If Pre-Existing Conditions Are Outlawed, Only Outlaws Will Have Pre-Existing Conditions

Tom Tomorrow's latest:  Health Care Glossary Updated

Click here (or on the Read Tom Tomorrow link on the right panel) for the full comic.

I'm Just A Kill List . . .

Tom Tomorrow's latest: Schoolhouse Rock, the sequel:

Click here for the link to the full comic.

Meet Droney, The Friendly Surveillance Drone

Tom Tomorrow

The drone industry is launching, so to speak, a public relations campaign.  As reported, the Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems International, the industry's trade group, has hired a public relations firm to counter what it perceives as negative media coverage and to focus on safety and public benefits of domestic drones.

Tom Tomorrow takes it from there.  (Click on the "Tom Tomorrow" caption for a link to the full comic or, as always, you can click on the "Read Tom Tomorrow" badge on the right side of the blog.)

It's Their Party . . .

As Meteor Blades writes today at Daily Kos, while many disenchanted Republicans cling to the hope that a credible candidate will step in to save the GOP from the current field of presidential candidates, time has essentially run out:  "The Republicans came to the dance with the wrong partners. And now they're going to have to go home with one of them."

Tom Tomorrow, capturing the essence of the two top contenders, shows us why the Republicans should be worried.  As he says, Newt Gingrich "could not be any more repellant if he were literally exposed as an oozing reptillian creature bent on global domination."  And then there's Mitt Romney, "who could not be any less convincing as an 'ordinary guy' if he literally wore a top hat and monocle."  (Click on the Read Tom Tomorrow badge on the right of the blog for a link to the whole comic.) 

Another Year In Crazy

Tom Tomorrow's year in review encapsulates the utter absurdity of our political discourse over the past 12 months, particularly coming from the right.  As he says, 2011 brought "more lunacy than we could fit in an entire year's worth of cartoons," but he sure gave a valiant effort.

Here is the link to part one and here is part two.  As always, you can click on the Tom Tomorrow badge on the right side of this blog for the link to his latest strip.  Undoubtedly the craziness will continue, and lucky for us Tom Tomorrow will be there to capture it.

Anyone But Mitt

As Steve Benen writes, "Romney is running against misfits, clowns, and con men, and Romney still can’t get to 30%."  The latest polling shows a surge for Newt Gingrich, of all people.  Tom Tomorrow's latest perfectly captures the sorry state of the Grand Old Party.  Read the whole strip by clicking the "Read Tom Tomorrow" badge to the right.

Wall Street Whines

Nicholas Kristof wrote a great column on Sunday, in which he tapped into the "primal scream of democracy" that has become the Occupy Wall Street movement.  He described the frustration driving OWS as stemming from economic equality, and the "growing sense that lopsided outcomes are a result of tycoons’ manipulating the system, lobbying for loopholes and getting away with murder." 

As it becomes clear that the movement is resonating with more and more Americans, the financial industry, as Paul Krugman notes, has gone from "contemptuous dismissal" of Occupy Wall Street to "whining" about it.

Not surprisingly, Tom Tomorrow captures the mood on Wall Street perfectly.  (Read the whole comic by clicking on the Tom Tomorrow badge on the right of the blog.)

As Krugman explains:

Until a few weeks ago it seemed as if Wall Street had effectively bribed and bullied our political system into forgetting about that whole drawing lavish paychecks while destroying the world economy thing. Then, all of a sudden, some people insisted on bringing the subject up again. And their outrage has found resonance with millions of Americans. No wonder Wall Street is whining.

But What Do They Want?

Tom Tomorrow's latest perfectly mocks the mainstream media's response to Occupy Wall Street.  Click the "Read Tom Tomorrow" badge at the right of the blog for the full comic.

The Continuing Adventures Of Middle Man

Another great comic by Tom Tomorrow.  Click the Tom Tomorrow badge on the right panel of the blog for the link to the full strip. 

Tom Tomorrow's "Middle-Man"

So, the GOP-dominated House of Representatives is likely to pass the disastrous "cap, cut and balance measure," which would immediately and drastically cut federal spending and provide for a balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution.  After the Senate rejects the bill, Harry Reid, the Senate Majority Leader, is prepared to introduce Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's debt-ceiling proposal, which would give the president rather than Congress the authority to raise the debt ceiling.  And then back to the House.

What to say about the debt ceiling negotiations and where President Obama is in all this?  I'd rather leave it to Tom Tomorrow who, as always, puts it in perspective.  Click here or on Tom Tomorrow badge on the right side of the blog to get the full comic.

The Patriot Act Goes Rogue

Tom Tomorrow

As an editorial in the New York Times notes, "enhanced surveillance powers" granted to the federal government under the Patriot Act were renewed by Congress for another four years without any meaningful attempt "to carefully re-examine the provisions, trim back excesses, and add safeguards to protect civil liberties."  As discussed here and here, these provisions are dangerously overbroad and susceptible to abuse.  They permit roving wiretaps on terrorism suspects, examination of  library records without having to show relevance to a terrorism investigation, and surveillance on suspects with no known ties to a foreign power or recognized terror groups. 

Senator Patrick Leahy has submitted an amendment which, as the Times, summarizes, "would add several safeguards, most notably enhanced auditing and oversight of how the powers are being used."  This needs to be passed immediately.  In addition, Senators Ron Wyden and Mark Udall have claimed that the DOJ "secretly interpreted the Patriot Act to allow domestic surveillance activities that many members of Congress do not understand."  This warrants serious review that should have occurred before the provisions were renewed. 

