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.

Rightwing Cartoon Watch seeks to highlight far right cartoons, but also document the broader range of opinion from conservative cartoonists on the hot issues of a given week. While a primary goal is to challenge GOP talking points and fallacies, we also seek to celebrate the fine American tradition of editorial cartooning - and have a little fun in the process.

Which cartoonists dare to criticize their own party? Who seems to literally illustrate GOP talking points? Who are their favorite targets? Who mocks liberals - and who seems to truly hate them? Who’s funny? Who’s independently minded and who’s a hack? Read, and decide, for yourself!

This installment covers the first half of April, 4/1/07-4/15/07. See chickenhawks squawk! See a(nother) manfactured scandal! See creative ways to attack liberals and African-Americans over Don Imus!

IRAQ

Ken Catalino’s pretty consistently acknowledged Iraq is a mess, and has criticized Bush, to his credit. Funny, though, here I don’t see Bush seeding the house with bugs. This really isn’t an adequate or appropriate metaphor for Iraq.

This may be a first! Cox and Forkum acknowledge a problem in Iraq! (And show some insight as well!)

I don’t mind this cartoon so much, but all of the previous war appropriation bills have been stuffed with pork and other provisions. If Gorrell’s complaining about the withdrawal deadline provisions - well, it’s been over four years of the Bush plan, run exactly as he’s wanted, and things aren’t getting any better. A new poll finds that 58% of Americans favor Congress’ leadership, with only 33% trusting Bush.

Gary McCoy’s drawing style is fairly childish, matching his typical content. This is one of my frontrunners for most offensive cartoon of the week - although I’m torn, since McCoy’s symbolism is completely bollixed. First of all, most Dems in Congress are still funding the war - for now. Most of America wants us out of there. Many Republican politicians agree with the Dems on setting a withdrawal date as well. But look at the symbolism here. Gary McCoy’s evoking the Tiananmen Square protests, but he’s equating Bush with an oppressive Chinese regimewhile the Dems represent freedom and conscience - well, that’s surprisingly accurate! But McCoy’s also urging Bush to run over the Dems with a tank. This is what makes Gary McCoy rightwing and not merely conservative - the combination of violent fantasies and the applauding of totalitarian tactics, even if in jest. Oh, Gary? About that trooper in the tank?

…A recent Army Times poll found that only about half of U.S. troops think that success in this war is even possible. What’s more, only 38% of the troops expressed support for the president’s escalation strategy.

Mike Shelton sends some good wishes to the troops in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere.

Meanwhile, Jerry Holbert really sums it up well yet again!

IRAN

Many conservative cartoonists basically insulted Blair’s manhood for not starting a war with Iran. Does Mike Lester really not understand the differences between Iran capturing 15 British sailors in disputed waters (was the territory issue ever definitively settled?) and friggin’ World War II, with Hitler sending waves of bombers at the U.K.? There’s little differences of choice and magnitude there!

“Complain” isn’t the first word that springs to mind when I think of Blair’s response to this situation, but Mike Shelton apparently wants Blair to “shut up.” And, umm, bomb them instead, I suppose?

The release of the sailors was announced on 4/4/07. Cox and Forkum submitted this on 4/5/07, and reference “another gift.” Apparently, a peaceful resolution upsets them. But they’ve been pushing their “Bomb Iran!” campaign for some time.

With this cartoon on 4/9/07, Lisa Benson also expresses disappointment in a peaceful resolution of the crisis. What the hell is wrong with these people?

Not to be undone, Chuck Asay submitted this cartoon on 4/11/07, a full week after the release announcement, also lamenting no military response. Why not a “thank goodness those 15 are all right” response instead?

