Ben Abramson

Period 4
Steve Breen Cartoons

Published November 1, 2015 in the San Diego Union Tribune by Steve Breen
http://www.gocomics.com/stevebreen/2015/11/01

This cartoon relates to Paul Ryan being chosen as the new Speaker of the House. It
portrays Ryan as the new nanny for the member of the House, which are shown as children. The
House moderates want to get along with the new speaker and expect that the Freedom Caucus
will as well. However, the child representing them promises with his fingers crossed, therefore
going back on their word. The point of view of this cartoon is that the Freedom Caucus is too
radical and will never get along with other members in the House. It also suggests that they plan
to sabotage others in the House, as is shown by the assortment of items on the ground that can be
used to prank the nanny. The cartoon also depicts the members of the House as children that need
to be supervised. This shows that the cartoonist thinks that Congress is ineffective and immature.
The cartoonist wants readers to see that the Freedom Caucus is often a source of gridlock in the
legislative process.

Published November 19, 2015 in the San Diego Union Tribune by Steve Breen
http://www.gocomics.com/stevebreen/2015/11/19

This cartoon shows the Republican Party, shown as an elephant, not allowing in two
young girls because they are labeled as being Syrian. Some presidential candidates, such as
Donald Trump, have suggested that Muslims not be allowed in the country on the basis that they
may be terrorists. That would include a ban on allowing Syrians, fleeing from violence in their
home country, into the country. The two little girls symbolize the innocence of the refugees, who
are only fleeing from violence and are not jihads. Since the elephant is very large and the
refugees are symbolized by little girls, it shows that the cartoonist thinks that it is absurd to not
allow an entire religion into the country just because there is a slight chance that some could be
jihads.

Published December 10, 2015 in the San Diego Union Tribune by Steve Breen
http://www.gocomics.com/stevebreen/2015/12/10

This cartoon plays on the upcoming holiday season, where gifts are exchanged and that
ISIS is very well armed. The cartoon uses a wish list, usually made by children during Christmas
to connect the weapons and needs of ISIS to a well-known tradition. The point of view of this
cartoon is that ISIS is getting most of its weapons from the countries they are fighting against
such as the United States, France, and Russia. This is shown by the labels on some of the
weapons. It shows that some countries are unwillingly and unknowingly helping ISIS. The
cartoon also suggests that the U.S. and other world powers have created this situation in the

Middle East by getting involved in other countries affairs too often

Published January 28, 2016 in the San Diego Union Tribune by Steve Breen
http://www.gocomics.com/stevebreen/2016/01/28

This cartoon compares the campaign of Bernie Sanders to that of Walter Mondale. Bernie
Sanders has ran a campaign on the promise of free college and single payer healthcare. Both of
these policies would require incredible amounts of money from the government. Sanders intends
to raise taxes for everyone in order to pay for them. Almost all Americans do not want a raise in
taxes, as Walter Mondale found out. He won the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984. He
then ran against Ronald Reagan. In a speech, Mondale said that he would raise taxes for
everyone, and then lost in a landslide to Reagan during the election. This cartoon shows Mondale
telling Sanders that it would be a huge mistake to run a campaign based on raising taxes for
everyone. This cartoonist believes that Bernie Sanders cannot win the presidential election, and
will lose in a similar fashion to Mondale.

Published February 3, 2016 in the San Diego Union Tribune by Steve Breen
http://www.gocomics.com/stevebreen/2016/02/03

This cartoon relates to the recent Iowa caucuses where the front-runner, Donald Trump,
finished in second place. The food in the cartoon is common to Iowa, corn is often grown there
and pork tenderloin is another popular dish. Donald Trump is seen eating Humble Pie because
he has often said that he is the best candidate and that he is going to win. Many people predicted
that Trump would win, and when he did not he gave a gracious speech in defeat. This went
against his character, as he is usually abrasive and offensive. This is the one of the only times
that Trump has been polite and it was very unusual to see. The cartoonist wants people to see that
while Trump has been hyping up his chances to win in an impolite manner, he unexpectedly lost
and was forced to be nice about it.

