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My 2024 "McLaughlin Awards" [Part 1]

Chris Weigant — Sat, 14 Dec 2024 01:34:33 +0000

Everybody ready? Here is the first installment of our year-end awards, with our obligatory nod to The McLaughlin Group television show for coming up with these categories.

As always, it's a marathon. It's really, really long. Don't say you weren't warned! And since it is so long, that's all the introduction we're going to bother with.

Ready?... everyone buckle up... here we go....

Friday Talking Points -- Will No One Rid Trump Of This Meddlesome D.A.?

Chris Weigant — Sat, 25 Mar 2023 01:01:23 +0000

On one of the last days of the year 1170, an English king seems to have begun a long tradition of what might now be known as "mobspeak." Like unto a mobster capo who is cautious about saying or ordering his minions to do specific things which he might later be found guilty of, King Henry II -- speaking about a man who was a powerful rival at the time, Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Becket -- uttered the ultimate in "deniability" to his knights. The wording is in doubt, since this all happened a very long time ago, but the most common phrasing known today is: "Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?" We personally prefer the version that calls him a "meddlesome priest" instead, just for the Scooby Doo vibe, but the only account written by a contemporary of Henry worded it (in Latin): "What miserable drones and traitors have I nurtured and promoted in my household who let their lord be treated with such shameful contempt by a low-born cleric!" This version, we feel -- with only slight modernizations of the language -- could easily have been uttered by Donald Trump. It includes shaming his own followers ("miserable drones and traitors") for being insufficiently loyal and fervent in his defense, a personal playground insult to the object of his wrath ("low-born cleric"), as well as overdramatizing his own victimhood ("treated with such shameful contempt"). The whole statement is downright Trumpian, when you think of it.

Meddling In The First Degree

Chris Weigant — Wed, 27 Jul 2022 22:34:34 +0000

For those who don't instantly recognize the pop culture reference inherent in that title, I would direct you to a poorly-videotaped homemade copy (starts at 1:15 in) of Rob Lowe appearing on Saturday Night Live and doing the best "Shaggy" impression ever seen, standing (of course) next to Scooby Doo. Those darn kids are always meddling....

However, what the title actually refers to is no laughing matter. Because powerful groups within the Democratic Party have indeed been meddling in Republican primaries. They have been spending money -- money ostensibly and supposedly for supporting Democrats trying to get elected to Congress or statewide offices -- on ads which are designed to boost a particular Republican's chances of winning his or her GOP primary race.

From The Archives -- Politically Correct Season's Greetings

Chris Weigant — Fri, 31 Dec 2021 00:40:33 +0000

So as it turns out, I did not actually have the energy to write any new columns this week, so please accept my apologies for slacking off. And I'm not going to post anything tomorrow at all, so this is it for 2021, folks. I found this while looking for earlier columns to re-run this [...]

Off With Her Head!

Chris Weigant — Thu, 01 Jun 2017 00:17:11 +0000

So, comedienne Kathy Griffin's head appears to be on the chopping block. That's a metaphor, of course, and as of now it is even inaccurate, since CNN has already parted ways with Griffin (she co-hosted their New Year's Eve show with Anderson Cooper, one of the most bizarre television matchups since Al Franken and Arianna Huffington appeared "in bed" together, doing their version of election coverage in 1996). Since CNN's announcement, the proper metaphor becomes: "Kathy Griffin axed by CNN." Or, perhaps: "her head has already rolled." These aren't really political metaphors, they're instead business-related. Speaking of getting "axed" rather than getting fired is merely poetic hyperbole, and who among us hasn't ever used the "heads are going to roll" or "on the chopping block" line ourselves? Does this kind of conflation cross a moral or ethical line? Or is it merely what used to be called "gallows humor" -- attempting to make light of the worst of situations?