Tom Tomorrow, in his latest comic (click on the "Read Tom Tomorrow" badge on the right column of the blog for the full strip), shows us what will happen if we fail to rein in these excesses of our perpetual War on Terror.

Earthers and Afterbirthers

Two great parodies on our abysmal level of political discourse exemplified by the President of the United States having to release his long-form birth certificate.

This whole controversy seemed like it came directly from the Onion.  Now we have their take in Afterbirthers Demand To See Obama's Placenta:  "All we are asking is that the president produce a sample of his fetal membranes and vessels—preferably along with a photo of the crowning and delivery—and this will all be over," said former presidential candidate and Afterbirthers spokesman Alan Keyes, later adding that his organization would be willing to settle for a half-liter of maternal cord plasma." 

And Tom Tomorrow has his own version which, as usual, perfectly captures the politics (and racism) of the moment.  Click on the Tom Tomorrow badge on the right side of the blog to read the whole comic.   

Slippery Slope

Tom Tomorrow captures the slippery nature of the "humanitarian" intervention in Libya. Scroll down and click on the Tom Tomorrow image on the right hand panel for a link to the full comic.

Tom Tomorrow: What To Do About Gitmo?

Tom Tomorrow brilliantly parodies the yawning gap between the Obama Administration's actual conduct and the "progressive fantasy of [his] presidency."  For the full comic, scroll down to the Tom Tomorrow link on the right and click on the image.

[Related posts:  Ridiculous and Counterproductive and Stupid; Dock of the Bay]

Tom Tomorrow: The Republican War on Women

As usual, Tom Tomorrow captures the absurdity of Republican extremism.  For the full comic, scroll down to the Tom Tomorrow link on the right and click on the image.

Say It's So, Joe.

In honor -- and celebration -- of Senator Joe Lieberman's announcement that he will not seek re-election to the Senate, here is a 2006 Tom Tomorrow cartoon entitled "The Independent Thinker."

No Se Puede

Tom Tomorrow

Barack Obama's campaign was inspiring on so many levels, but there was really nothing about his prior record to suggest that he would govern from the left.  I am not surprised or disillusioned, therefore, about his failure to push for a more progressive agenda.  What is so utterly frustrating about Obama is not his ideology -- if he has one -- but his willingness to compromise on everything without a fight due to what seems to be an unshakable belief that partisanship is intrinsically a bad thing.  Obama's passivity is particularly infuriating -- and counterproductive -- in the face of a unified and vitriolic opposition who refuse to concede anything they care about and whose avowed goal is to crush him.

 I agree with Greg Sargent, who argues that the case against Obama from the left isn't ideological, it is that he "is too quick to signal that compromise, even at great cost, is his paramount goal," which puts the Democrats at a disadvantage and "emboldens Republicans to hold out for more than they otherwise might be able to secure."  As David Corn put it, "bipartisan compromise is often necessary. But it ought to come at the end of a political fight -- not before one."

Democratic Congressman Anthony Weiner, frustrated by Obama's capitulation on tax cuts, explained that "governing is more than a series of transactions, [it] is a competition of ideas on how we make the country better."  Democrats are getting trounced in this competition despite the far stronger argument.  David Corn again:  "At a time when middle- and low-income Americans are struggling, government deficits are a worry, and the corporate class is reaping tremendous profits, Obama and the Democrats were well-positioned to assail the Republicans for insisting that the well-to-do need a continuation of the Bush tax cuts and for blocking an extension of the cuts for the rest of the public."

Instead of using his remarkable, but strangely under-utilized, oratorical skills to skewer the Republicans for paying lip service to the the deficit while holding the extension of unemployment benefits -- and other critical legislation -- hostage to tax cuts for the wealthiest 2%, Obama negotiates.  And, he negotiates badly.  First, he repeatedly adopts Republican talking points by asserting that focusing on the deficit is an immediate problem that can only be solved by the government tightening its belt.  On the eve of negotiations with Republicans he announces a freeze on civilian federal wages without obtaining anything in exchange.  Soon thereafter, he signals a willingness to give in on tax cuts thereby undercutting the position of the Senate Democrats who oppose the extension.  Oh, and did I mention he also agreed to cut the estate tax for estates worth up to $5 million (I'm not exactly sure how this helps the economy or reduces the deficit).

And, it isn't just bad politics, the "compromise" is bad policy that will do little to help the economy.  Ezra Klein points out that the various aspects of the deal will worsen the deficit substantially, and they do not do enough and are not targeted well enough to spur real economic recovery (although he concedes it could have been worse).  Indeed Paul Krugman argues the Democrats should eschew any deal that includes extension of the tax cuts for the wealthy.

Rather than hammer at Republican hypocrisy and greed, Obama announced the tentative deal last night in his typically understated manner, conceding that the "compromise" was not "perfect."  And thus, the Republicans, who got near everything they wanted, have demonstrated once again that their unprincipled obstructionism works -- at least for them, if  not for the Country.  There is no doubt, however, that when the economy continues to sputter it will not be Republicans that American voters will blame.  Jamal Simmons is right:  "The time has come for the president to give voters his vision for reclaiming the American Dream and to draw a few lines in the sand. Then he needs to marshal his allies for a good fight the moment the Republicans cross them."
 
[Related posts:  Holy Pointless Gimmick, Batman, Growth is Good, This Should Be Easy, Let 'Em Eat Catfood, Greider on Obama, Must Read: Paul Krugman]