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Cartoons

GOP Raincloud

GOP Raincloud © Daryl Cagle,CagleCartoons.com,Republican,rain cloud,elephant,America,map,nation,weather,wet,water,Mitt Romney,Barack Obama,Campaign 2012,election

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Blog

Election Cartoons For Whoever Wins!

Some cartoonists will draw two versions of election day cartoons – that’s the best way to be first with the winning cartoon when newspapers go to press with the election results.  Here are my two cartoons that went out today, for Obama winning …

121863 600 Election Cartoons For Whoever Wins! cartoons

And for Romney winning …

121862 600 Election Cartoons For Whoever Wins! cartoons
This week we’re adding a new cartoonist to our site, and to our online store at Politicalcartoons.com, our online pay-per-use cartoon store – Pierre Kroll, the famed editorial cartoonist from Belgium.  Welcome, Pierre!  Here are Pierre’s two winner alternative cartoons …

KrollAltWinners Election Cartoons For Whoever Wins! cartoons

Our liberal cartoonist, Bill Day, drew only one alternative, assuming that Obama will win …

121831 600 Election Cartoons For Whoever Wins! cartoons

Our knuckle-dragging conservative cartoonist, Gary McCoy, also drew only one, assuming that Romney will win …

121796 600 Election Cartoons For Whoever Wins! cartoons

I guess that’s what passes for optimism with Bill and Gary. No one can accuse Pierre of optimism.

 

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Blog

Brad Sherman, the Ugly Tax Clown

BSDetorie2 Brad Sherman, the Ugly Tax Clown cartoonsBSDetorie Brad Sherman, the Ugly Tax Clown cartoons

Cartoons by Rick Detorie who draws the comic strip, "One Big Happy."

California congressman Brad Sherman is in a tough election battle with another incumbent Democrat, Howard Berman, this year in a contest that has drawn national attention to two candidates with hot tempers. Cartoonists have known and despised Sherman for many years, since he was the Chairman of California’s “Board of Equalization” (BOE) which writes regulations governing state taxes. Sherman doesn’t like cartoonists much either, for good reason.

BSBurgard Brad Sherman, the Ugly Tax Clown cartoons

Cartoon by movie industry cartoonist, Tim Burgard.

Sherman championed a set of confusing, contradictory and punitive tax laws that punished California’s artists for many years. California charges a sales tax on “tangible” property, but charges no tax on services; in Sherman’s days on the BOE, authors weren’t charged tax on the copyrights to their written works, but artists were charged tax on their copyrights, even though neither was tangible.  Newspaper political cartoonists were exempt from the sales tax, but other cartoonists weren’t, except if they wrote the words that appeared in their cartoons themselves, and didn’t have a separate author. The rules were different than the sales tax rules for rights to artwork in all other states, leading to even more confusion, and the regulations were not applied to artwork by big corporations, like Disney; the taxes were randomly imposed only on little, freelance artists.

BSStahler Brad Sherman, the Ugly Tax Clown cartoons

Cartoon by nationally syndicated editorial cartoonist, Jeff Stahler.

Sherman took his cartoon frustrations out on a clown – a cartoonist named Rhoda Grossman, who performed at children’s parties, a service that isn’t taxable, except that Rhoda made the mistake of drawing caricatures of the children as a small part of her performance.  Sherman and the BOE went after the poor clown for sales tax and penalties on her entire gross income as a performer for the preceding seven years, because of the part of her show that included drawing – a devastating, unexpected, huge, tax bill for poor Rhoda the clown.

Rhoda appealed the tax decision to the BOE, chaired by Sherman, who had been a big supporter of the crazy tax laws imposed against artists and who had just won a race for congress. Sherman moved to Washington, DC and didn’t attend the meeting to hear Rhoda’s plea before the board – he was keeping his salary from the tax board until the last possible day before switching to his new salary from congress, and he cast the deciding vote against Rhoda in absentia, crushing the clown.

BSKirkman Brad Sherman, the Ugly Tax Clown cartoons

Cartoon by Rick Kirkman, who draws the comic strip "Baby Blues."

Top cartoonists from all across America joined in a campaign to draw unflattering cartoons of Sherman, protesting his longtime support of California’s crazy, inconsistent art tax laws. The National Cartoonists Society had determined that Sherman was the one person most responsible for the ugly tax burden that California artists suffered under.  Some of the cartoons that were drawn at that time are displayed here, my favorites are the ones below, by Russell Myers, the cartoonist who draws the comic strip “Broom Hilda.”  There were some great ones, inspired by the callous indifference of Sherman, the petty tax bureaucrat.

BSGuisewite Brad Sherman, the Ugly Tax Clown cartoons

Cartoon by Cathy Guisewite, who drew the comic strip, "Cathy."

The cartoonists were disappointed to see Sherman move on to serve more than a decade in congress, but the story actually has a happy ending. Soon after Sherman left the BOE, the tax board voted to reverse their

BSWalker Brad Sherman, the Ugly Tax Clown cartoons

Cartoon by Mort Walker, who draws the comic strip, "Beelte Bailey."

decision on Rhoda’s case. Then the California Supreme Court overturned Sherman’s regulations taxing the transfer of intangible reproduction rights to artwork. (Sherman had also cast the deciding vote against the tax appeal of artist, Heather Preston, who went on to overturn the regulations in the courts.)  California artists were saved from their tax purgatory, no thanks to Sherman.

And we’re left with a legacy of some great, Brad Sherman cartoons!

BSMyers2 Brad Sherman, the Ugly Tax Clown cartoons

BSMyers3 Brad Sherman, the Ugly Tax Clown cartoons

BSMyers5 Brad Sherman, the Ugly Tax Clown cartoons

BSMyers4 Brad Sherman, the Ugly Tax Clown cartoons

BSMyers1 Brad Sherman, the Ugly Tax Clown cartoons

Cartoons by Russel Myers who draws the comic strip, "Broom Hilda."

BSWolverton Brad Sherman, the Ugly Tax Clown cartoons

Cartoon by nationally syndicated editorial cartoonist and Mad Magazine artist, Monte Wolverton.

 

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Cartoons

Obama is Going to Win

Obama is Going to Win © Daryl Cagle,MSNBC.com,Barack Obama,Mitt Romney,Tic Tac Toe,game,election,campaign

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Cartoons

Clear Choice

Clear Choice © Daryl Cagle,MSNBC.com,Mitt Romney,Barack Obama,President,campaign,2012,election

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Cartoons

Inauguration Crowd

Inauguration Crowd Color © Daryl Cagle,MSNBC.com,Barack Obama,Abraham Lincoln,election,president,inauguration,Washington D.C.,Washington Mall.crowd