Friday Talking Points [435] -- DonTcare

Chris Weigant — Sat, 06 May 2017 00:51:30 +0000

Instead of using his last name (which he loves), why not use a diminutive version of his first name (which he apparently hates) instead? Add in his last name's initial, and it becomes: "DonTcare." Personally, we feel this perfectly captures the entire Democratic argument, using only eight letters: Donald T's "don't care what's in it, don't care how many of my voters it will screw, as long as Congress passes some bill or another so I can brag about it!" health care plan. DonTcare. Rolls off the tongue, don't it? Well, typing it does take some getting used to -- but without that second capitalization, it'd be a lot harder to read. Trump DonTcare. And while we certainly can't claim credit for coining the term, we do encourage others to use it freely -- it even saves characters in tweets!

Friday Talking Points [352] -- Always Twirling For Freedom!

Chris Weigant — Sat, 04 Jul 2015 00:35:23 +0000

It's officially a holiday since tomorrow's the nation's birthday and all, but since this column took a vacation last week, we thought we'd better get a new column out today. After all, it's been an eventful two weeks!

Friday Talking Points [339] -- Best Pi Day Of The Century!

Chris Weigant — Fri, 13 Mar 2015 23:56:44 +0000

For the uninformed, Pi Day is a yearly celebration of a date on the calendar, for its numerical significance. It ranks up there among geeky holidays with the fourth of May ("Star Wars Day," since you can go around wishing everyone "May the Fourth be with you!"). The significance is it will be "3/14" (at least in the United States, as Europeans write their dates differently). These are the first three digits in the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter, or "pi."

But this year's Pi Day will be the best one for the next 100 years, because a whole bunch of digits will come into play. Pi's value is, to 10 digits: 3.141592653. This year's Pi Day will be 3/14/15. Taking it a step further, just before 9:30 AM tomorrow morning, the date and time will read: 3/14/15 -- 9:26:53. Woo hoo! Best Pi Day of the century!

Friday Talking Points [332] -- Getting Ready For Obama's Big Speech

Chris Weigant — Sat, 17 Jan 2015 00:58:32 +0000

This was a busy week in politics, as the Republicans in the new Congress began a bout of legislating and President Obama ramped up his agenda in preparation for next Tuesday's big speech to Congress and the country. So let's just dive in to the week that was, shall we?

Mallard Fillmore Goes Too Far

Chris Weigant — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 23:40:53 +0000

I'm not one to normally get involved in singling out members of the media or pop culture for their idiocy. I'm making an exception today because of the vile nature of what appeared in my morning paper this morning. I feel it needs calling out, and I simply cannot remain silent this time.

School Records

Chris Weigant — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 23:55:31 +0000

No, this is not going to be a column about Donald Trump, who is apparently trying to get his face in the news again over Barack Obama's college records. Instead, we are going to feature a cartoon about education, from Joshua L. Eisenstein, PhD., in collaboration with cartoonist Sushila Oliphant.

Fantasy Veepstakes

Chris Weigant — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 22:42:59 +0000

Peering into this fantastical realm, a broad array of fictional characters immediately leaps to mind, any one of which might help balance a Romney ticket. The following list is roughly ordered from least-likely to most-likely, for no other reason than to build suspense and keep you reading this silliness until the end. Where, perhaps, you'll be inspired to make your own suggestion (in the comments) as to a favorite who was inadvertently left off my list.

Some Humor, And A Challenge

Chris Weigant — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 00:25:45 +0000

President Romney today announced that Sri Lanka has won the bid to represent the American people in Congress, having narrowly edged out both India and China with a spate of well placed bribes in the final hours of the race.

Friday Talking Points [217] -- At Night, The Ice Weasels Come

Chris Weigant — Sat, 07 Jul 2012 00:05:29 +0000

Love is a snowmobile racing across the tundra and then suddenly it flips over, trapping you underneath. At night, the ice weasels come.

Guest Column (And Cartoon!): Teach Your Children? Well...

Chris Weigant — Wed, 23 May 2012 01:00:11 +0000

At times it feels to rank-and-file teachers like the wealth and power of the entire nation is aligned against them. For me personally, May 7, 2012 was one of those times.