The despicable Paul Nowak accuses the British sailors of being cowards. I guess Nowak would rather have a war than see them home safe. This view’s most repulsive proponent has been John Derbyshire with his column “Brit Wimps”:

Once again, it’s me and Ralph Peters on the same wavelength, deploring the cowardice of the British sailors and marines kidnapped by Iran. When it happened, I said I hoped the ones who’d shamed their country would be court-martialed on return to Blighty, and given dishonorable discharges after a couple years breaking rocks in the Outer Hebrides (which, believe me-I’ve been there-have a LOT of rocks). Now, I confess, I wouldn’t shed a tear if some worse fate befell them.

The only coherent response I get to these sentiments is: “How do you know what they’ve been through? How would YOU stand up?” To which the obvious reply is the one Dr. Johnson gave in some similar case: “I may criticize a carpenter who makes me a bad table, though I cannot make a table myself. It is not my job to make tables.” It is the job of a Royal Marine to fight, and if necessary suffer and die, for his country. They know that when they go in. It’s what they are told! I nurse a quiet hope that if put to the test, I would stand up as well as any Marine. Whether or not I would, however, is irrelevant. Whether or not I could stand up well to torture, I expect Marines to.

[...]

Of course, this kind of truth is much harder to get across to young people who have been brainwashed from elementary school to believe that their own culture is corrupt, evil, and false, while the cultures of Third World barbarians are morally superior…

The very essence of chickenhawks such as Derbyshire - and Nowak - is that they rail on other people to die for causes they themselves will not die for. It’s not a surprise both are Islamophobes as well, but the craven, chest-beating bigot club is sadly all too popular on the right.

Meanwhile, Gary McCoy offers one of his typical ludicrous straw men. Gary - liberals and law-and-order conservatives such as Alberto Mora support human rights, due process, the rule of law and the Geneva Conventions for everybody. One of the reasons we’ve all opposed the authoritarian conservative attack of all of those things is precisely to protect American troops (and British troops) for situations such as this! Given the idiocy and immorality of Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Addington, Gonzales and others on torture and related issues, this sort of hypocrisy and weak argument from Gary McCoy smells especially rank.

Henry Payne also isn’t happy about the prisoner situation - but at least he’s not insulting Britain; he seems more concerned about the cost that might have beem paid behind the scenes.

We’ve previously considered the possible benefits of Bush’s obstinate belligerence: “There’s definitely a negotiating advantage to be had through possessing a massive arsenal and the perception that you-re completely nuts and irrational.” Ahmadinejhad may be a dangerous idiot, but he’s got nothing on Bush.

Jerry Holbert delivers an odd cartoon with a strained Biblical-nuclear warhead theme. Hmm.

This cartoon is similar to a Gorrell piece from a previous installment. It’s a bit hard to see the nuclear eyes here at first glance. Either he’s the Incredible Hulk, or he wants nuclear power! Raaawr! At least Ramirez is depicting that Iran wants nuclear power and weapons versus claiming they have them already, as he normally does. (Reuters now reports that “Iran has begun making nuclear fuel in its underground uranium enrichment plant,” according to the IAEA.)

Indeed, Bob Gorrell! Bwah-ha-ha-ha-ha! Perhaps, umm, actual diplomacy, sanctions, and weapons inspectors might be something to try? Alternatively, you could recruit Austin Powers to defeat this Dr. Evil figure. He can even restore Britain’s honor and manhood, since he’s British!

Iran is a threat, but not an imminent threat. And what the hell is up with Eric Allie’s strained, mixed metaphor here? Iran is a raging fire, and the E.U. and U.N. responses are jokes? Guess we better just go ahead and bomb ‘em, huh?

I actually agree with Chip Bok here on the first two counts. My only caveat with the third is that I’m not sure navymen can really be called “hostages” as much as “prisoners.”

Another straw man from Cox and Forkum. It’s valid to argue that Iran can’t be trusted. However, nuclear power does not need to be for weapons systems, and one of the ways to ensure that nuclear bombs aren’t built is through - wait for it - United Nations weapons inspectors! Nawh, let’s just Bomb Iran instead!

