Heidi Ganahl is back in for Dan as he wraps up his 30th anniversary celebration trip to Switzerland, discussing the latest with Rob Dawson (KOA News) on discord within the Colorado Republican party. Will Dave Williams be ousted this weekend, or will a temporary restraining order issued by a court stop it from happening?
Also, Chris Dorsey joins the conversation on the ballot initiative to end mountain lion hunting in Colorado.
Chris has produced nearly 60 outdoor television series over the last quarter century--more than anyone in history. Because of this, he's been called the brand-father of outdoor TV. He's one of the world's most widely traveled sportsmen, is a popular TV host, film producer, and leading voice for conservation reaching scores of mainstream media outlets. He's also a biologist, Forbes columnist, and book author who shares the world of sporting adventure from across the globe. Chris Dorsey's Outdoor World brings many of the planet's top hunting and fishing experts together in one channel to showcase premium content for hunters and anglers.
Also, Chris Dorsey joins the conversation on the ballot initiative to end mountain lion hunting in Colorado.
Chris has produced nearly 60 outdoor television series over the last quarter century--more than anyone in history. Because of this, he's been called the brand-father of outdoor TV. He's one of the world's most widely traveled sportsmen, is a popular TV host, film producer, and leading voice for conservation reaching scores of mainstream media outlets. He's also a biologist, Forbes columnist, and book author who shares the world of sporting adventure from across the globe. Chris Dorsey's Outdoor World brings many of the planet's top hunting and fishing experts together in one channel to showcase premium content for hunters and anglers.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
This is Dan Capless and welcome totoday's online podcast edition of The Dan Caplis
Show. Please be sure to giveus a five star rating if you'd be
so kind, and to subscribe,download, and listen to the show every
single day on your favorite podcast platform. This is Heidi Ganal. Dan is
off celebrating his wedding anniversary in Switzerland. Ryan, when does Dan get back
(00:21):
in action? I think he's backMonday. Oh wow, he may have
a little jet lag though. Ifyou need me, I'm around. Oh
look forward with that. Yeah,we'll have you ready in the bullpen.
Help. Oh boy, do wehave a lot to talk about this Friday
afternoon. I obviously cal Daro wasin the last couple of days, so
I had a chance to catch upon the news, and I think we
should start off with the Colorado GOPand that story. And I mean,
(00:45):
I can't even keep track. Ijust checked Twitter again and now they're filing
a lawsuit back to try and hostthe meeting tomorrow. To aus Dave Williams
earlier, it was off, Rob, what do you hear about all this?
Hey? So, first of all, it's good to say you I
saw you in Milwaukee or bracetack itthere. Well, yeah, that's what
we're trying to So basically the temporaryrestraining order, the judge said that there
(01:07):
are by laws they were followed whenit came to the executive committee, I
guess deciding that the July twenty seventhmeeting was should be canceled or was invalid,
and the judge decided there just sidedwith Williams on that. And now
what was that last uptic because Iwas seeing some tweets, but we were
(01:27):
trying to get some information. You'rehearing they're fighting back now so they want
to still have this meeting Saturday.Yeah, so Ernstline with Cardi Politics just
tweeted out that the judge, let'ssee, the judge grants a temporary restraining
order barring Dave Williams's critics from holdingthe meeting. And now the Todd Watkins
(01:51):
crew is going back to the judgeand saying no, no, no,
no, no, we want youto revisit this right. So, well,
for I saw it was a lotof drama, and I actually had
know our idea where to go.We knew the meeting was happening Saturday,
and then all of a sudden,oh wow, the judge hasn't ruled yet,
and then we have a ruling thisafternoon. So you know, we're
(02:13):
just interested in the newsroom about thisbecause there was just so much force behind
getting rid of Dave Williams. Wehad, I believe Todd Watkin's on with
Mandy Connell this week and he waspretty confident this is going to happen.
Yep. I've talked to Todd acouple times this week and he was very
confident, like no doubt this wasgoing to happen, and everyone was prepared
(02:35):
to go tomorrow up to Brighton andbe ready to roll at eight or nine
in the morning. It's at abig church up there. I do think
it was going to be really close. I don't know if they had the
votes or not. They have toget sixty percent of the whole Central Committee,
which is four hundred and fifteen members, so they'd have to get two
hundred and forty nine votes to pushDave out, and it was questionable if
they were going to just do Daveor also do Hope and and Tom the
(03:00):
treasurer and the vice chair as well. So my guess is that they're still
going to show up in the morning. What do you think I would assume
so, I think so. Therejust seems to be a zest or a
desire to have this happen. It'salmost like in hearing these comments, we've
had a couple of these people comeon KAWA in the last few weeks.
(03:23):
They just want to be rid ofthis chapter. It's like we want we
want to get back to a functioningparty again. That's what it feels like
when you hear these people talk.I think another concern is the money.
I don't know that money from theRNC is going to come flowing into Colorado
with the leadership the way it is. We've seen reports that it's not.
Yeah, that's a big deal,and I think that's probably why Lauren Bobert
(03:45):
spoke out about it today. Didyou see Congress SATs that she spoke about
it? And what was interesting wasI even hinted during and I was trying
to think of the exact phrasings sheused. I wanted to ask this question
after her primary win, I wasup to see her, but her statement,
there was something off about her statementabout going forward to November. It
(04:10):
almost seemed like she was ignoring anyhelp because she didn't think that the infrastructure
is there in the party because it'sa mess to help her. So the
way she was talking, and I'mtrying to think of a phrase, but
I remember listening to it about amonth ago saying, hmm, that's interesting.
It makes it seem like Bobert's like, is in is on her own.
She feels like she's on her own. She probably doesn't need that much
(04:33):
help in that district anyway. Butyou know what I'm saying is just she
sent this red flag. I waslike, Oh, are you expecting help
from the Colorado GP or maybe you'renot because of what's happening. And I
think that goes back to the conversationRyan you had with Christy Burton Brown and
I mentioned earlier this week that candidatesare getting to the point in Colorado where
(04:56):
when I ran for governor, andI think a lot of candidates right now,
they just don't rely on the stateparty. There's not a lot there
there. There's not a lot ofmoney to be given now. When I
ran for regent statewide, when SteveHouse was chair, I got a donation
of ten thousand dollars from the stateParty and it helped tremendously and it wasn't
just the money. It's the organization, it's the volunteers, it's the network,
(05:17):
it's the introduction to donors. Buta lot of the congressional candidates,
I'll say, already have those relationships. So I think that's more important for
the lower level races, that dropdown races. I wanted to ask you
something too. I know you cameto ask me questions, but to ask
a conversation. I was in Milwaukee, okay. First of all, were
(05:38):
you sitting with your father on thefloor or was you separate from him?
I was only down there for acouple hours. Danny Moore gave me his
pass for a little bit to godown so I could experience it with my
dad and take some pictures. Luckyenough, I was just about ready to
go back up and my couple hourswas up, and that's when Trump came
out. So it was really funto see this Thursday night, Okay,
(06:00):
because I was on the floor tooat the time that he came out.
But you're first of all, theColorado seating area was the most difficult to
get to for the media because youwere right in front of the former president,
So there was intense security going behindyou. So, but I wanted
to get a feel for this becauseI saw pictures from Dave Williams or the
(06:20):
state GOP account, and you know, I interviewed one of the delegates and
try to get an interview with anotherdelegate on the younger end, but he
was just not available at that particulartime. But my question is, like,
is this just a small segment ofthe Colorado Republican Committee, because these
(06:43):
people all just seem, Yeah,we're together, we're loving Trump, we're
loving this unification, We're taking pictureswith Dave Williams, we're smiling and we're
all happy. Is that really alittle bit of a misnomer with how much
support Williams has. Yes, Ithink that was more about support for Trump
and our movement went back the electionin the fall. I honestly didn't see
(07:08):
Dave much. I know he wasthere and he was attending, but I
was an alternate, so I wassitting up in the in the rafters at
some point, but kind of outand about. But I do think everyone
was just very focused on the jobat hand, which was to get the
nomination done and to build support forDonald Trump and the other down ballot candidates.
