't electable - even though he's climbed in the polls since entering the race and Senator Thompson has dropped. Huckabe is ahead in most polls in the early states and in a dead heat with Thompson nationally. That's with Thompson's name recognition and Huckabee's lack of same.

With all due respect, one would think that our NRA Board Members could do a little more research. I encourage all consciencious gun-owners to type "Senator Thompson McCain Feingold into GOOGLE".

Anonymous said...

read this:

http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=OTIwYzMyZmQ1YzQ1MDNmZTMyYzQ1Y2U3YTU4YzNmNGE=

Fred, before he was a candidate, speaking out on guns in schools. Good insight into how he really thinks, and he really thinks LIKE ONE OF US.

The McCain/Feingold issue is important, yes. But, virtually everyone in D.C. supported it, and the President signed it. It's not a real issue in this election. But actual 2A rights ARE an issue, especially right now with the uncertainty over what SCOTUS might do with Parker.

Do your google searches, but search "fred thompson guns" and you will get article after article showing his SUPPORT for our gun rights.

Anonymous said...

Well, it has been a week since the press release. Just what has the Steering Committee accomplished? Voting starts in just over a month. Time is short.

These Steering Committees exist to allow a campaign to issue a press release and to inflate the egos of the committee members. They don't really "do" anything.

Anonymous said...

It has now been two weeks. What has Sportsman for Fred accomplished?

Anonymous said...

Week three. Has Sportsman for Fred actually done anything? No? Didn't think so.

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