First you need to know the backstory.

The Republican governor of South Carolina, Kristi Noem, in contention to be Donald Trump’s running mate, wrote a book. In “No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong with Politics And How We Move America Forward” she talks about the time she killed her own perfectly healthy dog. But she says she had her reasons.

It was a puppy. A German wirehaired pointer that she had hoped to train to hunt pheasants. The training didn’t take. The dog went after some chickens. Noem took it out to a gravel pit, shot and killed her.

“I hated that dog,” she wrote. “It was not a pleasant job, but it had to be done.”

Former President Trump Holds A Campaign Rally In Ohio
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Cue the public outrage from dog lovers all over (yet had a pit bull been untrainable then attacked animals many would say to put it down).

So politicians being the opportunistic creatures they are, enter Minnesota Gov Tim Walz. On Friday night in an effort to shame Noem he jumped on X, formerly Twitter, and wrote, “Post a picture with your dog that doesn’t involve shooting them and throwing them in a gravel pit. I’ll start.”

So, people did. Other opportunistic governors did.

Our governor did.

Yes, it would have been better for Noem to rehome the dog if possible. But is this holier-than-though virtue signaling and dog-shaming really flattering? If people find the story of what happened at the gravel pit unacceptable, doesn’t it speak for itself without needing pious Democratic governors to further convince them?

I’d prefer Murphy spend less time on social media scolding Republicans and more time making New Jersey affordable.

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