Standing Aside Athwart History

July 12th, 2025 Barry Posted in Conservatives | No Comments »

This cartoon is by me and Jenn Manley Lee.

TRANSCRIPT OF CARTOON

This cartoon has four panels. Each panel shows the same two characters, wealthy men, as they relax inside an exclusive country club. Servants wearing butler tuxes wait on them.

PANEL 1

One of them – let’s call him RACQUET – is waving a racquetball racquet and ranting, while his friend – let’s call him FRIEND – listens patiently.

RACQUET: William F. Buckley wrote “A conservative is a fellow who is standing athwart history yelling Stop!”

PANEL 2

The two are now playing darts.

RACQUET: “Prudence” is the conservative watchword! But today’s republican party is the opposite of prudential. January sixth, reinterpreting the constitution, destroying old alliances… and the tariffs! Dear God!

PANEL 3

They’ve moved to the club’s fancy dining area. Racquet pounds his fist on the table while Friend is looking at his phone.

RACQUET: it’s obscene! it’s what conservatives have always opposed! What’s become of our principles?!

PANEL 4

Now in what appears to be a demonic sacrifice room, they talk while Racquet prepares to plunge a dagger into one of the butler-like guys.

FRIEND: So you’ve stopped voting for Republicans?

RACQUET: I would, but I want the tax cuts.

CHICKEN FAT WATCH

“Chicken fat” is a long-obscure cartoonists’ term for unimportant but hopefully fun details in the art.

Panel 2: The mounted heads of Rocky and Bullwinkle are on the wall. The dartboard is being held up by one of the butler dudes; there is a dart sticking out of his head.

Panel 3: Both the silverware and the pheasants they’re eating are sparkling as if they’ve been plated with gold.

Panel 4: The two of them are now wearing red and black robes and are preparing to sacrifice a butler, who is tied to a stone table. The butler seems surprisingly calm about this. Displayed on a shelf in the background are the decapitated heads of George Washington, Batman, Underdog, Sherlock Holmes, Dick Tracy, Garfield the cat, and the Monopoly Man.