CONGRESS

I don’t agree with every aspect of this cartoon by Mike Shelton. Katrina funds were horribly mismanaged under Bush and the GOP 109th Congress, and the area is still a mess that needs fixing. Many government programs are beneficial. However, fiscal responsibility is a good thing. And this cartoon shows off Shelton’s tendency for originality and a visual flair.

PURGE-GATE

Lisa Benson seems to be criticizing the GOP for a failure of nerve. Heaven knows no one could possibly dissaprove of Gonzales due to actual wrongdoing!

Chip Bok offers a good cartoon. Funny how the incompetent are more likely to receive medals from Bush.

Bob Gorrell delivers a straightforward cartoon. Hmm, conservative cartoonists weren’t too crazy about covering this important scandal. What could have diverted their attention?

PELOSI VISITS SYRIA

Lisa Benson delivers some unintentional comedy, given our bubble-boy reality-denying president. Remember, kids, the lesson of the Cold War - don’t talk to other countries, especially our enemies!

The only semi-legitimate criticism I’ve heard of Pelosi is that it may have been wiser to send a less prominent Democrat. Of course, even that breaks down since in 1997 Newt Gingrich traveled to China and expressed views contrary to those of the Clinton administration. In contrast, rather than expressing views contrary to Bush, Pelosi merely spoke to Syria’s leaders. Conservatives didn’t criticize all the Republicans who did the same. And Pelosi and the Dems coordinated with Bush’s State Department and spoke with Bush before they left. The attacks on Pelosi are nothing more than a hatchet job by the GOP, a manufactured scandal to try to distract from all the real Republican ones.

Ah, those Dem chicks. Always so eager to pander to impress. The outrage by some rightwingers over Pelosi wearing a headscarf is the epitome of irrationality, hypocrisy, and stupidity, as Maha (Barbara O’Brien) shows.

This cartoon is pretty weird and/or pretty sad. I think Catalino’s trying to suggest that Pelosi is showing disrespect to the American flag by using it as a headscarf - and that this is indicative of her disrespect of America!!! Umm, not that Pelosi is wrapping her head in the flag, but visually it suggests the truth - she’s American, and in fact represents more Americans than Bush.

Mike Shelton tries the same odd tact.

Oh wait, talking to someone is now ‘kissing up,’ according to the Bush administration’s sophisticated “silent treatment” diplomacy approach. Why doesn’t Chip Bok mention that this trip was bipartisan and Bush knew about it? As Rep. Tom Lantos put it, the GOP charges, led by John Bolton and Dick Cheney (among others), are utter “hypocrisy” and “pathetic.”

Eric Allie hates him some Dems! Funny, he hasn’t criticized Republican Congressman Frank Wolf and several other Republicans:

Three Republican congressmen who parted with President Bush by meeting with Syrian leaders said Wednesday it is important to maintain a dialogue with a country the White House says sponsors terrorism.

“I don’t care what the administration says on this. You’ve got to do what you think is in the best interest of your country,” said Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va. “I want us to be successful in Iraq. I want us to clamp down on Hezbollah.”

[...]

“This is an area where we would disagree with the administration,” (Rep. Robert) Aderholt (of Alabama) said. “None of us in the Congress work for the president. We have to cast our own votes and ultimately answer to our own constituents. … I think there’s room that we can try to work with them as long as they know where we draw the line.

Another Republican congressman, David Hobson (R-OH), who traveled with Speaker Pelosi to Syria also differed with the Bush Regime partisan game players. [..]

Darrell Issa (R-CA) is generally even further to the right and at least as much of a rubber stamp as New Jersey’s Christopher Smith. But he just drew a line. He’s in Damascus today, meeting with Assad and also with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem. He said “Bush had failed to promote the dialogue that is necessary to resolve disagreements between the United States and Syria.”

Oh well, Allie can just keep stewing in his impotent rage.

I’m not sure one can fairly criticize Pelosi and all those Republicans of undercutting Bush’s foreign policy when it’s so incoherent, irrational and infantile. Bush’s foreign policy may be brown and gooey, but it ain’t made of chocolate.

Ramirez has a good visual concept here, but he’s full of crap.