Friday Talking Points [202] -- Seamus, That's The Dog, Was Outside

Chris Weigant — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 00:46:17 +0000

Sometimes I'm just astonished at the inability of political campaigns to do a simple web search. Case in point: the story about Mitt Romney's dog Seamus.

Merry Politically-Correct-mas?

Chris Weigant — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 00:29:22 +0000

[Program Note: We're going to have a week of frivolity here at CW.com this week. Partly, this is so I can work on other projects, and partly it's because nobody's in the mood for politics this time of year anyway (Iowans aside...). To start us off, here's a blast from the past, a [...]

Why Not Give The Onion A Pulitzer?

Chris Weigant — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 23:58:25 +0000

The Onion, of course, is satire. They were doing fake news long before Jon Stewart was even on the air. Being satirical, their campaign for a Pulitzer is heavily laced with humor. Humorous or not, though, they've got a serious point.

Cartoon Tuesday

Chris Weigant — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 00:34:29 +0000

We're going to do something today we haven't done for a while here -- take a cartoon break! Our resident cartoonist, C.W. Cunningham, has surfaced once again and sent in the following for you to enjoy. -- Chris Weigant About the Cartoonist | Reprint Policy

Friday Talking Points [154] -- Egypt Rising

Chris Weigant — Sat, 12 Feb 2011 00:37:23 +0000

The stunning news today of Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak stepping down has all but eclipsed the other political news of the week. Who would have thought, a month ago, that a government that had oppressed its own people for over three decades would fall simply because a bunch of people marched in the streets and refused to give up?

Three-Dot Tuesday

Chris Weigant — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 02:03:05 +0000

It's going to be a short one today, folks. Since Congress is on yet another one of its week-long vacations, politically it has been a pretty slow week. Even the mainstream media is left fanning the flames of the airport security foofaroo in a desperate attempt to fill their allotted timeslots, in the absence of any real news out of Washington. Well, actually, even if there were such news coming out of Washington, the media would likely still be distracted by the shiniest object in their (quite limited) ability to perceive these things.

Friday Talking Points [139] -- Three Years Of FTP

Chris Weigant — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 23:42:28 +0000

First, though, we simply must wish ourselves a happy third anniversary. Woo hoo! Three years of FTP columns!

Rinse And Repeat

Chris Weigant — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 00:23:50 +0000

About the Cartoonist | Reprint Policy

Cartoon Thursday

Chris Weigant — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 00:21:03 +0000

We're going to take a cartoon break today, because I have not just one but actually two cartoons waiting in the wings from C.W. Cunningham. I'm going to post them separately here, because the second one needs its own title. The first shows a different perspective of an earlier cartoon. Enjoy! -- Chris Weigant About the [...]

Good News And Bad News

Chris Weigant — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 00:55:52 +0000

About the Cartoonist | Reprint Policy

Reaganomics Today

Chris Weigant — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 00:00:56 +0000

Another dispatch from our resident cartoonist, C.W. Cunningham. And you thought there would be nothing here but a reprint of an old column today... surprise! About the Cartoonist | Reprint Policy

Bear-ing Arms

Chris Weigant — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 02:40:47 +0000

Instead, as a surprise, we welcome back our in-house cartoonist who has been held captive by a roving band of wild secretaries. Ransom is being asked on the order of seven dollars and 42 cents, but so far, no takers. He managed to get this cartoon smuggled out with the aid of a trained squirrel.

Friday Talking Points [91] -- Win One For Teddy

Chris Weigant — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 23:57:06 +0000

Republicans, masters of chutzpah that they are, have launched a pre-emptive strike against "politicizing" Senator Edward Kennedy's funeral with unseemly Democratic ideals. This should be so ridiculous as to endanger Americans' health from side-splitting laughter, but (Democrats being Democrats) it might just work.

