This one resulted from a few conversations I've had lately with conservative friends. There are other differences between lefties and righties, of course, but one of those we've neglected is this one. Many Republicans wonder, given all the things America does right, why we whine so much about what it does wrong. We, of course, wonder why conservatives don't want to make our country even better.
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Special offer: Original artwork for this cartoon available for $250--half off my usual price--if you buy it within 24 hours. Email chet@rall.com for details.
My prediction is that any fruit which drops from Jenna Bush's loins will not only be tainted by the family legacy but fetal alcohol syndrome as well.
ReplyDeleteThis comic confuses me; it seems like it shifts gears in the middle, starting as come sort of reference to former pro-choicers coming out as anti-choice (did I miss some recent news?) and ending as a pop-cultural jab at Jenna Bush. I feel like I'm missing something.
ReplyDeleteI love how Bush supporters were frothing at the mouth a few years ago after the press reported a few of the twins' alcohol-related arrests. Their argument was summed up as "How dare you report the 'personal' problems of Bush and his daughters! Chelsea was left alone!"
ReplyDeleteProblem was, despite all the crap the Clintons may have done, their parenting skills seemed to be sufficient to raise their daughter to not make a complete drunken ass out of herself, while the Bushes could not even keep their idiot children from committing adolescent transgressions while under the blazing media spotlight.
Oh and the whole "family problems should be left in the family and not reported by the press" thing? So, then, all the adultry-related reporting by the *ahem "liberal media" was a matter of national security how?
You're right, the cartoon switches gears in the third panel. That's the idea: to surprise the reader. I hope this device doesn't confuse a lot of readers, especially since it's used commonly in comics.
ReplyDeleteIf you seen any recent photos of Jenna, it seems like it might be too late to prevent further proliferation of G.W.B. genetic material.
ReplyDeletehttp://archives.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/asiapcf/central/07/01/afghanistan.bombing/
ReplyDelete(wedding bomb. Entire family wiped out.)
Since when is bush and his administration conservative? The republican party has been hijacked, the true ones are turning into libertarians ... we are as sick at the directon of our country as you lefties.
ReplyDeleteHey Ted,
ReplyDeleteThe shift in the Jenna Bush piece IS too abrupt, and just confuses the reader. After reading it a few times, it's easy to understand your point, but by then it seems labored and all the humor is gone. I do a little writing myself (not comics), and have an editor to correct me when I try to plant an obtuse joke. I was wondering if you have an "editor" to read your strips?
Best, and keep up the good work...
--G.
Ted, it's good, if someone can't follow it, they need to have their coffee before reading the papers.
ReplyDeleteStrange as it may seem, I am actually commenting on the cartoon of 25 August not the one about Jenna Bush. Somehow, the comment threads got warped.
ReplyDeleteI think Cde Rall's cartoon about the difference between Lefties and Conservatives is one about the contradictory nature of Capitalism: the unrelenting quest for doing things better; and the mindless conformity of work.
What Cde Rall has described in the first five (5) panels is the essence of the progressive nature of Capitalism: you can always improve something. There is no finality to improvement. Relentless questioning of everything gives Capitalism its dynamism.
For those of us who work in these types of jobs, there is nothing unusual in this. Our employers gain a temporary competitive advantage of doing things better, faster, or cheaper. Then the process of questioning starts again. The only final authority is whether it works or not. Reputations are transient.
In contrast, Cde Rall presents the last panel in which the Conservative says 'Good enuff'. This is dead weight in the Capitalist world but essential for its operation. For without these people to do the mind-deadening drudgery of necessary labour, how can wealth be produced? If they are not willing to shorten their lifespan by decades by literally working themselves to death, how can the economy grow through Capital accumulation?
The work a conservative does follows the instructions given by someone else. As long as everybody does their part, everything works fine. Questioning disrupts the established order. Even though it will kill him, a conservative will follow orders because that is what he has been conditioned to do.
So Capitalism operates by killing off its most ardent supporters while rewarding its most vocal critics. You won't see me down a coal mine avoiding the collapsing rocks. This is a job for conservatives.
To be more specific: it's not clear that the blonde woman is showing the other the newscast. That subtle point is easy miss and it seems like they're both learning about the pregnancy for the 1st time...
ReplyDeleteIf you had added a bubble coming out of the blonde saying something like "Look what I mean," it would have cleared it up.
--G.