Well said Dan

Bowers, if you want to vote for Slade, move about 2,000 miles west. But if your an angler, and angling is a voting issue, you won't be voting for him. For those true and true GOPers, by all means vote Gorton, its your right as an American. I hardly vote for candidates solely on how I believe they will treat us sporties. There are a lot of other things that bear considering when voting for our State senator.

However, there is no mistaking Slade Gortons abyssmal environmental record that includes taking positions that are very unfriendly to salmon. He is pro-dams, pro-industry, and pro-commercial fisheries. Bowers, where do get this stuff about demos being pro-netting? Most are anti-commercial netting and pro-treaty netting. This bothers some, but is it any worse than pro-dams, pro-commercials, pro-pollution, anti-treaty Slade? Or maybe its just the "hoops" that you don't like--rather derogatory term by the way, please don't repeat it here.

And as for the Columbia....pre-dam and pre- commercial numbers of salmon numbered in the 10s of millions. A couple of hundred thousand spring chinook is reason for hope, but no reason to celebrate. Its sad when a 10 year record is an order of magnitude less than historical numbers. And read some of the posts more carefully, this big return is because of several consecutive high water years, which increases downstream survival over said dams, and good ocean conditions. Slade or anyone else can't control the weather.

Bottom line, if you want to support Slade, by all means do your civic duty, but don't connect your admiration for him or the GOP with sport fishing issues.



[This message has been edited by obsessed (edited 08-01-2000).]