Hunting With Joe

David Weigel | July 25, 2007

The Politico's Dan Reilly has an update on the Jered Townsend—Joe Biden epic:

In an interview with Reason magazine, Townsend later invited Biden up to Clio to discuss the matter.

Despite questioning whether or not Townsend was mentally qualified to handle his "baby" during the debate, Biden said today that he emailed Townsend and gave him his phone number, saying he would be happy to get together the next time he is in Michigan.

Biden even told The Crypt he would be happy to go hunting with Townsend, though the senator said he couldn't equal Townsend's firepower.

"All I have is a 20 gauge and a 10 gauge shot gun. It won't match his automatic weapon," Biden said.

Townsend called the Bushmaster "a good varmint rifle" in his interview, saying he uses it to hunt coyotes.

Still, Biden, who helped craft the 1994 assault weapons ban, said Townsend would have to lose the Bushmaster before they went looking for varmints together.

It's not the O'Reilly Factor getting Ward Churchill fired, but I'll take it.

My mash note to Joltin' Joe here.

Headline reference here.

Comments

tomWright|7.25.07 @ 8:51PM|#

a 10 gauge?!

Dude, that will out-damage any target it hits compared to a little 223 like a bushmasted.

Ever seen a 10 gauge slug?

Chavez is a thug|7.25.07 @ 8:53PM|#

I wish they wouldn't have interviewed this guy. He is so inarticulate he makes Bush look like Thucydides.

Zach|7.25.07 @ 9:07PM|#

If I had a choice between a 10 guage and a semi automatic .223 I'd pick the 10 guage.

|7.25.07 @ 9:17PM|#

I don't think a person who would make a statement like the one below seems inarticulate or unintelligent.

JT: "I'm still mostly undecided but the odds of supporting Joe Biden have expired and disappeared completely."

He just doesn't seem to be very talkative.

violent_k|7.25.07 @ 9:31PM|#

Can we send Biden hunting with Cheney?

|7.25.07 @ 9:35PM|#

Can we send Biden hunting with Cheney?

I'll take $5 large on Dick at 3/5...

|7.25.07 @ 10:10PM|#

Let's call Townsend what he is: a dying breed of American. Few Americans these days worship guns. The few who do can comfortably be assigned to the other side (Republican) and, essentially, be ignored. They are already phasing out of American life and will be as good as gone in 20 years. Sure, there will always be a few nutballs left, but so what? The future belongs to the blue states, clearly.

Guy Montag|7.25.07 @ 10:24PM|#

Chavez is a thug,

I wish they wouldn't have interviewed this guy. He is so inarticulate he makes Bush look like Thucydides.

Stop picking on Biden. He is probably using someone else's words without attribute anyway.

|7.25.07 @ 10:31PM|#

The clowns who turn states blue aren't siring very many children.

The people you call "gun nuts" are having lots of children, and those children are learning to shoot.

|7.25.07 @ 10:33PM|#

My mistake, I, not Keith, wrote the comment above. I meant to address Keith and instead accidentally wrote his name in the name box. My bad.

|7.25.07 @ 11:00PM|#

This actually seems like a pretty cool concession. What he said in the debate was execrable, but if a senator offered to come hunting with me, I'd consider downgrading my assault rifle.

Guy Montag|7.25.07 @ 11:01PM|#

matt,

That is just what you want us to think.

|7.25.07 @ 11:45PM|#

The Bushmaster the "nut" purchased was legal under Biden's assault weapon ban. He bought it under the ban. It is not an assualt weapon. Its not "automatic" either. Its an "autoloading rifle", as is any semi-automatic. Is this Biden guy a Democrat or something?

|7.26.07 @ 12:27AM|#

matt,

That is just what you want us to think.

*waves hand*

These aren't the comments you're looking for...

|7.26.07 @ 12:39AM|#

Dude, that will out-damage any target it hits compared to a little 223 like a bushmasted.

But have you seen the Bushmater?!?!

It is Scarrrrry.

