Comedians, artists and certainly political cartoonists tend to possess an anti-authoritarian, skeptical, irreverent streak. This makes the staunchly conservative cartoonist an especially odd bird. Flipping the traditional journalist ethos of comforting the afflicted and afflicting the comfortable, rightwing cartoonists tend to ridicule the disenfranchised and excuse the abuses inflicted by the powerful. In some cases, their pieces literally spout the latest GOP talking points, revealing the cartoonists to be not independent voices, but merely members of the vast GOP echo chamber - not wits or critics as much they are hacks and shills.

Back by popular insistent demand, it’s Rightwing Cartoon Watch! This is a special, super’sized edition to cover some of the prime wingnuttery in comicdom that occured during our hiatus. This lucky 13th installment covers cartoons published from 12-18-06 to 1-28-07, although most of them appeared in January. Be warned! It might take fortitude to get through all the contents!

Iraq

Gary Varvel gets some credit for acknowledging things aren’t great in Iraq, plus a Jaws reference. Now that the midterm elections have passed, Iraq is a much more popular subject for conservative cartoonists!

Scott Stantis sums it up.

Henry Payne riffs off Humpty Dumpty and Jim Lehrer’s interview with Bush. But as they saying goes, Humpty Dumpty was pushed - in this case, by Bush and his administration.

Jerry Holbert, perhaps the least “wingnutty” of conservative cartoonists, manages to sneak in some product placement as well.

In this cartoon, Holbert captures how Bush’s stated intentions have led to the opposite results.

Lisa Benson presents one of the problems in Iraq, but of course this is only one of many.

Another cartoonist also went with Iraq-as-a-full-grown-baby theme (not included). Of course, it’s not as if Iraq is unified, or the government has any real power separate from the U.S. military or Sadr.

Meanwhile, rabid rightwinger Eric Allie goes the other way with the baby theme. The Democrats have abandoned the helpless baby that is Iraq in a dumpster for the rats to eat. Nice. Knowing Allie, I’m sure they’re Iranian rats.

This cartoon would be more accurate if at least it depicted several warring groups of armed toddlers. Besides, doesn’t Allie know the rightwing line that Democrats are in favor of birth control and abortions? That is, when they’re not bleeding hearts and taking care of abandoned tykes?

Glenn McCoy suggests there is no exit from Iraq. (Come to think of it, that’s very existential and - quelle horreur! - French of him!)

Meanwhile, Eric Allie sounds the alarm about a threat worse than global communism! Lock up the women and children! Apparently, “radicalism” has taken over South and East Africa, most of Asia, Scandanavia, England, France, Germany - who knew? Better bomb Iran before it’s too late, I say!

Chuck Asay wants to stick it out in Iraq. This cartoon is actually pretty funny, a rarity for Asay!

But who shall lead us in our time of trouble? What visionary man shall save us?

How lucky we have a president with the boldness of George Washington! Nevermind that unlike Bush, Washington was a brilliant general, and strongly against foreign interventions.

How lucky we have a president with the singular vision of Lincoln! Nevermind that unlike Bush, Lincoln consulted with Congress, recruited his brightest political foes for his cabinet to encourage debate and good decision-making, held standards for his generals and staff (Rumsfeld never would lasted under Lincoln), and, yes, listened to his generals, even if he had the final say. Bush has no clue, wants no clue, and passes the buck.

How lucky we have a president with the maverick streak and military flair of Patton! And who shares his mystical weirdness and fierce temper! Nevermind that unlike Bush, Patton was basically competent. Too bad Bush the brilliant is being undermined by those pansies in Congress!

Scott Stantis hits much closer to the truth with this cartoon, with Bush apparently depicted as Custer.

And Stantis earns style points here with a Greek mythology shout-out. Of course, the one problem is that, unlike Bush, Sisyphus was one of the most clever leaders to ever live - one of his elaborate plots won fresh water for his people, while another spared them from death.

Bush moves from a tragic figure to a comic one. Jerry Holbert’s cartoon is pretty funny - and captures the shell game that is Bush’s rhetoric.

Henry Payne admits Bush is in a mess, even if he sort of implies the escalation will work.

