Prickly City by Scott Stantis for August 23, 2008

How stupid. Some times Scott Stantis goes to far with his right wing propaganda; like suggesting Democrats are communist.

Scott Stantis,

You’re obviously a f’n moron. So you’re saying that over half of our adult population, to include over half of the senate and house, are actually communists? Have you actually ever even been outside the USA (Cancun, Mexico and Canada don’t count)? Get a life. You should also learn to draw, btw. A 5 year old child could have done as well or better on the artwork on this. I hope this isn’t your day job.

Obviously you two have never been to China.

it’s a comic … exaggeration is the cover charge … get over your righteous indignation and take a xanax.

Actually, I’ve been to China, 3 times now. Somehow the comparison between Democrats and the PRC Communist party never occurred to me. Silly me, I must have missed all the similarities… you know, the executions, lack of religious freedom, torture, etc. Oh WAIT, that would actually be the CONSERVATIVE party in THIS country, now wouldn’t it? Hmmm… maybe this cartoonist just got things mixed up, is all, and really meant the Republican party.

Yeah, you’re right, Iphelia, and exaggeration is the cover charge. Nonetheless, It’s my freedom of speech to point out the idiocy (disguised as “humor”), just as it’s his freedom of speech to make such asinine tripe. I wonder what the “righteous indignation” would be if he (or anyone in a syndicated newspaper cartoon”) were to balance this with the same exaggeration to the other side, and call all Republicans Neo-Nazi fascists?

catsmeow, how dare you insinuate that the Chinese Communist party could be compared to our wonderful, upright conservatives in this magnificent country!

How many communists are having steamy, hot man-sex with each other in public restrooms, or in their repressed closets, while denouncing homosexuality at the same time? Huh? Communists got nothing on our glorious conservatives!! :)

My wife’s brother lost his health insurance along with his job, had a heart attack and needs a quadruple bypass to save his life. Should we let him die? Who should pay for the surgery that will wipe out his life savings and still not cover the cost? We are the only industrialized weathy nation that does not protect its citizens from bankruptcy for medical reasons. Now, thanks to the right wing Nazi’s in the RepubliKLAN Party, if we get sick the medical industry gets to confisctate our house too. Republicans are selfish scum, Scott. Maybe you are too young to have seen hard working seniors reduced to paupers at the end of their lives by the doctors, hospitals and nursing homes that steal their life savings and all of their assets. I’ve seen it first hand and it makes me HATE scumbags like you who “red bait”.

The comments would seem to prove Mr. Stantis’ point.

Yes, silverstate, so true. Isn’t it obvious? Anyone providing counter opinion to propaganda in whatever form it takes, MUST be either a communist, a terrorist… or… or…even WORSE! A DEMOCRAT!!! AAAAHAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

As a left-winger myself, I think that the outraged comments here are just dumb. (Actually, jimmy’s is good, except for the ending.) This is an exaggeration, and if you’ve ever read this comic before, you’d know that it’s normal.

The worst is that it’s an unoriginal punchline.

Tobybartels: I find your comment to be a reasoned one, even if we disagree on certain aspects. Other comments here are rife with anger, and I infer much lashing out at others without any basis to do so. They lose the chance to establish dialogue. Trannix: Please find out what I mean before attempting to pigeonhole me into a category. You might be correct, you might not be. You cannot know based on the neutral statement I made previous. Mr. Stantis says his character is ranting, and several of the comments display a ranting style of writing in denunciating the strip. Ergo, they do in fact seem to prove Stantis’ assertion, to whit; a ranting communist would be welcome amongst many at the DNC. Especially among those who do not like the current administration, Republicans, or conservatives in general.

Silver, if you honestly think anyone on this page is ranting, you definitely have a different definition of ranting than most people I talk with via forums. Everyone who has anything to say about this strip in particular (not about each other) on this blog has done so pretty well and without a “rant.” Even the ones I disagree with.

Toby is an apologist who is afraid of offending any conservatives with their head in the sand, as well as anyone who might actually have “real” experience (the inner peacemaker lost out to the inner political correkto on that one) that is sad (e.g. jimmyb).

You pigeonholed yourself, silver. I had nothing to do with it. If you don’t like being pigeonholed, then say what you mean and don’t spend the two posts saying something, then spinning it in the next one. Your first comment was in no way “neutral” and you know it. The “ranting” style you apparently see is nothing more than a listing of actual facts that are being drawn on to show that (once again) a right-wing windbag has way too much mainstream air-time, even in something as seemingly harmless as a comic strip. Stantis’ assertions, even in jest (and come on, we both know they’re not really in jest) are beyond ludicrous.

As someone pointed out. If the equivalent were said of Republicans (Neo-Nazi), the whine response would probably be 10-fold what it is here. But nobody out-whines conservatives… the head whiner-in-chief himself is unbeatable (Rush).

lol, wow, that’s a lot of posts on here since i posted this morning. trannix, probably silver is talking about me, as i suppose my first post could be described as a “rant.” that is, i specifically insulted the cartoonist’s intelligence and ability to draw, in addition to the cartoon’s point itself. i stand by that, btw. the guy is a moron and can’t draw for sh*t and apparently has no imagination - two things you would think are pretty important for a cartoonist, no?

i don’t know how he got a gig as a cartoonist in the first place. anyway, good discussion, and a few things that made me laugh pretty hard. thanks, all.

by no means am I trying to limit your first amendment rights … but he’s exaggerating for emphasis … Like it or don’t, agree with it or don’t – but to read it like he’s actually saying Congress is Communist is silly and would venture me to guess that you read to literally. It;s not a column or a news story ,,, it’s a comic. Jon Stewart exaggerates too because he’s a comedian, not a newscaster.

Trannix: Most of the discussions I have had with others regarding the comic strip as political humor have been in an academic, not electronic comment posting, setting. In debate, the way in which one presents their argument is as important as what they say. Support is given for statements. I referenced the style of postings not their argumentative stance. You choose to belittle any perceived difference to your own opinion. The Democratic Party welcomes and embraces a diversity of opinion, does it not?

Siinew: You made a valid argumentative point, but lowered yourself in the eyes of many readers by using scatology. Again, a comment on the writing style chosen, not necessarily the point taken.

Trannix wrote in part:

Toby is an apologist who is afraid of offending any conservatives with their head in the sand, as well as anyone who might actually have “real” experience (the inner peacemaker lost out to the inner political correkto on that one) that is sad (e.g. jimmyb).

Actually, I found jimmyb's comment interesting (as I said before), and I hope that the conservatives here read it. But hdude711's and siinew's were pointless.

As for how Stantis got a job (or rather, a syndication contract) … he's the only conservative comic stripper that I know of who's sometimes funny; that probably explains it.

True, tobybartels. “Mallard Fillmore” is a bunch of drawings in a pathetic search for a punch line and “State of the Union” is just an unending stream of venomous rancor.