Doonesbury by Garry Trudeau for March 28, 2021

Can’t let minor setbacks make you lose sight of your priorities.

He even believes climate change is for real and he’s wearing a mask, and he still thinks ….

I love how she says ‘X’.

Not sure if he’s a true Republican …he’s actually wearing a mask

Can’t wait to see what Trudeau’s take on democrats is…

Will he now make the pilgrimage to Mecca-Lago?

This fellow DOES need help. No True Republican™ wears a face-mask, especially not covering his nose. In his case apparently, the party that’s right for him is the party that’s wrong, but he’ll have to surrender that sissy mask.

Some thoughts from Robert Reich on why so many people who, it would seem, illogically vote Republican against their own economic interests. Although he wrote this in 2014, it seems to have some validity yet today, especially given the job losses caused by the pandemic.

Full article at: https://robertreich.org/post/73471886666

“. . . . For years political scientists have wondered why so many working class and poor citizens of so-called ‘red’ states vote against their economic self-interest. The usual explanation is that, for these voters, economic issues are trumped by social and cultural issues like guns, abortion, and race. . . . I’m not so sure. People are so desperate for jobs they don’t want to rock the boat. They don’t want rules and regulations enforced that might cost them their livelihoods. . . . This is especially true in poorer regions of the country . . . much of the South and rural America – the so-called ‘red’ states where the old working class has been voting Republican. Guns, abortion, and race are only part of the explanation.”

I would add only that the R’s are trying to earn a living by “owning the libs”, passing all kinds of voter suppression laws, and screaming bloody murder (“it’s government overreach!”) about everything the Democrats attempt to regulate for the benefit of all (for instance, pollution to reduce the threat of global warming).

He said the quiet part on cue.

I’ll never, ever, ever understand why Americans register with a party to vote (I mean, in most States).

Dissing your opposition as some variation of “libs” has become like a dog whistle in politics. Consistently, since at least Newt Gingrich if not Reagan, that has been the epithet of choice for Republicans. The strategy of literally demonizing all Democrats with some sort of variation, always said derisively, of “lib” has become reflexive among Repugs and it works for them. If you ask people to choose only among specific policy proposals, a large majority will support policies espoused by Democrats and/or the left. But if it is put to them as liberal vs. conservative, or D vs. R in its simplest version, they will back the candidates whose policies are the ones they do not support. “Liberal” now has almost become what “communist” was 70 years ago. The psychs might refer to this as cognitive dissonance.

Someone please help out a non-American. Why on earth would you say who you vote for when registering? Can’t you join a party as a member if you really want, regardless of actually voting for them or indeed at all. Conversely, can you not decide at each and every election who deserves your vote based on present day conditions.

Sorry, having to decide between two complementary ideologies does not make sense to the plurality who identify/register as independent/unaffiliated.

Someone wrote a book on how Republican Party in Kansas keeps consistently fooling the voters there to elect their candidates – who then work against the very interests of the voters who elect them (and then keep re-electing them over and over). What’s Wrong with Kansas by Thomas Frank

Republican? Sure, just drop your pants and bend over. That awful terrible pain you feel below? Well, at least it’s not socialism!

I read a story where a city official who is Asian bared his chest at a town meeting to show scars from being beaten for being Asian. He is a MAGA Republican!!! These people are mentally ill and I don’t mean Asians, I mean MAGA types.

Pretty spot on, that.

Nice touch Gary. ‘Put your X here’.

He’s also a certified genius. He knows what matters.

We see a lot of folks like that here in Murica.

https://liberalslikechrist.org/a_Secular_Issue/thankaliberal.html

What really needs to stop is the prejudice that I see. These assumptions are being used to create captive audiences and restrict the real story to a set of points that promote one particular view.

For whatever reason, I chanced to recall this comment from the dreaded Ann Coulter:

“The next Republican president will be elected in the year 4820.”

(I wonder if she caught any flak from the Trump worshipers over that remark or if it turned out that she’s even MORE untouchable than Trump himself. I don’t recall.)

