The Myth of William F Buckley And The John Birch Society
February 13th, 2023 Barry Posted in Becky Hawkins collaborations, Conservatives | No Comments »
This cartoon is drawn by Becky Hawkins. I had no idea she was going to do the flaming eyes in panel 2, but I laughed aloud when I saw the sketch. 🙂
TRANSCRIPT OF CARTOON
This cartoon has four panels, plus a tiny “kicker” panel under the bottom of the cartoon.
PANEL ONE
The top of this panel has a huge caption, in “vintage” style lettering, that says 1962.
Below that an older man, with a bald head and white hair sticking out on the sides, and wearing an old-fashioned brown suit with a yellow bow-tie, is pressing his hands and face against the audience-facing side of the panel, as if he’s pressing against a sheet of clear glass. His eyes are bulging and mismatched in size and he’s talking aggressively at the readers. We’ll call him “Bircher.”
BIRCHER: President Eisenhower is secretly in the pay of COMMIES!
BIRCHER: A shadowy America-hating CABAL controls the CIA AND the schools!
PANEL TWO
Bircher is now in full on rant mode, his yelling mouth HUGE, his head turning red, flames literally coming out of his eyes. Behind him, William F. Buckley Jr walks up, a corrective forefinger raised; Buckley raises his voice but remains calm.
BIRCHER: Teachers are recruiting YOUR kids into COMMUNISM SATANISM and SEXUAL PERVERSION!
BUCKLEY: HALT, John Birch Society! I, William F Buckley Jr, DENOUNCE you.
PANEL THREE
Bircher falls to his knees, weeping. Buckley dramatically points, arms straight, in an unmistakable “get out of here” gesture.
BIRCHER: I’ve been denounced? NOOOOO!
BUCKLEY: BEGONE! Trouble conservatism’s respectability NO LONGER!
PANEL FOUR
Bircher walks out of the panel with a bent over I’m-so-sad posture. Buckley, looking smug and self-satisfied, walks away in the other direction, doing the “brushing dust off my palms after doing some work” gesture.
BUCKLEY: Now the conservative movement will NEVER AGAIN be ruled by CONSPIRACY MONGERS and IRRATIONALISTS!
TINY KICKER PANEL UNDER THE BOTTOM OF THE CARTOON
Buckley, smiling, talks directly to the viewer.
BUCKLEY: Finally conservatives can focus on RATIONAL goals… Like protecting the white race from negros!
The Myth of William F Buckley And The John Birch Society | Barry Deutsch on Patreon