Published January 15, 2016 in the San Diego Union Tribune by Steve Breen
http://www.gocomics.com/stevebreen/2016/01/15

In this cartoon, Bernie Sanders is represented by a wrench and the Clinton campaign is
represented by a machine. Before the campaign season started, many experts believed that
Hillary Clinton would win the Democratic nomination very easily. She, along with many other
people, did not expect Bernie Sanders to be a serious challenger. He has since gained popularity
and become a wrench in Clintons plans. He has almost stopped the Clinton machine and is
creating a very close election race. The cartoonist thinks that the Clinton campaign is very
organized, as it has received money from large donors, and so is shown as a machine. While
Bernie Sanders only takes money from small donors and runs a low-scale campaign, and so is
represented by a small wrench.

Published January 31, 2016 in the San Diego Union Tribune by Steve Breen
http://www.gocomics.com/stevebreen/2016/01/31

This cartoon describes how most presidential candidates campaign throughout the
country. Iowa takes up almost the entire country because it has the first caucus in the election
season. This causes many candidates to spend most of their time and resources campaigning
there. New Hampshire is the second primary election and it also has a big role for candidates.
Since these two states get the most attention, candidates rarely campaign in other states which is
why they do not appear on the map. This cartoonist believes that this is unfair and unnecessary,
as can be seen by the two states taking over the entire country. The cartoonist wants readers to
see how the candidates spend their time and show that the election process should be more than
just two states.

Published February 9, 2016 in the San Diego Union Tribune by Steve Breen
http://www.gocomics.com/stevebreen/2016/02/09

This cartoon relates to Hillary Clintons relative failure to establish a strong voter base
among females. Clinton went into the campaign process relying on strong female support. The
bus in the cartoon represents Clintons campaign while the wheels are shaped like the Venus
symbol, which represents that the campaign was running because of females support. The
caption shows that the Clinton campaign has not gotten as much support from women as they
originally thought. Some female voters prefer Bernie Sanders over Hillary Clinton. The
cartoonist believes that Clinton needs to do better among female voters in order to defeat Bernie
Sanders and become President.

Steve Breen is a cartoonist that works for the San Diego Union Tribune. He appears to
lean towards the left on most political issues, but can be critical of everyone. Breen drew a
cartoon showing how Trump was forced to completely change his personality to accept defeat in
Iowa, criticizing a Republican candidate. He also drew a cartoon comparing the failed tactics of
Walter Mondale to those of Bernie Sanders, attacking a very liberal candidate as well. Most of
the cartoons relate to the political situation at the time, and Breen often connects upcoming
holidays or events in his cartoons. He has made many cartoons using a Christmas theme to relate
the person or action he is referencing to an idea that is more broadly understood. For example,
the cartoon that shows a member of ISIS uses a Christmas wish list to show how other countries
are giving ISIS free weapons and other gifts.
Most of Breens cartoon use satire to get their message across. The cartoons make fun of
a variety of political figures, showing their mistakes and failures. He has shown how Clinton has
failed to secure the female vote and how the Freedom Caucus is immature because they are
trying to sabotage the new Speaker of the House.

Breens cartoons explore many issues that I already have an opinion about. I already have
a political leaning and have a favorite presidential candidate. While many of these cartoons
presented a different view than mine, I did not change my mind. It did however, show me other
points of view which helped me understand the issue completely. I did agree with some of his
cartoons which I found to be funny and sometimes ironic.
California is considered to be a liberal state, and so a cartoonist from the San Diego
Union Tribune would be expected to lean liberal. Most Californians vote for Democrats in
elections and would likely agree with most of Breens message in his cartoons. Overall, Breen
represents the opinions of the majority of the people that read the newspaper.