Mike Shelton also has a good visual concept, but he’s also full of crap.

It’s interesting how that “liberal media” keeps on repeating GOP talking points rather than focusing on the Bush administration and asking about Cheney’s attacks on Pelosi. Why not ask, “How can Cheney possibly criticize Pelosi when…” and pepper them with all their glaring hypocrisies? Why instead do we heard White House attacks parroted by Matt Lauer, David Gregory and a host of other media stars?

Never say a Republican can’t hold a grudge! Mike Lester evokes Jane Fonda for his ridiculous attack!

Ramirez peddles two lines of BS here. The first we’ve debunked. The second is about the Dem leadership meeting with Bush. As Greg Sargent and others have pointed out, the White House has said Bush won’t compromise. That sort of defeats the purpose of meeting, doesn’t it? Bush is as delusional in his dealings with Congress as he is with foreign policy - most of all, Iraq. In this case, he doesn’t represent the American people’s wishes, he has power but doesn’t hold the upper hand, yet he’s insisting he has to get his way on everything. To him, the only purpose of meeting is for the Dems to bend to his will, because the guy who’s run the show horribly for four years should call all the shots. That’s not leadership, it’s a temper tantrum by an enfant terrible with delusions of grandeur. Even Donald Trump isn’t that arrogant!

Boy, Paul Nowak is delusional! George W. Bush is now George Washington! The civil war in Iraq is now all about the “war on terror”-ists! And Pelosi and Lantos are holding Bush back, but aallll those Republicans aren’t! One thing Nowak gets right by showing Pelosi with an outboard motor - the Dems are more advanced than Bush!

Remember, kids, talking to a foreign head of state means you approve of all their actions! That’s why past U.S. administrations haven’t talked to countries who perpetrate human rights abuses, because that way the U.S. magically has more leverage! Let’s see, does this apply to those Republicans visiting Syria as well? Does it apply to Condoleezza Rice meeting with Equatorial Guinean President Teodoro Obiang Nguema, “one of the most brutal, most corrupt and unreconstructed dictators in the world”? Oh wait, that was about oil, not freedom. Does it apply to Bush meeting with Uzbekistan dictator Islam Karimov, who ordered the massacre of at least 173 of his own people? Oh, wait, at least three GOP senators objected to Bush’s silence on that one.

It’s hard to decide whether Henry Payne’s ridiculous cartoon is really offensive or just really pathetic.

Yes, you read that right. Not only is Chuck Asay repeating the BS of the previous cartoons, he actually wrote that Democrats “don’t mind as much when [foreign countries] kill Americans and Jews.” How sweet that Asay submitted this on 4/11/07, about a week before Holocaust Remembrance Day. Really, what a delusional, hateful, partisan ass. This one’s going to be hard to topple for most offensive of the week!

THOSE DAMNED DEMOCRATS

Umm - Paul Nowak apparently doesn’t want to see the Iraq occupation funded, and also doesn’t like embryonic stem cell research. I suppose he might not like these specific bills, but that’s the sort of charitable interpretation he’s never extended to the targets of his knee-jerk wrath. More to the point, he’s still an idiot. Iraq is a mess, but Nowak still lashes out at the Dems. Some Republican true believers oppose embryonic stem cell research, but I’ve yet to see a rational argument for it (those embryos will be disposed of anyway).

Unlike Bush, Gore doesn’t think he talks to God, speaks for God or is God. He’s actually pretty humble, all things considered, and he didn’t say he invented the internet.

THAT DAMNED LIBERAL MEDIA

What a shock, it’s all Nowak in this category! This is a typical BS straw man attack by Nowak. Granted, Fox News’ reporting is execrable, but MSNBC didn’t blame them for Imus! (The only thing I can think is Nowak is lamely trying to attack Keith Olbermann. If so, he should just do it!)

