The advantage of the Jan 6 Committee holding a hearing in prime time rather than in midafternoon was that more people were home to watch.
The disadvantage for political cartoonists is that it meant they didn’t have time to respond overnight, which Deb Milbrath indicated by simply posting her notes on Facebook in an implied promise of more to come.
The evening was more a series of confirmations rather than revelations, though, and Victor Juhasz had caught the atmosphere of the hearings in an illustration for a Nation article before this latest episode as Liz Cheney has already been throwing her political career on the grenade in the interests of a greater purpose.
Kevin Siers had also weighed in earlier with this comparison, which not only contrasts taking responsibility with refusing to, but notes the chaos that Trump brought to the office.
A side note, BTW, that Truman is remembered warmly today, but at this point in his administration, his approval ratings were as far below Biden’s comparables as Biden now is below Trump.
History votes long after the elections are over, mind you. Former President Trump took a pretty good beating last night, but his fans, who will be voting again in 2024, were not likely watching.
His loyalists — some in rags, some in tags and some in silken gowns — aren’t even acknowledging the results of the last election.
Dr. MacLeod did get off an early cartoon, though it’s a bit of low-hanging fruit. The Committee juxtaposed Josh Hawley’s bold gesture of solidarity with the rioters as they gathered outside the Capitol — bold, as pointed out, because he was in a secure area surrounded by security — with surveillance video of him fleeing his pals once they got inside.
It was farcical on its face, but twice as shameful given videos of other members of Congress leaving in an orderly group rather that scarpering off on their own, and MacLeod mashes up the gesture and the retreat.
I wish I’d thought of this parallel, but someone posted it online.
A lot of people posted things online about Hawley, including shots of the gasps followed by laughter as his George Costanza moment was shown in the committee room.
However, there is a serious side to this bathos, aligned with Cheney’s later citing of the famous Trump quote about shooting someone on Fifth Avenue and not losing a single voter.
That quote was less about Trump than about the illogical, passionate loyalty of his followers, and, again, it had been captured before last night’s hearing, this time by Kal Kallaugher, who comments on the apathy of Trump followers, assigning the blame to the propagandists who have withheld vital information while exaggerating partisan issues.
Hunter Biden does appear to be facing the music, BTW, and, if major media have been slow to the story, it’s proof that the old fable about the results of repeatedly crying “Wolf!” is true.
And the Fox/Newsmax/OAN Ministry of Information hasn’t exactly been hounding the Trumpkins over cashing in on their fathers’ influence in general, or specifically chasing down Jared’s $2 billion farewell gift from the Saudis with the determination they lavish on Hunter.
Though there is honor on that side of the aisle: Chip Bok (Creators) reminds us that the fist-bump, offered in current diplomatic circles in lieu of a handshake because of the pandemic, may not have been sufficient to protect POTUS from contracting Covid, and that we should all take additional precautions.
It comes from an unexpected source, but he’s right, both medically and politically: A mask and surgical gloves might have sent a good health message to the folks back home, as well as sending a stronger message to his host.
To which I would add a reminder that Biden visited a lot of places in the Middle East besides Jedda, but, as Patrick Blower points out, his efforts to revitalize the multination nuclear treaty did not include a stop in Tehran, while Vladimir Putin did make a visit to the mullahs.
Nations have to make alliances, and, if you don’t ask for a spot on the dance card, someone else will claim it.
Speaking of positive messages from unexpected sources, Lisa Benson (Counterpoint) notes that we can’t keep going on the way we have, but that converting to responsible energy sources is going to put us all through some pain.
Her frank approach is quite a contrast to a Congressional hearing the other day, in which Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg had to correct Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA ) on both the price tag and the cost benefits of an electric vehicle, with the Republican clearly painting energy efficiency as an elitist goal.
Conservatives were horrified at Buttigieg’s proposal to subsidize car buyers’ switch from gas to electric, and Perry’s claim about sticker price was echoed by the NY Post with the disingenuous claim that “According to Kelly Blue Book, the average price of a new electric vehicle as of June was $66,997 — 13.7% more than last year — compared to $26,211 for a new compact car.”
Which compares all electric cars with a specific, purposely affordable class of gas vehicle. It’s like saying that eating inside a restaurant is more expensive than going to the drive thru without admitting that only purposefully cheaper fast food places have drive thrus (and no liquor licenses).
There are, certainly, costs to be reckoned with, as Madam & Eve points out, and that’s a challenge every country is going to have to factor in, but the answer is to do now whatever we can and phase in whatever we must, rather than dither in hopes that it will all magically come together at once.
And while we dither, combining apathy and resistance to the pain Benson predicted, Graeme MacKay warns that the fires are growing and the planet is roasting.
First Dog on the Moon addressed the heat wave with mordant humor the other day, but now he unleashes a broadside of furious sarcasm at the wretched state we’ve allowed our planet to reach and the disaster which is already in our laps.
But wotthehell, eh? We could blow up the whole planet in the middle of Fifth Avenue and not lose a single voter.
Their gullibility is central to the plan.