The COHEN SIDE: Political Cartoons - On Target with Stimulus, Health Care and Republican Obstruction

---

Here are some of my favorite political cartoons from the past few weeks.

This first one is my favorite. Its PERFECT and completely challenges any argument against spending in the current economic climate.

The house is burning people!!! Get the ladder up there no matter what it takes! Yes the deficit is TOO big and needs to be addressed. But it was big last year and the year before and DIRECTLY impacts NO ONE tomorrow or the day after. Now I wouldn't make that argument if our economic climate were better. If we were prospering, I would say it was responsible to pay down the debt more now - for future generations. But people are hurting TODAY and will be TOMORROW and certain programs and stimulus funds are often the only things saving their jobs and/or their lives.

Rising deficits make a convenient political hammer for the Republicans these days, because they do indeed threaten the nation’s long-term financial stability. But the need for new jobs is urgent, and any proposal to stimulate employment in the short term is vital - and yes - will cost money now.

Even though feeding the corporate beast was tough for me to swallow, I don't think people really understand what would have happened had the many banks and companies that benefited from stimulus funds failed. The human toll on families - for generations - is already steep as a result of this crisis. Those additional failures would have had an almost unimaginable human toll. Why are more people not condemning conservatives for wanting to leave those people hanging in the wind? Does the "Tea Party" argument of "let them fail" really wash when it would have been many of those same people out of work?

In a similar way, have people forgotten that one of the main reasons behind health care reform AND a public option is because as things stand, tax payers ARE ALREADY paying for the health care of the under and uninsured? Wouldn't it have been better to create a more efficient system (not program!!) where-by they could have gotten comprhensive health care at a lesser expense to us?

These last two are classic. Of course I realize that it is customary for the party not in power in congress to try to win it back. But it has also been customary for SOME bi-partisanship to emerge during a crisis. Enjoy these two Olympics inspired cartoons on Republican obstructionism.