Cheney Hunting Trip Infuriates Al Sharpton

Posted on October 30, 2007

Another news cycle, another Dick Cheney hunting controversy. This time, he didn't shoot anyone, so that's good. But he did go to a gun club that proudly displays the Confederate flag. Al Sharpton was not amused.

Sharpton told the New York Daily News, "It's appalling for the VP to be at a private club displaying the flag of lynching, hate and murder. It's the epitome of an insult. "This is an outrage - he ought to leave immediately. He ought to apologize to the American people for being there in the first place."

The Daily News also noted that there was not a repeat of last year's fiasco when Cheney shot a friend in the face during a quail hunt. Of course, it wasn't much of a hunt: it was more like shooting pheasants in a barrel. Farm-bred pheasants were set loose on the grounds 24 hours before the vice president arrived so that he could be sure to bag some game. It's called a "canned hunt."