I had to look up to see what the hell Nowak was squawking about this time. Public opinion polls have consistently rated PBS and NPR the least biased, most accurate news sources in television and radio for decades. The film may be aired later, and was pushed by Bush and Rove’s corrupt, politically-motivated agent at CPB, Tomlinson (Eric Boehlert’s Lapdogs gives a good overview). One of lead producer Martyn Burke’s co-producer is Frank Gaffney, the fascist who used a fabricated quotation by Lincoln to suggest that senators who disagree with Bush should be hung, then lied about the thesis of his own piece, and then lied about Iraqi WMD, saying Saddam Hussein had them! I’m sorta forced to support PBS over an Islamophobic, lying, delusional rightwing hack. But that’s just me.

Here’s we start to overlap with the next category - Paul Nowak always posits that the media can only cover one story at a time, and the only stories he wants covered are BS tales that Democrats are traitors and you should be scared sh**less.

POP CULTURE

Here, Nowak overlaps with the previous category, with another characteristic straw man attack. Umm, I’m not a fan of Rosie O’Donnell (who’s not a spokeperson for the Democratic party), but Elisabeth Hasselbeck wouldn’t be on TV if she wasn’t cute, blonde and far right. It’s all about the money. Rosie hasn’t said that 9/11 was Bush’s fault anywhere that I can find, and shame, shame on Nowak for that. And please, it’s not as if she’d be fired for talkin’ ’bout Jesus, especially if she couched it with a simple, “I believe that…” Ever seen all that religious TV programming on Sundays, even in “blue” states? Nevertheless, Nowak charges that the “liberal” media hates them some beJeezus and Christians. No matter how small the issue, Nowak is an inveterate liar and partisan hack. It really is astounding.

Hey, I’m not going to defend Rosie or The View. It is funny, though, that Ramirez and Nowak didn’t draw cartoons about Ann Coulter calling John Edwards a “faggot” or one on her “joke” that the genocide in Darfur isn’t moving fast enough.

PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGNS

Here’s Bob Gorrell on 4/3/07…

…and here’s Michael Ramirez on 4/5/07.

AMERICAN PRISONERS

I’m not sure what the hell Chip Bok is trying to say here, but his prisoner is drawn in an ugly fashion and this sure as hell seems to be making light of prisoner abuse. Any other takes?

Here’s Chip Bok again, apparently more rightwing than he sometimes appears. I don’t know of any Americans who think Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is a good guy. However, there’s absolutely no sound reason that we can’t eavesdrop on terrorists without violating the Constitution and FISA and no reason we can’t hold prisoners in accord with the Geneva Conventions. We don’t torture first of all because Americans aren’t supposed to torture. It’s both immoral and ineffective, and endangers our troops. As McCain said, “This isn’t about them, this is about us.” Torture is a key issue because if he’s been tortured, KSM’s testimony is then suspect - and in fact, much of his testimony has been.

IMUS

Ken Catalino isn’t shy about spanking Imus.

Mike Shelton targets a trio.

Judging from this cartoon and his piece on Gonzales, Gorrell likes drawing broken objects. It’s descriptive rather than offering an opinion.

Jerry Holbert offers an off-beat cartoon to criticize Imus!

Holbert also offers this rather clever cartoon.

Gorrell’s more opinionated here. There’s room for disagreement on Imus. I’m not crying over his fate. I do appreciate his apology. However, this wasn’t the first time he said something like this. That changes everything for me. Were this a first offense, or a less inflammatory one, I’d feel differently. Imus did not make an innocent mistake, nor was he acting in “good faith.” His apology might well have been in better faith than his offensive and unfunny shtick was, although he got pretty damn defensive in one of his “apology” segments. It’s also not as if the guy is actually funny. Still, I’d have been fine with a zero-tolerance policy for such statements moving forward. I’m about as anti-censorship as you can get, but Don Imus still can speak out if he likes, and I don’t buy the false analogies/comparisons/equivalencies suggesting otherwise. As Lindsay Beyerstein puts it:

Firing Imus for hurling racist insults at college students does not impinge upon his right to free speech. CBS and MSNBC are private corporations that hired Imus to host a radio program. They had every right to fire him for tarnishing their brands and alienating their listeners.

