age – mackaycartoons

Tuesday February 11, 2020

February 18, 2020 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday February 11, 2020

Bashing Buttigieg

Addressing a conference of African-American church congregations in this vote-rich city, Pete Buttigieg quoted scripture on Sunday morning and extolled his “Douglass Plan” to combat racial inequities in America, one of several attempts this weekend to confront his strikingly low support among black voters.

Sketch from the CBS News Democratic Party Candidates Debate, Charleston, South Carolina, February 25, 2020.
Michael Bloomberg, Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, Tom Steyer

But Mr. Buttigieg also undertook a delicate task before the African Methodist Episcopal worshipers. As a gay, married man addressing a denomination that does not allow same-sex marriage rites, he tried to seek common ground over being members of minority groups whose civil rights have come under attack. It was a nod to his sexuality, following the disclosure last week that the Buttigieg campaign held focus groups that found some black voters in South Carolina were uncomfortable with a gay man as president.

“All of us in different ways have been led to question whether we belong,” Mr. Buttigieg told the pews of black worshipers. “And I know what it is to look on the news and see your rights up for debate. All of us must extend a hand to one another. Because I also know what it is to find acceptance where you least expect it.”

As Mr. Buttigieg increasingly presents himself to Democrats as a younger, moderate alternative to former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., he is struggling badly to compete against one of Mr. Biden’s strengths: deep connections to black voters. Nowhere is that problem greater than in South Carolina, which votes fourth in the Democratic nomination fight in February and is the first state where black voters are decisive — a critical test that could be a prologue for primaries in March where African-Americans will also be influential.

A Monmouth University poll of Democratic likely primary voters in South Carolina released last week found Mr. Buttigieg at 3 percent overall, with just 1 percent support from African Americans.

There are many reasons for Mr. Buttigieg’s low standing among black voters, the foremost being that he is little-known to many of them. He is the 37-year-old mayor of South Bend, Ind., who still has a relatively low national profile — including on civil rights and issues of race — and focused much of this year building support among liberals, Democratic donors and voters in the predominantly white states of Iowa and New Hampshire. (NYTimes)

Meanwhile, ahead of the New Hampshire Primary day, Joe Biden Slashes Into Buttigieg: ‘This Guy’s Not a Barack Obama!’. (NYTimes)

Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders fight for the number one position. (The Guardian)

Tuesday May 9, 2017

May 8, 2017 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday May 9, 2017

Twitter explodes with hilarious debate over whether Emmanuel Macron or Canada’s PM Justin Trudeau is the ‘sexiest G7 leader’

April 16, 2015

As Emmanuel Macron was elected as the youngest President of France, many were more concerned with debating if he is ‘hotter’ than Canadian PM Justin Trudeau.

Twitter was filled with Macron-Trudeau fantasists, many saying their dreams would come true when the liberal-left pair meet in person.

One fan wrote: ‘Liberals really do have the hottest politicians’, while another joked: ‘ Justin Trudeau has called Emmanuel Macron to concede in the race for Sexiest G7 Leader.’

May 11, 2016

The other G7 leaders are Shinzō Abe of Japan, Italy’s Paolo Gentiloni, Donald Trump, Theresa May and Angela Merkel.

Another fan joked: ‘Already two Macron vs Trudeau hotness smackdown threads on my timeline. When will the sexual objectification of male politicians end?’

The pro-EU politician Emmanuel Macron, 39, was tonight elected as France’s youngest ever president with a projected landslide of 65.5 per cent.

Macron, 39, beat far-right National Front (FN) candidate Marine

October 23, 2015

Le Pen, 48, in an election that will have widespread repercussions for the future of Europe.

An official preliminary result released at 8pm local time showed Macron received 65.5 per cent of the vote and had earned a clear 31-point victory over Le Pen.

Just 15 minutes after the exit polls were announced, Le Pen conceded and revealed she phoned Macron to ‘congratulate’ him on his election victory.

She had hoped that the surprise election of Donald Trump in America, and the Brexit result in the UK, would favour her hardline opposition to the EU, globalisation and immigration.

But instead it was Macron who was preparing for a victory celebration in front of crowds of supporters outside the Louvre in central Paris. (Source: Daily Mail)

Thursday April 16, 2015

April 15, 2015 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday April 16, 2015

Trudeau might be open to forming coalition with NDP, but not with Mulcair as leader

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau says he would “maybe” be more open to the idea of forming a coalition with the NDP if Tom Mulcair was not running the party.

Asked on Tuesday whether having someone other than Mulcair as leader would change the dynamic in terms of a coalition between the two parties, Trudeau replied: “I don’t know…. Honestly, I don’t want to get into hypotheses. Maybe, but maybe not.

“There are no problems in terms of personality,” he told The Canadian Press in an interview from Oakville, Ont. “Mr. Mulcair is a veteran politician who has proven himself.

“His style is anchored in the old way of practising politics. Politics needs to be about rallying. And we have very different perspectives on how politics should be practised.”

Some recent polls have suggested the possibility of a minority government in Ottawa after this fall’s election.

Mulcair reiterated his openness last month to a possible coalition with the Liberals if it is necessary to topple Stephen Harper’s Conservatives.

The Opposition leader accused Trudeau at the time of putting personal interests ahead of those of Canadians because the Liberal leader had repeatedly expressed his lack of interest in discussing coalitions.

“Whenever we have opened that door, Justin Trudeau slams it shut,” Mulcair said. “My first priority is to get rid of Stephen Harper. The first priority of Justin Trudeau is Justin Trudeau.” (Source: CBC News)