Romney Picks Ryan!

The announcement is all over the news media by now:  

Mitt Romney is going with Wisconsin Representative Paul Ryan as his Vice-Presidential choice.

I've talked about Paul Ryan's disastrous Medicare proposals before HERE at "Keep Your Hands off of My (Son's) Medicare."  Paul Ryan is the guy who wants to end Medicare as we know it by privatizing it and giving seniors vouchers which will barely cover the cost of their health care.  Leo Kapakos gives more details on the absurdity of the Ryan plan HERE at examiner.com. 

In my opinion, a country that can't adequately take care of its aged, its poor, its infirm, its children is a backwards country indeed. Let's hope that we have enough people in this country who want to stop moving backwards at the speed of light.

The pick of Ryan is, in my opinion, a gift for the Democrats and Obama.  Apparently, according to this article at Huffington Post, the President's Re-election campaign agrees with me.  Leo Kapakos also comments on the effect of the Ryan pick on the Romney campaign:  

The Ryan budget is political kryptonite for the Romney campaign. Romney’s selection of Ryan, while potentially pacifying conservatives and giving Rush Limbaugh an early Christmas present, is the functional equivalent of putting a giant target on the Romney campaign which already has turned into a disaster.

Don't miss the whole article HERE! 

I'm also glad that Paul Ryan is going to be Romney's Veep candidate, and believe this is the last nail in Romney's political coffin: 

The pairing of two unappealing, personality-deficient characters who lack compassion, empathy, and common sense is a gift for the Democrats and the rest of us. 

Facebook friend Brian adds:  

They're as unappealing as fish and peanut butter sandwiches. Each one of them turns my stomach, but put them together and I need Maalox. 

He's got that right.  Thanks, Brian!.

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Yep, that's what I thought when I heard this...   Visit and like One Million Strong for Barack Obama on Facebook.

Romney's Dog Seamus Is on the Front Page Again!

Rusty from Dogs Against Romney says "Woof!"

Romney's Dog, Seamus, has made the front page again. 

 This time, the front page of the Washington Post.  (Our friends at Dogs Against Romney also got a mention.)

Is this an important story or just a distraction? 

A Democratic strategist quoted in the article says:  

“It’s a signifier,” Democratic strategist Chris Lehane said. “There are certain events that happen over the course of someone’s life that play into a larger story line and feed into a caricature. Seamus the dog story just plays into a negative story line about a guy who you may not completely trust.” 

Meanwhile, a Republican advisor dismisses the importance of the dog-on-the-roof  story:

 “For crying out loud, with 8.3 percent unemployment, if the dog defeats you, you deserve to be defeated,” said the adviser, who requested anonymity to speak candidly. “Come on. You’ve got to run a good campaign to overcome that. President Obama overcame Reverend Wright and Bill Ayres.”

Except that Obama didn't strap either Wright or Ayres to the roof of a car.. and both of those issues were blown up/made up by the right wing to discredit Obama.  And the Romney campaign, with Romney's history of laying off people as part of his management of Bain capital and Massachusett's record of 47th in job growth during Mitt's tenure, shouldn't be mentioning unemployment... I guess they figure that the Democrats and the population at large won't remember those little things.

I continue to believe that strapping a kennel to the roof of a car for a 12 hour ride is inhumane; continuing the ride after the dog made its distress known by defecating in the kennel is unconscionable.

The Washington Post story did contain additional information about the fate of Seamus.  This article claims that the dog lived out his life in California with Romney's sister.   

Don't miss all of our other articles about the Seamus story:

• Seamus sings the Mutt Romney Blues. 
• Dogs Against Romney:  Woof!
• More About Dogs Against Romney
• The Terrifying Ordeal of Mitt Romney's Dog

In the meantime, Dogs against Romney continues to add to its line of T-shirts for sale.  This picture is available on a background of light blue, tie-dye blue, or black:  Click at the link for this and more.  

The Terrifying Ordeal of Mitt Romney's Dog

Continuing the story of Mitt Romney's Dog on the Roof:  

A reader of the Dogs Against Romney blog created a video reenactment to make much more real the plight of Mitt Romney's dog Seamus and his 12 hour terrifying car ride on the roof of Romney's car.  Experience the noise and try to get a sense of the wind. 

Click the link to see what this trip might have been like from the dog's perspective. No wonder the dog ran away...... or.. something.  Catch the full story of Mitt Romney's dog Seamus HERE .  More Mitt Mutt news HERE.
And don't forget the Mutt Romney Blues sung by the great Ry Cooder.  

T-shirts, bumper stickers, magnets, dog coats and bandanas all available at Dogs Against Romney.  See you there! 

Update 3/15/2012:

 Romney's Dog, Seamus, has made the front page again. 
 This time, the front page of the Washington Post.  (Our friends at Dogs Against Romney also got a mention.)

Is this an important story or just a distraction? 

You decide.  Read more HERE.   

 Don't miss all of our other articles about the Seamus story: 

• Seamus sings the Mutt Romney Blues. 
• Dogs Against Romney:  Woof!
• More About Dogs Against Romney

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The Mutt Romney Blues

Seamus sings the Mutt Romney Blues with help from Ry Cooder.  

Click YouTube clip below

Seamus, the Romney family's late Irish Setter, sings the Mutt Romney Blues with help from the great American guitarist and folksinger, Ry Cooder.  Seamus was strapped in a kennel on top of the family car for a 12 hour road trip many years back.  As someone says in the video, this incident has been "dogging" Romney for years.  Brave New Films put this together on behalf of poor old Seamus.