(07:28):
And that was definitely accomplished. Yeah, and that was just just I
was curious about because I was lookingat the happiness and you know, the
one delegate I talked to, Isaid, this has been the greatest convention
I've been to in the last twentyyears. And there were so many smiles
and everyone was happy. And yes, that feeds the room, you know,
you felt that way in the room. But I was just curious that
(07:53):
maybe this was something that I thought, Oh, maybe Dave Williams has more
support than what we're all reporting.Deplement, the vice chair, was really
leading the charge at the convention.She was the one organizing everybody and making
sure we were where we're supposed tobe. We had breakfast together every morning.
We would all meet for drinks afterwardsif we'd get back at still recovering
(08:13):
later, yeah, not recovering becauseI drank a lot, but recovering because
there's no sleep while you're there.Yes, and there's sleep for the meeting,
but it was so much fun.It was an incredible experience that feels
like an eternity ago with all thenews that's happened since we got back.
Oh my gosh, So I thinkI think tomorrow is going to happen,
whether it's official or not, It'lldepend on, you know, what the
(08:37):
judge ultimately deciphf he sticks with hisdecision, or if he sways back the
other way, or if they goto a different judge. I don't know
how that works to you. Idon't know how it works. I was
just wondering if this judge is planningon ordering in tonight too, you know,
maybe a late night rolling or something. But I was interested to see
(08:58):
it. Wouldn't he just come tothe saying conclusion unless the Todd Watkins Nancy
Plazi that that group supplies maybe otherbylaws that we're not familiar with. Todd
Walkers was lying them out Article seventhis this this area of the bylaws,
and they were confident theirs was gonnawin out. So I don't know if
they find another judge or not,and they I don't know how that works
(09:20):
well. And it'd be interesting tofind out when the RNC steps in,
because I know they can and Iknow we need to go to a break.
This is Heidigan All filling in forDan Kaplis. I have lots of
stuff going on. Let's just talkabout looking forward to it after the break
and now back to the Dankaplas Showpodcast. Brian, that's a great choice
of music. You're a master mixer. I try to be yeah, because
(09:45):
we don't know where we're going out. I just okay. So I got
the scoop spokesperson for Dave Williams critics, and this is according to Ernest Lleying
tells Colorida Politics, they're filing animmediate appeal to the Colorida Supreme Court seeking
to overturn today's Tea temporary restraining order, calling it completely unlawful. We have
zero doubt this will be overturned.It's a work in progress, I guess,
(10:09):
but it's the legal systems involved.Now. I know that they're trying
to stonewall. By they, Imean the leadership of the Colorado GOP.
You spoke. I thought it wasa very interesting and provocative interview with Hope
Shepplman, the vice chair earlier thisweek on Tuesday, and of course Dave
Williams looking to insulate himself for manyyou know, kind of threats at the
(10:31):
throne. I guess, but thisis what we're dealing with. You know,
at some point, can we alljust put our swords down? And
do what's best for the party andthe candidates that we have to get elected
in around one hundred days. Imean, ballots are going to drop in
what's seventy so we don't have alot of time. And I'm worried that
if they do the meeting tomorrow,it's going to end up in a legal
(10:52):
battle. If they don't do themeeting, it's going to be in a
llegal battle. We have a lotof work to do in the next couple
months and this is not helping well. And it's something you've been talking about,
Heidi. There are so many importantraces. There is every time,
but especially I think in a yearwhere Republicans stand to make gains in the
state of Colorado, both in theGeneral Assembly, the House, the Senate.
It's some very important congressional seats likeGabe Evans in the eighth and now
(11:15):
we hear from Representative Lauren Bobert withher contest coming up in the fourth and
the fact that she spoke out thatkind of caught my attention, to be
sure, yeah, and I willwait to see if we can get Lauren
on the show to before I readher statement, but I have it printed
out so we can read it atsome point on the show. But she's
upset. She said, come on, Republicans, get your act together.
(11:35):
Basically. Yeah. So I hadan interesting email from one of the county
chairs, Big County that reached outto me and said, I heard your
interview with Hope, and here's thething. The current leadership has been trying
very hard to keep hidden which racesthey are going to support, because I
don't know if you remember I askedHope that I did, and I was
(11:56):
mostly curious if they were going tosupport the races where their primary wishes didn't
come true. And it turns outhe sent me the list that's hidden top
secret, and it looks like they'veagreed. The state party has agreed to
prioritize CD three and CD eight,none of the other congressional races. So
not CD five where Dave ran againstd Jeff Crank, which is an important
(12:20):
race. He should win that butstill needs support, Not Valdemar and CD
one, who's actually a great candidatewho could pull off a surprise. And
not Lauren Bobert and CD four,So what do you think about that?
Not John Fabricatory Jehan, he's agreat candidate surgery and CD seven. We
have really solid, good quality candidatesrunning for Congress in all the districts.
(12:46):
Why not help them all? Especiallysince he also sent me the tracer account
reporting June twenty sixth, the ColoradoGOP, the state Republican Party, had
sixteen thousand, five hundred and seventynine dollars and sixty cents in their account.
They also have an FEC report,so that's the federal candidate money that's
(13:09):
got over five hundred thousand dollars init, but that has to be used
for federal candidates, which we've gotsome. That's good, but it sounds
like they're only going to invest inthose two races three and eight. Now
those are the closest races, ButI mean, I wouldn't be spiking the
football yet on some of these others, whether it be the fifth of the
fourth. And then certainly to yourpoint, I think John, with the
(13:31):
current issues that are on the tableand his expertise having been an officer for
ICE against Jason Crowe, I mean, Crow himself has appeared to be a
bit nervous. And you remember thatphone call that we heard reported about where
Joe Biden shoot him out and rippedon him for his bronze star status.
And it was because Crow was going, sir, you got to step down.
I mean, he was nervous abouthis own seed of what should be
(13:54):
in quotes, a safe district forDemocrats, but it's not. And I
do think Ryan things have changed dramaticallysince Kamala got into the race, and
the numbers don't look quite as good. But this is a very very volatile
time in Colorado and American politics,so anything can happen. We've got to
be prepared to basically put on ourbest game and see where the chips fall.
(14:18):
That's what I think we've got todo now. They are supporting the
state Party is supporting several Senate districtraces and House district races, so they
are going to go down ballot.What they say they're going to offer is
access to data through Numanar, theirapp that she talked about a little bit,
and identifying recruiting and training volunteers forState Party canvassing, bone banking,
and get out the vote efforts.They're also going to share high dollar donor
(14:43):
contacts with critical races. I think, like we talked about earlier, the
congressional races. They're already going tohave most of those relationships, and the
big donors are already going to bedonating or investing in those congressional races most
likely. But that's the scoop there. I also was given a list of
everybody he's cash on hand for thedifferent congressional races. This is pretty interesting.
In CD three, this is whatreally stands out to me. Adam
(15:07):
Fritch has taken in a total ofthirty over thirteen million dollars. He has
almost four million cash on hand.Now Jeff Hurd, who's running against him,
has one hundred and fifty six thousanddollars on hand. A little bit
of a discrepancy there, one hundredand fifty six thousand versus three point nine
million. That's not good. We'vegot to raise some money in that district.
