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October 15, 2020 02:32 PM UTC

Cory Gardner Totes a Fishing Pole, Not a Gun, in NRA Political Ad

  • 38 Comments
  • by: Erik Maulbetsch
(Maybe it’s one of them gun poles — Promoted by Colorado Pols)
An unarmed Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO) shows off his fishing pole.

Cory Gardner brought a fishing pole to gun fight.

The National Rifle Association’s (NRA) latest digital ad for Cory Gardner stresses not just that he’s your choice for “defending the Second Amendment” but specifically, “your right to self-defense.”

Pretty standard stuff for a Republican senator with a history of voting solidly with the NRA, and for cashing millions of dollars of campaign checks from the group. It’s one of several Facebook ads the NRA has run on Gardner’s behalf over the past two months, spending about $10,000 per week.

However the ad doesn’t show Cory packing heat, but rather a fishing pole. The NRA and other gun groups advocate for a very broad interpretation of “bearing arms,” but I doubt even the most diehard supporters believe the Second Amendment covers spin rods.

NARRATOR: “Cory Gardner knows your right to self-defense is essential. Vote freedom first. Vote Cory Gardner for Senate.”

The list of Republican campaign ads featuring candidates and firearms is longer that than the ammo belt feeding Rambo’s machine gun, so the NRA non sequitur B-roll video of Gardner begs the question: is it possible that a Republican senator with an “A” rating from the NRA doesn’t have a single image toting a shotgun or hunting rifle?

One can only imagine the response from gun rights activists if a Democratic candidate ran a similar ad.

Given that the narrator specifically mentions the “right to self-defense,” one would think an image of a firearm would make sense.

Unless, of course, the ad is targeting brown trout.

This opinion column first appeared in the Colorado Times Recorder.

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38 thoughts on “Cory Gardner Totes a Fishing Pole, Not a Gun, in NRA Political Ad”

        5. yes … the pocket fisherman hasn't been a thing for awhile

          Ronco" and "Popeil" and the suffix "-O-Matic" (used in many early product names) became icons of American popular culture and were often referred to by comedians introducing fictional gadgets, and As-Seen-On-TV parodies.

          Ron Popeil sold in 2005, and it corporation went through bankruptcy filings in 2007, 2011 and 2018.  "On June 13, 2018, Ronco changed its bankruptcy filing from Chapter 11 (reorganization) to Chapter 7, full liquidation and shutdown "

          gotta love a recent Popeil tweet

  4. First, you'll need a license to fish.

    Then, it'll be limits on the number of rounds flies in your magazine  tackle box.

    And one of these days, the jack-booted Antifa thugs are gonna come for your AR fly rod. 

    1. .

      …watch where you are walking. 

      Cory is all about how things look. There are reasons why he and El Donaldo, and Calamity Jane, for that matter, are all on the same team. To them it is a play. An ego driven, hedonistic, trip.

      1. “Never cross the Divide before June”. – Old Ute saying

        ”Always honk your horn in a tunnel to show the flatlanders you’re a  Coloradan”. – my father

        ”Whichever car has the closest turnaround must back up and get out of the other car’s way”. ( rule for motorists on narrow mountain roads) 

        “Snowmobiles should be loudly cursed when they intrude on cross country skiers”. – my hiking group

        “Bikers should stop to let hikers go by”. – supposed rule that nobody ever follows.

        “Hikers should get out of the way of bicyclists so they don’t get run over.”
        “Keep your goddamn dog on a leash or let the cougars have it”.

        ”Don’t feed the bears. Feed the picas, jays, and other small critters.”

        “when an elk wants to cross the road, let him”. 

        ”Pack your trash out and bury your waste and TP”
        “Thoroughly put out any campfire or use a  fuel stove.”
        “Don’t foul the water for the people and animals downstream”.

        These are the mountain rules I know. 
         

         

      2. kwtrees' list is really pretty comprehensive and a real hoot.😆 Nice work, there!

        But, I was specifically talking about rule #1.

        When walking in the mountains, keep your eyes on the trail. If you walk and gawk, it can cost you…bigly. So, if you want to look at the scenery, stop and enjoy.

        I taught this rule to my son, my nephews, and any other child who would listen. Falling off a cliff is a preventable accident. Our plains dwelling friends seldom need to consider such.😎

  6. So Cory brought a fishing rod to a gun rights ad.

    When it comes to stupid GOP ads, this isn’t the worst.  It’s not as bad as Bob Schaeffer using Mt. McKinley in one of his ads featuring Colorado mountain scenery. It isn’t as ridiculous as Both Ways Bob’s horse’s ass commercial.

    If you want to point to something really ridiculous that Gardner has done or said, it was his remark about Trump being a moral and ethical person.

    1. I'll play the role of optimist here and make the observation that this means that it is no longer de rigeur to have some kind of firearm in your political ad that you use to destroy the object of your political anger.

      One can hope.

  7. Maybe he’s preparing for a post-Election Day scenario where he and Lady G live out their lives in Wabasha yelling at each other over what could have been while ice fishing and fighting for the attention of Rona Romney (although it looks now like Miss Thing may survive – still hoping for an Eric Cantor moment). 

          1. Somebody that easily influenced and so pathetic in the lows to which they will stoop under a negative influence was bad from the beginning.

            #FiretheLiar(s)

                1. I’ve long thought that there must be some heavy kompromat on Lindsey Graham. For a while, I thought it must be that effeminate, confirmed bachelor Graham had some horrific Gay Secret Life lurking in his closet.

                  But  Russian oil money and support from a Chinese virologist when his boss is yapping about the “Wuhan virus” oughtta do it. ( bring him to heel like the lapdog he is). 
                  My favorite Graham video: 

                  1. I’m not convinced those are mutually-exclusive.  Some time back while dining at The Monocle in DC a friend pointed out to me a gentleman largely rumored to be his partner.  I couldn’t give a rats patootie who/what Lindsey’s choices are between the sheets (unless he’s supporting legislation inconsistent with equality) – but he does seem like a tortured individual with a lot of suppressed anger. 

                    In the “we’re being gaslighted” department I also remember this article about the Russians funneling $30 million into the NRA. The NRA was very active in Lindsey’s 2014 campaign so it wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility that he benefitted from some rogue rubles in that cycle, too. 

    2. Phony Barrett has that cold-eyed gaze not uncommon to zealots. She sees herself as a crusader, wading through our civil rights like an avenging angel with a sword of righteousness. I don’t trust her.

      Goodbye, ACA. Goodbye, Roe v. Wade, Goodbye NEPA, Goodbye VRA….and on and on.

        1. First…they should stop calling her a Catholic. She used to be a Catholic. Now she is an evangelical Christian fundamentalist, posing in an organization that enters into covenants. She is fundamentally dishonest, as the steady drip of opinions and connections she “forgot”? to mention continues to surface.
          People of Praise scrubs her from their website?

          Por que?

          Could it be she wants to portray herself as something she is not?

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