This is Ludicrous. People: Get a Life
There seems to be quite some outrage coming from the left (fake of course) about something that happened in… 1983. The NYT reports:
An example of Mitt Romney’s crisis management skills has turned into something of a political problem for the Republican presidential contender.
Romney placed his family dog, an Irish setter named Seamus, into a kennel lashed to the top of his station wagon for a 12-hour family trip from Boston to Ontario in 1983. Despite being shielded by a wind screen the former Massachusetts governor erected, Seamus expressed his discomfort with a diarrhea attack.
Now the story, recounted this week in a Boston Globe profile of Romney, has touched off howls of outrage from bloggers and animal rights activists even though it was presented in the story as an example of Romney’s coolness under trying circumstances.
Massachusetts animal cruelty laws specifically prohibit anyone from carrying an animal `in or upon a vehicle, or otherwise, in an unnecessarily cruel or inhuman manner or in a way and manner which might endanger the animal carried thereon.
‘Ingrid Newkirk, president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, told Time magazine’s ”Swampland” blog’: “If you wouldn’t strap your child to the roof of your car, you have no business doing that to the family dog!”
Well, that’s a stupid remark. I would not put my child on the leash either. I would also not force my child to go to the toilet outside.
Romney’s defense: “He scrambled up there every time we went on trips. He got it all by himself and enjoyed it.”
Well, it’s a nice defense, I actually tend to believe it, but that’s beside the point here. The point is that Romney should not defend himself at all. He should tell Steve Benen et al that they should get a life. He should have laughed out loud when asked about it / when the controversy broke, and ignore the attack, which is stupid beyond belief.
This is – seemingly – how desperate the left is these days.
48 Responses to “This is Ludicrous. People: Get a Life”
Nice barb. Do you really believe the “left” is any more desparate than the “right”?
I agree that lashing a dog cage to the roof of a station wagon does not rise to the level of an impeachable offense, but how animals are treated is not a left-right issue.
But the fake outrage is coming from the left. Come on man – this is one big joke.
Chris – you have a difficult time responding to what’s actually said / not dodging bullets (just responding), but if this would be a Democrats, I would say exactly the same.
This is pitiful.
Shaun,
The “right” applauds torture of human beings, there is no reason to expect those same people to even register harming an animal.
LMAO! Chris – you really are incapable of debating and sticking to an issue, aren’t you?
As I said in the other thread, I oppose Gitmo, torture, enhanced interrogation techniques, warrantless wiretapping, etc. etc. etc.
Now, back to the issue: the idiot response of some on the left to the news that Romney put his dog on the roof of his care in 1983.
Michael,
You made specific mention of the left. I would agree 100% that this is the sort of stuff that cheapens our political debates from every side.
But again, your specific mention of the left betrays a certain tribalism.
To me it is just an example of extremely poor judgement.
He could have boarded the dog for the duration of the vacation at Gitmo, once he doubled it’s size.
Michael,
I was responding to Shaun, I wasn’t trying to imply that I thought you supported torture.
But since Micheal insists on treating everything as left/right, and by the way, this is The Left, what about the other recent news.
Idiotic War with no planning? No problem.
Illegally wiretapping American citizens? No biggie.
Wiping out habeas corpus with the stroke of a pen? Who cares?
Doubling the national debt? Hey, we never said we were fiscal conservatives
But try to deal with 12 million undocumented workers in America and they crap their pants.
MvdG- You might have a point if the outrage was just limited to the left. I learned about Seamus’ misadventure not from a lefty but from Tucker Carlson who is somewhat to the right of Jeanne Kirkpatrick. His comment? That he’s not part of PETA but being a dog-lover, that action might have cost Mitt his vote. A conservative commentator on the show likewise agreed. Why? Because love of animals is not just a lefty issue.
Tribalism
God, how I love that word!
A dog doesn’t belong in a crate for 12 hours. Period. Even if the crate isn’t on top of a car going 70 mph.
Also, the problem was completely avoidable. There was room for the dog inside the 9-passenger car. Putting the dog on the roof wasn’t just cruel: it was dumb and unnecessary. Luggage should have been placed inside that rooftop crate, not an animal.
We don’t need another president who blunders into crisis due to a lack of common sense.
I’m with you on this MvdG, tho I rarely (if ever) feel that PETA speaks for me.
They should have just leashed him to the bumper, ala Family Vacation.
