Mad #471 (John Ficarra) - Red and Blue Issue - November 2006

Tim Russert (1950-2008) was given credit for dividing the country into red states and blue states during the 2000 national election.  We were already living in a bipolar nation but by 2006 the policies of the Bush administration had increased that divide to record proportions.  The polarization continued to grow in 2007 and every year after that.  As I write this, the current Congress has been the least productive in history.  Representatives of the Democratic and Republican parties hate each other and they refuse to cooperative on issues small and large.  These facts are not lost on the Mad staff who placed Alf on the cover with our dysfunctional president as drawn by Mark Stutzman.  Three articles within the magazine examine the party differences in all of their petty ways.  Elizabeth White and Tony Cipriano designed "Red State Monopoly ... Blue State Monopoly".  The reds are gun-toting, religious fanatics while the blues are concerned about the environment and civil rights.  Jeff Kruse wrote "Honest Campaign Slogans We'd Like to Hear".  While one campaign button for Democrats states: "3 out of 4 Baldwin Brothers Can't Be Wrong"; the analogous Republican button states: "Over Half of Us Haven't Been Indicted Yet!"  Throughout this article and the others, it is apparent to me that the sins of the reds are much greater than those of the blues.  Barry Liebmann wrote "Liberals and Conservatives: Agree ... and Disagree".  Ward Sutton's drawings of Bush, Limbaugh, Rove et al. portray criminal acts as opposed to the mostly harmless activities of the Clintons and other Dems.  As the editors of Mad try to portray the two parties as equally abhorrent, the truth is that the Republicans are more likely to be selfish jerks who lie and cheat.  This, of course, is my opinion which will be vehemently opposed by at least 50% of the populace.  [JAM 10/22/2014]

Color Pages: 55 of 56 pages (98%)
Humorous Content: 43 of 56 pages (77%)

Departments:
Random Acts of Mindless - The Fundalini Pages
Do the Reich Thing - The Meldalini Pages
Politics Make Strange Board Fellows - Red State/Blue State Monopoly
Mocktober 31st - The 18 Worst Things About Halloween
Angster's Paradise - Monroe & ... MySpace
Serge-In General - A Mad Look at Pirates
For Your Disguise Only - 2006's Hottest Halloween Costumes
Motto y Motto - Honest Campaign Slogans We'd Like to Hear
Pen And Stink - The Mad Strip Club
Joke And Dagger - Spy vs. Spy
Praystation - When Video Games Become Religious
An Embarrassment of Richard's - A TV Commercial We'd Like to See
The Grate Debate - Liberals and Conservatives Agree ... and Disagree
Incontinental Airlines - A Mad Guide to Liquids You Can Still Take on Jet Flights  [fake department]

Fold-In - Skinny Actress