Rush Limbaugh - Hunting Villain of the Year?

12:05am Thursday, December 31, 2009

By Greg R. Lawson

Rush Limbaugh has won a knock down drag out contest over such anti-hunters as Ingrid Newkirk and Cass Sunstein to become the number one villain of hunters and anglers in 2009.

No, El Rushbo may not be twirling a handlebar moustache anytime soon, but he did manage to come out on top in Field and Stream's 2009 "Hunting and Fishing Heroes and Villains Face Off." This very amusing, tongue in cheek website feature matched up some of America's leading defenders and opponents of hunting into a single elimination tournament to see who are both the top hero and the top villain for outdoor sports this year.

In the shocking final round, Rush knocked off PETA founder Ingrid "a rat is a pig is a dog is a boy" Newkirk who had advanced to the final by overwhelming the new "Regulatory Czar" Cass Sunstein.

How did this happen?

Well, the author did a great job explaining his position in this follow up piece at Field and Stream.

Indeed, Rush taped not one, but two public service announcements supporting the number one enemy of sportsmen nationwide - the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) earlier this year.

As the U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance (USSA) made clear when we learned about the ads, sportsmen nationwide were shocked. Maybe Rush doesn't hunt or fish himself, but to give HSUS political cover by making it seem like they are a-ok was a major disservice to thousands of his fans. In fact, the USSA felt so strongly about this, that we were one of the leaders in a serious effort to get Rush to disavow the recordings and expose HSUS.

Though unable to get Rush to publically admit this mistake, the USSA was able to get a lot of media attention on the issue including stories at ESPN, LA Times, New York Post, Outdoor Life and the Washington Times. You can read some of these stories by clicking here.

This effort definitely helped raise the curtain for the general public on just what HSUS's long-term agenda.

Of course, the USSA also led a campaign against one of the runner ups too - "Reg Czar" Cass Sunstein and got within five votes of stopping him from taking over the most powerful regulatory position in Washington.

Maybe next year, the USSA should do its own "heroes vs. villains" smackdown tournament. What say the readers?

Let me know, [email protected].

Greg Lawson is the United States Sportsmen's Alliance's Director of Communications.

Bizarre indeed: Rush Limbaugh's unholy alliance with animal 'rights' extremists

Leading Conservation Groups to Rush Limbaugh: Cease Support of HSUS

Exposed: Humane Society of the United States Fundraising Scandal