Hunting: A hobby for all seasons and parties

When it comes to conservation, the language used by the Missouri gubernatorial candidates fits with regional instead of party rhetoric.

In Missouri politics, camouflage and an orange vest are just as essential to a wardrobe as a business suit and briefcase.

In this area, conservation and hunting are closely related. They’re areas of concern for everyone who makes a living tied to the land or who enjoys the environment recreationally.

Politicians try to establish hunters’ rights and conservation as a priority through their rhetoric. Whereas Nixon hits the target and relates to hunters, but Spence could use some target practice.

Nixon seems to understand the technique of relatable rhetoric. His website features “sportsmen” as one of his issues, and opens with a quote linking environmentalism to hunting by using language like “bounty,” “wildlife,” and “harvest”

“We all want a cleaner, safer and healthier state to pass on to our kids and grandkids, and a bounty of wildlife to harvest for generations to come.”

This language overlaps with the language used to describe policy on the Missouri Department of Conservation’s website.

Nixon’s site lists four focuses about conservation policy. The goals center on hunting, and even support a traditionally conservative value — gun rights.

•                “Supporting Missouri hunters & anglers;

•                Encouraging the next generation of outdoorsmen and women;

•                Strengthening Missouri’s State Parks and natural areas;

•                Protecting sportsmen’s Second Amendment rights.

Nixon’s website is topped off the pictures below of him dressed in camo and holding a turkey, which fits perfectly with the hunter-oriented rhetoric on the website:

It's surprising that we don't find Spence decked out in hunting gear or posing with the carcass of whatever animal is in season.

Instead, his website features a stunning lack of content related to hunting and conservation. In a small blurb labeled “Conservative Values,” Spence mentions his support of the 2^nd Amendment, and his membership in the National Rifle Association.

Why doesn't he tout this? Why isn’t he proclaiming his love for camo and deer stands? And why do we expect our politicians to relate to our pastimes?