OK, folks. I have a follow-up on @VistaOutdoorInc, the NRA-supporting, guns-and-ammo conglomerate that is buying up popular bicycling and outdoor brands like @GiroCyclingUK, CoPilot, @BellBikeHelmets, @CamelBak, @BlackburnDesign, @Bolle_Eyewear and @Raskullz. Thread... /1
This thread will be of particular interest to outdoor sports retail giant @REI, its members and anyone who values the #UnitedOutside advocacy work REI is doing to fight the private exploitation of America’s public lands washingtonpost.com/news/morning-m… /2
3. In addition to being America’s #1 ammunition marketer, a major supporter of the NRA and sponsor of NRA TV, Vista Outdoor (surprise!) also spends money on political campaigns via its Vista Outdoor SuperPAC. vistaoutdoor.com/investors-info…
4. You can find Vista Outdoor PAC data for the 2016 election cycle here: opensecrets.org/pacs/pacgot.ph…
5. And you can poke around and look at Vista Outdoor PAC spending for the current 2018 election cycle here. I’ve only just started digging into this data but one interesting item jumped out right away... opensecrets.org/pacs/pacgot.ph…
6. The two U.S. House of Representatives members who appear to have received the most $ from Vista Outdoor PAC are Rep. Rob Bishop and Rep. Chris Stewart, both from Utah. 
7. Vista Outdoor PAC spent $20,000 on Rep. Rob Bishop and $24,000 on Rep. Chris Stewart in the last two campaign cycles. Vista Outdoor is a Top 25 donors for each of these guys. Other big donors to Bishop and Stewart include Exxon Mobil, Halliburton, Chevron and ConocoPhillips.
8. So, who are Rep. Rob Bishop and Rep. Chris Stewart and why should bicyclists, runners, outdoor enthusiasts and @REI CEO Jerry Stritzke care anything about Vista Outdoor’s donations to them? Well…
9. Rep. Rob Bishop is chairman of the House Committee on Natural Resources. Outside Magazine calls him America's “Public Lands Enemy #1.” He’s been a driving force and architect of the privatization and exploitation of western public lands. outsideonline.com/2188486/public…
10. That would probably make Rep. Chris Stewart, "Public Lands Enemy #2." Stewart was, essentially, the legislative hatchet man for the Trump Administration’s two million acre dismemberment of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments. nytimes.com/2018/01/18/opi…
11. Here are Stewart (far left) and Bishop in December (far right) looking on with apparent satisfaction at the signing of the order opening up 2 million acres of public lands to mining, drilling, grazing and motorized recreation. sltrib.com/news/politics/…
12. So, what does @REI have to do with this? Well, @REI is deeply opposed to all of this. They’ve been a leader in the fight to protect U.S. public lands from privatization and exploitation, "to protecting this nation’s spectacular natural places.” rei.com/blog/news/rei-…
13. @REI CEO Jerry Stritzke says he's “mad as hell and disappointed” about the decision to rescind protection for Bears Ears. He joined 170 @OIA CEOs in "declaring protecting public lands as our top priority.” rei.com/blog/news/rei-…
14. And, yet, @REI is selling products and brands owned by Vista Outdoor, a company that not only supports the NRA but is using its SuperPAC to fund the the Congressmen who are leading the assault on protected public lands. How do REI's 6,000,000+ members feel about that?
15. With one hand, @REI is fighting the privatization of America's public lands. With the other hand, REI is selling Vista Outdoor products that help fund the campaigns of the Congressmen leading the effort to exploit public lands. That doesn't make sense.
16. If you agree then sign this petition asking @REI CEO Jerry Stritzke to stop selling products and brands owned by Vista Outdoor. These include Giro, Blackburn, CamelBak, Bell, Camp Chef and Bolle. chn.ge/2ESTc4r #BoycottVistaOutdoor #BoycottNRA #UnitedOutside
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