*shivers

|7.26.07 @ 12:45AM|#

Is that ten-gauge a flintlock?

Edward|7.26.07 @ 2:00AM|#

I've said it before, but Townsend is obviously to sharp to get sucked in by Ron Paul's robust Christian nation shit, and that's very heartening.

|7.26.07 @ 2:01AM|#

Holy shit, a 10ga? That's some serious pipe right there.

Remember back when they actually *were* going after shotguns by calling them street sweepers? I know there was a revolving cylinder shotgun named "street sweeper" that eventually did get regu-banned. But the way I remember the campaign they conflated the "street sweeper" with saturday-night specials to raise the spectre of cheap guns to get them banned. Something like cheap shotguns sawed off to short barrel lengths.

John Tabin|7.26.07 @ 7:12AM|#

Keith: Annual firearm and ammunition sales rose 27.7% between 1998 and 2006. If that's what gun owners look like when they're "a dying breed," I'd love to see them when they're thriving.

John Tabin|7.26.07 @ 7:13AM|#

Correction: the linked stats go to 2005, not 2006. Point still stands.

|7.26.07 @ 7:19AM|#

Guy,

I believe you are referring to the Jackhammer. And yes, only a few were made according to the wiki page. I suppose if you're trying to make a sensational argument to get gun control passed, you have to boost the threat a little bit.

|7.26.07 @ 7:48AM|#

Point still stands.

Taller, even.

|7.26.07 @ 8:28AM|#

Guy,
I remember when Styles P co-opted that phrase for not only his beloved "remi" and "pump" but his crew as well.

I shot a sparrow with a 10 gauge once... I though matter couldn't be destroyed, but I believe I broke the laws of thermodynamics.

|7.26.07 @ 9:36AM|#

An AR-15 is semi-automatic, Senator A-hole who can't be bothered to know what the hell you're talking about. Little known fact about Biden: his asshole moves simultaneously with his mouth when talking about guns.

|7.26.07 @ 9:54AM|#

Still, Biden, who helped craft the 1994 assault weapons ban, said Townsend would have to lose the Bushmaster before they went looking for varmints together.

Most of us have got crap like this from our boyfriend/girlfriend/spouse: "I won't go out with you if you are wearing that!"

|7.26.07 @ 9:57AM|#

How can Joe Biden possibly think that was an automatic rifle? It's not like the relationship of automatic weapons to the crime bill haven't been discussed ad nauseum for a decade and a half.

|7.26.07 @ 10:15AM|#

"Keith | July 25, 2007, 10:31pm | #

The clowns who turn states blue aren't siring very many children.

The people you call "gun nuts" are having lots of children, and those children are learning to shoot."

The unfortunate thing is the blue-staters are encouraging poor, illiterate, illegitimate-child spawning immigrants to come and vote since poor, illiterate, illegitimate-child spawning people are a core constituency of the D-party. To paraphrase Glenn Reynolds, "the democrats didn't like the constituency that existed in the West/South, so they are replacing it with the one they like."

robc|7.26.07 @ 10:16AM|#

joe,

You are assuming that Senators actually listen is discussions.

robc|7.26.07 @ 10:16AM|#

listen to

I have no idea what listen is means

|7.26.07 @ 10:19AM|#

The unfortunate thing is the blue-staters are encouraging poor, illiterate, illegitimate-child spawning immigrants to come and vote since poor, illiterate, illegitimate-child spawning people are a core constituency of the D-party.

Is John actually saying that it's "unfortunate" that people he considers undesirable have a political party that represents them?

This strikes me as being elitist.

|7.26.07 @ 10:28AM|#

John should write a book about his struggle. Hmm, "My Struggle" would make a good title.

|7.26.07 @ 10:45AM|#

Funny thing - there's a lot of yapping here about "gun nuts", and linking firearm enthusiam with being a "dying breed" (this means you Keith), but I don't think that this is the case. I happen to know quite a few hunters ans sports (read: Target) shooters that have Masters Degrees, are lawyers, doctors, etc. If your sole media outlets are The NYTIMES, TNR, The Nation, etc. I can forgive you for this. There is a much bigger world out there than CA and NYC proper, my friend...

|7.26.07 @ 10:47AM|#

As joe comes within a hair's breadth of Godwinizing the thread...

