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Friday, September 3, 2010

The Antler Gap

From Wiscsonsin Public Radio:

Walker says he's only been hunting for a few years, and has yet to shoot a deer... Neumann says he killed his first deer at age 13, and has a variety of deer antler racks hanging at his suburban Milwaukee home.

Having not grown up in Wisconsin, I can see how an outsider might scoff at the notion of antler racks hanging in a suburban home. I must be going native though, because I though a suburban home decorated with antlers sounded really cool.

In this case I have a lot of sympathy for Walker, I've sat in the woods a few years now and, well, just sat there. I saw one deer, once, but it was still really dark and I didn't even get a shot. So no, I don't think the antler gap will decide the governor's race.

The WPR story that the quote comes from has to do with deer herd management. Walker advocates for an independent auditor, which he calls a Whitetail trustee, to work with the DNR and legislature on the issue. Mark Neumann by contrast, argues that the last thing we need is another government employee.

So even on an issue like the deer herd we get a sense of the contrasting styles of these two candidates. This seems like another case where Neumann offers a superior approach. Do any Wisconsin voters really think we need to add a deer-czar to our state's government?

2 comments:

Dale said...

Having been a hunter my entire life both in Wisconsin and Michigan's UP (every year), I agree with Walker.

The DNR in both states have proven that the really don't care about the deer herds. These governing bodies, who's leadership is appointed by the governor are more interested in keeping the deer heard low because the insurance lobby spends vast amounts of money on campaigns.

Ever notice the cost of our licences keep going up and the deer keep getting fewer and fewer?

Dad29 said...

Yah, if you want to shoot a deer, come to the Milwaukee suburbs. Elm Grove, Brookfield, Mequon, River Hills--they're overrun with the damn eaters.

You're right about Walker's remark. Of course, it's possible that Walker will do the RIGHT thing and cut DNR's budget by 30% before engaging a single auditor.