(15:30):
I know. Hold on on thatone, Heidi. There's a lot
of federal money coming in for theDemocrats for fresh and we've known that for
some time. What I'm a littlebit uneasy about is that the national money
from the RNC might not be comingin for Jeff Hurd when it absolutely should
be in a district. That's thetoss up. I think that's a very
important point. We'll have to seehow that plays out. Maybe they bring
(15:54):
it in regardless of what's happening withthe state Party. Maybe they don't.
Maybe they put their their heavy handon the party dynamics and get things righted
so that they do put money ifthey feel like it's not a good situation
right now. Looking at some ofthe other races, Gabe Evans has about
half a million dollars in the bank, and let's see, Yadira, is
(16:17):
it about three point five million?That's discouraging. Now these numbers are probably
dated back. It doesn't have thedate on here, so this could be
a couple months back, but itstill tells you how important money is in
these races. And we've got tohelp and support our candidates get across the
finish line, especially a candidate likeJohn Fabricatory, who would be such an
incredible congressman, especially around his knowledgeof the border and what's happening with immigration.
(16:41):
So this in just a few minutes, I'm going to bring on a
friend of mine, Chris Dorsey,who's an incredible producer. He's been involved
in outdoor TV production. He hasput on tons of shows over the years.
He's an incredible photographer and creative guy. He's been featured in National Geographic.
I don't know anybody who knows moreabout hunting and the importance of it
(17:04):
to the Colorado economy but also theAmerican economy. And we know that Governor
Polis has put in several policies andmade appointments that have raised a lot of
concern in our hunting communities and inour ag community. Did you know Ryan
that the hunting industry is one pointbrings one point eight billion dollars to the
(17:26):
state economy during Colorado. It's abig deal. But here we've got Polis
who has declared meat out Day backin March of twenty twenty one. But
he's a master griller, Heidi,Oh my goodness. Do you remember when
he went after me for his brisketrecipe and I'm like, do you know
who I'm married to, like oneof the top barbecue guys in the whole
country. Per Yeah, Well,he knew that he was just giving me
a hard time, but whatever.He also was one of the leaders at
(17:51):
the wolf reintroduction. That's right.He's made some crazy appointments to the Parks
and Wildlife Commission, lots of lossof aim in the ad community and the
hunting community. We're going to talkto Chris about that when I get back
in just a moment. This isHeidi Ganal filling in for Dan Kaplis.
(18:25):
You're listening to the Dan Caplis Showpodcast. Welcome everybody to a great Friday
afternoon here in Colorado. A littlesmoky outside, but this is Heidi Ganal
and I am filling in for DanKaplis, who will be back on Monday.
He's in Switzerland celebrating his wedding anniversary. In a few minutes, I'm
going to have Chris Dorsey, afriend of mine, on to talk about
(18:45):
a couple ballad initiatives that are prettyimportant in Colorado. One of which is
a fur ban in the city ofDenver, which sounds kind of odd,
but we'll talk about why that's important, and also a ban on hunting mountain
lions, which is initiative one.And this follows our wolf introduction that's happened
in Colorado over the last couple ofyears, and that's rattled a lot of
(19:10):
people, a lot of ranchers sinceit's happened, and I think they even
just spotted a wolf on I seventyand near a highway the other day.
So they're getting closer and closer.Perhaps they'll set up camp right in Boulder
and Denver, so the people whovoted for them can feel the pain of
the ranchers across Colorado. But Chrishas produced nearly sixty outdoor TV series over
(19:32):
the last quarter century, more thananyone in history. He lives right here
in Colorado, but he travels theworld and he's been called the brand father
of outdoor TV. He's a greatsportsman and a Forbes columnist. He's a
biologist, and he's authored a coupleof books, and he has a show,
Chris Dorsey's Outdoor World. And Ithink Ryan he said, go ahead
and call him back if if you'rehaving issues. He just texted me we
(19:55):
are trying, so okay, great, he might as well do this on
the air. He can call usas well. So Kelly, send him
that number and I'll do the same. Okay great. So what are these
ballad initiatives? The first one isa fur ban. Now, the proposed
fur ban is going to significantly impactthings like the National Western Stock Show,
which is very important to Colorado andour economy and the Denver March Pow Wow.
(20:18):
In twenty twenty three, the NationalWestern Stock Show alone brought in one
hundred and seventy one million dollars innet economic activity across Colorado. So banning
fur sales impacts a lot of things, including the ability to sell traditional Native
American products at events in Colorado.And then finally, the band would put
(20:41):
many of the small business hat makersout of business because they wouldn't be able
to make cowboy hats with fur.That's crazy anyway, Chris, welcome to
the show. I want to talkabout these two ballot initiatives and also just
about hunting in general and how importantit is to the Colorado economy as well
is the American economy. Yeah,well, great to join you, Heidi.
(21:04):
It's a massive business. I thinkthere's seventy something like seventy six billion
dollars a year in economic output fromhunting and fishing the United States, and
then Colorado. It's a billion dollarindustry. It's significant, especially when you
consider the fact that it's at arural and small town Colorado where they really
needed most. And tell me alittle bit about why hunting is important to
(21:29):
conservation efforts, Like if you careabout the environment and about animals, like
tell us why it's important to supportthis. Well, I mean, if
you look at hunting huntable species overthe last half century and longer, they've
all increased, and that's because huntershave funded the habitat and the conservation work
(21:51):
to sustain those species and grow thosespecies some cases, like wild turkeys,
transplant them to new areas, reintroduceout to the historic range is where they
haven't had them for for decades,and things like that. So it's all
hunter funded. The National Wildlife RefugeSystem is funded by duck hunters when they
buy their federal duck stamp, Soit's the funding mechanism. But I would
say even more than that, Heidi, it's really the voice that they offer
(22:15):
in conservation. It's the leadership thatthey bring on the House floor and at
the state houses around the country.So when you see things like Initiative ninety
one in Colorado trying to de banmountain lion hunting and bobcat and links that
don't even exist in Colorado, itreally hits at the core of we are
as sportsmen, the ones who havefunded all this and it's the habitat that
(22:40):
benefits hundreds of species, not justgame species, but hundreds of species,
very few of which are actually gamespecies. But that's the ancillary benefit of
what hunters bring to the table,to say nothing of jobs in the economy
and the meat that's provided, thehomeless shelters that get game meat that's donated,
you know, thousands and thousands ofpounds across Colorado and the country.
(23:02):
So it's really just kind of asad day when you look at this punchline
of wildlife management now in Colorado throughballot box biology, through the referendum process,
and we've circumvented the state agency.The state agency is full of scientists,
experts that know what they're doing.They've done a great job of managing
wildlife. And mountain lions are certainlynot declining in Colorado. They're doing very
(23:27):
well. Ever since they were madea game animal in nineteen sixty five,
they've held steady or grown. Andso this notion that somehow we've got to
we've got to stop mountain lion huntingand banned vodcat hunting. Bobcats are thriving
as well across the whole content.Basically so none of this is biologically driven.
(23:48):
It's all driven by emotion. Andthe thing I want your listeners to
understand is none of this is beingdriven by people from Colorado. This is
all being driven by organizations in Washington, DC, Soros backed groups. You
got the Humane Society of the UnitedStates. And just to be clear,
this is not your local Humane Societyshelter. They have nothing to do with
(24:08):
that. They're a fundraising lobby organizationthat does this kind of stuff, so
they continually raise more money. AndHSUS, you should also know, was
convicted of federal racketeering charges. TheirCEO was forced out on a multitude of
sexual harassment charges. This is nota good organization. This is not a
(24:30):
wholesome you know, bring out thered carpet for these folks in Colorado.
It's a nefarious group and their agendais really just amazed or raise money.
