So Gary Trudeau is at it again. His comic strip has been pulled by twelve newspapers for having a caricature of George Bush referring Karl Rove as a “turd blossom.” I confess as to being uncertain which word it is that caused offence: turd because of it’s bathroom connotations, or blossom, because of feminine associations. Probably the latter because Rove sounds like the type who would welcome being called a shit, but would be offended by anything to do with femininity.
Whatever the reason, it’s interesting to see that after years of quiet acceptance from all parties that Trudeau is getting to somebody again. Oh, I’m sure people will dismiss it as “toilet humour” and in bad taste. It will have nothing to do with the fact that the administration is extremely sensitive about the behaviour of Karl Rove right now.
But in the past, whenever Doonesbury has been either censured by vote in State houses or Senates, or pulled by newspapers, it’s because what he has been saying has been a little too close to the bone for most people. On three previous occasions that I can think of he has never been prosecuted for libel, just had his strip either criticized or pulled. In our litigious society if they don’t sue there’s usually a good reason.
The main problem is that Mr. Trudeau has a nasty habit of telling the truth, even if it is unpleasant to some people’s ears. His first major conflict with newspaper editors was in the early 1970’s during the Watergate era. It was when the accusations against various Nixon administration officials were flying fast and furious.
Former Attorney General John Mitchell (the man who ordered the National Guard onto the grounds of Kent State University resulting in the death of four university students) who had overseen Richard Nixon’s re-election campaign was being investigated for all sorts of irregularities. In one strip Trudeau had a character rant repeatedly that Mitchell was guilty.
It was amazing how many people took a comic strip so seriously. Newspapers dropped it like a hot potato. Comments like, “It’s not the place of a comic strip to find a man guilty or innocent...” appeared in editorials through out the country in explanation of Doonsebury’ssudden disappearance from the daily funnies. The irony of course is that by censoring the cartoon they increased it’s impact and audience.
When Mitchell was cut loose a short time later by the administration in an attempt to protect Nixon and other higher ups and then found guilty, Trudeau and his comic strip were elevated to a status unprecedented for a cartoon strip. Only Pogo had ever managed to integrate political commentary into a daily comic strip with such effectiveness. But the little opossum and his buddies never reached the same level of popularity asDoonesbury
Article comments
1 - Bill Bacon
Its damn difficult, if not impossible, for a public figure to sue anyone for libel. Even in our litigious society, you rarely see anyone in politics sue someone for libel - you have to prove not only the falsehood of the statement, but that the author knew it was false and spread it with malicious intent. In politics, it would be the kiss of death to try to sue someone for libel, even if one lost.
2 - Aaman
Here is the actual comic strip
3 - Mark Sahm
What a ultra-sensitive society we live in where a phrase like 'turd blossom' is considered libelous. That premise is funnier than the actual strip.
4 - Bennett
Thanks gypsyman, nice retrospective. And thanks Aaman for the link!
5 - Matthew T. Sussman
I agree it's all a matter of taste.
Shock value is too easy to recreate. I've done it before.
6 - JR
Where does "turd blossom" come from? I heard it in reference to Karl Rove weeks ago on The Daily Show; they implied it was Bush's actual nickname for Rove.
7 - Natalie Davis
Yes, that particular phrase is new to me too. Surely I can imagine the first word applied to Rove, as well as to Bush and the whole Bush Brothers Banana Republic kkkrew, but "blossom?" Perhaps Jon Stewart can enlighten us.
8 - DJRadiohead
Nothing about calling someone a "turd blossom" will prove enlightening (no matter how deserving he/she may/may not be of said name).
9 - ClubhouseCancer
Mr. Bush has an unfortunate habit of degrading peple with "hilarious" nicknames. This is a common practice among those who meet a lot of people and cannot or don't care enough to learn all their names. "Turd blossom" is actually a nickname Bush has for Rove (whose re4al name he presumably knows), because Dubya admires his apparent ability to make something good out of something bad.
10 - Derek Mailloux
It can't be libel because that would imply that the nickname "turd blossom" is false. In fact, our president himself gave the monicker turd blossom to Mr. "frog-march" Rove.
As someone who reads one of the newspapers who edited the strip (Providence Journal), I've already called to complain. This statement isn't off-color or innacurate. Polical censorship should never be accepted.
11 - Matthew T. Sussman
For God's sake nobody's calling this libel!
12 - AmeriPundit
Good post.
I hope this helps with the comments:
"Bush's other nickname for the Boy Genius is 'Turd Blossom' - a Texanism for a flower that blooms from cattle excrement". Guardian
There are many more references to "Turd Blossom" as being Bush's nickname for Karl Rove much earlier than the Doonesbury's.