More about the Romney road trip with Seamus on the roof  HERE!

More about Dogs About Romney and their recent escapades HERE!

Visit Dogs Against Romney directly and buy a few "Mitt is Mean" T-shirts HERE!

Dogs Against Romney Is on the MSN Front Page!

Our friends at Dogs Against Romney  are the subject of a front page article at MSN this afternoon. 

Mitt Romney's treatment of his Irish Setter Seamus many years back has been getting more and more press lately.  (Romney put the family pet, Seamus, in a kennel strapped to the top of his car for a 12 hour car ride.  The story is HERE.) 

Dogs Against Romney organized a protest at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show a few days back, and they continue to build up more and more friends and likes at Facebook.  (Yes, Mitt is mean!)  

But making the front page of MSN is, to me at least, quite a big deal.  

As I wrote last month (and so, so many people agree with me):  You can tell so much about a person by how they treat their dogs!

And don't miss the Mutt Romney Blues!  Poor ol' Seamus singing the blues to his "Boss" Mitt with the help of the great American guitarist and folksinger, Ry Cooder.   Brave New Films put this together on behalf of poor old Seamus.

Those Romney Tax Returns!!

Since I wrote my article (just after I heard about the Dogs Against Romney group), Romney published his long-awaited tax returns.  He made 21 million dollars while he was "unemployed".  That number is just staggering.  20 million would provide SNAP program (food stamp) assistance for about 4,000 families of four for a year---and Romney would still have one million a year to live on.  But I know, I know:  Romney earned his money (though he was unemployed).  Those people who need food stamps just didn't "plan well", "make good choices", or "work hard".  Grrrr.......   

What Became of Seamus?

I've also heard more rumors about Seamus.  I reiterate that these are only rumors; Mitt and his wife might be the only people who know the truth.  It appears that Seamus didn't return home from that long car ride.  Supposedly he lived out his days on a Canadian farm..  But some believe Seamus ran away.  And others believe.. well, parents for generations have told their kids that they gave the dog to a farm when they could no longer keep an animal for some reason.  But Seamus' ultimate fate remains a mystery. 

What's New at the Dogs Against Romney Shop?

Meanwhile, Dogs Against Romney keeps adding things to their shop.  See what's new!  Woof woof!!  Wag wag...!!

     

What's New in the Polls today? Gingrich and Romney "Acceptable"

Republican voters consider Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney "acceptable".


From Pollingreport.com :

1. 62% of Republican-leaning voters consider Newt Gingrich "acceptable" as their candidate according to a Gallup poll conducted in late November-early December.  54% of those same Republican voters consider Mitt Romney "acceptable".  41% feel that Rick Perry is "acceptable", 37% feel that Michele Bachmann or Herman Cain are "acceptable".  34% would give a nod to Ron Paul, 28% to Jon Huntsman, and 27% to Rick Santorum. 
2. Obama is up in Gallup's Daily Tracking poll with a 43% approval rating.  He's been in the range of 40% to 44% approval since early November.  The range has gone up a few points since late summer.
3. The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index seems to have stalled at the -50 level (yes, that is a negative) over the past few weeks.  Over the past few years, the CCI was at its nadir in late 2008/early 2009 with a reading of -54.  It hit the negative 30's in early 2011, but then went back down.  So.. people are still pretty "uncomfortable".
4. From mid-October through late November, Ron Paul's favorability rating has been around 32 to 38% favorable; 34-35% unfavorable. 
5. From mid-October through late November, Mitt Romney's favorability rating has ranged from around 38% (now) up to 49% (mid October) and does seem to be decreasing.  His unfavorables  range from 35% to 38%.
6. From mid-October through late November, Newt Gingrich's favorability rating has ranged from 35 to 36%.  His unfavorables show more variation, from 39% up to 50%.
7. As of mid-November, 72% of people who lean Democrat want to renominate Obama as their candidate.  (This number has been fluctuating between 70 and 83% since early 2010.)  26% said find another candidate.
8. In terms of possible 2012 presidential matchups, Obama leads Gingrich 49 to 40%, and Romney, 45 to 44%.  Obama and Romney have been trading leads of 1 to 6% for a year now.
9. As of mid-November, 45% of people felt that Obama deserved to be re-elected, and 48% said that he did not deserve to be reelected.  
10. In a generic Congressional ballot, the Democrats are outpacing the Republicans by 1 to 4 percentage points.  In late October, 48% of the people said they would vote for the Democrat in their district in 2012, and 43% said they would vote for the Republicans.
11. The Democrats in Congress are getting 24 to 30% approval ratings in October through mid-November; the Republicans in Congress are getting 19 to 23% approval ratings in the same timeframe.
12. The overall Congressional approval rating averaged 11% in November.  To be fair, Congress has not received very good ratings in the last 6 years, which represents the available time frame of data at pollingreport.com . The highest ratings were in early 2007 and late 2005.  In both timeframes, Congress reached an approval rating into the low 40's%.  November 2011 has the lowest ratings, even lower than October 2011 ratings.
13. On the Supercommittee and its collapse:  53% of the country said they were following the Supercommittee "very closely" or "somewhat closely".  54% felt the committee members should have "compromised more".  24% blamed the Republicans for the collapse, 15% blamed the Democrats, 55% blamed both parties equally.