I think Mitt Romney’s an animal for strapping his dog to the roof of a car and driving on the highway for 12 hours…but even I wouldn’t go as far as this TIME reporter:

Ingrid Newkirk, president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals…called the incident “a lesson in cruelty that was … wrong for [his children] to witness…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.” Romney, of course, has expressed support for the use of “enhanced interrogation” techniques when it comes to terrorists; his campaign refused to comment about the treatment of his dog. (Emphasis added)

From how he treats his dog to condoning torture for terrorists—that’s a pretty irresponsible leap, no?

Oh, wait—the reporter is Ana Marie Cox. That explains it.