McCain Hosts Gala for 'Human Cockfighter'

It's funny how perceptions erode with time. See back in 1998, grumpy old Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) decried the eminently classy Ultimate Fighting Championship as "human cockfighting." Needless to say, this comparison was way off. While it is true that both "sports" occur in cages and involve copious quantities of blood, everyone knows that cockfighting roosters are expressly forbidden from using the "ground and pound."

Now flash forward to March 18, 2009, when the Armed Forces Foundation hosted a congressional gala to honor (among others) the chief human cockfighter himself, UFC president Dana White. And who, do you think-- in that greatest of ironies-- played host to such an event?

That's right. You guessed it... Rep. C.W. Bill Young (R-CA)!

Oh, and also John McCain...

The gala took place at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center and was hosted by Congressman C.W. Bill Young (Ranking Member, House Subcommittee on Defense Appropriations), Senator John McCain (Ranking Member, Senate Armed Services Committee), Congressman Duncan D. Hunter (Member, House Armed Services Committee), Congressman Gene Taylor (Chairman, House Subcommittee on Sea Power and Expeditionary Forces), and Senator Daniel K. Inouye (Chairman, Senate Appropriations Committee).The Gala honored individuals for their outstanding contributions to the military, including Admiral Eric T. Olson (Commander of United States Special Operations Command), and Mr. Dana White (President and CEO of the Ultimate Fighting Championship).

To be sure, an event as violent and yet frivolous as Ultimate Fighting has to be deeply offensive to McCain, who was kept in a cage and routinely beaten simply for being an American soldier. And yet McCain's sponsorship of White's gala celebration proves how quickly principles get compromised in Washington to achieve larger means.

On that note, organizers are still awaiting McCain's RSVP to the next big Washington gala, which honors Reps. John Murtha (D-PA) and Hal Rogers (R-KY) and is titled "Political Pork Through the Ages."