Will Romney’s “dog problem” hound him forever?
Given the widespread publicity that Mitt Romney’s “dog problem” continues to receive – it was on the front page of the Washington Post just last week – it’s no surprise that a polling group decided to see if the issue could resonate at the ballot box, or merely be the crate-gate scandal that launched a thousand late-night jokes.
The story, discovered by the Boston Globe in 2007, goes something like this. In 1983 Romney, then a 36-year-old rising star in the private equity world, loaded up the family station wagon with five sons and luggage for a long trek from Boston to Ontario, Canada. Seamus, the family’s Irish Setter, was put into his dog crate, which was then strapped to the top of the car. Romney’s plan was to make the 12-hour drive with customary pinpoint precision, stopping just once for gas, snacks and ablutions. But Seamus, whether terrified or over-excited, at some point soiled himself, as the boys discovered when they saw brown liquid running down the car window. Romney, the efficiency expert, quickly pulled into a nearby gas station to hose down the car, and the dog, calm down the kids, and get back on the road.
The ancient tale has spawned dozens of newspaper articles and television segments, especially as Romney has become 2012’s presumptive GOP nominee. It has also created its own protest movement, Dogs Against Romney, which has close to 42,000 followers on Facebook.
Public Policy Polling, a Democratic polling company, found that the story, as a proxy for Romney’s general demeanor and level of empathy, was having a negative impact on the former Massachusetts governor’s image.
“The generic description of what Romney did to Seamus is seen as humane by only 14 percent of Americans and as inhumane by 68 percent,” the group said. “There is tripartisan agreement on that front — 74 percent of Democrats, 66 percent of independents, and 63 percent of the GOP.”
Women were particularly struck by the Seamus issue. When informed that Romney had strapped his dog’s kennel to the roof of his car for a long road trip, 42 percent of women said Romney’s actions made them less likely to vote for him, versus 28 percent of men. Overall, 35 percent of those surveyed said the incident made them less likely to vote for the Republican front-runner, although a majority – 55 percent – said it did not make a difference.
“Dogs Against Romney” keeps barking on Seamus
It’s an anti-Romney movement five years in the making, and now it’s a large and growing “Super Pack” that even plans to crash the legendary Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show this week.
Dogs Against Romney is an ad-hoc group that likes dogs (and even, when pressed, some cats) but does not like Mitt Romney. It was brought together by the now well-known story of how Romney, the Republican presidential candidate, once drove from Boston to Canada with his dog in a carrier strapped to the roof of the speeding family car.
For those unfamiliar, the story –- unearthed by the Boston Globe in 2007 — goes something like this: In 1983 Romney, then a rising star in the private equity world, loaded up the family station wagon with sons and luggage for a long trek from Boston to Ontario, Canada. Seamus, the family’s Irish Setter, was put in his dog crate and strapped to the top of the car. Poor Seamus, whether terrified or over-excited or just not given a chance for a potty break, at some point soiled himself, as the Romney boys discovered when they saw brown liquid running down the window. Romney, the turnaround and efficiency specialist, quickly pulled into a nearby gas station to hose down the car, and the dog, and get back on the road.
Not long after the Seamus story became public, dog lover Scott Crider started the dogsagainstromney.com website and blog, in time for the former Massachusetts governor’s first, unsuccessful White House run. With Romney now arguably the Republican front-runner for 2012, the website and the movement have returned with fresh vigor.
Crider, 47, is a digital creative director and social media strategist based in Gulf Shores, Alabama, who works on the website in his spare time. He calls it “a work of satire with a serious message, and totally grass-roots.” The generic brown dog — nicknamed Rusty –- in the current stars-and-stripes emblazoned “In Dog We Trust/Dogs Against Romney” poster is “a composite of all the dogs I’ve owned in my life,” said Crider.
Dogs Against Romney has some simple principles: primarily among them, that dogs aren’t luggage. The website runs regular photos of member-dogs in cars, along with the slogan, “I ride inside.”
if Rompney gets to the WH, there will be doggy-doo all over the steps.
Ros Krasny’s asks: “Will Romney’s “dog problem” hound him forever?”.
My answer: it should. Romney’s abusive mistreatment of Seamus the dog tells us the truth about Romney’s character as no amount of media interviews could.
The man is callous, cruel and clueless. He should therefore not, ever, be elected President of the United States.