Romney's treatment of family dog on 1983 vacation becomes issue

[EV_Ares]

From Michael Levenson, Globe Staff

The Globe's disclosure this week that Mitt Romney put his Irish setter into a dog carrier on the roof of his station wagon for a 12-hour trip to Ontario in 1983 has become a surprising flashpoint in the presidential campaign. TIME.com's Swampland blog has been flooded with more than 200 comments from readers complaining of animal cruelty, YouTube viewers have posted satirical videos, and hundreds of personal blogs are brimming with opinions and jokes.

For some, the story has become an occasion to consider larger issues of ethics and animal abuse. Romney, who has built an image as a strong manager, is now facing concerns about his ability to empathize with the less powerful, in this case, his dog, Seamus, riding atop his station wagon. "I'll admit that I`m coming from a dog-centric point of view," Tucker Carlson, the conservative pundit, said Thursday on MSNBC. "But I'm feeling that maybe Mitt Romney lost my vote here. Do you need to be a PETA member to be disturbed by the fact that this guy put a dog on the roof of his car? Does that bother you?"

For some critics, the answer was yes.

"Well, I am a dog owner, and I can say with certainty that strapping your dog to the roof of the car for a 12-hour drive, windshield or no windshield, is, well, nuts," David Kravitz wrote on BlueMassGroup, a liberal blog. "It also strikes me as classic Romney: it solves a problem efficiently, in a business-like manner, and with no regard whatsoever for the suffering that the solution may cause."

The Globe learned of the incident from Romney family friends during its reporting for a seven-part series this week on the candidate's life, and Romney family members confirmed the facts. Family members told the Globe that Romney attached a special windshield onto Seamus' carrier to protect him from the wind. Romney was traveling that summer with his wife, five sons, and Seamus to his parent's cottage on Lake Huron. But hours into the ride, Seamus apparently suffered diarrhea, which ran down the back window of the car. Romney's sons, all under 13, howled in disgust. Romney pulled off the road into a service station. There, he borrowed a hose, washed down Seamus and the car, and they drove on to Ontario.

As soon as it was published in the Globe Thursday, the episode became fodder for bloggers.

TIME's Ana Marie Cox was among the first to weigh in. Under the headline, "Romney's Cruel Canine Vacation," she quoted Ingrid Newkirk, president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, calling Seamus' ride "a lesson in cruelty" for Romney's sons. "Thinking of the wind, the weather, the speed, the vulnerability, the isolation on the roof, it is commonsense that any dog who's under extreme stress might show that stress by losing control of his bowels," Newkirk told Cox. "That alone should have been sufficient indication that the dog was, basically, being tortured."

(((rest of article @ link below)))

http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2007/06/romneys_treatme.html

[Corgigal]

1. Mitt Romney

tortures dogs. Pass it on.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

2. Was the dog's name macacca?

:evilgrin:

[napi21]

15. I think Mittens just might think so in a week or so!

GREAT! There was something (other than his RW nutso positions on everything) that made me unconfortable about him from the first time I saw him. This is just one more reson that convinces me that my instincts were right!

[thereismore]

3. Only for a little while. Then it'll go away like his hunting credentials. nt

[Truthiness Inspector]

12. Somehow, I don't think this one will go away

Americans of all political stripes love dogs. Him adding (lying) to the mess by saying that his dog "enjoyed" being strapped in a carrier to the roof just digs the hole deeper.

[yardwork]

4. I have noticed that lots of people respond to stories about animal cruelty.

Tucker Carlson's reaction doesn't surprise me. I've seen right-wingers defend torture and killing of people but get very upset at the thought of an animal being abused.

We need to keep this story alive. It's important because it provides insight into the kind of person Romney is (a cruel psychopath who thinks nothing of torturing animals and constantly says that he would like to do the same to people). We don't need another one like that in the White House.

[tbyg52]

6. but get very upset at the thought of an animal being abused.

Bless their hearts.

I'm assuming that even they are bright enough to see that there's no way an animal can *deserve* mistreatment.

[alphafemale]

5. Stick a fork in Mitt.

He's done.

When even someone like Tucker can see the cruelty...you're history.

Hell...I can't even contemplate the terror that poor animal must have gone through.

[ben_meyers]

7. Just like Lyndon Johnson

And his Beagle, I think some people were more upset by this photo than the Viet Nam war!

Picked him up by the ears for cripes sake!

[alphafemale]

11. My Mom told me about that. I'd never seen a picture though.

Wasn't sure I believed it.

Sumbitch really DID pick a dog up by the ears!

And THIS is the guy that got most of the civil rights stuff in the south finalized.