They couldn't care less about model lines. At the end of the day,
it isn't about saving mountain lions orany other species. For these groups,
it's just about raising money. It'sabout lining their pockets. And if you
want to learn more, go toHumane watch dot org and you'll get a
(24:52):
full background on all these animal rightsgroups. And I hope Governor Polis's partner
checks that out out. Yeah,because Chris, of course, I'm a
huge animal welfare activist if you lookat my Camp Bowow background in the Bowo
Buddies Foundation. But I understand theimportant to the conservation, the importance of
the conservation effort, and I understandthe role of hunting, and I do
(25:18):
think there's a healthy balance here.And I don't understand, and maybe I'm
being naive why Jared Poulis and hispartner Marlon are so gung ho on destroying
the bag industry, the hunting industry. What does this all lead to?
Well, I mean, look,he's an animal rights activist, right.
This is what they do. Thisis their DNA. These are the people
that don't want don't you don't wantyou to eat meat, They don't want
(25:41):
you to have pets. They don'tbelieve in medical research or testing on animals,
even if it would save children.They're radical. It's a radical fringe
group. They're well funded, They'recoming in here from outside of the state
of Colorado. And yeah, arethey aided and embedded by the governor who's
sympathetic You bet and it makes nosense. And it's interesting to me,
(26:03):
ID, You're seeing kind of anawakening happening across Colorado, and people are
just set up. They're just irritatedas hell about what's going on here.
And I read the initiative today.I actually read the language of Initiative ninety
one. In the first line,the first line of this here, it
is the voters of Colorado find anddeclare that any trophy hunting of mountain lions,
(26:26):
bobcats, or links is inhumane,serves no socially acceptable or ecologically beneficial
purpose, and fails to further publicsafety. Every bit of that is a
lie. Every bit of that isfactually inaccurate. So here's the deal,
the voters of Colorado. This isn'tbeing driven by the voters of Colorado.
This is being driven by outside forces. We can document that all day long.
(26:49):
The HSUS and Friends of Animals isfunding this out of Washington through all
their ilk in terms of no sociallyacceptable or ecologically beneficial purpose. This is
how you manage wildlife. Right now. Mountain lions killed nearly half the mule
deer in the state every year.And that's my Colorado parks and wildlife estimates.
(27:12):
So it's they're having a massive impacton the one animal, the one
big game animal that is declining acrossthe West. And if you take if
you take away the hunt for mountainlions, you're just going to see that
exacerbated across the milder population. So, Chris, this is all We've got
to take a break, but wouldyou stick around. I want to talk
(27:33):
about how this all relates to gunrights in Colorado. If you have a
few more minutes, you bet.Okay, This is Heidie and All stepping
in for Dan Kaplis. We'll beback after the break, and now back
to the Dan Tapliss Show podcast.We Happy Friday, all my friends Radio
Land. I've got a great friendon the line with me, Chris Dorsey,
one of the godfathers of outdoor TV. And Chris, I know something
(27:57):
you're also very passionate about is protectingthis Second Amendment and we had a great
discussion about how that plays into Coloradopolitics recently. I'd love for you to
kind of tell me what you youtold me about how you think that is
going to go. Yeah, Imean, look, at the end of
the day, I think it's almosthalf of Colorado's own firearms and most own
(28:18):
multiple firearms. And it's what you'reseeing now out of the governor's office and
the legislature is significant overreach and uhand there will come up breaking point and
I think we're pretty much there atthis point. And uh and they will
they will miscalculate, as almost allleft wing politicians do on that issue.
And uh and I think that boomerangis coming. So it's when you when
(28:41):
you start messing with the Second Amendmentand you start messing with the lifestyle of
of people in small towns and ruralparts of of Colorado. There's a there's
a grassroots movement if you if yourecall Hickenlooper barely one re election is his
second run for governor, and itwas on the gun issue, and it
was, you know, he wassoft on crime, he was bad on
(29:03):
guns, and people finally had enoughand frankly, probably should have lost had
there been a little bit more coordinationon the right side of the aisle there,
I think he would have lost.And that's highly unusual, as you
know, to unsee the sitting governor. But it's a key issue. It's
a culturally defining issue, and Iremember you know, I think I mentioned
(29:26):
this to you. I was inWashington and meetings with president of the NRA
at the time and the head ofthe Legislative arm and Ben Shapiro and the
guys from Breitbart and a couple ofother network type people, and the question
came up, you know what's themost Steve Bannon actually was in that meeting,
what's the most culturally defining issue inthe upcoming election? And this is
(29:48):
pre Trump, And without hesitation,all of them said guns and the Second
am I met It's treatom it reallyat at the end of the day,
is just about freedom, and inmany people's minds, the Second Amendment is
what guarantees the rest of the amendments. So we'll see what plays out here,
but my sense is you're going tosee a massive pushback on this level
(30:11):
and on the hunting front. Youknow, we had wolves shoved down our
throat. Nobody wanted them. Youknow, these outside DC groups come in,
well funded, they buy signatures,get it on the ballot, and
then they push these emotional campaigns.Our own state agency think about this.
Our own state agency is sidelined.They're muzzled. They can't even comment the
(30:33):
people who are responsible for managing iffish and wildlife resources in our state are
taken out of the equation, justlike this referendum process on Mountain Wins.
It's such lunacy that it's hard toeven fathom how we got here. So,
Chris, what happens next with huntersis they think about Colorado and coming
here and spending dollars here investing inour economy. Do they just stay away
(30:56):
because of the attack on the industryor do they invest more? I think
it can go one of two ways. I think you're seeing more national hunting
groups, hunter's rights groups coming insaying, look, we've got to we've
got to invest in Colorado. Coloradois principally, you know, a massive
outdoor state, and it might befrankly the best hunting state in the lower
(31:19):
forty eight. And it's got amassive l curve, the largest lcurd in
the United States, tremendous resources allthe way around. We can't just surrender
the right to hunt in this state. And you could see what's happening is
as Polaroid gets comes into focus here, you know, introduce wolves, stop
hunting bears with hounds and with bait. The two most effective methods, stop
(31:41):
hunting mountain lions, and suddenly you'vegot three apex predators on the landscape.
So the narrative then becomes, wedon't need hunters. We don't need hunters
to hunt elkin deer. You know, we have all these apex predators out
here now, so let's go aheadand see if we can just ban hunting
all together, because now we havethis quote unquote biological justification with a apex
predators all over the landscape. That'sthe agenda. I don't think there's any
(32:04):
any doubt that's where they're going.I don't know if you saw recently in
Oregon they finally beat back a initiativethe band ranching, get this ranching and
hunting and fishing in that state.And yet the proponents of that said,
we're not done, We're coming back, and all we got to do is
pass it in Portland. Right Sothis is you know, this is the
(32:25):
referendum process. It is not quoteunquote direct democracy at all. It's a
subversion of democracy, and it's it'sit's playing out in a pretty nefarious,
sinister way right now in Colorado.And so I think you'll see sportsmen's groups
gun groups, ranchers, sober individualscome together and form coalitions that finally put
(32:50):
the math together to push back thelunacy of what's happening on the left.
So obviously, Chris, I thinkwe can agree that people should vote KNOW
on the Mountain lion hunting ban andalso Know on the furban Is that your
take a hundred percent? Yeah,it's counterproductive at every level. What's your
favorite Colorado organization for people to getinvolved with or donate as we wrap up
(33:13):
before break, if they want toget engaged on this issue. Yeah,
Dan Coates has created something and hasreally done a nice job. I think.
I think it's called Colorado and it'sfor Responsible Wildlife Management and they're doing
some great work. They're getting alot of traction and check them out online
for sure. Well, thank youChris for spending some time with us.
