POLITICO Nightly: The bizarre new politics of pets

 

Sep 24, 2024   By Michael Schaffer Presented by Citi President of the Heritage Foundation Kevin Roberts address delegates during the second day of the National Conservatism Conference on May 16, 2023 in London. | Leon Neal/Getty Images DOG DAYS — Another week, another gruesome political headline about pets. This time, the focus is on Kevin Roberts, the Heritage Foundation president and Project 2025 mastermind, who allegedly bragged to colleagues and dinner guests that he had used a shovel to kill a noisy neighborhood dog that was keeping his baby awake. Roberts has flatly denied the claims, which appeared today in the Guardian . That’s more than you can say for South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, another popular figure on the far right. In May, Noem was at the center of a media storm after publishing a memoir where she proudly describes leading her own wirehaired pointer to a gravel pit and shooting her to death after the dog ruined a pheasant hunt and killed a neighbor’s chickens. These pet headlines, of course, bookended a news cycle dominated by Donald Trump and JD Vance’s unfounded claims that Haitian migrants have been killing and eating people’s dogs and cats. In that case, the MAGA pols appear to be of the view that killing innocent pooches is bad. Given Trump’s well-documented disdain for dogs , though, you could understand if some people are confused. In fact, if you look back at how American politicians have talked about pets for the last century or two, the whole series of outrages seems especially bizarre. Dogs, in particular, turn out to be a fascinating prism for understanding the culture of politics. And, these days, they’re a pretty clear indication of how that culture is changing: Political pets were the ultimate symbol of relatability in a culture that valued unity. And now they’re another dystopian motif in an age that has elevated conflict. In ancient times, leaders kept pets, too. But in those days, house pets were how potentates elevated themselves above the masses: Our ruler is so rich and powerful, the logic went, that he can afford to feed and care for an animal with no economic utility whatsoever. In China, the Han emperor Ling had his dogs sleep on ornate carpets and gave them personal bodyguards. In Britain, Mary, Queen of Scots outfitted her lapdogs in blue velvet suits. In an age when people could barely feed themselves — much less support an animal that wasn’t there to work or be eaten — the tales of pet largesse only served to make the sovereign seem even more exotic and fearsome. In America, too, up through the Gilded Age, pets became a way for the wealthy to show off their status. Thorstein Veblen, the sociologist who coined the term “conspicuous consumption” took note of this in his 1899 magnum opus Theory of the Leisure Class: “As he is an item of expense, and commonly serves no industrial purpose, he holds a well-assured place in men’s regard as a thing of good repute.” But things shifted dramatically in the more democratic middle-class U.S. society of the 20th century. Instead of being a way for pols to show off their might, pets became a way for the most powerful person in the country to play at being an everyman. Sure, Franklin Roosevelt may have been a patrician who radically expanded the federal government during the Great Depression, but when he talked about his beloved Scottie, Fala, he was just another guy who loved his pooch. And on it went, up through Barack Obama, who announced plans to get a dog soon after his improbable victory. Just like that, a political phenom about to enter the world’s least relatable residence was just another middle-class dad hoping his kids would walk the dog like they’d promised. Four years later, Obama was helped to reelection because his opponent, Mitt Romney, had previously been caught in a mini-scandal of his own. It involved reports that, in the name of fitting everyone into the station wagon for a trip to Canada, Romney had once put the family Irish Setter in a crate atop the car, much to the animal’s distress. Ironically, the family anecdote that spurred the news cycle had been meant to show the fantastically wealthy candidate was himself also just a vacation-planning regular dad. It didn’t matter: Romney was pilloried over the anecdote, including from fellow conservatives like rival candidate Newt Gingrich and TV host Tucker Carlson. “I’m feeling that maybe Mitt Romney lost my vote here,” Carlson said on his MSNBC show after the story first broke. Would a conservative pol’s hard-hearted canine treatment generate the same criticism today, in a movement whose leader is fond of adding “like a dog” to statements about people being fired, killed, or dumped? Perhaps not. And I think it indicates that something has changed in the way people think about politics, not just pets. Where political pets once went from making a leader look exotic to making a candidate seem relatable, we’ve entered an era where seeming relatable is no longer always a priority. Instead, particularly on the MAGA right, the priority is on seeming willing to bust taboos — or to fight for old taboos that you’re accusing the smart set of abandoning. The headlines involving pets in American politics this summer are contradictory, but the common denominator is one in which the family pooch becomes not a symbol of American domestic bliss, but as a battlefield of embattled social rules. In the case of Noem’s book, she uses the tale of her pet-killing as an example of the sort of tough decisions she had to make as a farmer, the sorts of decisions namby-pamby blue-state progressives presumably don’t understand. Being willing to gun down a dog, in this frame, is a sign of courage, of rising above the weak-willed elite. That appears to have been the moral of Roberts’ story, too. Helping Noem’s narrative, if not her post-publication PR challenges, is the fact that she was able to set her story against a brilliant example of weak-willed elite: Joe Biden, who brought dogs back to the White House after the canine-free Trump presidency. Biden’s ill-trained dogs proceeded to maul numerous staffers with little immediate consequence. Noem said she’d never have put up with that misbehavior. The Springfield story also deploys dogs as a battle cry — in this case, from the other direction. In the discredited telling of Vance (himself a professed dog lover), Haitians were stealing and eating people’s pets. Eating dogs or cats, of course, is another American taboo. But this time, it was a taboo that he implied he would stand up for even as immigrant-coddling progressives allegedly looked the other way. It’s dystopia, not the American dream. It’s worth noting that the bizarre pet tales of 2024 politics haven’t really worked out for whoever’s telling them. Noem’s dog-killing story may have killed her vice presidential hopes. Trump’s “they’re eating the pets” spurred viral mockery. Americans, it seems, still want pets to be a happy, shared subject of devotion. It’s not clear whether this is something their political class can deliver. Welcome to POLITICO Nightly. Reach out with news, tips and ideas at nightly@politico.com . Or contact tonight’s author at mschaffer@politico.com or on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @michaelschaffer .   