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Mitt Romney dog controversy

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Seamus
File:Seamus Romney.jpg
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Seamus was a pet dog owned by Mitt Romney (WP) and his family. Seamus, an Wikipedia:Irish setter, was a subject of media attention for Mitt Romney in both the 2008 presidential election and the 2012 presidential election because of a 1983 family vacation where Romney transported Seamus on the roof of an Wikipedia:automobile for twelve hours.[1][2]

Incident

In June 1983, Romney and his family were preparing for their annual Wikipedia:vacation from their Belmont, Wikipedia:Massachusetts home to a family cottage in Wikipedia:Beach O'Pines, Wikipedia:Ontario. Seamus was enclosed in a carrier that Romney had equipped with a windshield and strapped on the roof of the family's Wikipedia:Chevrolet Caprice Wikipedia:station wagon. Sometime during the 650-mile trip from Massachusetts to Ontario, the dog became afflicted with Wikipedia:diarrhea, causing excrement to flow down the windows of the car. Romney stopped at a gas station to wash Seamus, the carrier and the car, then put Seamus back in his carrier, and continued the twelve-hour trip to the family's vacation home.[3][4]

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Seamus (dog)
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Legal & scientific commentary

The Massachusetts American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) stated that Romney's actions may have been illegal under Massachusetts law, though the Wikipedia:statute of limitations has passed. Wikipedia:Ingrid Newkirk, the president of the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has labeled the incident as Wikipedia:animal cruelty and Wikipedia:torture.[5] According to Russell Cummings, a professor of aerospace engineering at Wikipedia:California Polytechnic State University, Seamus could have had around three pounds (ten pounds per square foot) of Wikipedia:air pressure pressing against his head during the trip. Cummings' wife, a Wikipedia:veterinarian, said that she was worried that the air flow could cause fatigue and Wikipedia:dehydration of the eyes.[6]

During a 2012 interview with Chris Wallace of Wikipedia:Fox News, Romney stated that Seamus enjoyed being in the dog carrier, an "air-tight kennel," and that he was not aware of any violations of Massachusetts law.[7] Wikipedia:Ann Romney, Mitt Romney's wife, said that the Wikipedia:news media had exaggerated the severity of the incident, and compared traveling in the roof-top dog carrier to riding a Wikipedia:motorcycle or riding in the bed of a Wikipedia:pickup truck.[8] According to Snopes, the incident has been "pointed to as an example of Romney's emotion-free crisis management style. Others viewed it differently, regarding the mode of canine transport the dog was subjected to as unnecessarily callous and cruel."[4]

Political response

During the 2012 U.S. Republican presidential primaries, candidate Wikipedia:Newt Gingrich aired an anti-Romney Wikipedia:attack ad that featured the story.[9][10] During an appearance on the ABC show This Week, Republican candidate Wikipedia:Rick Santorum stated, "As far as Seamus the dog ... the issues of character are important in this election. We need to look at all those issues and make a determination as to whether that’s the kind of person [Romney] you want to be president of the United States.”[11] In order to contrast Wikipedia:Barack Obama with Mitt Romney, Wikipedia:David Axelrod, Obama's chief political consultant, tweeted a picture of Obama and his dog, Bo, in the presidential limousine, with the caption "How loving owners transport their dogs".[12]

Wikipedia:Mark Halperin, the senior political analyst for Time magazine and Wikipedia:MSNBC, opined that "for a lot of voters" the incident was "a serious issue".[13] Scott Crider, founder of the Dogs Against Romney website, said that the incident had "struck a chord" because people "look at their own pet and say, ‘This is a member of my family. How can you even think about putting it on top of a car?’" [14] Conversely, Wikipedia:journalist Ruth Marcus of the Wikipedia:Washington Post defended Mitt Romney's treatment of Seamus, stating, "Doesn’t the fact that Romney chose to bring the dog on the family vacation, rather than dump him in a kennel back home, suggest that he’s a dog lover, not a hater?"[15]

In order to draw attention to the Seamus incident, there was a small protest outside the 2012 Wikipedia:Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in Wikipedia:New York City.[16] In April 2012, the Wikipedia:New York Observer reported that Mitt Romney was listed in two privately-run animal cruelty databases, Pet-Abuse.com and Inhumane.org, which are used to conduct background checks before allowing people to adopt or purchase a pet.[17] A Public Policy Polling (PPP) survey found that 74% of Democrats, 66% of Independents, and 63% of Republicans consider it inhumane to put a family dog in a kennel on the roof of a car. The poll also found that 35% of voters would be less likely to vote for Romney because of the Seamus incident, whereas 55% of voters said that it would not affect how they vote.[18]

During an April 2012 interview with Wikipedia:Diane Sawyer of Wikipedia:ABC News, Mitt Romney said that the "Seamus attacks were the most wounding of the campaign so far." During the same interview, Ann Romney stated that Seamus got diarrhea from eating turkey off the table before the trip, and that the dog loved the crate.[19][20] Scott Crider of Dogs Against Romney criticized Mitt Romney's comments, stating, "While last night was the first time Mitt Romney indicated he wouldn't do such a thing again, he qualified it by saying he wouldn't do such a thing again because of all the attention it got. In other words, he doesn't see anything wrong with it still, but he wouldn't do it anymore because of the political blowback it cost."[21]

Super PACs

In 2012, two super PACs, 'Mitt is Mean - The Animal Lovers Against Romney Committee' and 'DogPAC' were formed with the intent of publicizing the Seamus incident. The Mitt is Mean super PAC has the goal of raising at least $1,000,000, in order to inform voters of Mitt Romney's inhumane treatment of Seamus in ten swing states during the 2012 presidential campaign.[22][23] DogPAC seeks to get more than one million people to put bumper stickers on their cars which feature a cartoon logo of Seamus’s ride.[24][25]