Here Scott Stantis suggests that Bush’s plan might not be all it’s cracked up to be.

Ken Catalino also makes Bush a more comic figure.

Gorrell makes an old, obvious but apt joke.

Ken Catalino makes an interesting WWII reference. Of course, WWII was over in a shorter time than the current war. But hey, I’m sure the leadership and the international coalition involved had nothing to do with that.

Meanwhile, Stantis literally raises the spectre of LBJ. Of course, LBJ lost sleep over the deaths of troops, while Bush has bragged he loses no sleep. LBJ was wrong, in many ways, but he did seek out different viewpoints, he did wrestle with his decisions, and he did ultimately take responsibility for them. For all LBJ’s faults, Bush is a shadow of the man LBJ was. Regardless, Stantis delivers one of the most striking cartoons of this edition.

Who can be blamed for the failures in Iraq, however? Really, we shouldn’t get greedy with our rightwing cartoonists. It’s one thing to have them acknowledge Iraq is in dire straits. It’s another to acknowledge Bush’s leadership is lacking. But surely the blame cannot lie solely with him! Even though he’s called the shots exactly as he’s wanted for four years, there must be someone else we can blame! But who? Who?

Chuck Asay is actually sorta funny - again! (Of course, I have a larger sample this time.) The Republicans, like all authoritarian conservatives, love them a ridiculous Dolchstosslegende story. But then, Digby links and discusses two great Rick Perlstein articles in this post which examines the GOP BS that the Democrats are somehow to blame for us “losing” Vietnam - right when we were on the verge of victory!

Paul Nowak goes with a similar theme. At least it’s sorta funny - if inaccurate.

Here Nowak takes a swim in the Kool-Aid. Umm, he’s depicting that the Bush escalation plan will apparently continue the pristine situation in Iraq, while potential Democratic interference has already screwed everything up. Paul Nowak has always been hardcore rightwing, but here he shows he not only refuses to grasp reality, but can’t keep track of the order of key events.

Ken Catalino suggests we’re on the verge of victory - if only it weren’t for that scoundrel, Ted Kennedy! Dolchstosslegende!

Bob Gorrell depicts Congress as opposing the escalation - a relatively neutral cartoon…

While hardcore rightwinger Michael Ramirez claims Congress is actively hurting our troops! If you love the troops, make sure to keep them in the middle of a civil war! Dolchstosslegende! Ramirez really should watch this video, since not all troops or vets share his delusions.

More proof conservatives can’t read. Biden has a plan. Feingold has a plan. Murtha has a plan. Obama has a plan. Kerry has a plan. Shall we go on? And all of those plans, plus a few more such as Peter Galbraith’s, are better than Bush’s escalation, which amounts to punt-and-pray. Maybe a miracle will occur and magically everything will work out!

McCoy has a pretty good gag, but this falls into the funny-but-inaccurate category, which is about as good as most rightwing cartoonists can muster. Of course, what the Dems have really been saying is “How?” and “What?” (As in, “What does victory look like at this point?”)

Here McCoy goes further, and suggests that the Democrats are actively trying to undermine Bush - although as another rightwing cartoonist has before, the underlying symbolism here is that Bush is a tyrant, as was Saddam Hussein! Not well thought out… (wait, did I just imply that rightwing cartoonists think?)

I included this Payne cartoon only because it is so incredibly clichéd it really epitomizes the rightwing cartoonist.

Meanwhile - can anyone spot the problem with Michael Ramirez’ symbolism? Does this idiot know what happened at the Alamo?!!? If the Alamo is really what Ramirez wants, he really should come out and say it, so all sane adults can tell him to shut up and go sit in the corner - and maybe have him watch Paths of Glory a few times or read a few war memoirs. This really is the perfect expression of the chickenhawk’s faux bravado, the neocon’s ignorance of history and the consequences of war, and the lie that is Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori.

Iran

Let’s say it yet again, Iran is a good 5-10 years away from a nuke. Even if that were not the case, there are things called weapons inspectors, sanctions, diplomacy, or after all that, an international coalition. But Ramirez has long been part of the “Bomb Iran!” camp.