Sometimes irony is really, really a cold-hearted bitch.

[napi21]

8. I'm a volunteer for a national dog rescue group, and I sent this info

to our team leader here in Ga. Now, you have to realize, Ga. is close to being the reddest State in the Union, and info like this can pick off a Pub candidate with dog lovers in a heartbeat!

I think if we can find just little things like this, that have a BIG EFFECT on certain special groups, we can quietly have our own little "truthful" swift boat impact on each one of the Pub candidates, one by one! It might not make 'em vote Dem, but it sure would make 'em stay home!!!!!

If you know any dog lovers, or are a member of a dog group as I am, send them a link to the article. We can fry this candidate real quick, and then move on to the next one!

[alphafemale]

13. I'm in GA. Some dog owners aren't so good.

Came across a hunting dog that had been hit by a car one time.

It's "buddy" was there and freaked out and darting in and out of traffic.

I pulled over and got the surviving dog out of traffic.

The dead dog had a tag with a phone.

Called it.

Tried to break the news soft-like.

Someone showed up in about fifteen minutes.....

And get this.

When they showed up.

They took the collar off the dead dog and LEFT THE BODY ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD.

The collar was more valuable than the animal.

I'll never get that image out of my mind.

Sometimes I wish I had kept driving that day

[napi21]

14. Yes, there are some dog owners like that, and it's very sad!

Many of the dogs I take into rescue are from owners who think of their dog as just another THING in the house. I've heard excuses from "We're moving and can't take the thing.", "My kids are getting older now and they have other interests.", and many who get sick and instead of taking them to the vet, they take them to the pound!

That's not the people I was talking about. Thank God, there are LOTS of people who love their dog...some believe they are a family member (as I do).

I still say, you can tell what a person is REALLY like by the way they treat their animals.

[alphafemale]

16. If I'd known....

I'd of driven off with that surviving dog.

I really wish I had.

What fate did that dog have?

I didn't even realize at that point that "Deer Dogs" are deliberately deprived of human contact.

WTF?

I don't get it.

[Arugula Latte]

9. E-mail this to every dog/animal lover you know.

Word of this stuff spreads quickly, and even Mr. and Mrs. Dumbasss Average Republican can understand this one.

[AlCzervik]

10. this insight in to who Romney is really angers and disturbs me.

why did they even have a dog, was it just for photo-ops?

[orleans]

17. can mitt say "macaca"? he might as well. what an asshole! n/t

[radfringe]

18. few things

the initial story cites a 1983 vacation

Romney rigged up some sort of wind shield around the crate on the roof of the vehicle - so he had the foresight to realize the dog did need some protection, which means he was aware of the conditions which the dog would be exposed

this is not a case of quickly packing up the family and dog to evacuate in a case of an emergency and you do the best you can with what you have. This was planned.

Romney also said the "dog liked it" - indicating the dog had been strapped to the top of the vehicle before.

it's been said if you want to take a true measure of a person - watch how they treat their pets (outside of a photo op)

also the trip took 12 hours - you can't tell me that a family drives 12 hours straight without at least one bathroom break along, didn't it occur to him to walk the dog at least once during that time? When my partner and I have taken the dogs along on a long trip, we walk them and give them water/food everytime we stop (approx every 2-3 hours of drive time)

[EV_Ares]

19. Scientists Say Dog Likely Experienced Wind-Whipped, Uncomfortable Trip

Dog on Roof? What Was It Like for Romney's Pooch?
By BLAIR SODEN
June 29, 2007
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Share It may sound like a scene from Chevy Chase's "National Lampoon's Vacation." Mom and Dad pack their five boys into a white Chevy station wagon, load the luggage into the back, strap the dog to the top of the car and begin the annual family road trip from Boston to their summer home in Ontario.


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Actually, it's not a movie. It's the true story of Mitt Romney's 1983 family vacation, according to an article in Wednesday's Boston Globe.


The article pegged Romney, the 2008 Republican presidential candidate and former governor of Massachusetts, as a family man, father to five sons, adoring husband and dog's not-so best friend. Using a 1983 family vacation to talk about Romney's family values, a shocking paragraph caught the eye of animal rights groups and angered pet owners across the country.


"Before beginning the drive, Mitt Romney put Seamus, the family's hulking Irish setter, in a dog carrier and attached it to the station wagon's roof rack. He'd built a windshield for the carrier, to make the ride more comfortable for the dog," read the article.

(((rest of article @ link below)))

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/Politics/story?id=3329017&page=1&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312

[Hubert Flottz]

20. GOPers are always Fukin' the Dog...look at George on vacation

AGAIN.