campaign

Thursday May 11, 2023

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday May 11, 2023

Words can sink campaigns, while Trump’s actions fuel his support

April 26, 2023

The verdict in the E. Jean Carroll case against Donald Trump was a momentous win for survivors of sexual assault, as well as women who have suffered due to lack of belief in their claims. The jury found that Trump sexually abused Carroll and awarded her $5 million for battery and defamation. Although the jury didn’t find that Carroll proved rape, it still marked a significant victory. As a former president, Trump enjoys considerable goodwill with GOP voters, despite scandals that would have doomed most politicians. However, as his legal woes increase and primary debates begin in August, his support will be tested.

This ruling marks a new chapter in the #MeToo movement, which has empowered survivors to come forward with their stories. The verdict demonstrates that no one is above the law, not even a former president of the United States. In his response to the verdict, Trump stated that he plans to appeal the decision, calling it a “disgrace” and a “political witch hunt”. However, this should not detract from the fact that this ruling sends a powerful message to survivors of sexual assault and shows that justice can be served.

News: Jury Finds Trump Liable for Sexual Abuse and Defamation  

September 24, 2022

Trump’s legal troubles continue to mount, with probes in New York, Washington, DC, and Georgia still underway. His willingness to deny allegations and call the case against him a political witch hunt undermines the bravery and courage of those who speak out about their experiences of sexual assault. As a presidential candidate in 2016, Trump faced backlash for comments made on the “Access Hollywood” tape, in which he bragged about sexually assaulting women. Despite this, he managed to survive the scandal and go on to win the presidency. However, as the Carroll case has demonstrated, times have changed, and Trump’s actions are finally catching up with him.

The ruling against Trump is a momentous win for survivors of sexual assault and women who have suffered due to a lack of belief in their claims. It sends a powerful message that no one is above the law, and that justice can be served. Trump’s continued denial of the allegations against him undermines the bravery and courage of those who speak out about their experiences of sexual assault. It remains to be seen how this case will affect Trump’s popularity, but it’s clear that his support will be tested as his legal woes continue to mount. (AI) 

A short history of gaffe disqualifiers 

July 26, 2016

In the 2016 US presidential campaign, Hillary Clinton referred to some of Donald Trump’s supporters as “a basket of deplorables,” causing controversy and backlash. Clinton later apologized for the comment, but it was used by her opponents to paint her as elitist and out of touch with working-class voters.

During a 2012 presidential debate, Mitt Romney claimed to have received “binders full of women” as part of his effort to hire more women for his cabinet. The phrase was criticized as insensitive and objectifying, and became a memorable moment of the election.

(It was Tina Fey playing Sarah Palin on Saturday Night Live who paraphrased Palin’s foreign policy on Russia)

In a 2008 interview, Sarah Palin, the Republican vice presidential candidate, claimed that Alaska’s proximity to Russia gave her foreign policy experience. She stated, “You can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska.” The remark was widely mocked as evidence of her lack of foreign policy expertise.

In a 1999 interview, Al Gore stated that he “took the initiative in creating the Internet”. While he played a key role in supporting legislation that helped fund and develop the internet, his comments were widely criticized as an exaggeration of his contributions, leading to the popular misquote “I invented the internet”.

(The infamous Howard Dean Scream)

In 2004, Howard Dean was a presidential candidate and during his campaign, he gave an impassioned speech after a disappointing result in the Iowa caucuses. At the end of the speech, he let out a loud, guttural scream that was dubbed the “Dean Scream”. The moment was widely parodied and criticized, and is considered a major factor in his campaign’s ultimate failure.

(Rick Perry’s Oops Moment)

In a 2011 Republican presidential debate, Rick Perry forgot one of the three government agencies he wanted to eliminate, famously stating “Oops” when he couldn’t recall the third. The moment became a defining moment of his campaign and is often cited as one of the most memorable debate gaffes in recent political history.

Thursday November 17, 2022

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday November 17, 2022

Trump’s 2024 Announcement Was Totally ‘Sad!’

July 18, 2016

The first time Donald Trump announced he was running for president, he cruised down an escalator to Neil Young’s “Rockin’ in the Free World,” bragged about his net worth, mused about whether his family actually likes him, and called Mexicans “rapists.” There was no way Trump’s 2024 campaign announcement on Tuesday night at 9pm EST was going to beat 2015’s iconic, racist spectacle, but the event failed to meet even significantly lowered expectations. His 65-minute speech in the Mar-a-Lago ballroom was widely derided as “low energy,” and the biggest actual news to come out of the event was his daughter Ivanka Trump’s announcement that she won’t be involved in his political operation going forward. Here are some weak, weird moments that Donald Trump would certainly be mocking if this were any other candidate’s campaign rollout (and he still had a Twitter account).