This is an issue that we don'ttalk enough about and it's so important to
(33:36):
the Colorado economy. Really appreciate youbeing with us. And this is Heidi
Ganal filling in for Dan Kaplis.We'll see you after the break. Oh
goodness, I am new to thiswhole process. So Ryan tells me I
have about a minute to go,Chris, I don't know if you're still
on or not. If you alreadydropped off, that's fine, Okay,
great Chris. Then I have onemore question for you. How does this
(33:59):
hunting attack on hunting connect to theSecond Amendment in Colorado? Because there's obviously
some strings there. Yeah, Imean it's essentially the same groups that are
against the Second Amendment and want moregun control are the same ones that want
more you know, animal control.They want more control of your life.
In general, all the groups thatare behind this are left as center.
(34:22):
They're all generally from the same ideologicalbackground. So when you fund, you
know, one of those organizations,you're funding kind of the entire apparatus of
what they're doing. And thanks,Chris, We've got to run to break.
Thank you again for being on theshow.
This is Dan Capless and welcome totoday's online podcast edition of The Dan Caplis
Show. Please be sure to giveus a five star rating if you'd be
so kind, and to subscribe,download, and listen to the show every
single day on your favorite podcast platform. This is Heidi Ganal. Dan is
off celebrating his wedding anniversary in Switzerland. Ryan, when does Dan get back
(00:21):
in action? I think he's backMonday. Oh wow, he may have
a little jet lag though. Ifyou need me, I'm around. Oh
look forward with that. Yeah,we'll have you ready in the bullpen.
Help. Oh boy, do wehave a lot to talk about this Friday
afternoon. I obviously cal Daro wasin the last couple of days, so
I had a chance to catch upon the news, and I think we
should start off with the Colorado GOPand that story. And I mean,
(00:45):
I can't even keep track. Ijust checked Twitter again and now they're filing
a lawsuit back to try and hostthe meeting tomorrow. To aus Dave Williams
earlier, it was off, Rob, what do you hear about all this?
Hey? So, first of all, it's good to say you I
saw you in Milwaukee or bracetack itthere. Well, yeah, that's what
we're trying to So basically the temporaryrestraining order, the judge said that there
(01:07):
are by laws they were followed whenit came to the executive committee, I
guess deciding that the July twenty seventhmeeting was should be canceled or was invalid,
and the judge decided there just sidedwith Williams on that. And now
what was that last uptic because Iwas seeing some tweets, but we were
(01:27):
trying to get some information. You'rehearing they're fighting back now so they want
to still have this meeting Saturday.Yeah, so Ernstline with Cardi Politics just
tweeted out that the judge, let'ssee, the judge grants a temporary restraining
order barring Dave Williams's critics from holdingthe meeting. And now the Todd Watkins
(01:51):
crew is going back to the judgeand saying no, no, no,
no, no, we want youto revisit this right. So, well,
for I saw it was a lotof drama, and I actually had
know our idea where to go.We knew the meeting was happening Saturday,
and then all of a sudden,oh wow, the judge hasn't ruled yet,
and then we have a ruling thisafternoon. So you know, we're
(02:13):
just interested in the newsroom about thisbecause there was just so much force behind
getting rid of Dave Williams. Wehad, I believe Todd Watkin's on with
Mandy Connell this week and he waspretty confident this is going to happen.
Yep. I've talked to Todd acouple times this week and he was very
confident, like no doubt this wasgoing to happen, and everyone was prepared
(02:35):
to go tomorrow up to Brighton andbe ready to roll at eight or nine
in the morning. It's at abig church up there. I do think
it was going to be really close. I don't know if they had the
votes or not. They have toget sixty percent of the whole Central Committee,
which is four hundred and fifteen members, so they'd have to get two
hundred and forty nine votes to pushDave out, and it was questionable if
they were going to just do Daveor also do Hope and and Tom the
(03:00):
treasurer and the vice chair as well. So my guess is that they're still
going to show up in the morning. What do you think I would assume
so, I think so. Therejust seems to be a zest or a
desire to have this happen. It'salmost like in hearing these comments, we've
had a couple of these people comeon KAWA in the last few weeks.
(03:23):
They just want to be rid ofthis chapter. It's like we want we
want to get back to a functioningparty again. That's what it feels like
when you hear these people talk.I think another concern is the money.
I don't know that money from theRNC is going to come flowing into Colorado
with the leadership the way it is. We've seen reports that it's not.
Yeah, that's a big deal,and I think that's probably why Lauren Bobert
(03:45):
spoke out about it today. Didyou see Congress SATs that she spoke about
it? And what was interesting wasI even hinted during and I was trying
to think of the exact phrasings sheused. I wanted to ask this question
after her primary win, I wasup to see her, but her statement,
there was something off about her statementabout going forward to November. It
(04:10):
almost seemed like she was ignoring anyhelp because she didn't think that the infrastructure
is there in the party because it'sa mess to help her. So the
way she was talking, and I'mtrying to think of a phrase, but
I remember listening to it about amonth ago saying, hmm, that's interesting.
It makes it seem like Bobert's like, is in is on her own.
She feels like she's on her own. She probably doesn't need that much
(04:33):
help in that district anyway. Butyou know what I'm saying is just she
sent this red flag. I waslike, Oh, are you expecting help
from the Colorado GP or maybe you'renot because of what's happening. And I
think that goes back to the conversationRyan you had with Christy Burton Brown and
I mentioned earlier this week that candidatesare getting to the point in Colorado where
(04:56):
when I ran for governor, andI think a lot of candidates right now,
they just don't rely on the stateparty. There's not a lot there
there. There's not a lot ofmoney to be given now. When I
ran for regent statewide, when SteveHouse was chair, I got a donation
of ten thousand dollars from the stateParty and it helped tremendously and it wasn't
just the money. It's the organization, it's the volunteers, it's the network,
(05:17):
it's the introduction to donors. Buta lot of the congressional candidates,
I'll say, already have those relationships. So I think that's more important for
the lower level races, that dropdown races. I wanted to ask you
something too. I know you cameto ask me questions, but to ask
a conversation. I was in Milwaukee, okay. First of all, were
(05:38):
you sitting with your father on thefloor or was you separate from him?
I was only down there for acouple hours. Danny Moore gave me his
pass for a little bit to godown so I could experience it with my
dad and take some pictures. Luckyenough, I was just about ready to
go back up and my couple hourswas up, and that's when Trump came
out. So it was really funto see this Thursday night, Okay,
(06:00):
because I was on the floor tooat the time that he came out.
But you're first of all, theColorado seating area was the most difficult to
get to for the media because youwere right in front of the former president,
So there was intense security going behindyou. So, but I wanted
to get a feel for this becauseI saw pictures from Dave Williams or the
(06:20):
state GOP account, and you know, I interviewed one of the delegates and
try to get an interview with anotherdelegate on the younger end, but he
was just not available at that particulartime. But my question is, like,
is this just a small segment ofthe Colorado Republican Committee, because these
(06:43):
people all just seem, Yeah,we're together, we're loving Trump, we're
loving this unification, We're taking pictureswith Dave Williams, we're smiling and we're
all happy. Is that really alittle bit of a misnomer with how much
support Williams has. Yes, Ithink that was more about support for Trump
and our movement went back the electionin the fall. I honestly didn't see
(07:08):
Dave much. I know he wasthere and he was attending, but I
was an alternate, so I wassitting up in the in the rafters at
some point, but kind of outand about. But I do think everyone
was just very focused on the jobat hand, which was to get the
nomination done and to build support forDonald Trump and the other down ballot candidates.
(07:28):
And that was definitely accomplished. Yeah, and that was just just I
was curious about because I was lookingat the happiness and you know, the
one delegate I talked to, Isaid, this has been the greatest convention
I've been to in the last twentyyears. And there were so many smiles
and everyone was happy. And yes, that feeds the room, you know,
you felt that way in the room. But I was just curious that
(07:53):
maybe this was something that I thought, Oh, maybe Dave Williams has more
support than what we're all reporting.Deplement, the vice chair, was really
leading the charge at the convention.She was the one organizing everybody and making
sure we were where we're supposed tobe. We had breakfast together every morning.