“This is – seemingly – how desperate the left is these days.”………………………is a deliberaely provocative statement, folloewed by outrage at the provocative responses received.
It must be a slow day in the blogosphere, when a story about a dog is needed to stoke the partisan fires.
I just do not see it as that big a deal. Exactly what was the cage like? Was there room inside? Was the dog a outdoor dog who was gonna go nutz and/slobber paw everyone in the car possibly causing a wreck? Or just constantly bark if he where in the car, cage or no? Who says he did take the dog out of the cage at rest stops?
While, I would call his decision to take the dog on the roof a bit quesitonable, maybe more than a bit. I would still need more information before I thought the dog was abused, or that Mitt suffered from more a momentary bout of stupid…
Before I get piled upon. Have you ever tried taking a cat to the vet? Or move with one? Heh fun. I am sure animals love gettnig put into those same sorts of cages and handled onto the plane and shack/flown too. Or, gasp. Kids on road trips? Just because they are in the car, does not neccessarily make it comfotable at times despite reasonable efforts. lol.
The point is there are different levels of inconvience and lack of comfort, that if temporary are really more inconvienience than abuse. It seems like simple poor judgement too me.
Heck, I can’t count the times I see dogs, or even people, riding in the backs of Pickups. Or how about leaving dogs in the parking lot with the windows up while a family shops… Personally, these bother me.
Well, the AP is on the story, which means it’s going supernova.
It quotes Mutt . . . er, Mitt as saying:
Well, it’s practiced by the Left, not only when maintaining PC conformity but in unintelligently describing anyone not as far to the left as they are.
Doma: stop reading my mind. I was not being purposefully inflammatory at all. I simply find the “controversy” to be nearly idiotic.
lol yeah, i love that defense Shaun
God bless MvdG. Nothing quite like blaming The Left for all the ills in the world.
Any time someone expresses poor judgment, that cacophonous The Left is always there to make it worse.
Thanks for the heads up, Good Sir.
I’m sorry, but this issue has nothing to do with left politics as far as I’m concerned. Clearly this is an issue of cruelty to animals, and yes what Romney did to his dog was cruel and inhumane. One doesn’t have to be a leftist to come to that conclusion. I’m not a leftist, in fact there’s much I despise about the left. Don’t make excuses for the guy. Why does every issue have to be politicized? Why can’t you just admit what Romney did was awful?
MVDG said:
“Doma: stop reading my mind. ”
I only read your words.
Those words did not say that SOME on the left seemed desperate,, They did not say that certain statements by people on the left seemed desperate. Those words said that the LEFT seemed desperate.
As I’m not a conservative, I was pretty sure I was included in there somewhete.
And yes, I felt offended by being associated by implication, with the stupidity of the offending statements by SOME on the left.
It is kind of a sad/’funny story…I wonder if the writers of Nat’l Lampoon heard this story and used it for inspiration. Still,I wouldn’t have done it- if the kennel got loose it would have been tragic, thus exhibiting a serious lack of judgement- but hey it WAS 1983, when we thought talking cars were cool, and people from Russia were dirty commie spies- now they’re supermodels.
The issue already is dying. Using the past? The Left will do anything necessary — the means justify the ends (being in power) — but this has happened by the Right, too.
With this story the Left has tried and failed to “Swift Boat” Mr. Romney.
Incidentally, anyone familar with Swift Boats , especially river duty, did not consider Kerry a coward or easy-duty free rider. And at least Kerry, for all his faults, went to Vietnam.
“This is being blown out of proportion,” he said. “It’s absolutely unnecessary and irrelevant, as far as I’m concerned. All of this is nothing but a distraction. It doesn’t have anything to do with what is going on today.”
A registered independent, Lambert said the presidential debate ought to be on the future, not the past.
“They should be focused on our exit strategy from Iraq,” he said.
True in 2004, true now.
I’m center-left but was not offended by MvdG’s comments.
Whoa, I just found myself agreeing with Laura. Must NOT be a political issue!
I’m offended by all statetements of the type:
The left is …
The right is….
I appreciate commentary that describes what was actually said or done by particular people without imaking a whole segment of the population equally representative of the same thing.
Well, D., regarding John Kerry, you’re welcome.
DLS-
I caught your last comment by chance only, as I seldom read you what you write.
I have no idea what you think Kerry has to do with me, but please don’t bother to write an explanation, as I won’t be reading it.
MvdG, there is plenty of “fake outrage” from both sides. It’s yet another symptom of our polarized political system where every little fault has to be broadcast.
