Romney strapped dog carrier to top of his car

[Dr. Nosophoros]

No doubt it's getting to be election season, this is but one of the many preambles firing up (as I have seen every election year), it almost makes me puke to think this is what these idiots think will affect anything and they are probably right, oh well every vote counts right? which gives me a second bucket ( I feel like Mr.Creosote!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlK62rjQWLk

it amazes me sometimes how stupid they think we really are, and how stupid we act, but then again it doesn't really.

 

[Mister_T]

While I agree that it's incredibley lame that politicians are digging up stuff that people did over twenty years ago, I have to side with Luna and Nanda.

Politics aside, hearing about cruelty to animals really puts my knickers in a twist and makes me not too fond of the person commiting it.

 

[Nanda]

Honestly, I'm not so much arguing against Romney as I am the people who say "What's the big deal? He just strapped his dog to the roof of his car!" It is lame to try to dig up 20 year-old dirt on a presidential candidate, and, like Becky said, he made a mistake, and, as far as we know, is not a repeat offender. But I do find it incredibly distressing that so many people in this thread just don't see the problem with strapping a dog to the roof of a car.

 

[Bishka]

. But I do find it incredibly distressing that so many people in this thread just don't see the problem with strapping a dog to the roof of a car.

I do. I would hate to be on the roof of a car, and I am not putting any of my animals up there, but it bothers me that this ONE incident of animal cruelty means more to people the other candidates affairs. That's what really bothers me.

 

[Nanda]

I do. I would hate to be on the roof of a car, and I am not putting any of my animals up there, but it bothers me that this ONE incident of animal cruelty means more to people the other candidates affairs. That's what really bothers me.

The trouble is, Becky, marital problems are complicated. It's easy to villify the person having the affair, but who the hell knows what's really going on inside the relationship? I'm not condoning it, I'm just saying it's not always so black and white. Strapping a living thing to the roof of your car, however, is less of a grey area.

 

[Bishka]

The trouble is, Becky, marital problems are complicated. It's easy to villify the person having the affair, but who the hell knows what's really going on inside the relationship?

An affair should not be accepted in any circumstance. :no:

 

[Dr. Nosophoros]

And that is exactly what they play upon because they know that is something that bothers you, and that is my point.

I had to put my dog down yesterday (this will be the third, and last) He had the exact symptoms of a pup that had Parvo yet we had him for years. I live in a small town and there is only one vet and it was closed, so I took him home. I cried , I mean I cried like a baby because the last thing I wanted to do is to end the life of an animal that loved me unconditionally, but I made him as comfortable as possible, got my .22 put it at the top of his little skull and shot him, I'm sure the first one did it but I shot two extras just to be sure. It wasn't out of economic worries, it was done out of the concern that I didn't want him to suffer anymore, it was done out of love, I buried him in the back yard.

 

[Mister_T]

But I do find it incredibly distressing that so many people in this thread just don't see the problem with strapping a dog to the roof of a car.

Same here.

 

[Nanda]

An affair should not be accepted in any circumstance. :no:

And animal cruelty should?

 

[Dr. Nosophoros]

We truly live in different worlds.

 

[lilithu]

I agree that it was a long time ago, and hopefully he's learned more compassion since then. This is not something that would automatically cause me to vote against someone, assuming that he acknowledges that it was wrong and wouldn't do it again.

But I am disturbed by the people defending this behavior. Is it simply the case that you will defend Romney no matter what? Or do you REALLY think that there was nothing wrong with what he did?

A TWELVE hour drive, probably mostly going at freeway speeds, in a box strapped to the top of a car. The wind and the NOISE.

The dog poop is clear evidence of the poor animal's distress. Animals (including humans) poop when they're terrified. For the person who suggested that it's better that the dog pooped on the roof and sides of the car rather than inside, NO IT'S NOT. It's not as if the dog, under normal conditions, simply can't control himself. Had he been allowed inside the car, and then been let out to relieve himself during normal rest stops like the rest of the family, there likely would not have been an "accident" at all. And even if there had been, it's a relatively simple thing to clean up compared to the inhumaness of subjecting the poor dog to TWELVE hours of terror. If you care more about your auto upholstery than the mental and physical well-being of your canine companion, then I sincerely hope you never have one.

 

[Mister_T]

I agree that it was a long time ago, and hopefully he's learned more compassion since then. This is not something that would automatically cause me to vote against someone, assuming that he acknowledges that it was wrong and wouldn't do it again.

But I am disturbed by the people defending this behavior. Is it simply the case that you will defend Romney no matter what? Or do you REALLY think that there was nothing wrong with what he did?

A TWELVE hour drive, probably mostly going at freeway speeds, in a box strapped to the top of a car. The wind and the NOISE.

The dog poop is clear evidence of the poor animal's distress. Animals (including humans) poop when they're terrified. For the person who suggested that it's better that the dog pooped on the roof and sides of the car rather than inside, NO IT'S NOT. It's not as if the dog, under normal conditions, simply can't control himself. Had he been allowed inside the car, and then been let out to relieve himself during normal rest stops like the rest of the family, there likely would not have been an "accident" at all. And even if there had been, it's a relatively simple thing to clean up compared to the inhumaness of subjecting the poor dog to TWELVE hours of terror. If you care more about your auto upholstery than the mental and physical well-being of your canine companion, then I sincerely hope you never have one.

Well stated. :clap

 

[jonny]

Yeah, we may just have a candidate who broke the law and tortured an animal. Move along; nothing to see here. Better yet, let's challenge a former Vietnam veteran's commitment to his country.

Are you serious? I can't tell if you're trying to be sarcastic or stupid.

