CSotD: It’s January 6. Do you know where your nation is?
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The tribute cartoons marking Ann Telnaes’ courageous departure from the Washington Post continue to appear, and DD Degg has links to several. This one is by Tjeerd Royaards, editor at Cartoon Movement, and that organization has released a statement on the situation which is worth a read, because it talks about the state of political cartooning in general.
The other cartoon resignation of the week, that of Tea Foughner at King Features, is a second bellwether of how things are going, since, as DD Degg reported, she quit rather than taking a pay cut. Those who make comic strips get most of their income from print newspapers, and the fact the KFS wanted to lower her salary is not encouraging.
The decline puts those of us who count on newspapers in a tough position, and the argument from some quarters is that canceling your Washington Post subscription harms the staff more than it harms Jeff Bezos.
But if you learned that a restaurant was buying spoiled meat, would you keep eating there to support the waiters? The Washington Post provides information, and if their information can’t be relied on, you have to ponder the distinction between “supporting” and “enabling.”
Besides, the “waiters” are quitting, and others will be fired.
It does matter. Telnaes’s departure has been big news throughout the political and journalistic universe. She has been active in the global struggle for press freedom and the Freedom Cartoonists Foundation has posted a response to her resignation and the situation at the Post.
But as Ted Littleford points out in his tribute piece, the issue is less about Telnaes’ courage than it is about the important principle she stood up for and, specifically, the difference between the independent newspaper that dug into the facts about Watergate and the current version which appears to be obeying in advance.
And while Editorial Page Editor David Shipley insists that a newspaper should only comment on issues twice, the Washington Post of the 1970s ran more than two columns about the Plumbers and the Break-in and more than two cartoons and columns about the Pentagon Papers.
This is not just about cartoons. It’s about our government. Read what Charlie Sykes has to say on the topic, particularly since he is an old-school conservative, and how former Republican campaign strategist Steve Schmitt feels about things.
If you’re prone to dismiss those as partisan politics, here’s a take on our situation from Olga Lautman, a specialist on Russian disinformation, which should not be nearly as relevant, nor as chilling, as it is. But using Telnaes’ situation as a jumping-off point, she explains that relevance:
Trump’s actions closely mirror those of Russian leaders, using disinformation and propaganda to control the narrative. By labeling the media as “fake news” and spreading lies, he undermines truth, creating an alternative reality where facts are malleable and public trust is fractured. Like Putin, Trump manipulates perception to serve his political agenda and for power.
That would include his constant harping on “The Russian Hoax,” which didn’t sound like a hoax in the original report from Special Counsel Robert Mueller but was edited by Trump’s attorney general before being released. As Mike Smith (KFS) suggests, and several reports have indicated, the Russians are not sorry to see their friend back in the White House.
There have been several cartoons in the wake of Jimmy Carter’s death, contrasting him with our once and future president, but I particularly like Dave Whamond’s take, because Carter’s peanut business was not likely to make huge gains from his presidency, yet he put it into a blind trust anyway, to which I’d add that he was openly embarrassed by his brother Billy’s clownish attempt to profit by sales of Billy Beer.
Half a century later, we’ve not only seen the money-making escapades of the Trump children but watched the president enrich himself with golden sneakers and a flag-drenched Bible, and in his official capacity by charging the Secret Service rent on their rooms at Mar A Lago and even on the golf carts with which his security follows him around the course.
Juxtaposition of the Day
Perhaps the contrast between Trump and George W is not as marked as that between Trump and Carter, but Horsey depicted W as a thoughtless ideologue while Day goes further, accusing Dear Leader of being a puppet for moneyed interests.
And given how Trump has trimmed his sails to follow Elon Musk, it’s not simply a partisan accusation: Trump actively campaigned against H-1B visas and had suspended them in his first administration, but changed tack when Musk praised them, and has openly, shamelessly lied about his former opposition.
As Olga Lauter said, he controls disinformation to promote his positions and to bolster his strength, and, as Ann Telnaes pointed out, the result is not just obedience but major donations from his fellow plutocrats.
Is there any mystery why he advocates going back to the Gilded Age? Then the government was funded with tariffs that mainly hurt farmers and other average citizens while the robber barons, as seen in this 1889 Joseph Keppler cartoon, made grotesque profits and ran the government.
As Peter Steiner points out, he is already demanding, and getting, preferential treatment from the courts, including the McConnell-packed Supreme Court, which has bent the knee to him and, while down there, managed to scoop up some of the loot being distributed among the plutocrats and oligarchs.
To Keppler’s vision of a plutocrat-driven legislature, we might add a return to the days of elitist rulings like Plessy v Ferguson, which came seven years after that cartoon ran.
It’s good to be king, or at least part of his court.
As we enter the New Gilded Age, Dear Leader prepares for his second administration with even more outlandish “alternative facts” than those of his first one.
Never mind what a jury, having reviewed the evidence, unanimously decided. We are entering the “Four legs good, two legs better” phase of American history, and if you think our motto was once different, you’re disloyal.
There will be no riot at the Capitol today, no threats to hang the vice-president, no bloody attacks on police officers.
This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a whimper.
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