I agree, this one is an example of fake outrage. Yes, he showed poor judgment in strapping the dog on the roof. I’m glad to hear Seamus made it there OK and seemed none-the-worse-for-wear.
As DaveA said, there is plenty of others who show similar poor judgment with their pets, some aren’t as lucky. As an example, about the same year as Mitt’s incident, my father had our family dog riding in the truck bed when we got into an accident. The dog was thrown from the trunk and nearly killed. I’m not fan of PETA, but I detest people who don’t think before putting their pets into harms way.
Laura: Why does every issue have to be politicized?
Exactly! This is only a issue because Mitt is running for office. If he wasn’t the article would never (and shouldn’t) have been printed. If there were a pattern of him being cruel to animals maybe there’s a case, but one incident doesn’t do it.
[shrug] Nobody’s perfect.
poor judgment,
serious lack of judgement,
cruel and inhumane,
Where do you guys get this crap? We know nothing about how long the dog was in the cage just how long the trip was they could of taken him out 20 time or none until we know any comments are BS!!! Remember there are no seat belt, helmet, and did people even have to have baby seats?? We don’t know how the carrier was attached or anything else but that MR built a windscreen to help keep the dog comfortable.
Basing comments on standards 25 years later not as they were when the incident happened is dishonest and just annoying.
Laws, I was trying to say seat belt and helmet laws.
They have nothing current that works as weaponry.
People back then did all kinds of things they wouldn’t do nowadays.
Romney by doing what he did displayed his soul on this one. Infact he even went so far as to say his dog rode like that many times after the first incident.
You comment at the end was pure hackery Michael, you should learn to edit before you spew because animal lovers don’t come in left or right versions. You also should recognize excuse making from politicos are going to try and cover Romney, and you just did your bit apparently with this throwaway post.
Idiotic excuse making drivel..
LOL – Atleast he didn’t put his mother in law up there with the dog.
cover Romney? For what???? At that point in time no one but a nut would of thought anything about what he did. Now 25 years later most people wouldn’t do it because our standards and way of thinking has changed. So? You cant apply retroactive standards. It’s not fair, it’s not honest, and really it just makes no sense. Get a grip!!
Bones, the post wasn’t to you so stuff it if you don’t like what I said, or don’t see sections of the media running cover over this.
Michael: one thing you may not “get” so much is how crazy many Americans are about their dogs. In many cases they are treated almost as well as family members – people will spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars on medical care, etc.
See, for example, the (relatively) recent bestseller “Marley and Me” by John Grogan.
So I expect some people will flip out over this.
It may be different in the Netherlands.
MvdG- How about a few posts using blanket blame for the right for all of society’s ills? You seem to have no problem blaming the “left” for anything you feel outraged about (here the outrage is overblown) yet I’m sure you would find it irritating if Shaun or David wrote a post blaming the right for poverty, addiction, etc. Its getting a little ridiculous.
Heh, heh — because that’s impossible. [grin]
Seriously, though the Left has done much wrong over the past decades, it has won major victories (ironically, just as it radicalized to where the far Left even bugs less-radical lefties) that have benefited us all, not simply people who had a second-rate life in the past. Think of civil rights and women’s rights. Things are totally different now, with huge progress, than they were then. Same for gay rights — there is much progress from what I’ve seen with my friend and her work with the GBLT community. There is no going backward. Those battles have been won as much as the New Deal and a modern welfare state in this country (and an often de facto unitary state with power very much centered in Washington) is well-established.
Let’s put it this way — you hear conservatives criticizing tyrannical Middle Eastern governments and terrorist groups who are backward for engaging in practices that are in strong contrast to what is done here and in the rest of the West now — practices that arose from reforms won by the Left.
(You hear conservatives as well as liberals here criticizing the Taliban, Iran, Saudi Arabia, al-Qaeda, etc. for their mistreatment of women and gays…)
Pyst said
“so stuff it if you don’t like what I said”
Don’t you just love the high minded debate and witty rejoinders?
Because I could care less when you stuck your nose in there?
But if you must know, 25 years ago if someone saw a dog caged wailing in it’s own mess on the roof of a car they would have been angry then as well.
Pyst,
The same warning you were given on the other thread applies here. You will stop making personal attacks or you will stop commenting.
Your comment was edited.
DLS- Are you feeling ok? You don’t sound like your old curmudgeonly self today!