July 22, 2016

Ivanka’s absence made headlines, but she wasn’t the only Trump who bailed on him. The former president couldn’t even get a majority of his children to attend the event. Per the New York Times:

In the audience were his sons Barron and Eric (whom Mr. Trump perhaps unwittingly compared to Al Capone and Jesse James in his speech), along with Eric’s wife, Lara. Also his son-in-law Jared Kushner but not Ivanka, who played a starring role during Mr. Trump’s term in office but has announced via an Instagram story that she is bowing out of Season 2. And not Don Jr., though his fiancée, Kimberly Guilfoyle, was there. As for Tiffany, she was presumably on her honeymoon after her marriage last weekend.

February 3, 2017

It’s not every day that a defeated president makes a comeback attempt, but the cable news networks didn’t feel the need to air his remarks in full. MSNBC didn’t air the primetime speech at all, while Fox and CNN cut away from the more-than-hour-long address after Trump verbally announced his candidacy. Fox cut away about 15 minutes later than CNN, and switched back to Trump for an additional few minutes after showing commentary from guests. And the major broadcast networks deemed Trump’s announcement less important than a spinoff of The Bachelor. ABC, NBC and CBS all decided to stick with previously scheduled entertainment programming — reality show “Bachelor in Paradise” on ABC, science fiction drama “La Brea” on NBC and a fictionalized show about the FBI on CBS.

August 7, 2020

Naturally, Trump’s speech was chock-full of false and misleading claims. But there were also plenty of simple mistakes. As The Independent noted, Trump referred to the lower chamber of Congress as “the House of Representators”; he promised to “ensure that Joe Biden does not receive four more years in 2020”; and he bragged that he “went decades with no wars” during his four years as president.

Security wouldn’t let people leave. He literally had a captive audience.

Former Trump officials bashed him on-air. When CNN’s Anderson Cooper asked former Trump chief of staff Mick Mulvaney if he thought the announcement was good for the GOP, he said, “No, I don’t, because I think he’s the only Republican who could lose.”

July 20, 2021

Mulvaney added that if Trump wins the GOP nomination in 2024, the general election will be another referendum on him: That means the 2024 race is not about Joe Biden or whatever Democrat is on the ticket, not about inflation, not about world events, not about abortion. It will be about Donald Trump, the same thing we saw in 2020. No one voted for Joe Biden. Everybody voted for or against Donald Trump. It was a referendum on him. That’s what we’re hurtling toward in 2024. And I don’t see the outcome being any different two years from now than it was two years ago.

Later on CNN, Sarah Matthews, who served as Trump’s deputy press secretary, described the speech as “uninspiring,” “boring,” and “a rambling mess.”

The Post added credence to a report that owner Rupert Murdoch is done with Trump, following up last week’s “TRUMPTY DUMPTY” postelection cover with this absolutely brutal write-up. (NY Magazine) 

From sketch to finish, see the current way Graeme completes an editorial cartoon using an iPencil, the Procreate app, and a couple of cheats on an iPad Pro … These sped up clips are posted to encourage others to be creative, to take advantage of the technology many of us already have and to use it to produce satire. Comfort the afflicted. Afflict the comforted.

 

Friday April 29, 2022

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday April 29, 2022

How Doug Ford’s budget sets the tone for his Ontario PC election campaign

For a guy who came to power in 2018 on a promise to rein in the size and cost of government, Ontario Premier Doug Ford is heading into his 2022 election campaign with a completely different pitch. 

May 23, 2019

That pitch can be seen in the Ontario budget tabled Thursday by Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy, a budget that he described as “Premier Ford’s vision.” 

That “vision” is in reality less a provincial budget than it is a Progressive Conservative election platform. In case there’s any doubt, Bethlenfalvy recited the PC campaign slogan “Get it done” no less than 10 times during his budget speech. 

Also, minutes after the speech wrapped, the legislature was adjourned until well after the June 2 election, so the budget won’t pass unless the PCs win a majority. 

Beyond the sloganeering, the budget’s tone and messaging appear crafted to assure Ontario voters that Ford and the PCs are not just willing to spend the money that’s needed on crucial government services, but actually eager to spend it, to the extent of actually forecasting a deficit higher than in each of the past two pandemic years. 

It also appears to be an attempt to persuade voters that Ford has been changed by the COVID-19 pandemic and that cutting government spending is no longer a big concern for the PCs.