We would all meet for drinks afterwardsif we'd get back at still recovering
(08:13):
later, yeah, not recovering becauseI drank a lot, but recovering because
there's no sleep while you're there.Yes, and there's sleep for the meeting,
but it was so much fun.It was an incredible experience that feels
like an eternity ago with all thenews that's happened since we got back.
Oh my gosh, So I thinkI think tomorrow is going to happen,
whether it's official or not, It'lldepend on, you know, what the
(08:37):
judge ultimately deciphf he sticks with hisdecision, or if he sways back the
other way, or if they goto a different judge. I don't know
how that works to you. Idon't know how it works. I was
just wondering if this judge is planningon ordering in tonight too, you know,
maybe a late night rolling or something. But I was interested to see
(08:58):
it. Wouldn't he just come tothe saying conclusion unless the Todd Watkins Nancy
Plazi that that group supplies maybe otherbylaws that we're not familiar with. Todd
Walkers was lying them out Article seventhis this this area of the bylaws,
and they were confident theirs was gonnawin out. So I don't know if
they find another judge or not,and they I don't know how that works
(09:20):
well. And it'd be interesting tofind out when the RNC steps in,
because I know they can and Iknow we need to go to a break.
This is Heidigan All filling in forDan Kaplis. I have lots of
stuff going on. Let's just talkabout looking forward to it after the break
and now back to the Dankaplas Showpodcast. Brian, that's a great choice
of music. You're a master mixer. I try to be yeah, because
(09:45):
we don't know where we're going out. I just okay. So I got
the scoop spokesperson for Dave Williams critics, and this is according to Ernest Lleying
tells Colorida Politics, they're filing animmediate appeal to the Colorida Supreme Court seeking
to overturn today's Tea temporary restraining order, calling it completely unlawful. We have
zero doubt this will be overturned.It's a work in progress, I guess,
(10:09):
but it's the legal systems involved.Now. I know that they're trying
to stonewall. By they, Imean the leadership of the Colorado GOP.
You spoke. I thought it wasa very interesting and provocative interview with Hope
Shepplman, the vice chair earlier thisweek on Tuesday, and of course Dave
Williams looking to insulate himself for manyyou know, kind of threats at the
(10:31):
throne. I guess, but thisis what we're dealing with. You know,
at some point, can we alljust put our swords down? And
do what's best for the party andthe candidates that we have to get elected
in around one hundred days. Imean, ballots are going to drop in
what's seventy so we don't have alot of time. And I'm worried that
if they do the meeting tomorrow,it's going to end up in a legal
(10:52):
battle. If they don't do themeeting, it's going to be in a
llegal battle. We have a lotof work to do in the next couple
months and this is not helping well. And it's something you've been talking about,
Heidi. There are so many importantraces. There is every time,
but especially I think in a yearwhere Republicans stand to make gains in the
state of Colorado, both in theGeneral Assembly, the House, the Senate.
It's some very important congressional seats likeGabe Evans in the eighth and now
(11:15):
we hear from Representative Lauren Bobert withher contest coming up in the fourth and
the fact that she spoke out thatkind of caught my attention, to be
sure, yeah, and I willwait to see if we can get Lauren
on the show to before I readher statement, but I have it printed
out so we can read it atsome point on the show. But she's
upset. She said, come on, Republicans, get your act together.
(11:35):
Basically. Yeah. So I hadan interesting email from one of the county
chairs, Big County that reached outto me and said, I heard your
interview with Hope, and here's thething. The current leadership has been trying
very hard to keep hidden which racesthey are going to support, because I
don't know if you remember I askedHope that I did, and I was
(11:56):
mostly curious if they were going tosupport the races where their primary wishes didn't
come true. And it turns outhe sent me the list that's hidden top
secret, and it looks like they'veagreed. The state party has agreed to
prioritize CD three and CD eight,none of the other congressional races. So
not CD five where Dave ran againstd Jeff Crank, which is an important
(12:20):
race. He should win that butstill needs support, Not Valdemar and CD
one, who's actually a great candidatewho could pull off a surprise. And
not Lauren Bobert and CD four,So what do you think about that?
Not John Fabricatory Jehan, he's agreat candidate surgery and CD seven. We
have really solid, good quality candidatesrunning for Congress in all the districts.
(12:46):
Why not help them all? Especiallysince he also sent me the tracer account
reporting June twenty sixth, the ColoradoGOP, the state Republican Party, had
sixteen thousand, five hundred and seventynine dollars and sixty cents in their account.
They also have an FEC report,so that's the federal candidate money that's
(13:09):
got over five hundred thousand dollars init, but that has to be used
for federal candidates, which we've gotsome. That's good, but it sounds
like they're only going to invest inthose two races three and eight. Now
those are the closest races, ButI mean, I wouldn't be spiking the
football yet on some of these others, whether it be the fifth of the
fourth. And then certainly to yourpoint, I think John, with the
(13:31):
current issues that are on the tableand his expertise having been an officer for
ICE against Jason Crowe, I mean, Crow himself has appeared to be a
bit nervous. And you remember thatphone call that we heard reported about where
Joe Biden shoot him out and rippedon him for his bronze star status.
And it was because Crow was going, sir, you got to step down.
I mean, he was nervous abouthis own seed of what should be
(13:54):
in quotes, a safe district forDemocrats, but it's not. And I
do think Ryan things have changed dramaticallysince Kamala got into the race, and
the numbers don't look quite as good. But this is a very very volatile
time in Colorado and American politics,so anything can happen. We've got to
be prepared to basically put on ourbest game and see where the chips fall.
(14:18):
That's what I think we've got todo now. They are supporting the
state Party is supporting several Senate districtraces and House district races, so they
are going to go down ballot.What they say they're going to offer is
access to data through Numanar, theirapp that she talked about a little bit,
and identifying recruiting and training volunteers forState Party canvassing, bone banking,
and get out the vote efforts.They're also going to share high dollar donor
(14:43):
contacts with critical races. I think, like we talked about earlier, the
congressional races. They're already going tohave most of those relationships, and the
big donors are already going to bedonating or investing in those congressional races most
likely. But that's the scoop there. I also was given a list of
everybody he's cash on hand for thedifferent congressional races. This is pretty interesting.
In CD three, this is whatreally stands out to me. Adam
(15:07):
Fritch has taken in a total ofthirty over thirteen million dollars. He has
almost four million cash on hand.Now Jeff Hurd, who's running against him,
has one hundred and fifty six thousanddollars on hand. A little bit
of a discrepancy there, one hundredand fifty six thousand versus three point nine
million. That's not good. We'vegot to raise some money in that district.
(15:30):
I know. Hold on on thatone, Heidi. There's a lot
of federal money coming in for theDemocrats for fresh and we've known that for
some time. What I'm a littlebit uneasy about is that the national money
from the RNC might not be comingin for Jeff Hurd when it absolutely should
be in a district. That's thetoss up. I think that's a very
important point. We'll have to seehow that plays out. Maybe they bring
(15:54):
it in regardless of what's happening withthe state Party. Maybe they don't.
Maybe they put their their heavy handon the party dynamics and get things righted
so that they do put money ifthey feel like it's not a good situation
right now. Looking at some ofthe other races, Gabe Evans has about
half a million dollars in the bank, and let's see, Yadira, is
(16:17):
it about three point five million?That's discouraging. Now these numbers are probably
dated back. It doesn't have thedate on here, so this could be
a couple months back, but itstill tells you how important money is in
these races. And we've got tohelp and support our candidates get across the
finish line, especially a candidate likeJohn Fabricatory, who would be such an
incredible congressman, especially around his knowledgeof the border and what's happening with immigration.