Nobody is impinging on Imus’s right to free speech. He can start a blog, or get a soapbox and air his retrograde views in the local park. It’s a free country.

As I’ve argued elsewhere, of course Ann Coulter (who was dropped by at least eight newspapers after her CPAC comments) has freedom of speech, and I’ll defend that, but that doesn’t mean she also deserves a national platform!

Umm, I agree with Chuck Asay that not everyone’s motives have been pure as snow. I appreciate that he supports Imus’ victims here, the basketball team. However, many people are at least aware of who Imus was (I had never heard of him before his roast of Clinton). Plenty of white folks were sincerely offended by Imus. As for the so-called “liberal media” - “attacking one of own”? Does Asay mean “another media figure”? Or does he mean “another white guy”? I sure hope it’s the former, but considering he starts the sentence with “We can keep the black vote…” I fear it’s not. From what I’ve read, MSNBC didn’t lose as much money from dumping Imus, but it’s going to cost CBS about 20 million a year in lost income. That’s some serious money, even for them. Their employees spoke out about Imus, and the management no doubt made their decision based in part on public relations and CBS’ rep, but apparently company morale also influenced the firing. It’s hard to argue with that.

I’m completely in favor of Chip Bok laying the hypocrisy charge. I just find his choice of targets revealing - reporters and liberal columnists. What, Republicans didn’t appear on Imus?

Here’s another by Bok, laying the hypocrisy charge this time about Imus’ language. Well, there’s the obvious point that it’s a typical comedy guideline that one can insult one’s own ethnic group but not another’s, all the more so if that group is generally perceived as disenfranchised. Still, Digby’s column “They Were Warned” addresses both of Bok’s points perfectly. First, Digby quotes Lars-Erik Nelson:

Washington Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.) came to the Senate floor with a look of sad concern on his face. He was deeply troubled, he said, at the vulgar, morally repugnant content of the new TV season. “We are lowering the standards of what is acceptable in our society and we are sending a message to our children,” he said. He denounced an “acceptance of rude language, foul imagery and gross behavior in the entertainment mainstream.”

Then, warning parents who might be watching on C-SPAN to move their little children away from the TV sets, Lieberman cited a few of the outrages: On ABC’s “Wilde Again,” a character asks to be called “Daddy’s little whore.” Another ABC program showed an upraised middle finger. CBS’ “Bless This House” used the phrase “little hooters” in reference to a girl’s breasts. “Profoundly disturbing,” Lieberman intoned. “Sophomoric.”

Funny thing: The previous morning, Lieberman had been a guest, as is his regular custom, on the Don Imus radio show on WFAN, a program that seems to get the bulk of its yuks from penis references.

If you have never heard the Imus show, listen in. It is a cross between an endless infomercial and a bunch of 8-year-olds telling doo-doo jokes into a tape recorder. It is rescued only by increasingly rare moments of inspired, hilarious brilliance.

As to the rap charge, Digby quotes Joan Walsh:

I hate the misogyny of some rap music — it’s not all misogynistic — but rappers didn’t invent sick notions of black women as sexual objects in America; those ideas have an old, old history here, going back to the days when the chains black men wore weren’t bling. As I said to Scarborough and Ridley, when we have “Snoop Dogg Country” on MSNBC, and Young Jeezy’s doing the morning drive-time show instead of Imus, then let’s talk about how rappers deserve the outrage Imus brought on himself. In my opinion, hundreds of years of the racist misogyny of white men like Imus and McGuirk are far more responsible for misogynistic rap music than the reverse. And as I type this I’m thinking, is that even up for debate? Fellas, please.

Word.

Ramirez also goes the rap hypocrisy route. This isn’t a hard one for me because I don’t like the term “hos” regardless of who uses it. The best piece I’ve read on this to date is probably Eugene Robinson’s “Misogyny in the Morning” which he discussed online here.