In the interests of keeping up the running commentary which seems to overlook the seriousness of the piece, I think that the focus on the phrase "Turd Blossom" is unwarranted.
The phrase that everybody should be alarmed by is "double super-secret background". Cooper told the grand jury that the "double super secret background" that Rove referred to and spoke to him under was not an official White House or Time magazine security designation, but a reference to the movie Animal House, more specifically, to the "double secret probation" imposed on the fraternity the movie was about.
If that isn't bothersome, it's hard to imagine what is. I mean, Karl Rove, in the White House, referencing as cover an action taken against frat boys from a disgraced frat house. That is not to be forgiven. After all, the frat boys had a plan beyond deny, deny, deny.
Oops. Correction, the White House had/has a plan as well. Actually it was/is very much like the frat boys plan: Deny, deny, deny, destroy, destroy, destroy, breaking a lot of moral and legal rules is involved.
However one takes that, can anybody honestly say that they're not bothered by the fact that a discussion of a CIA agent's standing between, arguably, the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd most powerful man in the country and a journalist contained a joking (or not) reference to Animal House?
Looking over the record perhaps nobody should be surprised.
Maybe "Bluto", "Otter", "Pinto", "Flounder", and "D-Day" had a larger impact on our society than some among us thought.
For those unconvinced of the parallels, and the dangers, consider that our Commander- in- Chief thinks the following is appropriate (and endearing or demeaning): (from Wikipedia)
Self- Dubya, 43
Foreign Leaders
Pootie-Poot - Vladimir Putin, President of Russia
Landslide - Tony Blair, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Dino (short for Dinosaur) - Jean Chretien, former Prime Minister of Canada
Staff
Big Time- Dick Cheney
Boy Genius (positive), Turd Blossom (negative) - Karl Rove, Senior Advisor
The World's Greatest Hero (positive and negative) - Colin Powell, Secretary of State
Big O (current), Pablo (former) - Paul O'Neill, Secretary of the Treasury
High Prophet, Hurricane Karen - Karen Hughes, Special Advisor; Director of Communications under Texas Governor George W. Bush
The Blade - Mitch Daniels, Director, Office of Management and Budget
Big Country - Joe Allbaugh, FEMA director
Fredo- Alberto Gonzales
Politicians
Pablo - Paul Wellstone Democratic Senator, Minnesota
Big George - George Miller, Democratic Congressman, California
Freddy Boy - Fred Upton, Republican Congressman, Michigan
Congressman Kickass - John Sweeney, Republican Congressman, New York
Big O - Olympia Snowe, Republican Senator, Maine
Nellie (former), Benney (former), Benator (current) - Ben Nelson, Democratic Senator, Nebraska
Ellis - Chuck Schumer, Democratic Senator, New York
Mayor- Dennis Kucinich
Journalists
The Cobra - Maureen Dowd
Stretch/Little Stretch - David Gregory, NBC
Stretch - Dick Kyle, Bloomberg News
Super Stretch - Bill Sammon, Washington Times
Factor (current), Big O (former) - Bill O'Reilly
Major League Asshole - Adam Clymer, New York Times
Alberto Gonzales better hope this gang never saw the "Godfather".
For more and/or alternate nicknames thought up by Phi Beta White House click here.
Once satisfied by the "zaniness" of the current occupants of the White House, perhaps stepping outside of Blutto's, Otter's, Flounder's, and D-Day's world will allow for a serious analyis of what "security", "values", and "character" really mean.
13 - gypsyman
Aaman thanks for putting the link to the strip. I blanked out on that one completly. I haven't read Doonesbury in years, the paper I read doesn't carry it, so my brain didn't even make the connection.
I've got to wonder even more about why they pulled the strip when it's an actual name the man is called by George Bush. Are they going to start pulling George's comments on principal now because he is a potty mouth?
Oh well political leaders have a history for "colourful language" Who could forget Canada's Pierre Trudeau(no relation to Gary)saying that what everyone heard him say was actually "fuddle duddle" or giving the finger to a bunch of Western Canadian farmers.
When do you think the frat boys are going to have their next panty raid...?
And which soriety... Iran or Syria..?
14 - Cathy Hatch-Righi
On a recent visit to my mothers in Maine(I live in Syracuse NY), I was delighted to read your strip dated July 24,2005 on the pretend speech by Pres. Bush to the nation via TV. I wrote a similar speech back in May for my Speechwriting class and would love for you to read it. Please let me know how I may send it to you.
15 - Scott Butki
Cathy, can you post a link to it?
Great piece on Doonesbury. I'm catching up on his latest books this week.