Galvanized by guns
Palin's stronghold among "hook and bullet" set

By Jamey Bergman
ESPNOutdoors.com
September 10, 2008

"Real Hunting" program host Brenda Valentine is a strong supporter of Palin.

This election season, traditional hot-button topics like abortion, illegal immigration and even the war in Iraq have taken a backseat to the turmoil in the stock market and the economic slowdown. But there is a group of passionate voters who are galvanized by guns ... and Sarah Palin.

Since her acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention, Governor Palin has arguably garnered more media attention than any of the other three candidates in the race for the White House. From Tina Fey's "Saturday Night Live" skits mocking Palin's folksy persona to an Alaska state legislature corruption investigation focusing on Palin's "Troopergate" scandal, Palin has been pinned under the unwavering gaze of the media spotlight.

(Longtime republican Senator Ted Stevens' being found guilty on seven counts of failing to properly disclose political gifts isn't helping, either.)

Some voters see this as an unfair treatment of the candidate.

"I think they're afraid of her and I think that putting her down and belittling her has been their way of dealing with this," said Brenda Valentine, the "First Lady of Hunting."

Valentine, a hunter and television personality who hosts Bass Pro Shops' "Real Hunting" program and is frequently featured on its "King of Bucks" series strongly supports Palin, though she's careful to say her political views in no way represent those of the National Wild Turkey Federation, a non-profit organization for whom she also serves as spokeswoman.

When asked whether it was the media or the Democratic party initiating the attacks, Valentine asserted the Democratic party is the controlling force behind much of the mainstream media. She claimed bias and saw a nearly indistinguishable link between political parties and media outlets.

"Everyone but Fox Network has chopped her down and tried to make her look like this backwoods lady who's never been to town," said Valentine. "I think we have two of our main networks that are Democratic-funded. It's not just an idea that they're biased, it's a fact that they're biased."

Whether or not the mainstream media is inherently biased in its treatment of her, as a political celebrity in the current fractured political climate, Palin has ardent supporters and vicious detractors — and some of the most ardent and vicious fall on either side of the gun control issue.

"When they said she was a lifetime NRA member, I knew right then where I'd vote and where I'd send my money," Valentine said of Governor Palin.

Valentine distanced herself from extremists, calling herself a "simple country housewife," but expressed her concern that without gun rights, our country would be headed down a slippery slope toward a complete breakdown of the democratic system. As both a woman and a hunter, Palin's record on gun rights was the most important issue for Valentine.

"I wouldn't care if she were a three-legged dog," said Valentine. "I don't care what gender they are, what color they are, but I'm very interested in their history on voting for gun rights, and when I find out one has a history of opposing gun rights, then they're automatically not my choice."