What'd I Miss? 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House Republican leaders now plan to “suspend the rules” for passing the bill midweek, shrinking debate to 40 minutes and requiring a two-thirds threshold for passage. This comes as conservative lawmakers were threatening to oppose teeing up debate. MAGA MORONS GRANDSTANDING!  — House GOP moves toward holding Blinken in contempt of Congress: House Republicans moved today to hold Secretary of State Antony Blinken in contempt of Congress over claims he obstructed their investigation into the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. House Foreign Affairs Chair Michael McCaul (R-Texas) had subpoenaed Blinken, requiring him to testify today. But the secretary of state responded he’d be in New York for events surrounding the U.N. General Assembly. Blinken reiterated “I am willing to testify” but said he is “profoundly disappointed” by the committee’s insistence on unilateral dates “during which I am carrying out the President’s important foreign policy objectives.” VISA ANTITRUST — Biden DOJ slaps Visa with antitrust suit over debit card dominance: The Justice Department today sued Visa, accusing the payments giant of illegally monopolizing the U.S. market for debit cards , stomping out rivals and inflating fees that are passed along to consumers. The lawsuit, filed in the Southern District of New York, alleges that Visa has leveraged its debit card market dominance to “thwart the growth of its existing competitors and prevent others from developing new and innovative alternatives,” according to a DOJ statement. Nightly Road to 2024 MAGA MORONS! POLITICAL AMMO — Nine House Republicans are demanding information on U.S. taxpayer funds spent on security and support for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit to an ammunition factory in Pennsylvania over the weekend — clearly irked that the visit seemed to benefit Democrats in a swing state. “If taxpayer dollars were used to facilitate this visit in a way that may violate federal laws or ethical guidelines, it is essential that Congress and the public receive a full accounting of those expenditures and the motivations behind the visit,” the lawmakers, led by Rep. Lance Gooden (R-Texas), wrote in a letter released today. BLAH! BLAH! BLAH! DEMENTIA DON HAD HIS OPPORTUNITY & DESTROYED THE ECONOMY! DON'T RE-WRITE HISTORY! TRUMP IS AN INCOMPETENT LIAR! INCOMPETENT NAVARRO NEGOTIATED A TRADE DEAL WITH CHINA THAT THEY'RE STILL LAUGHING ABOUT! TRUMP’S ECON PLAN — Former President Donald Trump promised today that if elected, the U.S. will “take other countries’ jobs,” laying out a plan for a “manufacturing renaissance” by offering “the lowest taxes, the lowest energy costs [and] the lowest regulatory burden” to companies that manufacture products in the U.S. Speaking to a crowd in Savannah, Georgia, Trump previewed a sprawling manufacturing overhaul including special federal zones with “ultra low taxes and regulations,” a “manufacturing ambassador” tasked with convincing major manufacturers to move to America, and massive deregulation — all aimed at “relocating entire industries” into the U.S. MORE TRUMP NONSENSE! Trump promised a 15 percent “made in America tax rate” and said he would implement 100 percent tariffs on cars manufactured in Mexico, amplifying the protectionist policies on which he has run for nearly a decade. DASHED — Republicans’ effort to change Nebraska’s unique electoral vote system ahead of the November election to benefit former President Donald Trump has been dashed . Republican Gov. Jim Pillen, a major proponent of making Nebraska a winner-takes-all state, said today that he has “no plans to call a special session on this issue prior to the 2024 election” because he couldn’t secure the 33 votes needed to avoid a filibuster, should the change be put before the legislature. AT FILIBUSTER’S END — Kamala Harris is calling for changes to Senate procedure to pass federal legislation protecting abortion rights. Harris voiced support for ending the 60-vote threshold needed to advance most legislation in the Senate , commonly known as the filibuster, during an interview with Wisconsin Public Radio that aired today. WALZ PREPS — Gov. Tim Walz is planning another stint of debate prep today in Minneapolis with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg along to play Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio.), just days before Vance and Walz face off in what may be the final debate before November. Walz and Buttigieg will meet this afternoon in Minneapolis, according to two people familiar with the matter who were granted anonymity to discuss it. Walz is also holding a campaign fundraiser in the Minneapolis area today. AROUND THE WORLD Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gives a press conference during the NATO Summit in Vilnius on July 12, 2023. | Ludovic Marin/AFP via Getty Images ERDOGAN ON NETANYAHU — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan compared Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler today, urging that he be stopped. “Just as Hitler was stopped by the alliance of humanity 70 years ago, Netanyahu and his murder network must also be stopped by the alliance of humanity,” Erdoğan said during his speech at the 79th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York. The Turkish president criticized the U.N. for failing to fulfill its original mission and instead becoming “a dysfunctional structure.” Speaking just after President Joe Biden, Erdoğan also criticized U.S. policy in the region. “Those who are supposedly working for a ceasefire from this stage continue to send arms and ammunition to Israel so it can continue its massacres,” he said. RED TAPE PIVOT — For decades, the European Union loved to regulate. Now, it wants to do the opposite. Where once, the “Brussels Effect” saw the EU set laws and standards the rest of the world couldn’t help but follow, soon there will be a European commissioner for slashing red tape . Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s latest top job appointments signal she wants to pivot away from the bloc’s traditional focus on market rules, to focus on reviving the EU’s lackluster economic growth instead. The thinking is that the former might impede the latter. 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Turkey’s Erdoğan threatens to intervene in Israel