Mike Lester has to push the stereotypes even further!

I don’t look to Al Sharpton as a moral authority on all racial matters, but this cartoon is BS. Plenty of folks who aren’t black and aren’t women were sincerely offended by Imus’ remarks. Plenty of all the folks offended by Imus and his cronies also don’t like that language regardless of who says it.

Mike Lester tries to suggest that Sharpton and Imus are just looking to be something to offend them - and also that Imus was taken out of context? Huh? Give us a break.

Glenn McCoy goes with a similar theme - suuure, because it’s no one else’s business if Imus acted like a complete ass to some innocent young women. Why doesn’t Sharpton just shut up and let the Rutgers players defend themselves? Imus and Sharpton are public figures with a platform. The Rutgers women’s basketball players are not. Of course it’s appropriate for a public figure to take on another in this situation. It’s funny how McCoy isn’t criticizing any of the many other folks who criticized Imus, ain’t it?

Glenn McCoy dials up the BS with this one. This is the Brit Hume/Fox News view on racism. The problem isn’t that racism exists, it’s that those damn liberals keep talking about it! If all them uppity liberals and blacks stopped being outraged by racism, we’d never hear about it, and that means it wouldn’t exist!

As for the more general singificance of the Imus incident, let’s return again to Digby, this time with the post “Illiberal Insiderism”:

This is why I’m so repulsed with this Imus mess. Yes, he’s a racist, misogynist jerk — he has smugly made millions shedding crocodile tears each time he “goes off the rails” and everybody knew it. The [So-Called Liberal Media] eagerly pimped their books on his little public cocktail party and gave us a very valuable window into the way these people relate to one another. It is how we knew exactly what they were doing. We write about it every day, (and are loathed by the elite media for having the temerity to call them on it.) This is the very essence of the leftwing critique of the political press.

So I’m damned if I’m going to be held responsible for these people. They do not represent me or my thinking and haven’t for decades. If they want to sell their books on racist radio shows, they can have at it. But I’d really appreciate it if their magazines and newspapers would designate them as what they are instead of saying that they are representative of liberalism or progressivism — or anything other than insiderism.

DUKE LACROSSE RAPE CHARGES DROPPED

This Lisa Benson cartoon is fairly clever. From what’s been reported, Nifong’s behavior really was reckless and despicable.

Ramirez depicts a hit about to come. Nifong’s rep has received one hell of a hit, he might well be disbarred, and it appears that would be only just.

Gary Varvel piles on! No argument here!

THE ENVIRONMENT

These cartoons seem to misstate the Supreme Court’s ruling. As The Washington Post reported:

The court ruled 5 to 4 that the Environmental Protection Agency violated the Clean Air Act by improperly declining to regulate new-vehicle emissions standards to control the pollutants that scientists say contribute to global warming.

“EPA has offered no reasoned explanation for its refusal to decide whether greenhouse gases cause or contribute to climate change,” Justice John Paul Stevens wrote for the majority. The agency “identifies nothing suggesting that Congress meant to curtail EPA’s power to treat greenhouse gases as air pollutants,” the opinion continued.

[...]

The Natural Resources Defense Council said in a statement that the ruling “repudiates the Bush administration’s do-nothing policy on global warming,” undermining the government’s refusal to view carbon dioxide as an air pollutant subject to EPA regulation.

The ruling could also lend important authority to efforts by the states either to force the federal government to reduce greenhouse gas emissions or to be allowed to do it themselves. New York is leading an effort to strengthen regulations on power-plant emissions. California has passed a law seeking to cut carbon dioxide emissions from automobiles starting in 2009; its regulations have been adopted by 10 other states and may soon be adopted by Maryland.

This seems pretty straightforward and logical, and so it’s a bit sad that the decision was only 5-4. Of course the EPA can regulate emissions! It’s just that the Bush administration doesn’t want to. The decision was about the EPA’s purview, not their actual judgment. As to carbon dioxide, there’s a clear difference between naturally occuring carbon dioxide and man-made, and of course it’s a concern if man-made levels of carbon dioxide are so high they’re contributing to global warming.