(16:41):
So this in just a few minutes, I'm going to bring on a
friend of mine, Chris Dorsey,who's an incredible producer. He's been involved
in outdoor TV production. He hasput on tons of shows over the years.
He's an incredible photographer and creative guy. He's been featured in National Geographic.
I don't know anybody who knows moreabout hunting and the importance of it
(17:04):
to the Colorado economy but also theAmerican economy. And we know that Governor
Polis has put in several policies andmade appointments that have raised a lot of
concern in our hunting communities and inour ag community. Did you know Ryan
that the hunting industry is one pointbrings one point eight billion dollars to the
(17:26):
state economy during Colorado. It's abig deal. But here we've got Polis
who has declared meat out Day backin March of twenty twenty one. But
he's a master griller, Heidi,Oh my goodness. Do you remember when
he went after me for his brisketrecipe and I'm like, do you know
who I'm married to, like oneof the top barbecue guys in the whole
country. Per Yeah, Well,he knew that he was just giving me
a hard time, but whatever.He also was one of the leaders at
(17:51):
the wolf reintroduction. That's right.He's made some crazy appointments to the Parks
and Wildlife Commission, lots of lossof aim in the ad community and the
hunting community. We're going to talkto Chris about that when I get back
in just a moment. This isHeidi Ganal filling in for Dan Kaplis.
(18:25):
You're listening to the Dan Caplis Showpodcast. Welcome everybody to a great Friday
afternoon here in Colorado. A littlesmoky outside, but this is Heidi Ganal
and I am filling in for DanKaplis, who will be back on Monday.
He's in Switzerland celebrating his wedding anniversary. In a few minutes, I'm
going to have Chris Dorsey, afriend of mine, on to talk about
(18:45):
a couple ballad initiatives that are prettyimportant in Colorado. One of which is
a fur ban in the city ofDenver, which sounds kind of odd,
but we'll talk about why that's important, and also a ban on hunting mountain
lions, which is initiative one.And this follows our wolf introduction that's happened
in Colorado over the last couple ofyears, and that's rattled a lot of
(19:10):
people, a lot of ranchers sinceit's happened, and I think they even
just spotted a wolf on I seventyand near a highway the other day.
So they're getting closer and closer.Perhaps they'll set up camp right in Boulder
and Denver, so the people whovoted for them can feel the pain of
the ranchers across Colorado. But Chrishas produced nearly sixty outdoor TV series over
(19:32):
the last quarter century, more thananyone in history. He lives right here
in Colorado, but he travels theworld and he's been called the brand father
of outdoor TV. He's a greatsportsman and a Forbes columnist. He's a
biologist, and he's authored a coupleof books, and he has a show,
Chris Dorsey's Outdoor World. And Ithink Ryan he said, go ahead
and call him back if if you'rehaving issues. He just texted me we
(19:55):
are trying, so okay, great, he might as well do this on
the air. He can call usas well. So Kelly, send him
that number and I'll do the same. Okay great. So what are these
ballad initiatives? The first one isa fur ban. Now, the proposed
fur ban is going to significantly impactthings like the National Western Stock Show,
which is very important to Colorado andour economy and the Denver March Pow Wow.
(20:18):
In twenty twenty three, the NationalWestern Stock Show alone brought in one
hundred and seventy one million dollars innet economic activity across Colorado. So banning
fur sales impacts a lot of things, including the ability to sell traditional Native
American products at events in Colorado.And then finally, the band would put
(20:41):
many of the small business hat makersout of business because they wouldn't be able
to make cowboy hats with fur.That's crazy anyway, Chris, welcome to
the show. I want to talkabout these two ballot initiatives and also just
about hunting in general and how importantit is to the Colorado economy as well
is the American economy. Yeah,well, great to join you, Heidi.
(21:04):
It's a massive business. I thinkthere's seventy something like seventy six billion
dollars a year in economic output fromhunting and fishing the United States, and
then Colorado. It's a billion dollarindustry. It's significant, especially when you
consider the fact that it's at arural and small town Colorado where they really
needed most. And tell me alittle bit about why hunting is important to
(21:29):
conservation efforts, Like if you careabout the environment and about animals, like
tell us why it's important to supportthis. Well, I mean, if
you look at hunting huntable species overthe last half century and longer, they've
all increased, and that's because huntershave funded the habitat and the conservation work
(21:51):
to sustain those species and grow thosespecies some cases, like wild turkeys,
transplant them to new areas, reintroduceout to the historic range is where they
haven't had them for for decades,and things like that. So it's all
hunter funded. The National Wildlife RefugeSystem is funded by duck hunters when they
buy their federal duck stamp, Soit's the funding mechanism. But I would
say even more than that, Heidi, it's really the voice that they offer
(22:15):
in conservation. It's the leadership thatthey bring on the House floor and at
the state houses around the country.So when you see things like Initiative ninety
one in Colorado trying to de banmountain lion hunting and bobcat and links that
don't even exist in Colorado, itreally hits at the core of we are
as sportsmen, the ones who havefunded all this and it's the habitat that
(22:40):
benefits hundreds of species, not justgame species, but hundreds of species,
very few of which are actually gamespecies. But that's the ancillary benefit of
what hunters bring to the table,to say nothing of jobs in the economy
and the meat that's provided, thehomeless shelters that get game meat that's donated,
you know, thousands and thousands ofpounds across Colorado and the country.
(23:02):
So it's really just kind of asad day when you look at this punchline
of wildlife management now in Colorado throughballot box biology, through the referendum process,
and we've circumvented the state agency.The state agency is full of scientists,
experts that know what they're doing.They've done a great job of managing
wildlife. And mountain lions are certainlynot declining in Colorado. They're doing very
(23:27):
well. Ever since they were madea game animal in nineteen sixty five,
they've held steady or grown. Andso this notion that somehow we've got to
we've got to stop mountain lion huntingand banned vodcat hunting. Bobcats are thriving
as well across the whole content.Basically so none of this is biologically driven.
(23:48):
It's all driven by emotion. Andthe thing I want your listeners to
understand is none of this is beingdriven by people from Colorado. This is
all being driven by organizations in Washington, DC, Soros backed groups. You
got the Humane Society of the UnitedStates. And just to be clear,
this is not your local Humane Societyshelter. They have nothing to do with
(24:08):
that. They're a fundraising lobby organizationthat does this kind of stuff, so
they continually raise more money. AndHSUS, you should also know, was
convicted of federal racketeering charges. TheirCEO was forced out on a multitude of
sexual harassment charges. This is nota good organization. This is not a
(24:30):
wholesome you know, bring out thered carpet for these folks in Colorado.
It's a nefarious group and their agendais really just amazed or raise money.
They couldn't care less about model lines. At the end of the day,
it isn't about saving mountain lions orany other species. For these groups,
it's just about raising money. It'sabout lining their pockets. And if you
want to learn more, go toHumane watch dot org and you'll get a
(24:52):
full background on all these animal rightsgroups. And I hope Governor Polis's partner
checks that out out. Yeah,because Chris, of course, I'm a
huge animal welfare activist if you lookat my Camp Bowow background in the Bowo
Buddies Foundation. But I understand theimportant to the conservation, the importance of
the conservation effort, and I understandthe role of hunting, and I do
(25:18):
think there's a healthy balance here.And I don't understand, and maybe I'm
being naive why Jared Poulis and hispartner Marlon are so gung ho on destroying
the bag industry, the hunting industry. What does this all lead to?
Well, I mean, look,he's an animal rights activist, right.
