Terrier: Pawprints on Election Day

By: Daisy

This morning, as I watched my human friend Laura walk across Massachusetts Avenue in North Cambridge to vote on Election Day, I began wailing from the back seat of our Toyota Corolla. And while my other human friend, Rich, patiently waited behind the wheel for Laura to return, I couldn't stop crying.
You see, I wanted to be in that polling place, too, casting my vote in the elections I've blogged about for almost 10 months. Yet until some forward-thinking human introduces a Constitutional amendment that would extend the franchise to dogs, the only way to make my Westie voice heard is by blogging. So here are my thoughts on the final day of Campaign 2012.

Warren Can't Fall Back From Attacks

Warren-Winter Coat, a photo by rbtenorio on Flickr.

Staffers for Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) have made crass taunts to his Democratic opponent, Elizabeth Warren, including tomahawk gestures and war whoops, to mock her claims of Native American heritage. Warren gets some advice on what to expect from Brown in the latest episode of "Capitol Hill Canine"!

Terrier: Brown-Warren is 'Walker-Whisperer' battle

By: Daisy

I hope everyone -- Democrats, Republicans and independents -- had an enjoyable, relaxing summer! I certainly did. Whether it was enjoying fried clams and watching my distant relatives, the seals, on Cape Cod, or just chasing squirrels on the North Cambridge bike path, the summer was sweet, as always.
Now it's back to the campaign trail for the fall, and the Senate race in my home state of Massachusetts heated up like a mug of apple cider last Thursday, as Republican Sen. Scott Brown and Democratic Harvard Law School professor Elizabeth Warren exchanged views in the first of four campaign debates.
From a canine perspective, I would say that this debate revealed two distinct campaign personalities: the Dog Walker (Brown) versus the Dog Whisperer (Warren).

Terrier: It's no stretch to compare politics, Olympics

 By: Daisy

My profile picture suggests that I am a sedentary dog, and in some ways this is true. I do enjoy a nice lounge on my doggy bed, on the sofa, or on a patch of grass or clover. And yet I have my active side too. Not only do I like to get in my daily exercise, but I can't help feeling the imprint of the frenetic physical activity humans have been putting themselves through in two arenas: athletic and political.
Athletic, in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London ... and political, on the campaign trail for president and also for senator in my home state of Massachusetts. And I ask my human readers: Which Olympic activities line up best with which candidates? Here are my answers:

Terrier: Liz shouldn't seek 'Shelter from the Storm'

 By: Daisy

What a scary noise the thunder caused in Eastern Massachusetts Tuesday afternoon and evening! I got so nervous that I panted throughout the thunderclaps and scratched at the bedroom door trying to escape the wrath of Mother Nature. My human friend Rich tried to calm me down by playing the radio (it was our local Cambridge station, 740-AM) in an effort to drown out the thunder. But in fact, it was only when I started thinking about a second storm -- political campaigns -- that my sides stopped heaving and I quieted down somewhat.
You see, campaigns are a bit of a maelstrom too, and in our Massachusetts Senate race we have two candidates who are a study in contrasts in how to deal with the storm. On the one hand (or paw, in my case) we have the Republican incumbent, Scott Brown (grr!), who is unafraid to go out and "get his feet wet." Meanwhile, the candidate I'm rooting for, Democratic hopeful Elizabeth Warren, is staying indoors, playing it conservative.
Evidence backs me up here. Tuesday afternoon, my human companions Rich and Laura went to Bartley's burger joint in Harvard Square. If you haven't been, it has a reputation for mouthwatering hamburgers. (The best I can hope for, alas, is a doggie bag.) What's more, they are named after celebrities -- Harvard alum and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg ... Boston Celtics player Kevin Garnett ... even Lady Gaga. (I think I howl better than her!) And of course, Brown and Warren.
Yet not only did Bartley's honor Brown with a burger, it also displayed two of his campaign signs! Can you imagine a restaurant in liberal Harvard Square doing that with another Republican, say, George W. Bush? You'd be more likely to see me hanging around with the squirrels in the backyard instead of chasing them. Yet Brown earned this star treatment honestly. He showed up at Bartley's in April to chow down on his namesake burger -- it contains bacon (yum!), American cheese (tasty!), grilled onions (mmm!), jalapenos (think I'll pass) and French fries (double yum!). He also said he'd frequented the restaurant during his undergrad days at nearby Tufts.
I haven't been able to find a similar story about Warren going to Bartley's ... even though she LIVES IN CAMBRIDGE AND TEACHES AT HARVARD LAW SCHOOL. Maybe she doesn't like the ingredients of her burger -- red peppers, onions, feta cheese and Dijon mustard. Or, in fairness, maybe she didn't like the crude remarks of restaurant owner Billy Bartley -- a man who described himself as a fan of hers. Well, if he's such a fan, I would like to know why he said, in reference to a back-and-forth between her and Brown about our centerfold senator, "The thought of her taking her clothes off made me throw up a little in my mouth."
The Bartley's example, though, shows that Brown is taking the lead in getting out and connecting with people. And there are other examples I could bring up. Sunday, he was there to greet two Massachusetts residents, the Rev. Michel Louis and Lissa Alphonse, who were held in captivity by a Bedouin in Egypt for three days earlier this month.
Liz, politics is a particularly rough storm, worse than anything that happened last night. If given the choice, I may want to stay inside with the lights on and the music turned up. But you can't do that if you want to win this Senate race.