Cox and Forkum are also card-carrying members of the “Bomb Iran!” club. If only - curses! - we could invade Iran, all our problems in Iraq would magically be over!! Tell ya what, to cheer up prized Bush-Cheney advisor Henry Kissinger, can we secretly bomb Cambodia again, too?

I’ve written before that I understand Israel’s anxiety about Iran, and Ahmadinejad is politically an idiot for organizing a Holocaust denial convention (cartoons on that were in the in the last RWCW installment), leaving aside the appalling immorality and historical ignorance of that move. That said, Israel’s firepower must dwarf Iran’s, even without the U.S. aircraft carriers now in the Gulf. Iran does not have a nuke. They will not have a nuke for years, maybe decades, and there are plenty of ways to prevent them getting a nuke without going to war. Enough of the saber-rattling. Only immoral idiots start wars of choice.

Here Cox and Forkum get a bit mixed up with their messages - is Iran a horrible, imminent threat, that must be dealt with? (Bomb Iran!)

Or is Ahmadinejad a comic figure, out of his depth, helpless before a much more powerful foe? Oh, wait! If we go with this route, there’s no reason to Bomb Iran!!! And wait, this cartoon shows that Israel has nukes - which we’re not supposed to admit publicly, because of United Nations non-proliferation rules - and this cartoon also implies that Iran doesn’t have nukes! Dammit! (I swear, you try make fun of your latest Hitler, and ya give away the whole game…)

Paul Nowak also tries to straddle the uneasy balance of, “he’s a dangerous clown!” No, Paul, that description would be Bush. (Although the gun fits Cheney much more, actually.)

Saddam Hussein’s Execution

Mike Lester offers an odd cartoon. I’m surprised he seems to suggest that gloating was bad. That’s not the usual rightwing line.

Ah, but Eric Allie offers one of his classic straw men! Like a moth to flame is Allie to bullshit. He really doesn’t even bother to try to be accurate, reflexively tossing off another hateful, disingenuous statement with no resemblance to reality. The Iraqi government and Bush received some just criticism over the botched execution. However, no prominent Democrat was weeping for Hussein. No prominent Democrat blamed Bush for Hussein’s heinous crimes.

Henry Payne offers some of the same straw man bullshit that Allie does. Payne occasionally strays from script and should know better.

Gerald Ford Dies

Payne does better here, referencing both Hussein and Ford.

Meanwhile, Chip Bok tries to reference an ooooold GOP meme, that Bob Woodward lied about what William Casey told him. He does so to imply that Woodward lied about his revelatory interviews with Gerald Ford, that reported such key details as Ford being offered a deal by Haig for the presidency, contrary to Ron Nessun’s loud, lying insistence to the contrary on every talk show he elbowed his way onto. Sorry, Chip, but as with Nixon, it’s all on tape (plus there are some letters!).

Bush and the Republicans

Stop to appreciate this Chuck Asay cartoon. It isn’t the most offensive of the week. It is, however, quintessential Asay, combining his usual attempts at faux folksy wisdom with a laughable denial of reality and a blind faith in Republican authority figures. It’s the winner of my Kool-Aid Award of the week.

First of all, it lacks even internal logic. Bush doesn’t talk in the cartoon, raising the question, how could anyone listen to him? Second, Bush is infamous for not asking questions. He barely if ever asked questions of Paul O’Neill during their weekly meetings, as detailed in The Price of Loyalty. He wouldn’t bother to read even two pages of essential briefing materials before key meetings, as detailed on several occasions in The One Percent Doctrine - the most notorious being him blowing off the PDB entitled, “Bin Laden Determined to Attack in U.S.” The Assassin’s Gate reports how Bush didn’t ask Jay Garner any substantive questions about Iraq (y’know, that country we invaded) after Garner returned. And then there’s Bush’s failure to ask a single question during an important Katrina briefing.