Arzu Geybullayeva08/06/2024

( Globalvoices.org ) – A verbal spat between Turkey and Israel highlighted the country’s complicated relationship with Israel and Palestine and drew attention to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s penchant for doublespeak.

During a speech in the province of Rize on July 28, Erdoğan said there was no reason for Turkey not to intervene in Israel’s war on Gaza, just like it has done in  Karabakh and Libya. The president did not elaborate on what this intervention would look like. 

The remarks triggered an exchange that started with Israel’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Israel Katz, comparing Erdoğan to Saddam Hussain in a post on X, writing, “Erdoğan follows in the footsteps of Saddam Hussein and threatens to attack Israel. Just let him remember what happened there and how it ended.” The Minister was referring to Saddam Hussain’s capture and eventual execution.

Katz also urged NATO to expel Turkey following Erdoğan’s remarks. An opposition figure Yair Lapid also joined the fray, calling on the world and NATO to “strongly condemn [Erdoğan’s] outrageous threats against Israel and force him to end his support for Hamas,” adding that Israel “won’t accept threats from a wannabe dictator.”

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There were no statements from NATO or any of its members at the time of writing this story, with the exception of a bipartisan group of US lawmakers who denounced Erdoğan’s threats.

Turkey’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded on X, comparing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Adolf Hitler, “Just as genocidal Hitler ended, so will genocidal Netanyahu. Just as the genocidal Nazis were held accountable, so will those who try to destroy the Palestinians.”

Turkey’s public broadcaster TRT took it a step further in a tweet:

“Just as genocidal Hitler ended, so will genocidal Netanyahu” The murderer of millions, Hitler, drank cyanide and then shot himself after losing Berlin. Just as genocidal Hitler ended, so will genocidal Netanyahu.

The Directorate of Communication also tweeted, “They have committed an atrocity that will outshine Hitler, the most cursed figure of the last century. Gaza has become the world’s largest extermination camp today.”

Since October 2023, Turkey went from trying to mediate between Israel and Hamas to recalling its ambassador to Tel Aviv and announcing total restrictions on all trade with Israel until the war on Gaza ends. But a recent investigation by Turkish journalist Metin Cihan showed how Turkey has continued to steadily supply oil to Israel via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline — a gas pipeline that carries Azerbaijani oil through Georgia to Turkey’s Mediterranean ports, where it is then shipped around the world, including Israel.

Turkey continued to maintain the flow despite calls to halt the supply of Azerbaijani oil exports to Israel (Turkey did restrict the sale of certain goods to Israel in April and announced its decision to cease all trade ties with Israel in May 2024). Reportedly, the sale of Azerbaijani oil to Israel increased by 23 percent between January to April 2024, compared to the indicators from 2023.