Daisy is a 10-year-old West Highland white terrier living in Cambridge, Mass. Her column appears regularly.

Terrier: Warren must put problems in rear-view mirror

By: Daisy

Several weeks ago, my human friends Rich and Laura went food-shopping at the Trader Joe's near Fresh Pond in Cambridge, Mass. While returning to the car in the parking lot, they were surprised to see, in a neighboring car, another Westie, a 6-year-old named Ziggy, lying comfortably in an unusual position -- in the space above the back-seat area, screened by the rear window.

At least Ziggy wasn't strapped atop the car like Mitt Romney once did to the family Irish setter Seamus in 1983. And yet Romney, by finally being forthright on the issue, seems to have placed it in the rear-view mirror of his presidential campaign. This is an important lesson for another candidate with some background problems -- Massachusetts Democratic Senate hopeful Elizabeth Warren.

Terrier: Warren can't be 'Late to the Plate'

By: Daisy

A Daily Kos blogger has an amusing, albeit apparently fake, headline on a post from Monday: "Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren's dog, Otis, comes out publicly against forced high-speed canine car roof incarceration." You can see a cute photo here -- also, apparently, not from the Massachusetts Senate candidate's website.
Too bad Warren (and Otis) didn't actually do this. For it shows a weakness of the Democratic candidate thus far: She is not quick enough to the draw ... and her opponent, Republican Sen. Scott Brown, is a master of aggressive tactics.

Will Brown "Pick Up" Doggie Vote?

Brown-Pickup, a photo by rbtenorio on Flickr.

Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) spoke at Bunker Hill Community College earlier this week, touting his ties with President Barack Obama, a Democrat. Does Brown have another trick up his sleeve in his reelection bid? Read more in the latest edition of "Capitol Hill Canine"!

Warren's pet strategy must go 'Beyond the Pond'

By: Daisy

Elizabeth Warren, the Democratic candidate for Senate in my home state of Massachusetts, has opened up a promising new front in her campaign against Republican incumbent Scott Brown. But it needs a little tweaking.
First, some background: On March 1, Brown scored kudos from one of my favorite organizations, the Humane Society, when it awarded him its Legislator of the Year for working on two bills: one protecting marine mammals in the Bay State (like the grey seals I've seen at Marconi Beach, Cape Cod) and the other prohibiting mistreatment of horses. Even though I'm a Progressive Pooch, my sense of fairness prompts me to commend Brown.
Well, one week later, Warren tweeted a photo of her Golden Retriever, Otis, at Fresh Pond, Cambridge, to show that she, too, cares about animals. (Thank you to the source who informed me about these developments!) As I mentioned, this is a promising first step ... but it needs some thought for future steps.
You see, yesterday I myself went to Fresh Pond with my human friend, Rich. It was a beautiful early-spring day and the pond looked like a perfect place for me to romp. The sight of a Golden Retriever (was it Otis?) playing on the grass led me to utter a plaintive "can-I-join-him" howl from the back seat of Rich's Corolla. When we disembarked, I was treated to the sight of three V-shaped squadrons of geese above us (yum!), and when I got onto the grass, two dogs rushed up to me for a sniff, one on each side. One was a German Shepherd at least twice my size!
Up to this point, all was OK. I was ready to give Professor Warren an A-plus for her choice of a dog walk. We dogs like visiting places of natural beauty -- not to mention areas where we can mingle with each other.
The trouble was, Fresh Pond is too much Cambridge ... at the expense of everywhere else. All around the two parking lots were signs reading: "RESERVED PARKING, CAMBRIDGE RESIDENT PERMIT PARKING, NO VISITOR PASSES! OR CAMBRIDGE WATER DEPT. PERMIT PARKING, VIOLATORS SUBJECT TO FINE/TOW." You might as well have put up a "BEWARE OF DOG" sign and a mean-looking Rottweiler to scare away the out-of-towners.
Don't get me wrong. I like the idea of Warren taking Otis out for some nature and socialization. Yet I feel she is sticking too much to familiar territory and not taking the extra steps that would increase her visibility. We all remember how that doomed the last Democratic Senate hopeful, Attorney General Martha Coakley, who sneered at Brown for doing voter outreach at Fenway Park.
To Warren, I would suggest that the next time Otis wants to go for a walk, take him somewhere different, where you can connect with voters outside Cambridge. If you like bodies of water, why not try Spy Pond in nearby Arlington ... the Mystic Lakes in Medford ... or Castle Island in South Boston? You might even venture to parts of the state that tend to get overshadowed by the east -- places like Central and Western Massachusetts. Surely the Worcester area must have some prime dog-walking areas ... and as for Western Mass., well, this is one of my favorite parts of the state, with my fond Westie Rescue memories out in Palmer before my move to Cambridge. I should also note that these regions actually have municipalities named "Warren" (Central Mass.) and "Otis" (Western Mass.). Check 'em out, Liz!
So, to recap: Professor Warren, you took a good first step with Otis in your neighborhood. Now it's time to take the next step by thinking outside the box ... or in this case, beyond the pond.

Daisy is a 9-year-old West Highland white terrier living in Cambridge, Mass. Her column runs regularly.