Added to that, Bush may be the most diabolical, lethal expression of the Peter Principle ever. He is almost certainly the least qualified, most incurious, stupid man ever to hold the office. He cannot manage a debate among his staff, and actively seeks to squelch rational decision-making in government agencies. He is probably the worst president we have ever had, and we can but pray no one will supplant him in that title. He’s a man who doesn’t like details, doesn’t like work, has failed at every job he’s ever held, and has always been bailed out previously. He likes the perks of the office, but doesn’t really want to be president. Is it any wonder he’s been a disaster, and Dick Cheney (whose nickname is “Bergen” at the CIA) has called so many of the shots? Bush has had six years as president, and four years to run the war exactly as he has chosen to. How exactly has that gone for us? I suppose it’s not surprising to see this from Asay, a guy who has previously drawn a cartoon suggesting Nixon was a noble, misunderstood man, who only broke the law with the greater good of the country in mind. This cartoon is unintentional comedy, and Vintage Delusion.

I don’t think even Jack Bauer could save this presidency. Not the ruin of six years in a mere 24 hours, anyway! (Of course, last season he helped take out a corrupt, criminal president!)

It’s hard to tell with Ramirez, who’s very vague here, but I suspect he’s unhappy that the GOP haven’t bombed the hell out of someone recently. Or perhaps he’s upset that Republican lawmakers aren’t ecstatic over Bush’s latest Very Bad Idea.

The State of the Union

Ramirez continues the theme here. What policy is he criticizing, and what policy is he advocating, however? (Nice artwork, though.)

Hey. Didn’t we see this same cartoon moments before? Only this time, it’s the mainstream media who are the enemy, according to Lisa Benson! Bomb the media! This cartoon laughably asserts that the media have a liberal bias (ha!) and want the U.S. to “lose” in Iraq! (Notice the white flag on the truck.) Apparently, if only the press lied about how things were going in Iraq, we would be winning! Didn’t you know? If The New York Times merely said, “we’re winning!” Sadr’s militia would disband, as would the insurgency, and magically all the catastrophic mistakes made by the Bush adminstration would be reversed! Yes, Lisa Benson, the American public has to be told that Bush is full of crap and Iraq is a disaster, because somehow they were asleep in November when they voted Republicans out of power, and they didn’t really mean it. (FYI, Benson’s cartoon appeared 5 days before Ramirez’ above, but this motif is a cartoon cliché anyway.)

In contrast, Cox and Forkum point out Bush is pretty damn unpopular with everyone.

Mike Shelton take a similar angle.

Meanwhile, Bob Gorrell focuses on Republican disenchantment.

This cartoon by Paul Nowak falls into the funny-but-inaccurate category. He rarely makes it that far, though, so kudos, Paul!

Henry Payne’s cartoon is quite the cliché, but it’s not that bad.

Mike Lester goes pop culture. Ride that wave, Mike! (Although notice he made all the critics Democrats. Shocking.)

Scott Stantis delivers a pretty striking cartoon.

Nancy Pelosi and the 110th Congress

Mike Shelton keeps drawing Pelosi as if she’s the Phantom of the Opera, but he does give her props here.

Speaking of props… Gorrell is saying Pelosi is powerful. Let’s hope he’s not also suggesting it’s more than she can handle.

Gary Varvel also depicts Pelosi in a pretty positive way.

Rightwing cartoonists can’t seem to decide how best to slander Pelosi. Does she lack a heart? (Notice there’s no specific policy referenced, and this cartoon also unintentionally implies Pelosi had a heart but lost it. Or maybe Lisa Benson is just a Tony Bennett fan in addition to being a hack.)

Or is the problem with Pelosi that’s she’s too much of a pansy, bleeding heart? (This is of course a classic straw man attack.)

Or, is the problem with Pelosi that she’s a fraud, pretending to love kids while hitting them in the back room? (No mention of Bush squandering the enormous budget surplus Clinton left him - which Paul O’Neill wanted to use specifically for Social Security.)

Or, perhaps the problem with Pelosi is she doesn’t share Mike Lester’s views on abortion. Check out this poll on public views on birth control and its effect on abortion, not to mention the Catholic view, along with national attitudes on abortion. Lester can disagree with Pelosi, but contrary to his implications, Pelosi is far from alone in her views, even within her own faith.

