Sunday, March 18, 2012

Political Cartoon Analysis Entry #2

Lobbyists and Congress


The title of this piece is, "Lobbyists and Congress" and was created by Bennet. In this cartoon, it seems that there is a representative of Congress talking. The audience knows the man is part of Congress because the podium he is standing behind says, “Congress” on it. In the speech bubble, it says, “Nobody tells me what to do or say…” which is being written in by a man holding a pencil that says, “Lobbyists” on it. The title of this cartoon “Lobbyists and Congress” is being used to describe this cartoon because the main idea of the cartoon is the connection between lobbyists and Congress. This is significant because it shows that Congress tends to be hypocritical when it comes to discussing the issues with the press. It also shows that Lobbyists seem to have control over Congress. This relates to class because this past week, we have been doing E-Congress and deciding which bills should be passed or rejected based on the bills given to us by the website from all over the country. It is pretty humorous that the man is saying that no one tells him what to say yet a Lobbyist is doing just that. I also find it pretty funny that the Lobbyist is writing in pencil because pencils are used in cases where one knows that he or she may make a mistake. It seems that the creator of this cartoon is saying that Lobbyists tend to make mistakes which translate to Congress making the mistakes. Not only does the cartoonist seem to be criticizing Congress, the cartoonist is also criticizing Lobbyists by having “Lobbyist” written on a pencil instead of a pen, insinuating that Lobbyists make mistakes that eventually lead to Congress making the same mistakes.


Rick Santorum on the Political Spectrum

The title of this cartoon is, “Rick Santorum on the Political Spectrum” and was created by Ed Fischer. This cartoon is portraying the political spectrum by using cars. (Not sure if the pun was intended). It shows four signs: left with an arrow pointing left, right with an arrow pointing right, far right with an arrow pointing right, and out of sight right with an arrow pointing right. Following the first three signs seem to be normal cars. Following the fourth sign is Rick Santorum’s bus with the words, “Rick Santorum for President” written on the back of the bus. It is pretty clear that the cartoonist believes that Rick Santorum is just completely off the political spectrum because his views are completely different from those who would be considered “far right.” This makes me believe that the cartoonist is closer to being moderately liberal because those who would be considered conservative may actually think his beliefs are “far right” rather than “out of sight right” as portrayed in the cartoon. The words in the title seem to be mocking Rick Santorum’s believes because usually when a person is single out from his or her peers, it seems to be a bad thing. The cartoon seems to be making fun of Santorum’s driving abilities because it looks like Santorum’s bus made a sharp turn in order to get into the correct lane which is completely unsafe in the driving world. Thankfully, there are no cars behind his vehicle. This cartoon relates to current political events because Rick Santorum is one of the Republican hopefuls attempting to win delegates in order to become the Republican candidate to run against President Obama in this year’s presidential election. This relates to class because throughout the year, we have been discussing the GOP candidates and the debates they have been through in order to get to where they are today. 

No comments:

Post a Comment