Campfield Clarifies His Position on Dog Fighting

I can’t say for certain why this post, out of every post Campfield’s ever written, should so viscerally piss me off, but it does.  I think becase, for me, this just exemplifies Campfield’s weakness, not just as a politician, but as a person.  He gets himself a pat answer or a reason that makes sense to him and he just clings to that as if it is the gospel truth and then just makes shit up to support his position.

As we’ve talked about before, yes, dog fighting is illegal in Tennessee.  That’s not the concern of people who support the federal law.  Our concern is that these are nationally organized rings and without national laws, it’s very easy to break down the fighting rings into componants that are legal under various state laws.  Not to mention that states don’t have the resources feds have to find these folks and shut them down.

And the thing is, Campfield is not dumb.  He knows that.  He’s just got some bug up his butt that says “Well, if them libruls want it; I must be against it.”

Second, will someone teach that man how to google?  Oatney?  Somebody?

Because here’s with the spouting off of things that are verifiably untrue:

How many dogs have been killed in dog fights versus how many babies have been killed in abortion clinics or by illegal immigrants. I bet dog deaths pale by comparison. But what do we see on TV every day on about every news channel?

Shall we find out, America?

According to the feds, there are between 800,000 and a million abortions a year.  According to that favorite news source of the right, World Net Daily, illegal immigrants cause 4,380 deaths a year.

Ready for some dog-fighting numbers?

In 2004, Arizona estimated that 4,000 pet dogs a year in that state were being stolen to be used as bait dogs.  Bait dogs never live unless law enforcement saves them.  If we extrapolate that to all fifty states, you’re looking at 200,000 pet dogs a year lost to dog fighting.

According to the Humane Society, 30% of the dogs in shelters are pit bull breeds.  In city shelters, that number can be as high a 70%.  The Humane Society euthanizes 3-4 million cats and dogs a year.  Assuming half of those are dogs, that’s 1-2 million.  If 30% of those are pit bulls, that’s between 300,000 and 600,000 pitbulls euthanized a year.  If you consider that the Humane Society doesn’t adopt fighting dogs back out, the number is probably closer to 600,000.

So, between dogs we know are missing–200,000 a year–and dogs we find and have to put down because of their association with pit fighting–600,000–that’s 800,000 (the low end of the estimate of the number of abortions a year).  We’ve not counted dogs who die either in the ring or who are killed after fights and just disposed of, because, as far as I can see, we have no good estimates on those numbers.

Still, my point is proven.  Even if you’re anti-abortion; even if you’re anti-illegal immigration; those aren’t numbers that “pale by comparision.”

Now, true, dogs aren’t people.  And I’m not willing to sit here and argue that 800,000 dogs outweigh 4,500 people.  But dog fighting is a problem beyond what happens to the dogs.

Kids and teenagers fight dogs.

We know that killing animals for fun is an indicator that something’s not right with you and we’re not surprised when we find that murders have worked their way up from neighborhood pets.

Well, shoot, we all sit around and complain about violence in our society and yet folks like Campfield aren’t willing to draw a line between a bunch of folks who would “‘explode with laughter’ when a defeated dog urinated and defecated upon himself before dying,” and a bunch of folks who have no problems beating their kids or shooting each other in the streets?

Animal cruelty of this size and organization ought to throw up a huge red flag to folks, just as Campfield’s willingness to make light of the problem should.