Glenn McCoy, who’s drawn some pretty homophobic cartoons in the past, really should invest in some padlocked iron underwear for himself, judging from his persistent anal anxiety. Of course, unless you’re one of the super-wealthy in America, you’ll be much better off with the Democrats. (If you’re one of the super-wealthy, you’ll be merely be slightly less ridiculously well off.)

Sigh. First of all, Glenn, Pelosi is not trying to be Margaret Thatcher, a.k.a. “Reagan With a Blue Dress On.” There’s also a little difference of political opinion, don’t you think, especially given Thatcher’s attempts to outlaw labor unions and her cluelessness about the poor? Pelosi’s also the Speaker of the House, not the prime minister or president. And needless to say, she doesn’t sport a Cruella DeVil white hair shock, nor does she kill puppies - while giving rectal exams, for that matter. Finally, for a conservative politician to even begin to fill a typical liberal’s shoes would first require them to give a damn about their own constituency.

Paul Nowak solidifies that he is completely divorced from reality. Not only is this cartoon horribly inaccurate on basic facts, Nowak is just not going to get a writing gig on Letterman any time soon. Here’s the AP article on the Democrats’ “first 100 hours,” that they completed with a good 13 hours to spare - with almost 48 to spare if you count only the time they spent on those promised bills. Even conservatives such as Tony Blankley, David Brooks and Rich Lowry acknowledged it was a political success for the Democrats. By the way, here’s a piece by Pelosi pointing out what occurred in 100 hours under Bush.

Perhaps the most egregious slam is #10, about the work week, since unprecedented short work weeks were going on under the Republicans, the Democrats vowed to change that, and the Republicans were whining about it, as Nowak should know. As a final touch - the AP story came out on 1/19/07. Nowak’s cartoon was published on 1/17/07. Why bother waiting for an event to occur, and finish, before you launch an attack? When your critiques have no basis in fact, it makes your work so much easier! Just ask Rush Limbaugh’s fact-checker! (Hint. He doesn’t have one.)

Holbert delivers a funny cartoon, but it suffers severely because he leaves out that the lazy whiners have all been Republicans. The Democrats have restored a real work week.

Meanwhile, Michael Ramirez seems to believe that when people work a 40-hour work week, those 40 hours are in a row. Hey, Mike, they came in 13 hours under the clock! This cartoon was published on 1/19/07, so Ramirez didn’t wait for the outcome, either - although for the slam in this cartoon, it didn’t really matter (as if it ever does!). Regardless, this is really a pretty petty, whiny attack - in addition to being completely asinine - isn’t it?

Conservative cartoonists really like the arrows theme this week! Still, there’s a key point Stantis misses here. Every piece of the 100 hours legislation was about helping the average American citizen versus the corporations Republicans whored for. For example, the motivation for raising the minimum wage was not hurting Republicans. It was about helping the working poor.

Barack Obama

Based on the disturbed look of the bystander, it seems Holbert is decrying cheap attacks on Obama rather than re-introducing conservative talking points.

Stantis gives a shout-out to Obama, making the same comparison several pundits have.

Varvel’s cartoon is pretty innocuous.

Paul Nowak can’t read. That must be it. He didn’t know anything about the “First 100 Hours,” and he hasn’t read Obama’s book, or heard him speak. Personally, I have doubts about whether Obama’s experience is enough to be president, but Obama himself has said he’s overhyped, and that people project their hopes upon him. Furthermore, Obama already has more experience and savvy than Bush ever had. Nowak would have a bit more credibility here if he wasn’t an apologist and cheerleader for the idiot prince. Qualifications and competency have never mattered to him before!

Eric Allie also went with the Easter Island theme for Obama, a month or so back!

Meanwhile, Mike Lester produces the most offensive Obama cartoon of the week. It’s fair to attack the media hype machine, but it’s slander to attack Obama as a simpleton. Mike, who’s your guy in the White House, again?

Hillary Clinton

Not content to just slam Obama, Lester decides to accuse Hillary Clinton of seeking the destruction of Israel and the United States! He’s not implying malice, just cluelessness on her part, I’m sure. Bomb Iran!

