Now that Richard Pombo’s race for the 11th district seat is heating up supporters are calling in the big guns.
Literally.
On Friday, Safari Club International sent a letter to its members urging them to donate as individuals to Pombo’s re-election now that their SCI PAC has spent the maximum amount, $9,999, on his campaign. The letter stresses the need for cash because of attacks on Pombo from “a cabal of extremist environmental groups.”
The Safari Club International, which counts Richard Pombo and George H.W. Bush among its elite membership promotes itself as a “Non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation of wildlife” but has been involved in numerous lawsuits over the importation and trophy hunting of exotic animals. As House Resources Committee chairman, Pombo has been a consistent “friend and supporter” of SCI, attempting to re-write the Endangered Species Act eleven times.
The group, whose most recent annual convention featured a booth offering the chance to “hunt” African Bongo Antelopes in an enclosed Texas ranch for $20,000, is clearly worried about losing a powerful ally in Congress. They write, “This situation is dire…If Pombo is defeated, years of hard work will go down the drain.”
Indeed.
–Amaya Rivera