I hope that some Sunday or another GBT will jump forward in time (2799 years and 700 elections from now) to theorize as to what could possibly bring that about. ;-)

(Anyway, the joke may be on her because it’s my understanding that, by the 49th century, humanity en masse will have coalesced into this nice, soothing, uniform cafe au lait skin color, rendering racism a total non-issue (any number of prejudices will exist in its place, though), and without racism, would Republicanism even be recognizable? Seriously, I’m asking.)

All of those fools who take so much pleasure in “Owing the Libs” are about to find themselves in a debt tenfold larger than their Mortgage, Student Loans and Cancer Treatment combined.

Doesn’t matter, this guy lives in Georgia, so his vote’s going to be suppressed anyway…

IMHO she’s being noticeably more civil to him than a Republican would be to a Democrat in identical circumstances, anyway. Of course, that is, again, not entirely unlike saying “I’m a nicer guy than Stalin…”

To those of you who so clearly dislike liberals, just curious: Why are you wasting your time reading, much less commenting on, a notoriously liberal comic strip? I certainly don’t waste my time reading (let alone commenting on) “Mallard Fillmore,” a notoriously liberal-hating comic strip. Again, just curious. Thanks for your time.

Huh?! this comic is a surprise!

In the civilised world the Democrats are considered to be right of centre, even Bernie. The Republicans are so far right that they are considered Neo-Nazis, and rightly so.

Excuse me? As an outsider, what’s this thing about acknowledging a “Party Affiliation”? Why would someone ask? Why would someone have to say? It’s all very strange indeed.

Repubs still are willing to suffer their real world problems, and obstruct Dem attempts to ease those problems, just so they can be smug about “owning the libs”… and they have no qualms about blaming the Dems for the results of Repub obstruction…

Re: Today’s Doonebury -It’s scary how many people are just like this character.

So sad. So true.

The rules for notarizing by mark vary by state.

What Are The Rules For Notarizing A Signature By Mark?

https://www.nationalnotary.org/notary-bulletin/blog/2018/06/notary-tip-handle-signature-by-mark

In regard to the whole hating-the-other-side thing, I can at least say that, as much as many liberals hated Trump, I don’t remember ever encountering a liberal who hated Trump HALF as much as the typical conservative (that I’ve encountered) hated Obama. That to me implies that there’s just something about conservatives that makes them much more amenable to hatred than are liberals. Anyone who doesn’t concur with that is free to continue to not do so.

Deep, @Gary, deep. And spot on.

Independent, political parties are a way of simply organizing conspiracies.

oh yay.. people living in a flood zone can gripe about it because it’s suddenly “Climate change” .. how convenient.

“the pandemic’s bankrupted me?”

Don’t forget to vote against your own self interest… and send me your stimulus check. Or, mail me some Krugerands. Oh, that’s right, my packages started turning up missing after DeJoy was put in charge.

I like that RepubliQans are known to sign with an X.

I’m going to start saying Democrats can own the cons. These people are so messed up in the head they literally vote against their own best interests. You give republicans complete control like they did in the first 2 years of the trump era there would be nothing left to our Country. As it is the social safety net got shredded and we have a record number of homelessness nationwide that rivals the Great Depression of the 1930’s. DeJoy the postmaster general is destroying our once great postal service that a lot of Americans depend on like Mail in Prescriptions. Republicans are now trying to take away so many peoples right to vote which is pushing us closer to fascism. At this point I can only hope that with trump refusing to back down trying to get far right candidates elected he destroys this Republican Party like the Whigs of the 1800’s died and more sensible conservatives come up with a new party that still respects Democracy

Come on, Gary. Just be clear here. The fourth panel should’ve said, “HATING the libs.” Why hide what people actually think?

I can’t understand why US voters have to state a party affiliation. Why not just register to vote?

Garry Trudeau/Wife Jane PauleyI answer to the obvious insults like this:Yes I am a liberal what about this do you object to?Liberal: 1.willing to respect or accept behavior or opinions different from one’s own; open to new ideas. (in a political context) favoring policies that are socially progressive and promote social welfare.5.(of education) concerned with broadening a person’s general knowledge and experience, rather than with technical or professional training.

Actually he is ASP! Like democrats on economics but socially conservative.

Perfect.

Liberals are those whose good intentions pave the road to hell. And I look forward to the day the Democrats and the Republicans devour each other, like the fabled gingham dog and calico cat.