John Kerry

McCoy’s cartoon is at least somewhat funny.

Meanwhile, if you read this fine print on this cartoon, you’ll see Nowak trots out the same old lies. He really is one of the biggest hacks among rightwing cartoonists.

Henry Payne always loved him some Kerry-bashing. He penned four cartoons in one week about Kerry’s botched joke!

What will Payne do for material now that Kerry won’t run?

Barbara Boxer and Condoleezza Rice

Umm… I know hatred of the media (and increasingly, empirical truth as well) is reflexive for rightwingers, but how exactly did the media help Boxer by highlighting this incident? If anything, they turned a non-event into a shallow gossipfest, as is their habit. Nora Ephron can be hit or miss, but she nailed this one.

Lester is at least pretty original in the angles he takes for his attacks. Another straw man - Boxer didn’t say this. Neither was what she said necessarily a personal attack, and it certainly was not a cruel reminder Rice is unmarried and without children. Boxer was saying, essentially, “How can you be so clueless? Are you aware of how clueless you are? Perhaps this is why.” Rice is a proven liar who has gotten off relatively scot-free in the public eye despite her vast culpability for the disastrous mistakes made - leaving aside her backstabbing of Tenet and others. The key issue is that the major players in the Bush administration make life-and-death decisions, yet they always seem to have no sense of reality or the consequences of their consistently horrendous decisions. Clutch your pearls all you want, Lester. Rice deserves far worse than this.

Carter

Again, a straw man attack. Carter published pieces about his meetings with various Jewish groups and their discussions about his latest book. I don’t recall him saying this.

This straw man attack from Mike Lester really captures the rightwing mindset. Authoritarian conservatives can only think in black and white, you’re either for us unquestioningly or against us (Bush has suggested this many times, as have many others in his movement). In contrast, liberals care about human rights for everybody. Actually, whether it’s economic opportunity, educational opportunity, justice in the legal system, nutrition, or human rights, that’s pretty much the divide. It’s perfectly easy to have compassion for all. You only need a soul.

Those Damned Democrats

Well, when all the GOP has is crappy policy, they might as well go with invective. Sadly for Paul Nowak, the voters disagree with his views. He seems really caught in the past here, saying “impeach Nixon” and “Gore 2000.” Notice, too, he’s suggesting not only will Obama become president, but then he’ll try to seize and hold unchecked power. Hahaha. Who’s in the White House right now, again? I suppose Nowak gets points for blasting Democrats of the past, present and future in one cartoon, although all of his Democratic targets are theoretical - creatures of fiction. And the will of the people be damned!

Has Scott Stantis ever met someone who uses the term “Ovarian-American?” Sounds like a Limbaugh line. Liberals tend to call them “women” instead. It goes over better than most of what Limbaugh says.

That Damned Liberal Media

This cartoon charges that the Democrats are being mean to the Republicans in Congress, but also that the press doesn’t care. Mike Shelton might want to read a newspaper article or book about the K Street Project, DeLay, and Gingrich, as well as The Daily Howler archive. Or Talking Points Memo, for its pieces on the sabotage efforts of the departing 109th leadership (as covered in previous installments).

The Minimum Wage

Asay trots out the myth of the kindly, small businessman hurt by the minimum wage. Never mind that the minimum wage has not kept pace with inflation, and that anyone working full-time on the minimum wage still lives well below the poverty line. (But, Asay surely protests, upper management always shares its profits with the rank and file! That’s why CEOs make, on average, about 400 times what their low-level employees make?)

It’s really is amazing how much animosity the minimum wage garners from conservatives.

Yes, raising the minimum wage will surely lead to disaster, just as it did every time it was raised in the past! Let’s give another handout to the super-wealthy again, shall we? (We linked some good wealth inequity articles in the previous installment.)

Global Warming

Ah, from the mouth of babes! Most of the time, Asay depicts his female, liberal teacher as more clueless than her young charges. The “can’t read” bit is truly preposterous, since as we’ve mentioned before, the essence of a liberal education is anti-indoctrination, while authoritarian conservatives want nothing other than indoctrination. Let’s explain it for Asay and his new straw man - no one is saying that the sun is not the primary cause for heat on the planet Earth. Duh. We would all be dead without it. That’s a far cry from talking about man-made climate change, which is a scientific fact.

