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The Media: We’ve sucked down AstroTurf so long that we don’t know grassroots when it jumps up and bites us in the ass

I said before that it will soon be stated as fact that the NRA was responsible for Zumbo’s loss of his job for saying something stupid even though that is not the case. What really happened is that a few message boards and blogs noticed it and left comments, sent letters, etc. and that resulted in Zumbo losing his job. The NRA, a full week after the fact, merely announced it was severing ties with the guy. But don’t let those facts get in the way when there’s hackery to be made by lying. Says Ray Schoenke:

Before today’s presidential candidates go courting the National Rifle Association for support (witness Mitt Romney’s sudden enrollment), they should be aware of the case of Jim Zumbo. One of nation’s most famous and respected hunting and outdoors journalists, Zumbo was professionally assassinated by NRA hysteria for simply uttering a single and — many hunters would say — reasonable point of view.

and

The NRA whipped up a frenzy on the blogosphere, where a rabid fringe element of the hunting community denounced Zumbo in the harshest terms, even attacking his patriotism.

Remember, the NRA had nothing to do with Zumbo’s firing.

Mr. Schoenke is either a liar; misleading intentionally to score political points; or a hack for an anti-gun group. Three guesses:

Ray Schoenke is the president of the American Hunters and Shooters Association, a former Washington Redskins football player and a lifelong hunter.

The American Hunters and Shooters Association is an anti-gun group that holds itself out as a pro-gun group.

And the media is happy to print the AstroTurf.

See past Zumbo coverage here.

Update: Apologies to Tam, who said:

they’ve been playing on astroturf so long that they don’t know grassroots even when fed a mouthful of divot.

15 Responses to “The Media: We’ve sucked down AstroTurf so long that we don’t know grassroots when it jumps up and bites us in the ass”

  1. Kevin Baker Says:

    I’m reminded of Tam’s spot on quip: “they’ve been playing on astroturf so long that they don’t know grassroots even when fed a mouthful of divot.”

  2. SayUncle Says:

    I knew I wasn’t original enough and that had to come from somewhere. I liked les jones’ quip that “even a sheep isn’t dumb enough to eat astroturf”

  3. Veeshir Says:

    Holy making sense Batman.

    I forgot my “bus-book” this morning so I grabbed a copy of the The Examiner this morning. It has the usual Bush is bad/Iraq War is a mistake stuff, but then I got to the editorial. Wow, is all I can say. Well, that an “Holy common sense Batman”, but you get the idea.

  4. Standard Mischief Says:

    I’m still getting hits on my timeline post about the incident. it’s fully half the traffic I get by real people.

    http://standardmischief.com/2007/02/25/the-washington-post-spins-the-zumbo-saga-plus-a-timeline/

  5. BobG Says:

    “Mr. Schoenke is either a liar; misleading intentionally to score political points; or a hack for an anti-gun group.”

    Both, obviously. Of course, a person couldn’t be a speaker for an anti-gun group unless they were a liar.

  6. Ed Says:

    Can this Schoenke be sued for libel? He published something he knows to be a lie in an effort to harm an organization. If one were to take the ludicrous statement that Mr. Schoenke’s organization is pro-gun at face value, his comments would be like the CEO of Delta saying that United caused 9/11. I mean, his organization allegedly competes with the NRA in representing gunowners, right? That or he’d have to admit he wants Ray Schoenke to be allowed to own firearms, but you…not so much.

  7. nk Says:

    Ace of Spades has a cool video of five “Zumbos” getting their ass kicked by a lion. I will not “Zumbo” all trophy hunters but here I’m on the side of the lion. Here’s the link, hopefully: http://ace.mu.nu/archives/219748.php

  8. jesse Says:

    Argh, that was irritating. Here’s the letter to the editor I sent them–

    Your recent article by Ray Schoenke is based on a patently untrue premise.

    The NRA had absolutely nothing to do with “whipping up a frenzy on the
    blogosphere” that cost Jim Zumbo his sponsers. The NRA was actually far
    behind the curve on that one and didn’t make any statements on the issue
    until a week afterwards. It was actually a prime example of real “grass
    roots” activism. To try to explain it away as brainwashed radicals
    following orders by the evil NRA is rediculous and blatently false.

    Additionally, you should be aware that the “American Hunters and Shooters
    Association” that Mr. Schoenke is President of is a false-flag operation
    that bills itself as a “gun rights” organization, when in reality, it was
    founded by anti-gun activists. And Mr. Schoenke himself has donated over
    $15,000 to organizations dedicated to banning firearms.

    Carrying water for this propagandist is reprehensible.

  9. Kevin Baker Says:

    Jesse:

    When it comes to letters to the editor, spell-check is your friend.

    Good piece, otherwise!

  10. Alcibiades Says:

    Does the AHSA hold elections? (Probably not.) If it did, it would be hilarious to take it over by a mass group of gun owners.

  11. jesse Says:

    Haha, oops. Maybe I should find a spellcheck plugin for vi.

  12. Standard Mischief Says:

    Haha, oops. Maybe I should find a spellcheck plugin for vi.

    :w !spell -b

  13. straightarrow Says:

    who would have thought a guy could be a pussy and play in the NFL?

  14. Max Says:

    I don’t think that the AHSA, and now the USA (Union Sportsmens’ Alliance), are actually intended to draw-off NRA members. Their member services and outreach are an inch deep.

    I suspect that one of their primary purposes is to provide the press with a new ‘moderate’ pro-gun cohort. This re-centers the 2nd amendment debate, and enables the press to exclude the NRA when seeking their ‘pro-gun’ commentary. So rather than reading articles, or watching news coverage, with responses from HCI v. the NRA, they can frame the debate as one between HCI and the AHSA. AHSA will then offer a position which endorses the concerns of HCI but offers lip service to ‘legitimate gun owners’.

  15. SayUncle » Someone gets it Says:

    […] We’ve sucked down AstroTurf so long that we don’t know grassroots when it jumps up and bites us in t… […]

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