Romney's in the Dog House

If you aren’t up on the current political scandals, I’ll give you a brief rundown.  During a 13-hour car ride from Massachusetts to Canada in 1983, there wasn’t enough room in the family station wagon for Romney’s five young sons and Seamus, their pet Irish Setter.  So the politician put the dog in a crate on the roof instead. 

According to the story, the oldest child pointed out a brown liquid dripping down the back window, emanating from the Irish Setter, who had been riding on the roof in the wind for hours.  At that point, Romney pulled over at a nearby gas station, hosed down the dog and the car, returned the dog to the roof, and continued on the journey.

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During a 2007 interview, Fox News host Chris Wallace asked Romney, “What were you thinking?”  The governor replied that, "This is a completely airtight kennel, mounted on the top of our car. He climbed up there regularly, enjoyed himself; he was in a kennel at home a great deal of the time as well. We loved the dog, it was where he was comfortable and we had five kids inside the car and my guess is he liked it a lot better in his kennel than he would have liked it inside."

Everything about this situation is wrong: morally, legally, and rhetorically.  Even today, Mitt Romney isn’t recognizing the extreme flaws in his behavior, and has done nothing to apologize for his transgression.  While shocking, it is causing an interesting rhetorical response.

There is a small but growing group of protestors who have been following Romney to campaign stops with stuffed dogs in crates attached to the roofs of their cars.  Police pulled over one such protestor in Colorado on suspicion of animal cruelty.

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Furthermore, a social media specialist named Scott Crider founded a blog called Dogs Against Romney.  He has been documenting protests as well as informing the public about this specific case of animal cruelty.  Supporters of the website protested Romney outside of the Westminster Dog Show last week, which gained a lot of publicity and outcry. 

As people continue to hear about the Irish Setter’s roof-ride, former supporters of Mitt Romney are beginning to question his character.  Some ask, “If he’s going to treat his animal that way, what does he think of people?”

Certainly, his opponents think that this story has potential to be a weakness in his campaign.  Newt Gingrich launched an attack ad called “Pets with Newt 2012.”

Even David Axelrod, President Obama’s campaign communications director, tweeted a picture of the first dog riding in the presidential limousine with the president and the caption “how loving owners transport their pets.” 

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Clearly this story is gaining more attention as Romney’s campaign continues, and with all the support it’s acquiring, it will most likely do some serious damage his ethos. 

All I can say is that I don’t want an admitted animal abuser to be the face of the United States.  Do you?