The oft-cited Pogo cartoon by Walt Kelly (“We Have Met the Enemy and He Is Us“) is a gift that keeps on giving. That particular cartoon was about pollution, but it really applies to almost any awful result from regrettable human behavior.
Currently, we have lots to choose from, but I decided to go with blind ideology. Why can’t government officials let go of their partisan politics and simply pass useful legislation that benefits the general public? Well, why can’t individuals believe overwhelming scientific evidence and get themselves and their children immunized for measles?
The behavior of our elected representatives is often more uncomfortably reflective of our own behavior than we would necessarily like it to be.
It’s been a wild ride this week. And God only knows what’s happening today. Well, certain people close to the current administration who are making profits from insider trading probably have a pretty good idea. That’s fun.
The grifting notwithstanding, is it not clear at this point that the fate of our economic system should not be subject to the whims of a single person? This has been like watching great-grandpa, who never drove a car, trying to parallel park a Winnebego on a city street. Yeah, he’s got the biggest vehicle and may eventually get it into a space. But there is gonna be so much damage. And so many enemies.
A common criticism for an editorial cartoon: “It’s not funny.” The common response from an editorial cartoonist: “You’re right.” That’s because the main goal of an editorial or political cartoon (a good one anyway) should be to stir a thought or even start a conversation. Humor can help, but it isn’t necessary.
Whether or not this cartoon is funny, I leave that entirely to you, the reader. I can only say that it is not purposely so. It was inspired by the video of the Tufts University student getting accosted by masked government officials, arrested without identification, and shipped to a holding facility without due process, which is just but one of many similar recent incidents.
That is not how America works. Well, it’s not how it was designed to work. But now it’s clear that all the rah-rah-rah by the current administration about constitutions and justice and life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness is just a means to an end for power and control. Nothing funny about that.
The ongoing “ready, shoot, aim” approach to government efficiency brings daily consequences of hobbled and/or eliminated school programs, veteran services, medical care, voter rights, environmental protections, and so on. The latest headline: “Michigan libraries prepare for impact as Trump moves to eliminate federal library agency.”
Abraham Lincoln famously described our particular form of government as “of the people, by the people, for the people.” So it seems to me that if we slash and cut and terminate all of the people parts, there will be no constitutional republic left. And a real danger of it perishing from the earth.
So the obvious question is… if a federal agency is going to be shutdown, what’s the point of complying with their rules?
Yes, sure, I know there’s a lot more to it than that, but it makes for a good cartoon. And I could have just gone with just that. But I think there is a deeper issue, and it disturbs me more that the capricious behavior of Secretary Linda McMahon and the Trump Administration actively dismantling the department: They seem to care more about their ideological victories than they do about the actual students. Much more. If, in fact, they are thinking about students at all.
The situation with the Line 5 oil pipeline that runs through Michigan isn’t the most topical issue I could have picked this week. It’s more of an ongoing issue that (I hope) most Michiganders are familiar with.
The point I’m attempting to make, however, is extremely topical. And that topic is: propaganda works. And now I shall go further into the weeds to provide an example, the 1950 Democratic primary race between incumbent Claude Pepper and challenger George Smathers:
Part of American political lore is the Smathers “redneck speech,” which Smathers reportedly delivered to a poorly educated audience. The alleged comments were recorded in a small magazine, picked up in Time and elsewhere and etched into the public’s memories. Time, during the campaign, claimed that Smathers said this:
“Are you aware that Claude Pepper is known all over Washington as a shameless extrovert? Not only that, but this man is reliably reported to practice nepotism with his sister-in-law, he has a brother who is a known homo sapiens, and he has a sister who was once a thespian in wicked New York. Worst of all, it is an established fact that Mr. Pepper, before his marriage, habitually practiced celibacy.”
Smathers was also able to successfully label Pepper as a communist, “Red Pepper.” Smathers easily won the election.
I remember reading about this incident when I was in high school and thinking, “Dang, people in 1950 sure were easily fooled — that would never happen today.” And maybe in the 1980s it wouldn’t. But the misdirection, lies, and bullying nicknames work better than ever today.
Any Bob’s Burgers fans out there? If you’re not familiar (and you should be), it’s an animated TV sitcom that’s been around for over a dozen years. It’s about a family that operates a small restaurant in a beach town somewhere in America. The patriarch, Bob, is a good guy. He’s not particularly smart or successful, but he loves his wife, loves his three kids, and does his best.
There are times, however, that — between his family, friends, customers, arch-nemesis and fellow restaurateur Jimmy Pesto, among others — life becomes overwhelming. When he reaches a certain point, Bob typically lets out an exasperated, “ohmygod.”
It’s very quick and, more often than not, under his breath. Because he truly tries to be a decent person, it’s typically meant for his ears only, and he certainly doesn’t intend any impiety. Bob is simply indicating that he has reached his limit. The show then generally cuts to the next scene.
Earlier this week, I was kicking around an idea for a cartoon about the handful of bills passed by the previous Michigan Legislature that haven’t yet been sent to the governor to sign or veto. Presumably, she would sign them because they were bills from a Legislature that had a Democratic majority. Which is why the current Michigan House (a Republican majority) is in no hurry to see those bills signed into law.
The Michigan Constitution does not specify a timetable, so the political parties are interpreting the law entirely by what benefits them most at the moment. Send the bills now (Democrats), send the bills never (Republicans). This, of course, is Mitch McConnell 101.
I liked the idea of getting to draw McConnell, but explaining that whole background seemed a little too inside baseball. But the after listening to Governor Whitmer’s State of the State address (and its many appeals to bipartisanship), I saw my opportunity.
Even as an embittered political cartoonist, I can still find a place in my brain that believes in bipartisanship — at least the concept of it. Will it be successful? I think the question comes down to this: Can Whitmer maintain principles and standards while seeking common ground, or will she crater at key moments and become the next Susan Collins?
Full disclosure: This week’s cartoon is a variation of a cartoon I did almost 10 years ago when I was drawing for MLive newspapers. I have no delusions that anybody besides me would ever notice this. Still, I hesitated because, well, there are plenty of new ideas, so it kinda feels like a slight to those new ideas to use an old one.
But it is interesting what has changed in 10 years. The original was somewhat generic. The doctor and patient weren’t labeled or a representation of any particular person, agency, or party. It was simply a comment of going too far, too fast in making budget cuts — whether those cuts were to government services or a business operation or whatever.
The new one is much more pointed and certainly more relevant. The current slashing of federal agencies and programs by Elon Musk and his DOGE gang may have started out as cutting fat but instantly crossed over into the ideological. Under the dubious guise of fighting corruption and rooting out fraud, it’s become less about improving efficiencies and more about burning down the Reichstag.
So now there are two equally valid takes: Does the doctor chop off the patient’s head to get quick results or was killing the patient his intention from the start?
Chris Christie, the former governor of New Jersey, was a recent guest on The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart podcast. The long time Republican has known the President for 23 years, worked for him, and (as eventually happens to most) was fired by him.
In the course of conversation, Christie offered a number of informed insights. One that caught my attention was about the role of a leader — any leader, but especially for the President of the United States: “Character matters, and it matters more than any particular issue.”
His point: Even for those who align on issues and agree with what the President is doing, there is an underlying problem, which is “…the pettiness, the vindictiveness, the anger, all those things informs much of what he does, and it’s going to lead to big problems, I think, in the country over the long term.”
Auchtoon!
