Thursday, March 8, 2012

The GOP presidential campaign in cartoons


Yeah, the Republican presidential campaign has been a gold mine for political cartoonists, even after Michele Bachmann and Donald Trump dropped out.

It's odd, too, because you wouldn't think that Mitt Romney would be such a funny guy, would you?


Now, his opponents, yes. Newt Gingrich is a cartoonist's dream. But no one takes him seriously as a candidate anymore, and he can't even say anything outrageous enough to take the spotlight away from Rush Limbaugh (though he's still trying, of course).

But Rick Santorum has been the gift that just keeps on giving.


But Romney is remarkably good cartoon-fodder, himself. In fact, he's given us memes that remind us of Mitt Romney, even when they're aimed at other candidates.

Really, you have to wonder if that dog-on-the-car-roof political meme will ever die.


Combined with Romney's flip-flops, his desperate attempt to be whatever Republicans want him to be, his absolutely naked ambition that's embarrassingly transparent to everyone, that dog-on-the-car-roof meme just works and works and works.


Speaking of desperation, Republicans are scrambling for new lines of attack, now that their foot-dragging on the economic recovery seems to be failing. Republicans collapsed our economy, and Barack Obama is bringing us out of it. The GOP is still praying for America to fail, but that doesn't seem to be working for them.

And arguing that Barack Obama isn't fixing Republican screw-ups fast enough doesn't seem to be a winning argument, either.

So, of course they turn to that same old culture war stuff. But what in the world made them think that birth control is still controversial in America?


More to the point, perhaps, what made them think that women would stand for this kind of patriarchal "men-know-best" attitude in 21st Century America?

Have Republicans just segregated themselves inside their own little bubble for too long? Has staying inside that home schooling, bible college, Fox "News" bubble led them to think that this is still 1950? Or 1350?


I don't know. It's just astonishing to me. But then, the whole Republican Party is astonishing to me.

Well, even Republicans, some of them, seem to realize that attacking women probably isn't the best way to get votes. Now, they're trying to steer the conversation to high gas prices, as if the president has much control over that (although, gas prices collapsed with the economy, and if the economy wasn't recovering, they probably would have stayed low - or, at least, lower).

But as usual, of course, they're relying on the ignorance of the average American - and our short memories, too.


It's hard to imagine that will work. Then again, it's hard for me to imagine why anyone would still vote Republican.

They're likely to try more desperate attempts to collapse the economy again, but I'm increasingly optimistic that it won't help them out any. Well, it might not help them take the presidency, but if they take the Senate (where Democrats have far more seats to defend than Republicans) and hang on to the House, we're going to have four more years of stonewalling and outright sabotage.

And that's not likely to be so funny.

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