Who's More Progressive?

This piece was inspired by a blog post by Owen Paine, one of my favorite contributors to one of my favorite Leftie blogs, Stop Me Before I Vote Again. He quotes some interesting passages from President Nixon’s 1971 State Of The Union Address in which he mentions the “expansionary” budget he was about to submit to Congress, a “full employment budget”. Here’s The Tricky One’s own words from back in ‘71:

“By spending as if we were at full employment, we will help to bring about full employment”

Now, mind you, I’ve never been a Nixon revisionist, and I wasn’t one of those bonehead Liberals who spent the entirety of the Dubya Administration wishing they had Nixon back, but, still… full-employment budget? Then, I started thinking back some more… EPA? Detente with the Soviets? Healthcare program compromise with Ted Kennedy? Christalmighty, I thought, was Nixon, on balance, more progressive than Barack Obama?

Yeah, sure, Nixon dragged out a pointless war that hardly anybody wanted, bombed civilians at the drop of a hat, surveilled and harassed dissident activists, and sponsored coups and assassinations all over the world, but hasn’t Obama also done these?

Jeeeeeezus… full-employment budget.

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Romney's Dog vs. Obama's Dog

It’s no surprise that the Liberal punditocracy has grabbed hold of the story of Mitt Romney making his dog ride on the roof of his car and jumped on it like… well, like a big dog. Likewise, it’s also no surprise that the same big-shot Liberal pundits have softpedaled the reports of the Obama campaign allowing the formation of a big-money SuperPAC on its behalf — basically condoning the same kind of corporate election-buying that it condemned during the ‘08 campaign.

Granted, Mitt Romney making his dog ride on the roof of his car while the rest of the family rode comfortably inside is a crassly insensitive act — but it’s even more crass and insensitive that the allegedly “progressive” Barack Obama continues to give the cushy ride to bankers and corporate interests while The 99% are forced to ride on the metaphorical roof of Obama’s metaphorical car.

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Occupy CPAC!

The Liberty Lamp reports:
The streets outside the Marriot Wardman Park hotel in Washington DC were alive on Friday, February 10th, 2011, as protestors affiliated with Occupy DC, the SEIU, the AFL-CIO and a host of allied organizations descended on the annual Conservative Political Action Conference, also known as CPAC. Participants traveled from as far away as Pittsburgh and New York City to demonstrate against money in politics, income inequality and a profusion of crimes and abuses perpetrated against the poor, working and middle classes.

CPAC does little to hide the fact that it is a product of and for the elite rich, with a full pass to the conferences costing 200 dollars, a one day pass at 75 dollars and media passes only awarded to a select few that have passed a rigorous background check that would make the FBI jealous…

OCCUPY CPAC! from Wespennest on Vimeo.

…and here’s our coverage of the scene, shot by the Town Hell Posse (including yours truly).

My Little Party

Phew. After doing more cartoons in the past year than I did in the previous ten, I took most of January off while I wrapped up a fistful of freelance projects (hoorah for work!) and then spent the better part of the past two weeks grunting out this monsterpiece.

But, enough.

This one’s a salute to all you surviving Kool-Aid-drinking Obamabots getting ready to soldier on into this year’s Presidential Freak Circus — all you Lefties and Progressives who were willingly, knowingly, happily bamboozled by all the hope’n'change talk four years ago. The slightest bit of research could’ve shown you folks that not only was Obama not a Progressive, but there was no way in Hell you were going to get anything remotely resembling what you all assumed you were going to get once Obama took office — namely, the political equivalent of a pony. You did think Obama was going to get you all ponies, right?

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