With his singular style, Tom Toles tackles the complex issues of the day. This Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist skillfully targets political, economic and social concerns — in particular complicated environmental issues — with a clear-eyed precision that hits the mark every time.
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Comments (37) (Please sign in to comment)
braindead08 said, 6 months ago
Still wondering when Republicans will propose specific spending cuts.
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I guess there’s no rush, though.
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Rush, the one with a capital, thinks Republicans ought to force going over the fiscal cliff. I wonder if his followers agree. He did give advice during the elections that was unparalled.
Dycel
said, 6 months ago
@braindead08
Danger rush breaking form?
Unfortunatly the repubby’s are the ones who will be blamed but then they follow Danger Rush and why not make bigger jacka**s out themselves with his blessing
Doughfoot said, 6 months ago
The GOP is outraged because Obama won’t do their work for them. They are outraged because he offers them fewer concessions than he did BEFORE he won a second term. How dare he not be a patsy!! How dare he begin negotiations from a posture of strength!
The GOP approved the deal that created the “fiscal cliff.” Fine. Here’s how we work this: we go over the cliff. Taxes go up, spending goes down. It would be like hitting a reset button. Then the two parties would go about raising spending, but not to the former levels, and cutting taxes, but not to the former levels. The GOP would then claim that the Democrats were wholly responsible for all new non-defense spending, and claim credit for all new tax cuts, even though the net results of the whole procedure would be higher taxes, and lower spending. The Democrats could likewise deny responsibility for the outcomes that displease their base. The whole thing would be deeply dishonest, but that’s politics these days.
In the 18th century they had an interesting way to get a decision from a jury: lock the twelve of them up without food or drink until they came to a unanimous decision. Let’s take six from each party and lock them in a room until they cut a deal. I’d let them have food and water and necessary medicine, but nobody gets out of the room or goes into it until they have a unanimous plan. If they haven’t done it in a week, then you can cut off their food supply, two days later you stop allowing them water.
Who knows? Might work.
mikefive said, 6 months ago
When Congress proposes spending cuts, they are not spending cuts. They are proposed cuts in proposed increases in spending. The level of spending never really goes down.
walruscarver2000 said, 6 months ago
The first entitlement reform: Eliminate the filibuster forever!
Radish
said, 6 months ago
Cut congressional perks, cut their generous pensions and health plans that they voted for themselves.
Chillbilly
said, 6 months ago
The republicans are essentially demanding that the president give them another hostage. Fool him twice, he won’t get fooled again.
Ms. Ima said, 6 months ago
Considering the blank stare from the white house, what is the real deal going to be? Screw everyone seems to be the mindset.
emptc12 said, 6 months ago
@Doughfoot
You’ve no doubt read from H. L. Mencken. I was looking for a Mencken quote or short extract pertinent to our nation’s present situation, but there are just too many to choose from. Your post here is a channeling of sorts from him in the Great Beyond, in company with Voltaire, Swift, and Samuel Clemens.
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I’ve written this before: I really think that our present political and social situation is eerily repeating the way things were 100 years ago. Who is the present-day Mencken to shame us before we repeat the ‘30s Depression and second world war?
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Can the various political comedians and editorial cartoonists get together and underwrite somebody?
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If “ridicule kills,” they need to convene a sort of Manhattan Project to make a PH-Bomb (Political Humor) to fight the Word War. No more fooling around with mere word wedgies.
Clark Kent said, 6 months ago
Bring back the 75% tax rates from the 1960’s with closed loopholes. Restore the Glass Steagall act. Haul the thieves of wall street into court to be tried for their financial crimes. Put wall street, the banks and the corporations on short leashes. While we’re at it, send cheney/shrub/rumsfeld to the world court to be tried for their war crimes.
Bruce4671 said, 6 months ago
Gee, yep Obama proposed spending 1.6 trillion more in the next 10 years while cutting 400 billion on non specific items. In other words increasing the debt and no specific cuts in spending.
I understand that you guys want to keep spending on the “necessary” things like Social security (Obama wants to keep the cut in the payroll tax so that any spending increase has to come from the general tax fund) and extending unemployment (obama said the economy is booming and that he would create jobs so why do we need to increase the time to be on unemployment) but when does the nation address the debt? Never?
This man is intent on the destruction of the United States. And you idiots are going to let him do it because you all want your free stuff. It isn’t free and neither will your children be.
magicwalnut said, 6 months ago
@Doughfoot
I think that’s a terrific idea. But let’s make it the whole darn congress!
Respectful Troll said, 6 months ago
Mr. Toles has very correctly made the man in the chair representative of both parties. Just as Romney was surprised by the President he encountered in the second debate, Boehnor is surprised at the President with whom he is negotiating this time. Boehnor was filmed leaning against the back of the elevators with a smile and a sigh after his negotiations in 2010, and said he was happy, he had gotten 95% of what he wanted.
Doughfoot, braindead, and others have said the rest of what I might have added and my compliments to all the thoughtful comments I’ve read today in all of the Dec 3 toons.
Respectfully,
& Happy Holidayze,
C.
Omnius said, 6 months ago
What’s needed is to end the false entitlement retirement system of Congress. Time to put Congress on Social Security and see how quick the republicans stop asking to cut benefits. Crybaby Boehner and cabal are going to have to face that the top two bracket rates are going up.
They’re trying to get the White House to do their dirty work for them proposing cuts to Social Security and Medicare, then they’ll go running around screaming that Obama and the Dems are cutting the programs that the republicans want cut in the first place.
Night-Gaunt49 said, 6 months ago
@Bruce4671
He isn’t the only one or it would have only started under Pres. Obama when it started under Pres. Reagan. So when we became a debtor nation under him did it bother you? If not then you don’t really mean it. You must not like that Obama is black then. No other reason for it.