Image by Arzu Geybullayeva

Using data from BOTAS — Turkey’s state-owned oil and gas company which operates Turkey’s section of the BTC — Cihan wrote how millions of barrels of oil are shipped from Ceyhan on a monthly basis. “We don’t know how much of it goes to Israel,” wrote Cihan on X. “According to our Minister of Energy, we do not have influence nor authority over where oil is shipped. The oil is sold by Azerbaijan. We simply get our share,” explained Cihan.

In his following tweets, Cihan wrote that after looking into relevant agreements, Turkey cannot sanction this trade route given the existing agreements. “According to an agreement with British Petroleum (BP) we would pay compensation to the company in case of a delay of petroleum for any given reason,” explained Cihan. “According to the Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan pipeline agreement [Turkey] signed we are obligated to continue supply oil even at times of war or terrorism. This trade is considered superior even to human rights and state sovereignty. In exchange, we receive a share of 80 cents per barrel of oil loaded onto tankers from Ceyhan,” added Cihan.

Due to this agreement, Erdoğan’s statement was viewed in Turkey as nothing but an empty threat. In a tweet, veteran journalist, Amberin Zaman wrote, “If Erdoğan meant any of it he would start off by halting Azerbaijani oil sales to Israel which go through Turkish ports.”

President Erdoğan has made empty provocative statements before. On two occasions in 2022, he said Turkey could invade Greece overnight.

Turkey also took a U-turn in the Gulf Diplomatic Crisis. During the crisis, Turkey backed Qatar while Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, and Egypt severed their ties with Qatar. After openly supporting Qatar in the conflict, Turkey’s relations with Saudia Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, and Egypt took a chilly turn. However, once the crisis ended, Erdoğon changed his tune on these countries and relations improved dramatically.

In the case of Egypt, relations between the two countries soured after former president Mohammed Morsi was ousted in a military-backed uprising in 2013. Morsi was a leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, which had ties with the ruling Turkish Justice and Development Party (AKP). But in 2022 during the opening of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, the infamous handshake between President Erdoğan and his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah el-Sisi signaled that changes were afoot.

In January 2024, Erdoğan traveled to Cairo where he signed several agreements with al-Sisi.

On the United Arab Emirates front, the ties between the two countries showed signs of thawing in 2022, when the UAE expressed interest in purchasing Turkey’s Bayraktar drones. After Erdoğan’s victory in the May 2023 election, the two countries signed a five-year trade agreement.

But the recent strongly worded statement from the President should not go unnoticed, warned Sinan Ciddi and Sophia Epley in a recent policy brief for the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), a Washington DC-based research institute. The authors wrote:

Erdoğan often threatens other countries to bolster political support from his nationalist and Islamist base. Neither the United States nor its NATO allies should ignore Erdoğan. President Joe Biden in concert with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg should demand a de-escalatory statement and corrective language from Erdoğan.

There is also the matter of domestic audience as Gonul Tol, the director of the Middle East Institute’s Turkey program explained in an interview with Al-Monitor, “The tough rhetoric against Israel is his attempt at keeping his most conservative supporters from defecting to New Welfare and to maintain his image as ‘a tough guy who stands up to Israel.”

According to a survey by the Turkish Foundation for Political, Economic, and Social Research (SETA), which is known for its close ties to the ruling party, in 2024, an overwhelming 83 percent of the respondents expressed support for Palestine. In October of last year, hundreds of thousands of Turks attended a pro-Palestine rally waving Turkish and Palestinian flags.

Erdoğan’s statement also stirred some international controversy, especially with his reference to Karabakh — a formerly disputed territory between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which Azerbaijan reclaimed control over last year. Turkish troops were not directly involved in the war between Armenia and Azerbaijan in 2020 but the country did provide operational and political support “by supplying arms and conducting joint military drills during the Nagorno-Karabakh war.” Naturally, the president’s remarks about “entering Karabakh” raised eyebrows as both Turkey and Azerbaijan denied direct involvement of foreign troops during the war and after. In response to a media inquiry, Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Defense called the statement untrue.

Via Globalvoices.org

About the Author

Arzu Geybullayeva is an Azerbaijani columnist and writer, with special focus in digital authoritarianism and its implications on human rights and press freedom in Azerbaijan. Arzu has written for Al Jazeera, Eurasianet, Foreign Policy Democracy Lab, CODA, Open Democracy, Radio Free Europe, and CNN International. She is a regular contributor at IWPR, Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso and Global Voices. In 2019, Arzu launched Azerbaijan Internet Watch, a platform that documents, and monitors information controls in Azerbaijan. Arzu has contributed to GV since May 2010

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