your days are coming to an end!
I'll bet Mitch McConnel never saw this one coming! From TPM comes this little piece, Cockfighting Fans Swear Revenge Against Mitch McConnell.
Can Mitch McConnel afford to lose these voters?
While I could probably include some rather unpleasant snark and make a cockery of McConnell, I'll resist the temptation and try to stay focused on the story as presented.
A group associated with cockfighting in Kentucky is promising political retribution against Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell for his vote in favor of the farm bill last month, the Lexington Herald-Leader reported.
"This will destroy Mitch McConnell in Kentucky," Craig Davis, president of the United Gamefowl Breeders Association, told the newspaper.
I imagine if someone had video of McConnell engaging in a cock fight, that probably would destroy him! Oops, I degress, back to the story...
The bill made attending a cockfighting event a federal misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in prison and a $100,000 fine.
Davis, who confronted McConnell with hundreds of other "cockfighting enthusiasts" at a Monday event, said he could move "as many as 60,000 votes" if McConnell doesn't address the issue.
Wow!! 60,000 cockfighters in Kentucky? Who knew?
Over the fold we go...
So, in the context of this story, what exactly is cockfighting?
From a National Geographic article from June of 2007, Cockfighting's "Days Are Numbered" in U.S.
Cockfighting involves specially bred birds, known as gamecocks. Their legs are fitted with razor-sharp steel blades, or gaffs, which look like three inch long curved ice picks.
The birds are let loose inside an enclosure where they fight to the death, which can take anywhere from several minutes to a half hour.
"These [birds] are the pit bulls of the poultry world," said John Goodwin, deputy manager of animal-fighting issues for the Humane Society of the United States.
From the same article...
Enthusiasts say cockfighting funnels billions of dollars into the national economy and provides thousands of families with most, if not all, of their annual incomes.
"Incomes from game fowl in some instances have kept these families from relying on financial support from the government," said Jerry Leber, president of the United Gamefowl Breeders Assocation, during a U.S. House of Representatives hearing in February.
Seriously? Thousands of families with most, if not all, of their annual income coming from cockfighting??? And that kept these families from relying on financial aid from the government? Now I could be wrong, but I'll bet this Jerry Leber guy is a republican!
So who is this organization United Gamefowl Breeders Association? From their about us page...
The organization consists of members, annually elected officers, a Board of Directors, a Director of Public Relations and a Director of Administration.
The members of the organization include gamefowl breeders and others who recognize the importance of preserving the gamefowl industry and this unique breed of fowl.
Well thanks for clearing that up!! I thought you were supporting the right to have them kill each other! Oh wait...
There's more from Craig Davis President of UGBA, in the TPM article...
"When you make a law like that you take good taxpaying people and you turn them into criminals overnight," he said. "The grassroots on this are not playing games anymore. They've been beaten and battered for 30 years. They're rural people. They want to be left alone."
The roosters have also been beaten and battered asshole! I suspect they'd also like to be left alone!
I have to confess that I attended a cock fight, of the rooster variety, while in Mexico, complete with the razor sharp spurs. It's a horrific thing to view. It's a bloody, vicious, violent, fight to the death.
I attended another in Indonesia that was not as quite as brutal. In this case the spurs of the roosters had been removed and there was only a minor amount of blood and was not a fight to the death. It was a fight to complete exhaustion until one rooster was simply not strong enough to stand up anymore. Some fights lasted nearly an hour.
It is a barbaric thing to witness and a practice that should be banned worldwide. From the dated National Geographic article, Louisiana was the only state that had not made cockfighting illegal. A little further digging found that Louisiana too, outlawed cockfighting in 2008, and it should be noted that it's not legal in Kentucky either.
So Mitch, what are you going to do now that you've lost the criminal cockfighters in Kentucky?
McConnell's office told the newspaper that his staff was willing to hear their grievances.
Sometimes, the stories just write themselves!
Stay tuned, I have a feeling the Senate race in Kentucky will give us plenty more examples to make a cockery of McConnell!