While the 99 percenters are destined to play a significant role in the 2012 presidential election, there is now another percent that very well may undermine the candidacy of Republican primary front-runner Mitt Romney.
Let us call it the 39 percent movement.
Perhaps more damning than Bill Clinton’s “zipper problem,” George W. Bush’s “cocaine problem,” John Kerry’s “Catholic problem” and Barack Obama’s “progressive problem” combined, Romney’s “animal cruelty problem” has the potential to isolate a dog-lover demographic that cares so deeply for the 78.2 million canines in America that it spends more money pandering pets each year than most countries claim in total gross domestic product.
The story itself isn’t new.
- from www.DogsAgainstRomney.com
More than five years ago, Boston Globe reporter Neil Swidey wrote about how, in 1983, Romney strapped his Irish setter, Seamus, to the roof of his wood-paneled station wagon during a 12-hour road trip to his family’s cottage in Canada. His eldest son, Tagg (not to be confused with Trig) “noticed a brown liquid running down the rear window” of the car. In what was spun as “a tiny preview of a trait he would grow famous for in business: emotion-free crisis management,” Swidey reported that “Romney coolly pulled off the highway and into a service station. There he borrowed a hose, washed down Seamus and the car, then hopped back onto the highway.”
“The overall idea here is that Mitt Romney is unfit to be president because of the way he treated his dog,” MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow remarked during a segment of her Jan. 12 show.
Indeed.
Fox News’ Lanny Davis wrote exactly that in an article titled, “Why Romney’s ‘dog on car roof’ story makes him unfit to be president.”
Anyone who puts a dog in a cage on top of a car for a 12-hour drive and then deludes himself or tries to delude others that the dog really enjoyed it—to me, with all due respect, I feel such a man shouldn’t be president of the United States.
The resurgence of the late Seamus Romney’s scatological mishap in mainstream media has led his primary opponent Newt Gingrich to use “Crate Gate” in an attack ad titled, “For the Dogs.” Worse, Romney’s “animal cruelty problem” has also become a “Google problem.”
From Maddow:
You remember Rick Santorum’s Google problem? Rick Santorum famously ?said that same-sex relationships were akin to man on dog relationships. In ?retaliation for that and other things, proponents of gay rights Google- ?bombed Rick Santorum. They redefined his last name as a vulgar, sexually ?explicit term and then they pushed that redefinition of the word Santorum ?to the top of his Google search results via a website called ?SpreadingSantorum.com. There is now a SpreadingRomney.com Web site, which is about poor Seamus. And it defines the word Romney as a verb, which means…(to defecate in terror).
In Bill Wasik’s 2009 book, “And Then There Was This: how stories live and die in viral culture,” the senior editor of WIRED magazine recalls how MSNBC’s Chuck Todd coined the term “A.D.D. Election” to describe the 2008 campaign, where “nanostories” such as John Edwards’ $400 haircut “each followed the same pattern observable in the case of Seamus Romney—the quick, breathless uptake and a slightly slower but inexorable decline into oblivion.”
What is “most striking” about the Seamus Romney story, Wasik says, “is it’s forgettability, how indistinguishable it seems in retrospect from the idiots’ parade of meaningless stories that came to define the campaign.”
- from www.SpreadingRomney.com
Alas, it’s not meaningless anymore. The story is back with such a vengeance that those who pooh-pooh poor Seamus’ poo-poo story will face the contempt of the 39 percent of American households that own dogs.
For a Republican candidate who already has plenty of difficulty connecting with average Americans (his religious beliefs, his 1 percent status, his inconsistent stances on everything from abortion and women’s rights to the auto industry bailout and TARP), this could be damning.
And how scary is that—that a bunch of crazy dog lovers can undue the presidential ambitions of a man whose “emotion-free crisis management” skills could backfire in such a way as to disenfranchise millions of voters?
Romney’s probably romneying himself just thinking about it.
I cannot even begin to say how happy this makes me.
Everyone I tell this story to is appalled and sickened by this story. Even Republicans. Heh.
hey there geg! good to see you over here. :)
Am I the only one who saw the tape of Romney answering the reporter that this was no big deal since the dog was in an AIRTIGHT kennel? If the “airtight” kennel was leaking money, you can bet his flat ass he’d be more careful. Isn’t animal abuse an early sign of sociopathic tendencies? There’s a lot of dog poop in the backyards of people’s homes right now. I think Mutt Romney needs to be given many opportunities along the campaign trail to practice cleaning up after a million or so dogs in a humane way. Time for the poop to go in the other direction.
If this turns into something troublesome for Romney, you can bet that he WILL be out with a very patriotically painted pooper-scooper.
If the thing was actually *airtight* than Romneybot2012 would be having a bit more trouble as he’d be known as the fucker who killed his dog on his family trip to Canada.
I used to travel a lot with my dogs, and I’ve seen just about every crate there is. Honestly? It’s insane to strap one to the top of a car. There is no way to do it that is safe for the dog. The crate goes into the car, if you’re using one – and there are reasons to use one. You also stop regularly, and let the dog get a chance to stretch its legs and go to the bathroom. This was quite simply one of the more calloused decisions I’ve ever seen someone make, right off the bat.
