OPINION: It's time to stop 'wagging the dog' when it comes to politics – Richmond Register

Sunny. High 77F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph..
Partly to mostly cloudy. Low around 60F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph.
Updated: November 4, 2022 @ 10:12 am

I’ve often been told that American politics is a dog-eat-dog world.
As a member of the canine species, I find this phrase quite demeaning.
My fellow dogs and I seem to treat each other pretty well, even better than how I’ve seen humans treat each other.
That’s especially true during election seasons.
Has political civility really gone (to use another pejorative phrase) to the dogs?
And would it really be so bad if humans took some notes from their four-legged friends in regards to democracy?
While I, myself, am no political animal, it seems like my kind are often pulled into the “puppaganda” of human governance.
Sure, there are dogged leaders, but throughout history, humans have actually elected dog leaders.
Take Rabbit Hash, Kentucky, for example.
When the unincorporated community’s historical society needed to raise funds to help restore a historic church, they held a mayoral “election” in 1998. As the town had no need for a human mayor, the community chose from a group of pup politicians to serve the role.
Goofy Borneman-Calhoun was the first canine mayor of Rabbit Hash and the town has had four dog mayors since that time. The most recent mayor, a French bulldog named Wilbur Beast, was elected in Nov. 2020. In true servant-leader fashion, all proceeds from Rabbit Hash’s mayoral elections go towards town improvements. The election in 2016 raised much-needed funds to repair Rabbit Hash’s historic General Store which had been destroyed by fire.
From 1981 to 1994, a black Labrador-Rottweiler named Bosco was elected mayor of the unincorporated community of Sunal, California. Bosco defeated two humans to win the honorary mayoral election in 1981 and served until his death in 1994. The dog mayor was so popular that a statue of his likeness was erected in 2008 and is displayed in front of the town’s post office.
Other dog mayors have been elected in Texas, Colorado, and Minnesota.
Unlike some of their human counterparts, the dog mayors have served their communities faithfully with nary a political scandal on their records.
Is the human fondness for electing canine candidates due to the need for “pawsitivity” in politics?
It makes sense.
Dogs are naturally community-minded, helpful, cooperative, loyal, hardworking, great listeners, and overall eager to make the world a better place.
Just think about it.
Dogs serve our nation on the frontlines of the battlefield, as law enforcement officers, on search and rescue teams, in healthcare settings, and as integral parts of human families. 
We alert humans to oncoming seizures and help those with mobility and mental health issues. Not to mention, we use our gifts of smell to sniff out explosives, illegal drugs, missing people, bedbugs, peanuts, cancer, and high blood sugar — all with a friendly wag of the tale.
We’re natural public servants.
Maybe that’s why human politicians often borrow a bit of our canine charm when needed.
A New York Times article published in 2021 examined how a Beagle named Alvin helped elect Georgia’s first Black senator, Democrat Raphael Warnock, during the highly-competitive and crucial Georgia Senate runoffs.
Alvin had a starring role in Warnock’s campaign ads which showed the candidate walking the dog around a quaint neighborhood. Political strategists agree the dog had an impact on voters.
“The puppy ad got people talking,” Brian C. Robinson, a Georgia-based Republican strategist, was quoted by the New York Times. “It made it harder to caricature him because they humanized him.”
Imagine that! Dogs “humanizing” people.
It’s an old trick by human political hopefuls.
As far back as 1952, Checkers the Cocker Spaniel provided the sentimental hook in a speech that helped the then-U.S. senator Richard Nixon from California secure his role as Dwight Eisenhower’s vice presidential running mate.
Nixon’s “Fund Speech,” which became better known as the “Checkers speech,” was delivered on Sept. 23, 1952 and was the first time a politician had made a direct appeal to the public on television. In his speech, Nixon denied allegations that he misused political funds and spent money on personal gifts following a successful Senate bid in 1950. Checkers the dog found his way into the speech when the politician mentioned his family would be keeping one gift — the adorable, spotted cocker spaniel.
Man’s Best Friend has been used so often as props in political campaigns, scientists are studying the effect. Researchers announced in 2021 they were conducting a study to determine how politicians posting about, or with, their dogs online can impact voters’ perceptions. 
Researchers at Miami University in Ohio and Purdue University in Indiana are analyzing the use of dogs as a new political marketing tool in the age of social media.
Jennifer Hoewe, assistant professor of communication at Purdue, told the Cincinnati Inquirer she first had the idea for the study soon after the 2020 election.
“On my own social media, I was seeing politicians post about their dogs a lot,” Hoewe told the Inquirer. 
She noticed how many people were rejoicing the news that the White House would once again have presidential canines after four dog-less years during Donald Trump’s presidency.
It’s not just presidential and national candidates that get in on the… ahem… dog and pony show.
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear’s official Twitter account often includes pictures of Winnie, the Beshear family’s poodle.
In 2021, the Beshears even posted a mockumentary-style parody video dubbed “WinnieGate” which detailed the time when the dog was sprayed by a skunk and traipsed into the governor’s mansion. 
Canines were even used as the moniker for conservative-leaning Democrats in the 1920’s and early 1990’s with the formation of the “Yellow Dog” and “Blue Dog” coalitions. 
But really, are humans just “wagging the dog” when it comes to parading pups in the human political arena?
Isn’t the bigger issue here the fact that you can’t even trust each other enough on your own merits?
I think it’s time for you old dogs to learn some new tricks.    
If canines can find a way to work with an entirely different species for thousands of years for mutual benefit, surely to goodness, you humans of different political parties and ideals can find a way to set aside differences and work together.
Take it from a dog, I can tell when something stinks, and the current state of politics (and human civility) is pretty rotten.
Walt is the Richmond Register’s Doggo-in-Chief and canine reporter. When not sniffing out leads and being a watchdog journalist for the Register, he enjoys hiking, taking naps, playing fetch, and watching documentaries with his family. He thinks you should always ring the doorbell when visiting the Register.

{{description}}
Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.

Sorry, there are no recent results for popular commented articles.
Sign up now to get our FREE breaking news coverage delivered right to your inbox.
First Amendment: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

source