Tuesday August 17, 2021

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday August 17, 2021

Erin O’Toole opposes mandatory vaccination for federal public servants, travellers

Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole said late Sunday he is opposed to mandatory vaccinations for federal public servants and instead prefers a regular rapid testing regime to keep workplaces safe from COVID-19.

July 21, 2021

O’Toole ducked questions for nearly a week about the Liberal government’s plan to implement a vaccine mandate for bureaucrats, transportation workers and most passengers travelling by air and rail, a program Ottawa says will help boost stalled vaccination rates at a time when COVID-19 case counts are on the rise.

O’Toole said the Liberal plan is a divisive one and Canadians instead “want a reasonable and balanced approach that protects their right to make personal health decisions.”

Rather than require public servants and travellers to get a shot, O’Toole said, if elected, he’d demand they pass a rapid test before going to work or boarding a bus, train, plane or ship.

“What they do not want is the politicization of the pandemic. Vaccines are not a political issue. To try and make them one is dangerous and irresponsible,” O’Toole said.

May 8, 2021

“We should be united on this, not divided, and Conservatives will not engage in this attempt to drive a wedge between Canadians.”

Asked later about the party’s position during a virtual press conference with reporters, O’Toole said that while Conservatives encourage everyone eligible to get a shot, “Canadians have the right to make their own health care decisions.”

“We have a reasonable and effective approach that respects Canadians” who cannot or will not get a shot, O’Toole said.

The Conservatives have been highly critical of the government’s handling of the immunization campaign and the procurement process for COVID-19 shots, suggesting for weeks that Canada was at the “back of the line” on deliveries, that the government “botched” the vaccine rollout and that it may not be “until 2030” that people are vaccinated.

After a slow start in the early months of this year, Canada is now a world leader in immunizations with more than 81 per cent of the eligible population vaccinated with at least one dose. But the pace of administering doses has slowed considerably since a blitz in April and May, with well below 100,000 first shots handed out each day.

Based on a CBC News estimate, more than 5.7 million eligible Canadians have still not received a dose even though there is ample supply in virtually all parts of the country. (CBC) 

 

Thursday September 26, 2019

September 26, 2019

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday September 26, 2019

Exclusive poll reveals ‘Doug Ford factor’ a big problem for Scheer’s Conservatives in Ontario

June 8, 2019

The “Doug Ford factor” that some federal Conservatives worried would hurt their chances in Ontario this election appears to be very real, and especially significant, suggests a new survey conducted in partnership between the Angus Reid Institute and Postmedia.

The poll shows that half of Ontario’s population sees their federal vote being swayed by the performance of Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservative government in that province — and most are not being influenced in a way that will benefit the federal Tories.

Among those Ontarians who say their federal vote will be affected by their impressions of Ford’s government, a whopping 85 per cent say the “policies and actions” of the provincial PC government will make them less likely to support Andrew Scheer’s federal Conservative party.

July 17, 2019

The “Doug Ford factor” that some federal Conservatives worried would hurt their chances in Ontario this election appears to be very real, and especially significant, suggests a new survey conducted in partnership between the Angus Reid Institute and Postmedia.

The poll shows that half of Ontario’s population sees their federal vote being swayed by the performance of Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservative government in that province — and most are not being influenced in a way that will benefit the federal Tories.

Among those Ontarians who say their federal vote will be affected by their impressions of Ford’s government, a whopping 85 per cent say the “policies and actions” of the provincial PC government will make them less likely to support Andrew Scheer’s federal Conservative party.

Twenty-eight per cent of those Ontarians who claim their vote will be impacted this way qualified the impact of the provincial PC government on their vote as “massive.” The next-highest “massive” impact reported was in Quebec, but with only 12 per cent describing it in such strong terms.

February 13, 2009

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal party has clearly sensed an opportunity to exploit the impact Ford is having in Ontario on federal Conservative support. Liberals have tried throughout the campaign to link Scheer to Ford. This week the federal Liberal leader lambasted Ford, calling him “Exhibit A” in Trudeau’s grim description of what he says Canada would look like under Conservative rule. “Families here in Ontario have seen just how far they are willing to go to help the wealthiest few,” he said in Hamilton, Ont. “How quickly they will make cuts to public health and to the services people rely on most.”

Trudeau’s Liberals have been the biggest beneficiaries from the Ford factor: Among Ontarians whose federal voting decisions are being affected by Ford, 71 per cent say they’re likelier to vote Liberal on October 21. But the Liberals would be wrong to assume they have those votes sewn up: 66 per cent of those provincially impacted Ontarians also said they were likelier to vote for the NDP. (National Post)