The Award Goes To ...

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Far too many Republicans in positions of power are cowards, quislings, unpatriotic. They put the ambitions of a narcissistic, power hungry, lying, felon with rapidly declining mental capacity ahead of the interests of the country and Constitution they were sworn to serve. All politicians take positions and make votes in response to pressure or to avoid political obstacles. Everyone does. But the issue and impact of tacking with the political winds matter. And when the issue is Democracy and the impact is empowering a would-be despot, the stakes are too high.

So is failing to support and defend your daughter and granddaughter. Senator Bernie Moreno’s daughter was married to Congressman Max Miller. Emily Moreno accuses the Congressman of throwing scalding water from a skillet onto her chest and stomach, holding a gun to her head during an argument, pushing her against a wall, and bruising her arm, stomach, and side. She says Miller fractured their 2-year-old daughter’s collarbone and bruised the girl’s shoulder. She filed police reports.

Miller denies the charges and accuses his ex-wife of defamation. According to NOTUS, in response to Miller accusing Moreno’s daughter of defamation, the senator told reporters that the only comment he would make was that he loved his daughter, and that her and his granddaughter’s safety are his top priority. His office later issued a statement that added, “While he does not litigate these matters in the media or respond to baseless public attacks, he will do whatever it takes to ensure a just outcome for his family.”

When asked last week if Miller should be removed from the November ballot, Moreno replied, “I don’t know.” After extensive public pushback (and while I was working on this strip), this morning (August 2nd), Moreno finally said that Miller should not serve in the House of Representatives. Welcome to the bandwagon.

He could have responded differently from the beginning. He could have vouched for his daughter’s honesty. He could have said, “Congressman Miller is entitled to due process. If the allegations are true, however, he should be drawn-and-quartered. If he broke my granddaughter’s collarbone, I’ll gladly do the quartering myself.” In other words, he could have acted like a human being rather than a Cowardly Lion.

That, however, is not the how Republicans address the outrageous behavior of their colleagues or the White House. When Mike Johnson is confronted with yet another unhinged post or Executive Order from Trump his common deflection is “I don’t know anything about that” or “I didn’t see it.” This isn’t restraint, it’s cowardice. As is the fawning, over-the-top praise the Trump Cabinet slathers on the president during cabinet meetings. These sycophantic symphonies make North Korea’s Kim Jong Un envious.

Given that Congressional Republicans have taken cowardice and kowtowing to new highs (or, more accurately, lows), it’s only a matter of time before they start making it a virtue. The Award Goes To takes this to its logical conclusion: an award show. Politicians do, as we know, like awards (see FIFA’s Peace Prize). I’m sure David Ellison’s CBS will be happy to air the proceedings in 60 Minutes time slot.

And now a Making of a Sketchier moment. I needed a crowd scene (the audience) for the background of a Sketchier. I spent considerable time with ChatGPT iterating through various versions before getting to what you see here: a theater in the Sketchier-style. It would have been faster, and in some ways easier and less frustrating, to draw the background myself. But stick figures aren’t quite in keeping with the Sketchier aesthetic.

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