This is an odd cartoon. Lisa Benson depicts a factory, but she labels it as a “channel.” I think she’s trying to say that global warming is a manufactured hoax.

Isn’t it funny how conservatives predict the sky will fall if we raise the minimum wage, or we don’t surrender all our civil liberties immediately and without question, but whenever it comes to real, proven threats, they claim it’s hysteria? Big oil thanks you, GOP!

Hahaahhahaha. Right. Nice try, Henry Payne. Given that Payne lives in Detroit, perhaps he has a vested interest in inefficient cars, but one would think he’d also know more about their environmental impact.

Umm… Michael Ramirez, no reputable scientist (read: one not paid by oil companies) disputes the reality of global warming. The best solutions are being debated, as are the specifics of rate, danger, and so on. As usual, Ramirez shows he’s a talented artist, but his grasp of the world continues to be sadly lacking.

What the hell is Nowak smoking? Does anyone know? It seems he’s trying to link two things he hates - people who acknowledge the scientifically-proven facts about global warming, and the idea of an Obama presidency. Wouldn’t Gore be a more logical, if similarly ridiculous, choice of target? All I can think is that Nowak’s trying to say both are “untested” or something. Yikes. Nowak’s future as a cranky old man yelling incoherently at the kids on his lawn seems assured.

From Orange County, CA, Mike Shelton covers several local issues - the potentially disastrous California fruit freeze, Schwarzenegger’s move to the left, and his ego. Unlike the other cartoonists in this category, Shelton also manages to be funny!

Stem Cell Research

First of all, I contest every “truth” Nowak suggests in his vague series of attacks. Second, he apparently would suggest that because it might take 5-10 years of research to eliminate a particular type of cancer, we shouldn’t bother starting. With that attitude, I’m sure if this cartoonist thing doesn’t work out for him, he could go run an HMO or something.

Conservatives never are very specific when they talk negatively about stem cell research. Adult? Embryonic? Amniotic? Not all are equally useful. But hey, who cares? Let the war on science continue! Regardless, a bundle of eight cells or so is not a baby.

MLK Day

Somehow, based on his previous cartoons on race, I’m deeply uncomfortable with Lester trying to speak for Martin Luther King, Jr. in any way. In this specific cartoon, it seems MLK has a very snobby, disdainful look on his face, which seems widly inappropriate. More to the point, I hardly believe that pop culture would be his biggest concern were he alive today. Hmm… Jim Crow? Voting rights? Economic opportunities? If you don’t like hip-hop, Mike, go ahead and say it, but please don’t try to co-opt King to do it.

While Henry Payne can be very rightwing, he has consistently drawn cartoons celebrating civil rights…

…and civil rights icons.

Other

I don’t think it’s a close race at all for most offensive cartoon of the week, but feel free to make your case in the comments. This easily takes the title for me.

Glenn McCoy is suggesting that it’s easier for a teenager to have an abortion than to see a restricted movie. Okay. That’s ridiculous, but okay.

Let’s cover the movie angle first. Everyone knows that kids slip into movies all the time they’re not “supposed to.” Officially, teens can see any film they want other than R or NC-17 films. For R-rated films, they need an adult present. That means that the girls in this cartoon are at most 16. Apparently they also have the pocket money to afford an abortion, too. How convenient.

It is a conservative myth that liberals celebrate abortions, and that a young woman going for an abortion will receive no counseling whatsoever. The pressing legal issue is whether that young woman’s parents should have legal control over their daughter’s body. The most compelling reason for them not to is that some parents are abusive. If a young woman gets pregnant, and she has good parents and a good relationship with them, regardless of their views on abortion, she can and likely will speak to them about it. The law cannot compel good family relations, and libertarian conservatives would chafe at such an idea. If, however, the young woman’s parents or legal guardians are abusive, she could be at serious risk. The most terrible, but sadly real life situation, would be a father raping his daughter and getting her pregnant. Should that young woman then be forced to get her rapist father’s consent? Can Glenn McCoy even begin to imagine the horrors of that sort of home life? Just because such things shouldn’t happen doesn’t change the fact that they do.

