The story I breathlessly directed you to this morning, that of the marvelously insane reelection comic book, the new shame of Oklahoma, has gone magnificently viral. Republican cartoon character Brent Rinehart has now learned that the pen is truly mightier than the sword when it comes to cutting off his own head. It's unlikely that we'll encounter a campaign story this humorous for several weeks, so here's a roundup of what people are saying about Rinehart's delightful masterpiece:
- The dependably conservative Oklahoman, not exactly known for liberal bias or even content, notes in an unforgiving editorial that "Not only are the drawings crude, the message is simplistic: Rinehart is on the side of angels, his opponents are satanic. Sheriff John Whetsel, one of the distinguished people making Rinehart's enemies list, said the work is "extremely pathetic and very bigoted.” You'd have to see the piece to understand how restrained the sheriff is in describing the comic book that way.
- ABC News has an excellent follow-up filled with reactions from people depicted in his masterful drawings. "I'm proud of it," Rinehart says, "It's a novel way to tell a story about the last three and a half years. It's informative, entertaining and a good read." He's right!
- "Don't look for it in comic stores soon. We rate it a "D," as in desperate," raves the Oklahoma Norman Transcript.
- What do funny Brits make of it? Anorak is a little disappointed: "What, no Jews?"
11 comments:
This is the single most wonderfully wonderful thing I have ever read. It is so wonderful it makes me lie down in still waters. It restoreth my soul. It is so astonishingly stupid you wonder how he manages to dress himself. Oh right, he's got a wife. And a healthy fascination for 'anal sodomy'.
Princess, for revealing this to me I will empty my bank accounts to shower you with sparkly accessories. I will comb your mane. I will give you Johnny Depp's phone number (private line).
We don't deserve you.
Damn, that Brent Rinehart is really an Oklahomophobic!
Loved the comic book link at ABC news- read the whole thing.
The reverse text was my favorite--that wasn't low tech, that was no tech.
Once and for all, Oklahoma has out-Texassed Texas.
Sometimes the stupid is truly mind-boggling. And as for Anorak's question ("What, no Jews?"), there aren't very many Jews in Oklahoma at all, so there wouldn't be much point in including them.
I grew up in Kansas, which was bad enough. But even we looked down on Oklahoma. Stuff like this is why.
While I am a native Californian, I am a second generation Okie as well. My dad was born in Kansas and my mom in Oklahoma, and though their family stories aren't exactly the same as The Grapes of Wrath, they did move west during the time of the Dust Bowl.
I should be proud of this heritage, but neither of my parents ever saw fit to take the family back to our ancestral homelands.
I wonder why that is?
Okay. Kidding. I don't wonder at all.
The comic book is hilarious, and I myself have had several hours of chortling over it.
But I am also from Oklahoma City - and I can tell you that this does NOT represent the worldview of the vast majority of Oklahomans or Republicans - as evidenced by the many quotes from Oklahoma public officials (many Republicans) and academics who rightly condemn Rinehart. The Oklahoman, a conservative newspaper, condemned the comic book in a scathing editorial this week.
Rinehart is a mentally-disturbed narcissist with a penchant for pencil mustaches and corruption, and his (few) supporters are very unbalanced people.
Oklahoma City is a thriving metroplex of more than a million people (named by Forbes as among the top 10 recession proof cities, while a suburb, Norman, was named the 6th best small city in America by Money Magazine last week). Incidentally, I can say that anecdotally I've met quite a few Californians who relocated to Oklahoma recently because they've had it with the high cost of living and all of the other attendant headaches.
I also hope that those with an axe to grind against Christianity will not somehow take this comic book as indicative of a Christian worldview. Frankly, that’s like shooting fish in a barrel. This is a theologically-bankrupt work, if I may put it bluntly. Christians do not believe in a little midget-man Satan with a pitch fork, nor in malnourished angels with magic wands - any more than we believe heaven is filled with angels playing harps (see C.S. Lewis for a better explication of this). That’s a caricature of a caricature of a caricature. Nor do the vast majority of Christians spend their lives looking for a "homosexual conspiracy" everywhere.
If you’re an atheist, and wish to dispute Christianity, I would not use this comic book for the foundation of your arguments. It is not at all a representation of Christian beliefs - but is instead the product of a diseased mind.
One aspect of the “comic book” requires a little background - the references to “liberal good ol’ boys”: You should know that the Oklahoma was controlled by a one-party corrupt Democratic machine for its first century (the state just celebrated the centennial). This only has recently changed, but Rinehart is playing on old superstitions about corrupt Democrats who ran the state for so long - and literally almost ran the state into the ground because of THEIR "culture of corruption."
"GET USE TO IT"?
What a Maroon.
Wow. Just a minute ago I was an atheist who liked christians. Now I am going to use this comic book to paint all christians and republicans as cretins and hate on them. Particularly that C.S. Lewis crap.
Oh, agreed. CS Lewis is insidious.
Fascinating pictoral insight into a batshit insane worldview. Now I know what schizophrenia looks like from the inside! Wow!
I rate it a "D" as in "delusional" myself. I just love his self-deprecating modesty, though. What a kook.
Brilliant! I hope John McCain will make his own comic book 'cause his campaign is getting pretty damn funny lately.
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