Election 2012 Goes To Los Perros

Originally published in The Wise Latina Club.

For you conspiracy theorists who think Gail Collins must secretly be on the Obama 2012 payroll, this story may prove you right.

It's not just that the New York Times biting columnist has almost single-handedly kept the story alive of Romney dog Seamus traveling to a family vacation in a carrier strapped to the roof of the station wagon.  Poor guy survived half a day up there with little more than the runs, according to reports, including the Boston Globe which first "broke" this story in 2007, before the former Governor of Massachusetts was defeated by John McCain for the 2008 GOP Presidential nomination.

Ms. Collins' Seamus-gate companions include: Dogs Against Romney, a "Super Pack" that is raising money and awareness about the evils (it's illegal in many states) of transporting your family pet atop the carro.  There's also the Irish Setter's Twitter handle @SeamusRomney.

Now Bo'bama has joined the pack.  BuzzFeed shows a Univision local reporter shooting a promo outside the White House about her exclusive interview with President Barack Obama when...

It's Tale of two Tails: the noble pooch who is caged by his master for 12 hours and hosed down after he gets diarrhea versus the cute Portuguese Water Dog whose owner allows him to run free on the White House lawn.  It's clear that this campaign "plant" targets Latino voters who the President has been aggressively courting since he broke his promise on reforming the immigration system, while increasing deportations, turning off many Hispanic voters already anxious about the economy. Yeah, the same voters Time Magazine trumpeted on its Yo Decido cover may determine Election 2012 due to the rápido growth of the U.S. born segment of this population of voting age by November.

It doesn't take a TV producer searching for a "kicker" during sweeps or a Fleishman-Hillard PR queen to know how easily cute animals manipulate people's feelings.

Gail Collins, (Obama 2012 Campaign Manager) Jim Messina, ¡guau GUAU guau guau! (Translation from Spanish dog-ese: We're ON to you.)

¡Woof!

 

Follow Viviana Hurtado on Twitter: www.twitter.com/wiselatinaclub

Comments

[Edward Mayes]

12:54 PM on 03/26/2012

carrier or not NO DOG deserves to be strapped to the roof of the car...
to the dogs with him

[judgeholden79]

10:06 PM on 03/16/2012

You may be on to something here, Bo's frolicking was a bit saccharine.

[matcyn]

08:01 PM on 03/16/2012

Read my lips ( I do not like Romney)

[LMPE]

07:18 PM on 03/15/2012

As Rachel Maddow reported a month or two ago, "Romney" is now a verb. It means "to defecate in terror", as Seamus did.

[Viviana Hurtado]

11:59 AM on 03/15/2012

Thanks for your comments. @Maggie, this piece is not "sensational" journalism but political satire using Gail Collin's own satirical columns on Romney's Seamus incident as a starting point and as demonstrated with the ending: "¡Woof!"

[Maggie Urrely]

01:52 PM on 03/14/2012

Ms. Hurtado, with all do respect; you're making something out of nothing. The dog ran across the lawn like he does everyday! Do you honestly think they did this on purpose because it was a reporter from Univision? I don't buy it Ms. Hurtado, dogs tend to run around to their own accord. Rather then seeing it as something cute you're turning this into some kind of conspiracy to target the "Latino" vote. Sensational journalism like that just riles up people for no reason.

[Chief Johnson]

11:40 AM on 03/14/2012

It could be great if Obama campaign show a tv add with Romney driving his cadillac with a hispanic gardener attached to the car's roof. I would love to volunteer to take the part of the gardener.