What makes this cartoon so offensive, however, is the blasé attitude depicted. Abortion is no big deal. Really? You’d be hard-pressed to find even a diehard pro-choice woman, who’s had an abortion, who’d say that. Getting an abortion is often a very emotional, tough decision, even if the woman feels it’s the right thing to do. For this cartoon to be real, this girl would have to be pregnant. Perhaps her crappy conservative-dictated sex ed program didn’t teach her about proper birth control, or maybe she’s a liberal in an urban area, and just, y’know, slutty, so she needs to get an abortion every few months. They’re cheap and convenient, y’know, so no biggie. Only a monster could get an abortion, the rightwing feels. Therefore, all people who get abortions must be monsters. At the very least, young woman who get abortions are misguided sinners, and the people who provide abortions are monsters.

The greatest sin of the modern conservative movement (pick another word if you like, but given the religious trappings they use, it seems appropriate) is their consistent lack of compassion. They suffer from a striking inability to imagine a life other than their own, or a world other than what they wish it would be. They seek to force others to live their lives as the rightwing dictate.

As is so often the case, here we see a conservative, Glenn McCoy, dehumanizing his perceived political opponents. For a movement that pretends to be pro-life, it’s a sadly consistent attitude. Whether it’s civil rights, legal justice, torture, Katrina reconstruction, helping the poor, going to war, abortion, or any of a number of human rights issues, it’s always there. The modern conservative movement, building on conservatives trends in the past, forwards a black and white worldview intolerant of ambiguity and free choice, elevates authority over objective truth, and dehumanizes all who fail to measure up in its arbitrary, absolute and artifical hierarchy.

(On the other hand, maybe it’s just another obnoxious wingnut cartoon. )

It’s really pretty bizarre Stantis and Holbert would both go with a Little Shop of Horrors motif within the same week! (This cartoon was published on 1/8/07, while Holbert’s on Iraq was published on 1/5/07.)

Asay targets Patrick Fitzgerald. Nevermind that, in real dollars and in the modern era, Fitzgerald may be the cost-effective, cheap special prosecutor in history. Oh, and considering Libby perjured himself, and that’s what he’s being prosecuted for, how exactly is that a fishing expedition? In both cost and purpose, Fitzgerald has proven himself to be completely different from partisan leaker Ken Starr.

What the hell is Lisa Benson saying? Am I missing something? Isn’t she arguing against collective bargaining here, among other things? Does she really think the various Bush plans aren’t horrible gambles?

This cartoon from Chip Bok is one of the oldest in our hiatus round-up, but I thought it was pretty funny.

This Mike Lester cartoon really enters Asay territory about the evils of the ACLU and the like. As with Asay’s cartoons, the ridiculed incident never happened and it’s just a silly charge. Sure, many bus drivers were told they couldn’t wear Santa hats! Riiiight. “Santa Non-Believers” is at least funny, even if the cartoon’s yet another straw man attack.

I had to include this Mike Shelton cartoon just because it’s so bizarre. (Besides, everyone knows Dick Cheney is Darth Vader! )

Buchwald wrote some of his best work in this past year. He went out with style, and a sense of humour.

This Henry Payne cartoon is quite clever and funny.

Foooooootball!!!

Umm, most experts I heard predicted the Bears would win their division but wondered how far they would get in the playoffs. Also (as is the case for this upcoming Sunday), the big question for every game late in the season was, “How will Rex Grossman play?” I think Eric Allie, like many rightwingers, just likes feeling persecuted - and also likes the idea of beating up folks smarter than he is. (Of course, football analysts are not very smart!)

From Indiana, Varvel is representin’! (Although two of those fans look like they’re on something.)

Finally, we can end on a bipartisan (Bears-Colts!), non-denominational cartoon. This could be a good Super Bowl. Play ball!

As usual, feel free to vote for the most offensive cartoon(s) of the week in the comments, and check out Bob Geiger’s most recent weekly round-up of editorial cartoons for a palate cleanser. See you next time!