VM|7.26.07 @ 10:53AM|#

But Baked - it was clever! WELL DONE!

Hell, I thought this was gonna be a story of our very own joe and weigal hunting for TCS shills.

(or a trip to the dick cheney sex shop - where a facial and a lead necklace have other meanings)

mith|7.26.07 @ 11:27AM|#

"Annual firearm and ammunition sales rose 27.7% between 1998 and 2005*. If that's what gun owners look like when they're "a dying breed," I'd love to see them when they're thriving." (* - corrected to match other post)

I wonder if this trend has to do with a lot of ammunition getting cheaper during this time period, so that more people bought pre-loaded rather than reloading their own.

I know that in the mid to late 90's 9mm got so cheap it cost more to reload than to just buy new. Seems like reloaders are the dying breed.

dhex|7.26.07 @ 11:42AM|#

i was under the impression - perhaps mistaken - that "street sweeper" referred to semi-auto shotguns?

see also: totally kickass album by godflesh.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/e6/Streetcleaner.jpg

|7.26.07 @ 12:03PM|#

dhex,

Godflesh are great.
Have you heard the new project, Jesu?

Also very good.

lunchstealer|7.26.07 @ 12:29PM|#

But have you seen the Bushmater?!?!

It is Scarrrrry.


Just be glad you haven't run across the Mushbater.

dhex|7.26.07 @ 1:26PM|#

"Have you heard the new project, Jesu?"

yes i have. you're right, it is really good. i picked up conqueror and heartache after hearing their remix on the new explosions in the sky album (the jesu mix is worth hearing and probably a better eits song than most of their actual songs; the rest is what you'd expect so if you don't dig them then well yeah)

its a bit weird to hear him doing post rock, but i think they should go touring with om because i'd like to go to a concert where each band only plays 3 songs but it lasts 3 hours.

|7.26.07 @ 1:37PM|#

Where I come from, 10 gauges are goose guns. Bringing down a goose 40 yards or so takes some power. I've seen 12 gauge shot bounce off geese at that distance. Mallards hit the same way fold and drop.

And street-sweepers mostly referred to sawn-off shotguns, usually 12 gauge pumps.

Anyway, Biden is a jerk.

|7.26.07 @ 3:11PM|#

I'm very nearly certain the Spas 12 was the "street sweeper"

|7.26.07 @ 3:14PM|#

Maybe not, but I remember some congressass using a manufactured high pitch incredulous voice saying "streetsweeper!!!!" to illustrate the apparent absurdity of needing to own this firearm. I believe the gun in question actually had "streetsweeper" printed on it.

ellipsis|7.26.07 @ 3:40PM|#

The people here preferring a 10 gauge to a 223 obviously aren't from a western state. Have you ever tried to hit something at 200 yards with a shotgun? Something as fast-moving as a coyote would be damn near impossible.

Firehand|7.26.07 @ 3:43PM|#

If a girlfriend said "Get rid of the guns if we're going to keep going out", she'd be gone. What the hell makes that dumbass Biden think someone he 'would go hunting with' should dump their favorite rifle just to make his fat ass happy?

I'm so damn sick of politicians who believe they're our boss...

|7.26.07 @ 5:37PM|#

dhex,

'd like to go to a concert where each band only plays 3 songs but it lasts 3 hours.

You would want that to be a Jesu, Isis show then... with, maybe, Subarachnoid Space.

DJ|7.27.07 @ 4:07AM|#

This is a Street Sweeper shotgun:

http://www.auctionarms.com/search/displayitem.cfm?itemnum=5913288

Simply a big revolver that shoots shotgun shells, with a folding stock and front vertical grip.

It just doesn't get any more "evil" than that, though (in the minds of anti-gunners).