American Motors General Survives Hummer Sale To China

Chris Weigant — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 23:54:13 +0000

[Full Disclosure: I have never owned a Hummer. I have never even ridden in one. I have, however, owned quite a few Ramblers over the years. I was offered no compensation of any type for writing this article from AM General, who can still be found in South Bend, Indiana, right where they've always been. Even if they had offered me a Hummer, I would have turned it down (where the heck would I park the thing?!?). But if someone wants to offer me a fully-restored 1969-and-a-half AMC-Hurst SC/Rambler with a 390 cubic-inch V8 engine and four-speed transmission, I will gladly write glowing articles on whatever subject they suggest. I'm just saying, every man's got his weak spot....]

C.W. Cunningham Honored By Jefferson Center

Chris Weigant — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 23:44:44 +0000

ChrisWeigant.com is proud to announce that our much-beloved resident cartoonist C.W. Cunningham has been honored by the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression, by being featured in their "Jefferson Muzzles" awards column.

Election Day News Lead?

Chris Weigant — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 00:16:00 +0000

While the news from Election Night is going to be all about losers and winners from various parts of the country, I think that the news from Election Day is going to be similar across a large number of states. I'm talking about what the news story will be before the returns actually start [...]

How To Fix The Economy

Chris Weigant — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 22:56:11 +0000

Instead, we have the return of our in-house cartoonist! While it may have appeared to the public that CWCunningham was in an undisclosed location these past few months, he and I were actually colloborating on a video, in an effort to get (you can't make this stuff up) a liberal lobbying firm on K Street interested in our idea. But, sadly, it came to naught. But this week's financial meltdown proved to be too hard for him to resist, so we proudly present his take on the situation.

The Day After We Bomb Iran

Chris Weigant — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 21:00:34 +0000

[This column is as appropriate today as when I wrote it. The only thing that needs changing is what is considered "astronomical" for a barrel of oil. Analysts are now predicting $200 or $300 a barrel (or even higher) were America or Israel to attack Iran. But I think that all the other points are still as valid now as when I originally wrote this last fall.]

Friday Talking Points [15] -- De-Bushification

Chris Weigant — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 01:00:40 +0000

I apologize in advance for the disjointed nature of this week's column. There are a lot of odds and ends to cover, including tomorrow's primary picks, a cartoon, and the usual awards and talking points.

But the first of these ends is definitely odd: is it just my imagination, or did Charles Krauthammer (of all people) read my earlier column before writing his own? You be the judge.

A Better Butter?

Chris Weigant — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 23:47:36 +0000

Happy... Um... Old Year?

Chris Weigant — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 23:01:21 +0000

Boots On The Ground

Chris Weigant — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 20:23:51 +0000

Caveat Emptor

Chris Weigant — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 23:23:14 +0000

Politically Correct Season's Greetings

Chris Weigant — Sat, 22 Dec 2007 21:03:58 +0000

A Real Man

Chris Weigant — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 00:36:28 +0000

Honestly

Chris Weigant — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 01:58:24 +0000

National Intelligence Estimate

Chris Weigant — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 01:44:45 +0000

How Low Can He Go?

Chris Weigant — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 01:33:38 +0000

From The Republican Debate

Chris Weigant — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 06:23:49 +0000

The Current Occupant

Chris Weigant — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 13:00:53 +0000

Shopping Season Begins

Chris Weigant — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 13:00:46 +0000

Pardon Me

Chris Weigant — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 13:00:03 +0000

Turning The Corner

Chris Weigant — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 21:40:10 +0000

Kickin' Back With Mitch

Chris Weigant — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 01:33:12 +0000

Lead Balloon

Chris Weigant — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 20:48:13 +0000

Heckuva Job

Chris Weigant — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 21:58:21 +0000

Smoking Mushrooms?

Chris Weigant — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 22:25:04 +0000

D'oh! House GOP Website Pirates Simpsons Images?

Chris Weigant — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 10:47:58 +0000

[Mayor "Diamond" Joe Quimby and tycoon C. Montgomery Burns]

You may well wonder why I, a (mostly) serious political analyst, begin my weekly Wednesday column with the images of two Simpsons characters. The answer is: these two images are the story. More on that in a bit.