Supplementary information

Seamus had the Wikipedia:nickname 'Mr. Personality' because he was a social dog. A few years after his ride to Wikipedia:Canada, Seamus was given to Mitt Romney's sister, Jane Romney of Wikipedia:California, who said, "He kept ending up at the pound. They were worried about him getting hit crossing the street. We had more space, so he could roam more freely."[26] The dog has since died.[27] As of March 2012, Wikipedia:New York Times columnist Wikipedia:Gail Collins had mentioned the car trip more than 50 times.[28]

Neologism

In 2012, in response to Mitt Romney’s road trip, Wikipedia:web designer Jack Shepler created the Wikipedia:neologism 'romney' which means 'to defecate in terror'.[29] The neologism was inspired by the neologism 'santorum', which Wikipedia:gay rights activist Wikipedia:Dan Savage had created in 2003.[30] Shepler stated that he set up a website, spreadingromney.com, which uses the new word, in order to draw attention to "Romney's mistreatment of a family pet" and "how Romney reacts to situations".[31] According to Wikipedia:Google and Wikipedia:Bing, the romney neologism's prominent web listing is due to its popularity, and not because of Google bombing or Wikipedia:search engine optimization.[32][33]

See also

Wikipedia:Obama Eats Dogs meme

References

  1. ↑ Jennifer Parker. Romney strapped dog to car roof. ABC News.
  2. ↑ Wikipedia:Jeanne Moos. Mitt Romney 'dog-on-the-roof' story appears in Newt Gingrich ad. KSDK News (St. Louis).
  3. ↑ Neil Swidey & Stephanie Ebbert. Journeys of a shared life. Wikipedia:Boston Globe.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Barbara & David Mikkelson. Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney transported a dog atop his car. Snopes.
  5. ↑ Wikipedia:Ana Marie Cox. Romney's cruel canine vacation. Time Magazine.
  6. ↑ Blair Soden. Dog on roof? What was it like for Romney's pooch?. ABC News.
  7. ↑ Sue Kottwitz. Dog politics: Mitt Romney, Seamus & the now infamous vacation. Wikipedia:Zimbio.
  8. ↑ Ann Romney. From Ann Romney. Mitt Romney - Road to the Wikipedia:White House.
  9. ↑ James Oliphant. New anti-Romney ad by Gingrich goes to the dog. Wikipedia:Los Angeles Times.
  10. ↑ Kasie Hunt. Attacks on Romney getting personal. Wikipedia:Associated Press.
  11. ↑ Amy Bingham. Santorum team doggedly resurrects Romney’s Seamus tale. ABC News.
  12. ↑ Justin Sink. Axelrod tweaks Romney over strapping dog to car roof. The Hill.
  13. ↑ Mark Halperin. Newt: Seamus story paints a 'picture' of Mitt. Time Magazine.
  14. ↑ Jerry Kronenberg. Canine support goes to the dogs. Wikipedia:Boston Herald.
  15. ↑ Ruth Marcus. Doggone it, stop hounding Romney. Washington Post.
  16. ↑ Wikipedia:Hunter Walker. Canine-loving protesters dog Mitt Romney outside Westminster Kennel Club show. Wikipedia:Politicker.
  17. ↑ Hunter Walker. Should we have a President who isn’t even qualified to adopt a pet?. Politicker.
  18. ↑ Tom Jensen. Polling on Romney's 'dog problem'. Public Policy Polling.
  19. ↑ Russell Goldman & Emily Friedman. Dog Seamus ‘loved’ trips atop family car, Says Ann Romney. ABC News.
  20. ↑ Morgan Little. Mitt, Ann Romney defend putting dog on car roof; fallout continues. Los Angeles Times.
  21. ↑ Brett LoGiurato. Dogs Against Romney: Mitt and Ann endorsed putting dogs on roof. Wikipedia:Business Insider.
  22. ↑ Morgan Little. Animal lovers' anti-Romney 'super PAC' aims to publicize dog tale. Los Angeles Times.
  23. ↑ Brad Bannon. Will Mitt Romney treat you like a dog if he’s President?. Mitt is Mean Super PAC.
  24. ↑ Julianna Goldman. Campaign going to dogs as PACs fix on Romney pet’s ride. Bloomberg News.
  25. ↑ Ron Carver. Bloomberg News Runs with the DogPAC. DogPAC Super PAC.
  26. ↑ Scott Helman. Introducing Seamus Romney, 'Mr. Personality'. Boston Globe.
  27. ↑ Kristina Chew. The curious incident of Mitt’s dog on the roof of his car. Wikipedia:Care2.
  28. ↑ Philip Rucker. Mitt Romney’s dog-on-the-car-roof story still proves to be his critics’ best friend. Washington Post.
  29. ↑ Doug Gross. Is Romney developing a Santorum 'Google problem'?. Cable News Network (CNN).
  30. ↑ Melanie Jones. Rick's 'Google Problem' spreads to Romney, Gingrich. Wikipedia:International Business Times.
  31. ↑ Wikipedia:Tim Dickinson. Mitt gets his own 'Google problem': SpreadingRomney.com. Wikipedia:Rolling Stone.
  32. ↑ Google problem spreading from Santorum to Romney -- Newt next?. Wikipedia:New York Post.
  33. ↑ Danny Sullivan. Bing & Google: “Spreading Romney” ranking tops for “Romney” is normal. Search Engine Land.

External links

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