Liberal-leaning sportswear company Patagonia, following up a crushing public relations defeat at the hands of Rep. Rob Bishop (R-UT), has decided to “endorse” a left-wing Senate candidate in Nevada and a liberal Senate incumbent in Montana.
In late 2017 Patagonia’s CEO claimed that President Donald Trump had “stolen” land from the American public at three national monuments in Western states, a move announced and defended by Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke. As Zinke and SCI have pointed out, the adjustment of boundaries at Bears Ears and other monuments resulted in zero acres being sold or shifted outside the control of the federal government.
But facts could not stop mouthy celebrity liberals, including Patagonia’s CEO, from completely lying or mischaracterizing attempts to reform the outmoded Antiquities Act.
In response, Rep. Bishop, as chairman of the powerful House Natural Resources Committee, issued an extraordinarily rare open hearing invitation to Patagonia to come to the committee and defend their positions in public testimony.
Patagonia’s response? Well, it looked a lot like King Arthur running away from the Killer Rabbit at the Cave of Caerbannog. “Run away!!”
And now, fresh off this stinging PR disaster, Patagonia is trotting out some Senate “endorsements,” flexing non-existent muscle. While legal, corporations endorsing candidates is more like a joke compared to other tools the law allows organizations to persuade and influence political outcomes.
For instance, SCI maintains the Hunter Action Fund and supports campaigns through our political arm, SCI-PAC—the largest and most effective pro-hunting, pro-sportsman’s political action committee in America. SCI members support Democrats and Republicans who will patiently work in the legislative vineyard and not be swayed by glitzy, but empty rhetoric.
Matt Rosendale in Montana, running for the Senate, and Nevada Senator Dean Heller are two such legislators. They deserve the support of every hunter and true lover of the great outdoors. They will defend a way of life that is clearly being attacked by anti-hunting zealots and fake “outdoor” activists who are more concerned with profit than real, fact-based wildlife conservation.
Instead of posturing and meaningless announcements, SCI members are proudly supporting candidates and officeholders across the country in their efforts to defend America’s real outdoor heritage.