Severe Limp

Chris Weigant — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 00:26:16 +0000

Ask Your Doctor

Chris Weigant — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 23:19:48 +0000

Pushing Paper

Chris Weigant — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 18:35:35 +0000

Strange Bedfellows

Chris Weigant — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 22:37:10 +0000

Fundraising Woes

Chris Weigant — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 21:23:03 +0000

On Second Thought

Chris Weigant — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 21:54:36 +0000

The Day After We Bomb Iran

Chris Weigant — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 00:22:11 +0000

There's a raging debate within the Bush administration, the punditocracy, and the blogosphere about whether or not it is time to bomb Iran. While this conversation scares small children (and other sane people), most of the focus has been on (1) whether President... oh, excuse me... Vice President Cheney truly is moonbat-crazy enough to do so, and (2) whether anyone else in America (including the military) would go along with the idea. But not enough attention is being paid to what happens after we rain death from the skies down on Iran. Which is a shame, because that's what we ignored during the ramp-up to war with Iraq. And we all know how that turned out.

A Clear And Present Danger

Chris Weigant — Sat, 29 Sep 2007 21:15:08 +0000

The Sanctity Of Sanctity

Chris Weigant — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 21:58:36 +0000

Diplomacy In Action

Chris Weigant — Sat, 22 Sep 2007 19:49:05 +0000

Free Speech Zone

Chris Weigant — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 21:50:24 +0000

Another Sleepless Night At Scandal Central

Chris Weigant — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 21:38:41 +0000

Big Announcement:

We are very proud to announce that CWCunningham has won this week's "Cartoonist of the Week" from LeftToonLane.com. You can see his achievement at this Daily Kos article. You can also visit the daily LeftToonLane page to see a great selection of "lefty" cartoons.

Cartoonist Experiencing Technical Difficulties

Chris Weigant — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 03:04:42 +0000

Our resident cartoonist is having serious hardware problems, we apologize for not running a cartoon today. Hopefully his new hard drive will be up and running soon....

Looking For A Snow Job

Chris Weigant — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 20:05:02 +0000

God Speaks

Chris Weigant — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 13:00:11 +0000

Made In America

Chris Weigant — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 18:45:53 +0000

Alberto GONE-zales

Chris Weigant — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 20:34:39 +0000

Damned Liberals

Chris Weigant — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 13:00:29 +0000

Bush Practices For September

Chris Weigant — Sat, 25 Aug 2007 13:00:52 +0000

No Debate For You

Chris Weigant — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 13:00:00 +0000

Undisclosed Location

Chris Weigant — Sat, 18 Aug 2007 13:00:08 +0000

Petraeus' Pig Lipstick

Chris Weigant — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 19:09:22 +0000

There are two parts to the Petraeus-is-trustworthy spin: that he's competent and knows what he's doing, and that he's not political and not partisan. But when you examine the evidence, this fantasy falls apart.

Another Slam Dunk

Chris Weigant — Sat, 11 Aug 2007 13:00:02 +0000

Clear As Mud

Chris Weigant — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 13:00:41 +0000

New -- Cartoon Saturdays

Chris Weigant — Sat, 04 Aug 2007 16:00:25 +0000

Where Is H. Ross Perot When You Need Him?

Chris Weigant — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 22:32:31 +0000

Enter a quirky Texan with a lot of money to spend named H. Ross Perot. He forced the issue into the campaign in a big way. He started renting television time in half-hour chunks and giving what were essentially infomercials on the subject of the deficit. He forced Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush to confront the issue. And he also got almost one vote in five on election day.

Scandal Fatigue

Chris Weigant — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 13:00:04 +0000

Democrats Give Millions A Raise

Chris Weigant — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 20:37:59 +0000

This is another reason the story isn't getting much play in the media. They seem to be accepting the spin from the White House that "this Congress can't do anything but investigate and obstruct."

Intel Leak

Chris Weigant — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 17:18:30 +0000

New Feature -- Political Cartoons

Chris Weigant — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 19:12:59 +0000