Greg Kearney, Midwest Socialist Cartoonist
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Kearney grew up in a radical FDR New Deal household in New Sharon, Maine, a town of 1,400 people. He still speaks a distinct Maine dialect and spins a good yarn.
“(My family) were radical, supporters of socialists, FDR, and New Deal, and I grew up in that milieu of labor democratic politics and we were expected to talk about politics at the dinner table.”
People’s World, “a voice for progressive change and socialism in the United States,” profiles editorial cartoonist Greg Kearney:
“Cartoons are the strongest form of editorial, by far,” observed Kearney. “They boil complex issues to their rawest form and can be consumed in 15 seconds. And I think the editorial cartoon can stand alone as a regular opinion piece.”
One thing that attracted Kearney to People’s World was the rich history of editorial cartoonists in The Daily Worker and The Worker, including Ollie Harrington, Art Young, and Bob Minor, whose work often ran on the front page.
“People’s World is out on the left edge. My politics are what used to be called “labor democratic,” and now called democratic socialist, like Bernie Sanders,” he said.
The full profile can be read at People’s World.
Born and raised in Maine, now living in Kansas Greg, in the above profile, says:
“Most of my drawings are for small rural newspapers,” in Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota, and the upper Midwest, says Kearney. “The beating heart of these communities is farming. I’m always trying to say to these farmers: you’re being mistreated, don’t vote for these people mistreating you”
Greg’s less radical cartoons can be seen at Drawing Attention where he mostly draws the concerns of Midwst residents and can even show respect for the non-extreme members of the loyal opposition (see above).
Though they are usually in the more liberal newspapers of the area…
Checking out the People’s World archive of Greg’s cartoons I came across one that harkened back to my comic book reading days. Where Bill Gaines defended his cover by saying, “A cover in bad taste, for example, might be defined as holding the head a little higher so that the neck could be seen dripping blood from it.” Greg has no such reservations when quoting Ron DeSantis about when he takes over the White House: ““We are going to start slitting throats on Day One.”
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