The Art Of Politics – January – Maybe 2023 Will Be A Year Of Ethics & Honesty? [Nah, Not A Chance]
by Richard Bruton
Welcome once more to The Art of Politics, Comicon’s monthly round-up of the world of political cartooning – where a great image can cut through to the heart of any issue.
Well, with the New Year underway, the world has carried on doing exactly what it’s always done. Wars keep going, politicians keep lying and cheating, scandals are denied, truth is an alien concept… business as usual.
Over in the U.S. of A…
Guns – The American Curse continues…
Kal – summing it all up really…
A six-year-old brings a gun into a school and shoots his elementary school teacher, two massacres took place in California within 48 hours. The body count continues, and continues, and continues. And that’s just the ones that made the headlines. There’s so many more – too many more.
Around the world, no one can understand why the USA lets this continue. Yet, what’s the prevailing response to the wave of completely pointless deaths? Thoughts and prayers. Unbelievable.
As a quick example – the USA, according to the CDC, had 19,384 gun deaths due to homicide in 2020 (the most recent year’s data available – although it’s not exactly decreased in subsequent years). Compare that with the UK in 2022 (the most recent year) where there were just 35. Yes, 35.
And the reason the UK doesn’t have gun deaths and school massacres – it’s all in response to the UK’s worst mass shooting in history – the massacre at Dunblane Primary School in Scotland, 13 March 1996, when 16 pupils and one teacher were killed and 15 others injured. Immediately following the killings, both the public and Parliament demanded change to gun control laws, resulting in the introduction of two new Firearms Acts, which outlawed the private ownership of most handguns within Great Britain, with few exceptions.
Since then, zero mass shootings of the type you see every single day in the USA. Yes, we still have isolated incidents of gun violence, but they are so mercifully rare.
I know that there’s the whole problem with the Constitution and the reading of the second amendment (“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”) But the whole point of the Constitution is that it was written with a view to change – the clue being in the idea of an amendment after all. It can change, surely it has to change?
Ann Telnaes has a perfect visual essay that sums it all up so well- although in truth, none of the US cartoonists really attack the issue and those involved with the venom that you find with UK cartoonists who go after their targets with no holds barred.
and Ann Telnaes again –
America’s cop problem?
The death of Tyre Nichols in Memphis at the end of the month shone yet another light on policing in the USA – and it comes out of it looking terrible. The needless death will send shockwaves through America and impact how the police will act in years to come… or will it? After all, has anything really changed since Rodney King?
Election 2024 – it’s happening right now…
With the next election for President in 2024, the runners and riders are all starting to come out of the woodwork. You’ve got to think Joe Biden will run again, but his problems continue to mount. Meanwhile, the great orange dangerous doofus keeps threatening to run again. Well, it’s either that or probably end up in jail…
Kal –
Kal –
Oh, they do love a vote… again and again and again Mr Speaker
The third most powerful politician in the USA, the Speaker of the House was eventually elected, with Republican Kevin McCarthy taking 15 votes to get the required numbers to become Speaker now that the Republicans have the majority. But the cost may be huge, with the radical Right holding out for more and more concessions and positions on the important committees. (Guardian)
Kal on the problems McCarthy will face…
The Right just keeps on getting righter… and so wrong…
In the American political system, the right used to be Republicans. Not anymore, now your average Republican is under threat from the GOP, the far Right movement, and the Trumpsters… and it’s just not a good thing for politics or for America.
Kal –
And Matt Wuerker again…
And now… in not so Great Britain…
The entire country seems to be striking over pay and Nicola Jennings starts the year with the dangers piling up for Rishi Rich…
As does Ella Baron…
Strike!
Yes, with most of the country seemingly affected by strikes, there’s unrest everywhere, as workers and unions realise that maybe it’s not right that their wage rises compared to inflation effectively mean a year-on-year reduction in pay (and while looking at the politicians giving themselves a way bigger pay rise than anyone else of course.)
Actually, DON’T Strike – they’re going to make it illegal if they can
Whilst all the strikes were going on, the Conservatives were jumping up and down with collective rage [how dare the plebs do this to us, that sort of thing.] So, what’s their solution? Is it to take a proper look at the unfair levels of pay and do something about it? Or is it to draft through a series of anti-Union, anti-strike laws that do what the Conservatives have long wanted to do and cut the Unions off at the knees? Yeah, what do you think…
The National Health Service crisis continues…
No beds, critically ill patients stalled on ambulances queueing outside hospitals, staff under unbearable pressure, emergency department waiting times longer than ever… why, it’s almost like the Conservatives are trying to run it down so they can privatise it.
And Ben Jennings again on the usual pathetic responses by the opposition Labour party and their leader Keir Starmer…
Rishi Rich Sunak – man without a plan or a clue…
Chris Riddell on the current Prime Minister…
And Morten Morland on the same…
The Prime Minister’s having a good month, starting off with his first policy initiative for the month. Yes, in a country ripped apart by striking nurses, teachers, rail staff, civil servants, and Uncle Tom Cobley and all, Rishi Sunak’s first major policy initiative of 2023 was a plan to have all students study compulsory maths until they’re 18…
And Dave Brown has a view on that as well…
And then he has a bit of a politician moment when he’s under fire over the fact he didn’t answer a simple question over whether he uses the National Health Service or goes private for his healthcare. [Answer… of course he goes bloody private, the man’s richer than the King.]
Which prompted him to suddenly sign up with an NHS GP… Steve Bell –
And then there’s the small matter of breaking the law and getting fined for it because he forgot that he had to wear a seat belt in a car… Martin Rowson –
Power, Corruption, and Lies… Boris on the take and an ex-Chancellor who doesn’t understand taxes…
But if Rishi’s had a bad month, things are only going to get worse for the Conservatives in general as not only do we have yet another corruption enquiry involving ex-Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the loan he had in return for political favours (Guardian) but we have the ex-Chancellor of the Exchequer (and now ex-Party Chairman after he finally resigned by the end of January), Nadhim Zahawi, the man in charge of the nation’s purse, being fined anywhere from £3 to £5 MILLION for avoiding tax.
But it’s all okay, because Zahawi’s since come out and said that he only carelessly made an error (because haven’t we all made an error where we carelessly siphon off about £27 million to an offshore trust and forgot to pay tax on it?) (BBC)
Just the minor matter of a constitutional crisis… it’s England Versus Scotland in the gender wars…
When the Scottish government brought forward a bill designed to make it easier for people to change their legal gender, the UK government threw a bit of a wobbly and told Scotland’s parliament that the ‘draft law would conflict with equality protections applying across Great Britain.’
And now we have a potential constitutional crisis. Because here in the not so United Kingdom we have the government of the United Kingdom that controls the laws of England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. But then we also have a separate Scottish parliament that makes the laws there – just, so it seems, not the laws that the UK parliament doesn’t agree with. (BBC, Pink News, The National).
The Spare strikes back…
Prince Harry’s book, Spare, came out – you probably heard the news about that one.
Ben Jennings – playing on pengate of last year…
Ukraine… still.
The war goes on and on and on, although there’s less and less coverage out there. This month it’s been mostly about the slow progress of getting agreements for the USA and Germany to approve the supplying of Ukraine with tanks…
Tom Janssen – Caglecartoons.com
Joe Collignon for De Volkskrant, The Netherlands
Kal –
