Pawlenty Wounds Deer, Then Leaves for Iowa

[MineralMan]

Minnesota Governor Pawlenty went on the annual opening day of deer season hunt again this year. It's a tradition here in Minnesota for the Governor to fish and hunt on the various opening days.

So, Gov. Pawlenty managed to shoot a deer this past Saturday morning, but it was just wounded. That happens, and hunters track the deer until they find it, then process their kill. Not Pawlenty. It seems that he had an appointment in Iowa to make a speech in his quest for the Presidency.

So, off he flew, leaving the wounded deer to be looked for by other members of his hunting party. That's marinally against the law in Minnesota, since the shooter of the deer has to fill out a tag and attach it to the deer before registering the kill at a local registration station. There are provisions for party hunts, where any member of the party can claim the deer, but it's not traditional to shoot and wound a deer, then leave before it is located.

Apparently, it was so important that Pawlenty go hunting, even though the season lasts for some time, and even though he had a speech scheduled in another state.

This is the morality of Tim Pawlenty. Screw him and the 4-wheeler he rode in on!

Pawlenty is a moron. You don't hunt for deer, shoot one, then leave the area without tracking down your deer, tagging it, and registering the kill.

[KamaAina]

1. Caribou Barbie's running mate?

:eyes:

[Frustratedlady]

13. Pawlenty and Palin? The PP Ticket?

Iowa will never survive that pair.

[Bucky]

25. Pawlenty: "He won't put a deer out of its misery and he won't care about yours"

This slogan paid for by the "Republicans, please nominate this dumbass" Committee.

Our other slogan is "Pawlenty: It's like Dan Quayle's clone was raised by Mitt Romney"

[roguevalley]

20. He could have pimped himself on two issues by hunting a condemned

man.

[MrScorpio]

2. That's going to piss off a lot of sportsmen and sportswomen in Minn.

I hope he pays for this shit

[MineralMan]

5. Yup. It's being talked about today on the radio blabber shows.

Hunting in Minnesota is a bipartisan thing. For most hunters, fair chase and responsibility for your shot animal are very important. While party hunting is legal here, so anyone in the party can claim a deer shot by another hunter, it's really bad form to show up, shoot, then leave.

He should have just passed on the hunt. He didn't. He'll get lots of criticism.

[MineralMan]

7. Here's the Star Tribune Story:

http://www.startribune.com/politics/state/69657497.html

[krispos42]

3. Bad ethics from a Republican

Surprise surprise.

[Major Hogwash]

15. Bad ethics for a hunter, no matter what brand of politics they may have

It doesn't matter about the guy's politics, a hunter should never break off a hunt just because of an appointment like that.

[madrchsod]

4. well there`s a gift to who ever is running against him....

[Zoeisright]

6. Typical of that cross-eyed little bastard.

He's stupid, cruel, thoughtless, and mean.

[Brickbat]

8. What a fucking poser.

I mean, I knew that already. But Jayzus H.

[MineralMan]

9. According to the latest information, the deer was never found.

Wasting game animals for sport is pretty much the epitome of unsportsmanlike behavior, as far as I'm concerned. If you shoot an animal, you track it until you find it. That's the most basic of hunting ethics, as far as I am concerned.

You don't fly to Iowa and give a lying speech. You find your shot animal, field dress it and drag it back to camp. There is a responsibility to hunting. Pawlenty didn't show that responsibility.

[CanonRay]

10. That's going to cost him in Minnesota.

Can't wait until Big Ed tees off on this one.

[Arugula Latte]

11. Absolutely disgusting and viciously cruel.

I wish he'd get a cap in his ass and then a surgeon would "forget" to find it.

[Angry Dragon]

12. That is the problem

it will not cost him in this state because he has outgrown the state of Minnesota and has eyes only for bigger fields to hunt in.

[MinneapolisMatt]

14. Judging by the comments at the Mpls Start Trib...

...he's pissed-off the whole State.

[MineralMan]

18. Yes. Hunting is major here, and there's a very strong ethic

involved with it. Breaking that ethic is serious stuff for hunters. He will suffer a loss of support due to this cowardly and unsportsmanlike conduct.

[samsingh]

16. i find hunting to be abhorrent - pawlenty is plain evil.

[MineralMan]

19. That's not the issue here. People hunt in Minnesota,

and there are rules, both written and unwritten, regarding hunting ethics. Your objection to hunting in general is irrelevant to this discussion.

[Raine]

21. I feel the same. nt

[samsingh]

17. i find hunting to be abhorrent - pawlenty is plain evil.

[Are_grits_groceries]

22. You DO NOT do something like that if you hunt.

I don't care if he had to meet Gawd.

My brother hunts deer for food. He wounded one, and he had to follow it for a long time. It wasn't easy in those SC woods filled with thick brush, but he finally found it.

If Pawlenty shows up here for the 2012 SC Primary, that should be a point made about him. He is no hunter.

[Bucky]

23. This is a lot more honest than Dubya's "compassionate conservative" shtick.

Tim Pawlenty can now run as the "mean-spirited moderate" in the race. I mean, he can, but he won't. Instead he's going to be this year's Mitt Romney, cravenly rebranding himself as a "true values" conservative. Nevermind how that implicitly conveys the message that either he's a liar now or that the whole time he governed as a moderate he was just putting on an act.

It won't bother the Republican voters all that much--if you're going to be a Republican these days you pretty much have to develop the habit of forgetting history anyway. They're such a bunch of willing suckers--they fell for Bush's "just folks" routine, then they fell for Mitt Romney's crocodile smile, and now they're going to swallow Pawlenty's superficial label swapping with no questions asked. I can understand someone being a conservative and voting for a Mike Huckabee or a John McCain. I disagree with them, but they at least have a track record of being who they say they are. You gotta be a real rube if you fall for that Romney/Pawlenty 13th hour conversion bullshit.

[Are_grits_groceries]

24. It WILL bother those who have a knowledge

of hunting here, and that is a lot of people. They may not pay attention to the issues much and have general conservative values, but that action tells them a lot about him.

They can relate to that completely, and he made a BIG mistake.

[Bucky]

26. True. He wounded an animal to pose as something he's not, then left the mess for others to handle

That's why I call it honest. It's a perfect metaphor for how Bush governed.

[saltpoint]

27. Bad form on Pawlenty's part.

And not an especially impressive public relations move for a politically ambitious governor.

[tomm2thumbs]

28. bad hunting ethics = bad ethics in general