The political cartoon is a very effective way of driving home a message to the public in general as it exposes the vicissitudes and inherent weaknesses of politicians. The first cartoon features a congressman running after the elephant which is the Republican Party on the sequester issue but threatening to decapitate himself with a huge scissors called ‘Sequester Scissors’. The text says ‘Running with Sequester Scissors can be Hazardous to Your Health’ and is a clear example that the decapitation is imminent, a self-decapitation so to speak. The cartoon is partisan political satire as it attempts to ridicule the Democrats who are self-destroying themselves and the sequester issue.
The second cartoon goes along with the theme of sequester cuts as it shows the President below his desk at the White House whilst his aide frantically asks for help. The other two aides’ comments as they stand motionless on the other side are instructive. One says ‘It’s just a paper cut’ while the other comments that the ‘sequester cuts have gone to his head’. The cartoon is another form of political satire aimed at ridiculing the Democratic President on the sequester cuts which have turned out to be much more than he bargained for in terms of political opposition.
Both cartoons send a strong political message that the sequester cuts being proposed by the Democratic Party are disastrous and damaging for the party. They also ridicule the President in an ironic sense showing him as fearful for his political future although self decapitation is rather imminent if he persists with the law.
Works Cited:
Hess, Stephen, and Sandy Northrop. American Political Cartoons, 1754-2010: The Evolution of a National Identity (2010)
