Tancredo, celebrity shooter
Posted: Monday, September 24, 2007 12:55 PM by Domenico Montanaro
Filed Under:
Republicans, 2008, Tancredo
From NBC/NJ’s Mike Memoli
KEENE, N.H. -- Tancredo, who skipped the NRA Convention in Washington on Friday, put his Second Amendment credentials on display here Sunday, serving as the Celebrity Guest Shooter at a fundraiser for local Republicans. “As opposed to other people who have made the statement, I have actually hunted all my life,” Tancredo said.
The Colorado congressman played the mark, meaning anyone who hit more targets than him in the three-phase competition was entered into a raffle for prizes, which included frozen turkeys. Tancredo, who did not use any of his own guns, joked after that he shot just poorly enough to ensure that everyone finished better than him. “It’s just what you have to do, right?” he asked.
“I think he did pretty well,” said Juliana Bergeron, chair of the Cheshire County GOP. “Everybody says it’s different if you’re not shooting with your own guns.”
Actually, there was some confusion over the rules. The second phase of the competition called for shooting a moving deer target. Tancredo connected four out of six times, but not in the right spot. “I hit it in the gut a couple times, so they won’t count it,” he said, after learning he should have aimed for the lungs.
The Cheshire County GOP invited all the candidates to join them at the local Fish and Game Club, but Tancredo was the only one to take them up on the offer (if you don’t count Daniel Gilbert, who insisted he’s a candidate as well). Most of the other GOP campaigns were represented on this crystal clear early fall day, however, either with signs or surrogates sporting candidate flair. Even Giuliani, whose gun control efforts as mayor have some sportsmen wary, had representatives on hand. “I don’t see him going after the guns,” said Ron Vars, chair of New Hampshire Sportsmen for Rudy. “If I thought that, I wouldn’t be involved.”
Several of the attendees acknowledged that there is still dissatisfaction with the current Republican field. “I think the field needs to narrow down,” Bergeron said. “There are so many issues [aside from Iraq and immigration] that we need to hear about as well.” Jim Coburn, a Mike Huckabee backer and the GOP’s gubernatorial candidate last year, said the field doesn’t “resonate with a lot of voters. “The average voter hasn’t even heard of most of the candidates yet, other than Rudy perhaps,” Coburn said.
Jim Kenney, a state senator running for governor in 2008, called Mitt Romney, John McCain and Rudy Giuliani the early frontrunners, and that Fred Thompson “comes in a little handicapped.” “That doesn’t mean he can’t catch up,” he said. He added that Huckabee “has really impressed” Republicans, and that Ron Paul “has a very strong following” here.
As for Tancredo, he admits it’s a tough road ahead. “My message sort of resonates. But I don’t have $100 million in the bank or $350 million in my own personal bank account, so I have to do it the old fashioned way.” Best known for his immigration position, he also made a pitch on second amendment grounds today. “It’s sort of clichéd to say it but it’s true, that all of our other rights are dependent on that one being intact,” he said.