We traveled (moved) with dogs, cats, gerbils, chickens, gold fish and children and never once did we strap anyone of them to the roof of our car.
Yup. I moved from Maryland to New York to Colorado and back to NY, and not once were my dogs strapped to the top of a vehicle. Even when I had a pickup truck, the truck had a cap and a padded bed. Yes they were in crates (safer).
And there’s this :
http://www.dogsagainstromney.com/
I can’t believe he didn’t get pulled over for one. This is just horrific and beyond abusive. I am now utterly convinced that Romney is really from Stepford. I am happy in the belief that Hell has a special place reserved for people like Willard.
dog house or white house for romney? a no brainer!
see new website http://seamus2012.com
the site was featured on a special cnn segment yesterday (link is on my site); there’s good reason the romney road trip has legs.
also check out the hitler parody video i made that’s also on seamus2012.
followup:
Romney’s Canadian Cottage was Located in Racist Gated Community
More on the Romney dog story.
Before a landmark Canadian anti-discrimation law was passed in 1950, this exclusive community on the shores of Lake Huron, where the Romneys vacationed each summer, was off-limits to “to any person of the Jewish, Hebrew, Semitic, Negro or coloured race or blood.”
SEE FULL STORY at http://seamus2012.com
I think the part that made that Hilter parody for me was the line “What the hell was Romney thinking. Even the Jews rode inside the train!”
That was twisted.
Gail Collins is throwing a party as we speak :P
Also? Fuck you, Mitt. That is an abhorrent way to treat an animal, and it speaks volumes about someone’s character if they think it is, and aren’t the least bit bothered by the animal’s discomfort and unhappiness.
That graphic of the terrified dog on the estate wagon is just wrong
“a tiny preview of a trait he would grow famous for in business: emotion-free crisis management”
Is this the style of crisis management we want in the Oval Office?
Romney’s Canadian Cottage was Located in Racist Gated Community
More on the Romney dog story.
Before a landmark Canadian anti-discrimation law was passed in 1950, this exclusive community on the shores of Lake Huron, where the Romneys vacationed each summer, was off-limits to “to any person of the Jewish, Hebrew, Semitic, Negro or coloured race or blood.”
SEE FULL STORY at http://seamus2012.com
It’s not proof, it’s corroboration.
We knew Willard Romney was indifferent to suffering from his Bain Capital days, where he had no remorse whatsoever in tossing people out of work (and very probably, in some cases, out of their homes as a consequence) in order to make a buck.
This is just a parallel of that.
I’m guessing the thing that most bothered him was needing to stop to get the car washed. Because a material belonging is worth much, much more to a Gordon-Gekko-clone like Romney than human or animal suffering. As was his precious, precious vacation schedule.
Now I REALLY dislike Romney. Dogs are the best people in the world.
The best part of this story is that the only way to see it as “no big deal” is to be (or accept Dog On Car as being) an absolute sociopath. As we’ve seen, even some of the 27%ers are finding that a bridge too far.
Either way, the tears are just as sweet.
No big deal for the dog on the hood, no big deal ripping apart companies, no big deal if Detroit fails, this guy is a fucking prize I tell you
So if he doesn’t win(there’s no way in hell he does), it’ll be because of his dog. I thought his work at Bain was bad enough for him to tuck his tail in. His dog is what’s going to do it. In my eyes a win’s a win. I’ll take what’s given. If it makes the GOP voters see the light that’s good.
This is part of a disturbing pattern showing a complete lack of empathetic ability on the part of Mittens. He doesn’t care.
He enjoys firing people (even though he was talking about having choice in the market place, that was an odd way to express it – I (and most other people) don’t “enjoy” ending a failed business relationship).
He also said that Detroit should go bankrupt rather than get a bailout.
But again this is “free market capitalism” that Romney is most comfortable with in action. Workers aren’t people in free market capitalism, they are economic inputs to be moved around at will to promote efficiency without regard for the effects.
Oh God! Out of touch in so many ways. People, and animals too. Animal cruelty? Doesn’t have the faintist idea that he’s the only Harvard educated guy to ever strap a dog to the top of a car! Get the feeling he thinks it’s a common practice? Of course, he knows nothing about what’s common in any sense of the word. This man belongs in a place where he can no longer be a menace to society. The White House? No way!
I heard Barack straps Michelle to the top of the family car whenever they take trips, because he can’t take the smell.
Oh, you and your silly racist cracks. You’re so very witty.
Okay, not really. I’ve got a life tip for you. Some things really shouldn’t leave your head. This is one of them.
Don’t call me a racist. I’m not the one who sat in “Reverend” Wrights racist American hating church for 20 years, and referred to grandmom as a “typical white person”! That was…….umm…..our president.
found a little racial tidbit to smoke in your liberal bongs.
Our President standing and marching with the New Black Panther party.
http://biggovernment.com/abreitbart/2011/10/03/shock-photos-barack-obama-with-new-black-panther-party-on-campaign-trail-in-2007/
Want to know what they stand for??
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVcfymOvoUo
They want to kill white people. These are the people our Attorney General protects, and our President embraces…
Are you open-minded enough to ingest this information? I know it must be shocking, since liberals are generally shielded from information like this by the media…but check it out just the same
ABL – looks like you’ve got a troll.
History? He don’t need to know no steenking history!