Poodle Ad

Er, What?

You may perhaps have heard of the NRA's new Poodle Ad, wherein John Kerry is portrayed as a toy French Poodle with a pink bow (the text of the ad says, "That dog don't hunt," so therefore a toy rather than a sporting breed of dog is used).

Some of the ad text is damning indeed, given Kerry's frequent attempts to portray himself as pro-hunting: Kerry voted to outlaw most ammunition used by deer hunters, for example. There is a larger assembly of Kerry's anti-hunting voting record here.

But I'm really curious about this part:

"...it's no wonder John Kerry has been called a "hero" by the Humane Society of the United States, an extremist group that wants to outlaw hunting in America."

What?

The Human Society is an extremist group?

Now, it is true that the Humane Society is completely opposed to hunting. That is certainly an extremist position.

Nevertheless, surely the good works of the Humane Society should protect it from being called an "extremist group." It is a group of kind hearted people who do largely worthy things. They are entirely mistaken and misguided on this one question. It is a serious matter, as part of any donation to the Humane Society goes to lobby against hunting rights. It is bad for us, as they lobby against our ancient rights. It is also bad for them, as it cuts out a large number of people who would otherwise be their friends and supporters. Their position makes it impossible for many of us who love animals to support their other work, because we can't afford also to support their constant anti-hunter lobbying.

Still, holding one extreme position among many positions is not the same as being an extremist. I can't imagine that the NRA stands to gain anything by the charaterization. Most people know the Humane Society from its work with domestic animals; very few know of its anti-hunting work. It's useful to explain why you oppose the Humane Society, but it would be wise to recognize that most people have a very favorable impression of them -- an impression that, by and large, is deserved. We must defeat the Humane Society's lobbyists on occasion, but we have no reason to wish to defeat the Humane Society.

It is possible to disagree, even to the point at which no compromise is possible, while remaining friends. Between people of good will, that should be the standard.