CSotD: Reveille

Gary Markstein (Creators) has a nice-sounding idea.

We’d all like a do-over; we’d all like to speak to the manager. Anybody who is content with the choices in the upcoming election hasn’t been paying attention, and much as I approve of universal suffrage, knowing the stakes when you step into the booth is critical.

Maarten Wolterink (Cartoon Movement) is right: We’re facing a tough choice, between a good-hearted man who was inarticulate and a con artist who spews a continuous flow of lies and nonsense.

I’m on record as being against switching horses in midstream, though I had expected Biden to serve a single, conciliatory term as national repairman before handing over the reins.

And I’ve always been against the circular firing squads we saw in the McGovern, Dukakis and Hillary Clinton campaigns.

That impractical, perfection-seeking firing squad has already assembled itself, and it seems likely that, unless there is a shift now, we’ll hear a constant whine of shoulda-woulda-coulda that will cancel out a major portion of whatever the Sensible Party might bring to the campaign, and will alienate enough voters to throw the election to Trump.

The whole world is watching, Fiona Katauskas says, as the NATO gathering has our allies wondering what comes next for the Leader of the Free World.

However, here’s a criticism of her cartoon: Hungarian dictator Victor Orban should be shown walking with Trump, since he declined to meet with the US President and — having discussed Ukraine with Xi and Putin — is flying to Florida from the NATO summit to meet with Dear Leader.

So, yes, the whole world is watching, but not all of them share the same concerns.

And while Wolterink lays out the difference between truth and lies calmly though with intent, Jeff Danziger (Counterpoint) defies reality by assuming that the entire country is aware of, and appalled by, Dear Leader’s dishonesty and incoherent blather.

Was I unfair? Is this not incoherent blather?

Saturday Night Live had a gag in which Jon Lovitz, playing Dukakis, said, “I can’t believe I’m losing to this guy!”

It was a whole lot funnier before Dukakis lost to that guy.

Dr. MacLeod accuses Democrats of assuming they’re addressing an intelligent, well-informed, high-minded electorate, but whatever the shortcomings of polls at this stage, the fact that they are close at all indicates that a lot of people don’t even know about Project 2025.

You cannot base a successful political campaign on assuming people will reject something they’ve never heard of.

People are finally hearing about it, not because of solid campaigning by politicians and not because of coverage in the newspapers nobody reads anymore but because Taraji P. Henson brought it up while she was hosting the BET Awards.

At which point people did start talking about it and Donald Trump responded, as Ted Littleford illustrates, by pulling a Sgt Schultz and claiming he never heard about it, and insisting that he disagrees with what he knows nothing about, despite the fact that 80% of its writers were on his White House staff.

I’m sure nobody attending the Republican National Convention next week will have any idea that the Heritage Foundation, creators of Project 2025, has an interest in what the GOP decides.

Unless they arrive by plane.

Juxtaposition of the Day

Nick Anderson — Tribune

John Darkow

An interesting pairing, no? Both see Project 2025 as a monster, though Anderson places it in a suit and tie, emphasizing that it is acceptable to a certain element, while Darkow depicts it as entirely destructive.

Anderson also leaves it unclear whether Trump is running with the beast or away from it, while Darkow is more plain, having Trump lie to Uncle Sam about the giant lizard whose leash he is holding.

Take your pick, as long as you don’t miss the part where it is a monster.

And much as I admire Taraji B. Henson for bringing the monster to the attention of young potential voters, it’s good cartoonists are joining in.

Everyone grabbing attention by arguing over who should be running needs to shift gears and start talking about why someone needs to be running, and what they need to be running against.

And they must, as Mike Luckovich does, argue against the farcical notion that Trump knows nothing about it, when his fingerprints are all over it.

They must also hammer on the fact that it is, indeed, a “plan to end Democracy.”

Pat Bagley plays on a classic Twilight Zone episode, which may resonate not just with those old enough to remember the TV show but with those hip enough to catch the oft-repeated theme. You might question whether that reaches far enough into the electorate, but then not everyone watches the BET awards, either.

A little here, a little there, until you’ve reached as many as you can.

And keep it simple, as Lalo Alcaraz (AMS) does. Does it risk offending MAGAts to imply that they are dummies who need to be educated about this? Doesn’t matter. They’d vote for him no matter what he promised, or threatened, to do.

But describing it as being for dummies may cause fence-sitters to take a second look, and Alcaraz outlines some of its proposals to get them — especially his Latino fan base — started.

There’s so much in this 900-plus page manual that listing everything is overwhelming and therefore likely ineffective.

Henson kept it to one outrage — the SCOTUS ruling allowing police to arrest homeless people for sleeping outdoors — which isn’t in Project 2025 but is certainly part of where this election is headed.

Memes are now beginning to appear on social media, in this case mocking the Heritage Foundation with a point that works even among people who don’t know Mr. Bean.

Others, more effectively, highlight one element of the Project 2025 after another, which, if carried forward, will result in a cascade of warnings that will make it impossible for voters to miss out on what is at stake.

It’s reasonable to hope that, if those who value democracy focus on publicizing and criticizing this threat, voters will, like the lady in Joe Heller’s cartoon, ban Project 2025 not at bookstores and libraries, but at the voting booth.

Henson made a good start. Now cartoonists, meme-makers and other folks need to follow up.