Written by Alisa Mullins
Mitt Romney may have lost the election, but that doesn't mean he'll be eating crow. After hearing that the Republican runner-up was seen dining on a vegetarian breakfast burrito on the campaign trail and that the Romney family takeout order before the final presidential debate included two veggie burgers from a Florida BurgerFi restaurant, PETA is sending the Romney family a basket of vegan goodies.
"Turns out the most reliable polls were those showing an increase in the number of people eating vegetarian and vegan foods," says PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk.
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Whether you're commiserating with Romney, celebrating President Barack Obama's victory, or just thankful for the end of all those obnoxious campaign ads, you might want to surf on over to EatDrinkBetter.com, which is offering up some patriotic recipes that are as American as baseball and debates over which candidate had the best "Gangnam Style" viral video. You can sample Barackoli Obama Casserole, Mittloaf Romney, Joe Apple Pieden, and Paul Fryan Potatoes. All the recipes are 100 percent vegan—no shellacking of donkeys, elephants, or lame ducks required.
Written by Michelle Kretzer
One thing wasn't up for debate last night—PETA's "elephant" turned almost as many heads at the presidential debate as the motorcades did.
President Barack Obama read the elephant's sign and responded with a wave. Mitt Romney likely got the message, too, as he passed by twice. Fox News pundit Juan Williams took our circus leaflet and read over it. And Rudy Giuliani and Tom Brokaw checked us out. In addition, many of the 5,000 members of the media who were there wanted to interview us and take the elephant's picture.
While our elephant's species might seem to suggest that she belongs to the GOP, the only party she's concerned with is the one she'll throw when circuses are no longer allowed to imprison and beat elephants. Help make it a reality for her—go only to circuses that don't use animals.
PETA is dedicated to stopping the abuse of animals and promoting healthy vegan eating. We take no position in support of or opposition to any political party or candidate for public office.
Written by PETA
Unfortunately, there is no punch line; I am not kidding. The reporter thought this was a fine example of Romney’s “emotion-free crisis management” style, but who knows. Here's what PETA’s president, Ingrid Newkirk said to an enquiring press:
“First, as a charity we can’t and don’t endorse or oppose any candidate for public office, but I can say (and not just as a person who grew up with an Irish Setter!) that any individual who does something like that may have what scientists term the absence of the mirror neuron, i.e., a pin-pointable absence in the brain of the characteristic which allows the individual to feel basic compassion. The implications are frightening. Anyone who suspects that they are not able to feel empathy for others needs to be aware of the existence of this condition. What is also worrying is that Mr. Romney seems to hold the very old fashioned idea that he needs to actively show he is heartless, hence the hunting claims he has made. Not subsistence hunting, but pride in killing defenseless animals for sport, for fun, for show. In the case of the dog on the roof of the car, if this is true, quite remarkably it obviously wasn't for show as only his own children were watching, a lesson in cruelty that was also wrong for them to witness. There was also the obviousness of the situation. Thinking of the wind, the weather, the speed, the vulnerability, the isolation on the roof, it is commonsense that any dog who’s under extreme stress might show that stress by losing control of his bowels: that alone should have been sufficient indication that the dog was, basically, being tortured. If you wouldn’t strap your child to the roof of your car, you have no business doing that to the family dog! I don't know who would find that acceptable. Mr. Romney needs to tell the world he realizes this was not humane. People do stupid things and one day realize it, so better late than never."
Thanks to Ana Marie Cox, founder of Wonkette, now Time.com’s Washington Editor, for noticing the story on Boston.com and jumping on it.
If you have a general question for PETA and would like a response, please e-mail Info@peta.org. If you need to report cruelty to an animal, please click here. If you are reporting an animal in imminent danger and know where to find the animal and if the abuse is taking place right now, please call your local police department. If the police are unresponsive, please call PETA immediately at 757-622-7382 and press 2.
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