This is what they do. Thisis their DNA. These are the people
that don't want don't you don't wantyou to eat meat, They don't want
(25:41):
you to have pets. They don'tbelieve in medical research or testing on animals,
even if it would save children.They're radical. It's a radical fringe
group. They're well funded, They'recoming in here from outside of the state
of Colorado. And yeah, arethey aided and embedded by the governor who's
sympathetic You bet and it makes nosense. And it's interesting to me,
(26:03):
ID, You're seeing kind of anawakening happening across Colorado, and people are
just set up. They're just irritatedas hell about what's going on here.
And I read the initiative today.I actually read the language of Initiative ninety
one. In the first line,the first line of this here, it
is the voters of Colorado find anddeclare that any trophy hunting of mountain lions,
(26:26):
bobcats, or links is inhumane,serves no socially acceptable or ecologically beneficial
purpose, and fails to further publicsafety. Every bit of that is a
lie. Every bit of that isfactually inaccurate. So here's the deal,
the voters of Colorado. This isn'tbeing driven by the voters of Colorado.
This is being driven by outside forces. We can document that all day long.
(26:49):
The HSUS and Friends of Animals isfunding this out of Washington through all
their ilk in terms of no sociallyacceptable or ecologically beneficial purpose. This is
how you manage wildlife. Right now. Mountain lions killed nearly half the mule
deer in the state every year.And that's my Colorado parks and wildlife estimates.
(27:12):
So it's they're having a massive impacton the one animal, the one
big game animal that is declining acrossthe West. And if you take if
you take away the hunt for mountainlions, you're just going to see that
exacerbated across the milder population. So, Chris, this is all We've got
to take a break, but wouldyou stick around. I want to talk
(27:33):
about how this all relates to gunrights in Colorado. If you have a
few more minutes, you bet.Okay, This is Heidie and All stepping
in for Dan Kaplis. We'll beback after the break, and now back
to the Dan Tapliss Show podcast.We Happy Friday, all my friends Radio
Land. I've got a great friendon the line with me, Chris Dorsey,
one of the godfathers of outdoor TV. And Chris, I know something
(27:57):
you're also very passionate about is protectingthis Second Amendment and we had a great
discussion about how that plays into Coloradopolitics recently. I'd love for you to
kind of tell me what you youtold me about how you think that is
going to go. Yeah, Imean, look, at the end of
the day, I think it's almosthalf of Colorado's own firearms and most own
(28:18):
multiple firearms. And it's what you'reseeing now out of the governor's office and
the legislature is significant overreach and uhand there will come up breaking point and
I think we're pretty much there atthis point. And uh and they will
they will miscalculate, as almost allleft wing politicians do on that issue.
And uh and I think that boomerangis coming. So it's when you when
(28:41):
you start messing with the Second Amendmentand you start messing with the lifestyle of
of people in small towns and ruralparts of of Colorado. There's a there's
a grassroots movement if you if yourecall Hickenlooper barely one re election is his
second run for governor, and itwas on the gun issue, and it
was, you know, he wassoft on crime, he was bad on
(29:03):
guns, and people finally had enoughand frankly, probably should have lost had
there been a little bit more coordinationon the right side of the aisle there,
I think he would have lost.And that's highly unusual, as you
know, to unsee the sitting governor. But it's a key issue. It's
a culturally defining issue, and Iremember you know, I think I mentioned
(29:26):
this to you. I was inWashington and meetings with president of the NRA
at the time and the head ofthe Legislative arm and Ben Shapiro and the
guys from Breitbart and a couple ofother network type people, and the question
came up, you know what's themost Steve Bannon actually was in that meeting,
what's the most culturally defining issue inthe upcoming election? And this is
(29:48):
pre Trump, And without hesitation,all of them said guns and the Second
am I met It's treatom it reallyat at the end of the day,
is just about freedom, and inmany people's minds, the Second Amendment is
what guarantees the rest of the amendments. So we'll see what plays out here,
but my sense is you're going tosee a massive pushback on this level
(30:11):
and on the hunting front. Youknow, we had wolves shoved down our
throat. Nobody wanted them. Youknow, these outside DC groups come in,
well funded, they buy signatures,get it on the ballot, and
then they push these emotional campaigns.Our own state agency think about this.
Our own state agency is sidelined.They're muzzled. They can't even comment the
(30:33):
people who are responsible for managing iffish and wildlife resources in our state are
taken out of the equation, justlike this referendum process on Mountain Wins.
It's such lunacy that it's hard toeven fathom how we got here. So,
Chris, what happens next with huntersis they think about Colorado and coming
here and spending dollars here investing inour economy. Do they just stay away
(30:56):
because of the attack on the industryor do they invest more? I think
it can go one of two ways. I think you're seeing more national hunting
groups, hunter's rights groups coming insaying, look, we've got to we've
got to invest in Colorado. Coloradois principally, you know, a massive
outdoor state, and it might befrankly the best hunting state in the lower
(31:19):
forty eight. And it's got amassive l curve, the largest lcurd in
the United States, tremendous resources allthe way around. We can't just surrender
the right to hunt in this state. And you could see what's happening is
as Polaroid gets comes into focus here, you know, introduce wolves, stop
hunting bears with hounds and with bait. The two most effective methods, stop
(31:41):
hunting mountain lions, and suddenly you'vegot three apex predators on the landscape.
So the narrative then becomes, wedon't need hunters. We don't need hunters
to hunt elkin deer. You know, we have all these apex predators out
here now, so let's go aheadand see if we can just ban hunting
all together, because now we havethis quote unquote biological justification with a apex
predators all over the landscape. That'sthe agenda. I don't think there's any
(32:04):
any doubt that's where they're going.I don't know if you saw recently in
Oregon they finally beat back a initiativethe band ranching, get this ranching and
hunting and fishing in that state.And yet the proponents of that said,
we're not done, We're coming back, and all we got to do is
pass it in Portland. Right Sothis is you know, this is the
(32:25):
referendum process. It is not quoteunquote direct democracy at all. It's a
subversion of democracy, and it's it'sit's playing out in a pretty nefarious,
sinister way right now in Colorado.And so I think you'll see sportsmen's groups
gun groups, ranchers, sober individualscome together and form coalitions that finally put
(32:50):
the math together to push back thelunacy of what's happening on the left.
So obviously, Chris, I thinkwe can agree that people should vote KNOW
on the Mountain lion hunting ban andalso Know on the furban Is that your
take a hundred percent? Yeah,it's counterproductive at every level. What's your
favorite Colorado organization for people to getinvolved with or donate as we wrap up
(33:13):
before break, if they want toget engaged on this issue. Yeah,
Dan Coates has created something and hasreally done a nice job. I think.
I think it's called Colorado and it'sfor Responsible Wildlife Management and they're doing
some great work. They're getting alot of traction and check them out online
for sure. Well, thank youChris for spending some time with us.
This is an issue that we don'ttalk enough about and it's so important to
(33:36):
the Colorado economy. Really appreciate youbeing with us. And this is Heidi
Ganal filling in for Dan Kaplis.We'll see you after the break. Oh
goodness, I am new to thiswhole process. So Ryan tells me I
have about a minute to go,Chris, I don't know if you're still
on or not. If you alreadydropped off, that's fine, Okay,
great Chris. Then I have onemore question for you. How does this
(33:59):
hunting attack on hunting connect to theSecond Amendment in Colorado? Because there's obviously
some strings there. Yeah, Imean it's essentially the same groups that are
against the Second Amendment and want moregun control are the same ones that want
more you know, animal control.They want more control of your life.
In general, all the groups thatare behind this are left as center.
(34:22):
They're all generally from the same ideologicalbackground. So when you fund, you
know, one of those organizations,you're funding kind of the entire apparatus of
what they're doing. And thanks,Chris, We've got to run to break.
Thank you again for being on theshow.
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