Bob Gorrell’s cartoon is fairly inventive but BS.

Chip Bok’s entry is more squarely BS, laced with that trademark rightwing hostility. Oh well, it’s just a gag. Still, on this subject, I wonder how many rightie wingnuts suffocate each year because they forget to breathe?

ISLAMOPHOBIA

Cox and Forkum normally duel it out with Paul Nowak each installment for most islamophobic cartoon. This time, Nowak wins. Let’s see how many fallacies and how much BS he can pack in one cartoon, shall we? First of all, “multicultural festishists” suggests that anyone demonstrating tolerance for other cultures is… a sexual deviant. The line about liberals badmouthing the government falsely conflates “government” with “the Bush administration,” and ignores that many Republicans are critical of Bush. Basically, Nowak is saying shut up and don’t criticize Bush because you’ve got it good. He simply refuses to acknowledge that one can recognize threats in the world without agreeing with Bush’s disastrous policies. Nowak also continues to demonstrate the profound anti-Americanism of all authoritarian conservatives, since dissent, and criticism of the government, are essential components of the Constitution and our nation’s founding.

OTHER

We dispensed with this Fox News silliness back in RWCW #16. Let’s make something clear. Liberals don’t fear Fox News. We despise it for the propaganda outfit it is.

I agree with Paul Nowak (!) that it’s asinine for British teachers not to teach the Holocaust for fear of offending Muslim students, if this study is accurate. However, it appears there are several issues at work here. One is teachers not being knowledgeable about the subject matter. Another is a legitimate question of what age students should be before tackling complex material. Obviously, at some point secondary schools must tackle the Holocaust and the Crusades, the subjects mentioned in the article.

What I do find amusing is that Nowak, an unfailing hack, consistently pushes a divisive, sometimes hateful partisan agenda and has accused American public schools of engaging in liberal indoctrination, when as we’ve covered before, liberalism by its essential nature is oppositional to indoctrination (not that there aren’t bad teachers out there, and not that some of those bad teachers aren’t Democrats). Nowak seems to believe in conservative indoctrination, based on his consistent dishonesty, and I have to wonder based on his whining about the media being anti-Christian if he’s a creationist as well, since that would directly contradict his stance here. He has attacked Al Gore, but I’m not certain he’s a global warming denier, which would be another contradiction. He bears further watching.

Lisa Benson trots out hostility to the government, an old conservative chestnut. The “big government = bad” trope is ridiculous and simplistic. The goal is to have good, representative, effective government, and size is a secondary consideration. Wait a second - Paul Nowak was just condemning anyone who criticized the government - is he saying Lisa Benson should shut up, too?

Mike Lester delivers an odd cartoon, combining the happy annual festival of clubbing baby harp seals to death in Iceland with pet food poisoning in America.

Glenn McCoy is actually (gasp!) funny!

Thank god, Jerry Holbert, as of last night this nightmare cannot come to pass. However, the booted Sanjaya will now hit all the talk shows and fluffy magazines for a few weeks.

Gary Varvel gives a shout-out to Johnny Hart. The only reason I’d consider this a political subject at all is that he added the fish on the cross, and because of Hart’s controversial moves. Hart was around for a long time, and I’m certainly pro-cartoonist, but his Easter 2001 cartoon really did cross a line.

Indiana-based Varvel also salutes one of the state’s most celebrated sons. The only reason I consider this a political subject at all is because of the utterly unconscionable Fox News attack on Vonnegut. Nixon received far better from most of the MSM! Still, good for Varvel.

LOCAL/NON-POLITICAL

Mike Lester comments on pollen…

…And Henry Payne takes on TV junkies.

So - yet again, conservative cartoonists largely ignore a real scandal - Purge-gate - and run a thoroughly discredited, manufactured scandal on Nancy Pelosi into the ground. Oh, and liberals are traitors and hypocrites.

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