During what has been called the “golden age of American animation”, Warner Bros. produced cartoons under the name Looney Tunes. Many of us grew up in our pre-teen years enjoying the crazy antics of Bugs Bunny and other iconic cartoon characters.
With that in mind, what we propose to do is to match some of those characters to the Democrats in Congress and to those others who are attempting to bring down the President and his administration. With thanks to Warner Bros. for their creative genius, we now give you Looney Tunes: The Cartoonish Democrats.
Our first match is Chuck Schumer. The minority leader of the U. S. Senate, a Democrat from New York, would be a natural in the guise of Foghorn Leghorn, a character introduced to the world in 1946. Foghorn appears to be a typical pompous Southern politician, ready to mount any platform or barnyard building to self-importantly announce his presence and ideas to his listeners. For him, this meant not only the hens in the henhouse, but to all the assorted animals on the farm. What better way to depict the good Senator, who never met a platform (or set of microphones) he didn’t like?
Chuck can be seen looking serious when discussing his opposition to the most qualified of nominees coming from the President, or giving his own policy pronouncements in opposition coming from any conservative legislator. Chuck Schumer/Foghorn Leghorn — let the cartoonists lift their pens and begin.
In 1949, Warner Bros. brought Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner to the silver screen. Desert life is usually the survival of the fastest, and these two had their many adventures when Wile E. tried to catch the Road Runner for his next meal. He would set traps, and we would see the elaborate machinations used to catch the elusive bird. Using the Acme Company for many of his snares, the Road Runner would seem just within reach, until the hungry Coyote would reach the end of the road, reach out and fall into the empty chasm below him. Who best to be as Wile E. Coyote than Maxine Waters? Ms. Waters, a Congresswoman from California has been doing her best to catch the President, which would be a tasty meal for any Democrat. From the beginning, she has pursued the idea of impeachment, but each trap sees the President just out of reach. Collusion with the Russians? Couldn’t catch him! What about the emoluments clause in the Constitution? Again, the slippery Chief Executive cannot be touched. What about obstruction of justice? Once again, Ms. Waters “hoped” it would end with Trump in her net, but no dice. Always out of reach, but like Wile E. Coyote, she will continue to pursue her prey and will continue to not quite catch him. Wile E. Coyote/Maxine Waters? Pen and ink users, get busy!
One of the “cuter” characters made his debut in 1945, Pepe Le Pew. We remember him as the French striped skunk who did not believe he was a skunk. Reeking from whatever odor such an animal puts out, Pepe would attempt to woo a cat into a romantic rendezvous, but always fails. He sees himself as an attractive being, but when his prey runs away, he believes she is just playing hard to get and continues to pursue her. Never does he ever realize that it his own smell that repels any of his prospective conquests. For a Looney Tunes match, this is a natural — Hillary Clinton. This woman has a stench that has lasted through Whitewater, Rose Law, Travelgate, Benghazi, the email servers, the Clinton Foundation, the Clinton Global Initiative — a lot of unpleasant odors there. Yet Hillary, like Pepe Le Pew, thinks she smells great. Even though she lost her bid for the Presidency in 2008 and again in 2016, none of it is her fault. She still longs for that rendezvous with the Oval Office, and claims that James Comey, the Democratic Party, the Russians, misogyny, sexism, the electoral system, right-wing media, mainstream media, Democratic National Committee, a thousand Russian agents, Vladimir Putin, Republican enabled voter suppression, Citizens United, Facebook, millions of Twitter bots, Steve Bannon, Netflix, alt-right media, Bernie Sanders, suburban women, low information voters, fake news, stupid Americans, leaks from D. C., the FBI and many others that kept her from her goal. Nope, there was nothing about her that kept her from winning, no stench at all to herself, always someone or something else. Pepe Le Pew/Hillary Clinton. This is a perfect match. Hollywood cartoonists, do your thing!
1940 saw the introduction of Elmer Fudd, the syntax challenged foil for Bugs Bunny. We watched him being fooled again and again by the sly rabbit. Disappointed at the end of each episode, Elmer would be ready to go again, and again would be in pursuit of some goal that Bugs would prevent him from achieving. Yet again, Elmer Fudd would be ready to tackle the elusive bunny, coming back for more in spite of his repeated failures. When we try to match Elmer Fudd with a Democratic character, we see some correlation with Nancy Pelosi. She, of course, is the Minority Leader of the U. S. House, a Democrat from California. Since her run as Speaker of the House, Ms. Pelosi first presided over an historic loss of seats in her legislative body in 2010, giving the leadership to the Republicans. Yet she soldiered on, managing to gain the Minority post of leader in each new Congress. In spite of holding her caucus intact for votes on critical issues, never did she prevail. Unable to overcome, she didn’t quit. Back again into the fray, and like Elmer Fudd, when defeated by the foe, she rose up again like the Phoenix. Her positions included, “We have to pass the bill in order to find what is in it”, referring to what would become Obamacare. People will die under Republican rule, echoing other Democrats, yet this did not deter her from coming back again. Her Congressional District in the San Francisco area keeps sending her back to Congress, knowing she will lose more than Elmer Fudd. Losing with a smile on her face? Another match, so the comic books will be rolling off the presses!
In 1937, Warner Bros. introduced Daffy Duck. For those who watched him in his formative years, Daffy was a harmless duck, acting as a counter to Bugs Bunny. And not much of substance came from him, for his ideas and actions were really — Daffy. He did not hurt people, but his antics made us laugh at him. In our world of politics, Daffy and Bernie Sanders are well joined. Bernie is not really a Democrat; he calls himself a “democratic socialist”, and is listed as an Independent even though he caucuses with the Dems. In the past election, Bernie put up a valiant battle against Hillary for the nomination of the party. In the campaign, his platform showed how empty his idea chest was. His socialist bent was seen with these planks in his platform: a single payer medical coverage (even though nations who tried this have found less than successful outcomes); free tuition to all Americans to the college of their choice; and he would pay for all this by heavy taxation on the rich; ban assault rifles, support the Iranian deal, critical of Israel, break up the big banks, charge companies for carbon emissions, and limit campaign spending by corporations and interest groups. Bernie didn’t stand a chance against Hillary, who was supported by the Democrat Party, but he still threw out his ideas, and came back smiling when defeated. Daffy Duck, meet Bernie Sanders. Cartoonists, have a ball with this one?
You could probably come up with matches on your own. Who pairs with Bugs Bunny? Who might be the Tasmanian devil? Porky Pig — there may be several of the # Resistance who resemble him! But be sure, with the political culture in Washington, there is no lack of candidates to fit the Looney Tunes like atmosphere