 

[jonny]

I said it puts me off him as a candidate. I have not really looked into his politics too much, but this factors heavily against him. It shows poor character, poor judgement, and insensitivity toward others.

How long did you consider voting before him before you heard of his "dog abuse days?" :sarcastic

I can't imagine that anyone who was seriously considering him as a candidate would give a rats behind about this. It is about as relevant as John Edward's haircut. Come on people. Let's discuss SERIOUS issues.

 

[lilithu]

I can't imagine that anyone who was seriously considering him as a candidate would give a rats behind about this. It is about as relevant as John Edward's haircut. Come on people. Let's discuss SERIOUS issues.

THIS IS NOT LIKE A HAIRCUT. Look, you can say it was a long time ago. You can say he's changed since then. You can say that you would rather discuss the deficit. But to just brush it off like a bad haircut is appalling.

AGAIN I ASK, is it just the case that you will defend Mitt no matter what, or do you SERIOUSLY believe that what he did was no big deal??! Would you really treat your dogs that way??!

ANYONE who doesn't "give a rats behind about this" should not have pets of any kind.

 

[jonny]

Yes, and even then it's stupid to have anyone in a truck bed. States should really crack down on that. I don't want to swerve out of the way because some father bought a pick-up with no room for all four of his kids. I've witnessed a teenager thrown from a pick-up truck when it was only going 20 mph.

You're obviously not from the West. I love riding in the back of trucks. I own a Jeep and love driving it with the top down. I suppose that if I took the top off my Jeep and drove around with a dog in the car that you would consider it animal abuse.

Speaking of animal abuse, my great aunt was chairwoman of the Democratic Party (the position that Howard Dean holds now) and she was a mink farmer. It funny how much things change in just 30 or 40 years. Could you imagine a democratic leadership full of mink ranchers today?!?

Anyway, this is a great example of why I would never want to run for president. All of the candidates are pretty decent people with great leadership qualities, but you open yourself up to moronic nitpicking from partisan hacks if you aspire to any leadership position in this country. I think there are a lot more Americans who would be excellent leaders, but who are prevented from doing so because of they don't want to submit themselves and their families to the juvenile political debate that we have going on in our country.

Screw debating issues like illegal immigration and global terrorism - I want to know if my president wears boxers or briefs, how much his haircut costs, and how he transports his dog on vacation. :help:

 

[jonny]

THIS IS NOT LIKE A HAIRCUT. Look, you can say it was a long time ago. You can say he's changed since then. You can say that you would rather discuss the deficit. But to just brush it off like a bad haircut is appalling.

AGAIN I ASK, is it just the case that you will defend Mitt no matter what, or do you SERIOUSLY believe that what he did was no big deal??! Would you really treat your dogs that way??!

ANYONE who doesn't "give a rats behind about this" should not have pets of any kind.

I don't care if it was yesterday. I still don't think it's a big deal.

You're taking with someone who JUST got home from the store spending $50 on a lizard that doesn't even belong to him. I am babysitting the thing and didn't like how it's cage was setup so I bought stuff for it to climb on and play on. I just spent 20 minutes giving a LIZARD a bath. I spent the weekend at a farm taking care of baby calves. I love animals. Anyone who knows me, know this.

Do you honestly think that he would have put the dog on top of the car if he thought it would be in any sort of danger?

Finally, no I wouldn't defend Mitt Romney on anything. I'm on record, in these forums, critisizing him for changing his positions on gay rights and abortion. I will defend him when I see unjust critisizm.

 

[jonny]

Honestly, I'm not so much arguing against Romney as I am the people who say "What's the big deal? He just strapped his dog to the roof of his car!" It is lame to try to dig up 20 year-old dirt on a presidential candidate, and, like Becky said, he made a mistake, and, as far as we know, is not a repeat offender. But I do find it incredibly distressing that so many people in this thread just don't see the problem with strapping a dog to the roof of a car.

He didn't "just" strap his dog to the roof of the car though. If that's what he did, I'd be right there with you. The dog was in a container (most likely securely fastened), and it was protected from the wind. I haven't ever tested this, but I can't imagine that the wind was much worse than what you'd get if you drove on the freeway with the windows down in your car.

 

[lilithu]

You're taking with someone who JUST got home from the store spending $50 on a lizard that doesn't even belong to him. I am babysitting the thing and didn't like how it's cage was setup so I bought stuff for it to climb on and play on. I just spent 20 minutes giving a LIZARD a bath. I spent the weekend at a farm taking care of baby calves. I love animals. Anyone who knows me, know this.

So what? I didn't say if you don't love animals you shouldn't have pets. I said if you think it's ok to strap a dog in a carrying cage to the top of car and then drive on the highway for 12 hours you should not have pets.

Do you honestly think that he would have put the dog on top of the car if he thought it would be in any sort of danger?

The dog crapped all over the car. It was clearly scared $hitless. Do you think that when an animal is in your care the only consideration is danger?? And if there were no potential danger at all in that situation, I'd like to see you ride in that position yourself.

Finally, no I wouldn't defend Mitt Romney on anything. I'm on record, in these forums, critisizing him for changing his positions on gay rights and abortion. I will defend him when I see unjust critisizm.

You don't understand, Jonny. I would have far preferred it if you were just defending him on anything.

I'm gonna assume that Mitt realizes now that what he did was wrong, and wouldn't do it again. The fact that you and others in this thread can't seem to see what's wrong with it is what is freaking me out.

 

[jonny]

The trouble is, Becky, marital problems are complicated. It's easy to villify the person having the affair, but who the hell knows what's really going on inside the relationship? I'm not condoning it, I'm just saying it's not always so black and white. Strapping a living thing to the roof of your car, however, is less of a grey area.

I'm sure that Guiliani's estranged children would be right there with you. :sarcastic