Bachmann Betrays Palin?

Bachmann-Palin Cartoon, a photo by rbtenorio on Flickr.

Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann officially entered the GOP presidential field this week. Yet does this represent a LeBron-style betrayal of her mentor Sarah Palin, who also may harbor presidential ambitions? Read more in the latest episode of "The Devil Made Me Blog It"!

Bruins Win Bodes Well for Romney

Romney Bruins cartoon, a photo by rbtenorio on Flickr.

The Boston Bruins are pro hockey's Stanley Cup champions ... and the Devil thinks ex-Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney can follow their lead in the latest episode of "The Devil Made Me Blog It"!

Obama's Four-Leaf Clover

Obama Ireland Cartoon, originally uploaded by rbtenorio.

President Obama recently visited the auld sod of Ireland ... and Satan was there to offer him a lucky four-leaf clover in exchange for completing three tasks. Read more in the latest episode of "The Devil Made Me Blog It"!

Obama Reaches Out to Scott Brown

Scott Brown-Barack Obama, originally uploaded by rbtenorio.

President Obama reaches out to Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) on health care in the latest episode of "The Devil Made Me Blog It"!
Apologies to Michelangelo and the Sistine Chapel.

Will Palin Mess With Medical Malpractice?

Palin Malpractice Cartoon, originally uploaded by rbtenorio.

This fall, one of Republicans' top priorities will be to deep-six Obamacare ... and one way to do it might be to point out that the Dems weren't willing to compromise with them on medical malpractice reform. Join beach bums Satan and Sarah Palin for a day of scheming and sunshine in the latest episode of "The Devil Made Me Blog It!"

Sign Here, Mr. President

Just before noon on Tuesday, March 23, 2010, President Obama signed the House health-care bill into law before an audience of about 300 at the East Room of the White House. He used a collection of 20 pens to sign the epic bill. "This is going to take a really long time," he kidded. "I didn't practice."
The signing came after a dramatic Sunday-night House vote and remarks by Vice President Biden and Obama.
“Mr. President, I think we’ve got a happy moment here,” Biden said. “It seems ridiculous to say thank you for being here.” However, he added, “To state the obvious, this is a historic day.”
An apt capsule of the road to health care reform came during the president's speech when he praised "the men and women of the US Congress who have taken their lumps during a difficult debate."
The response from people in the audience? "Yes we did." "We're still standing."

Congress Cures Capitalism

House Passes Health Care, originally uploaded by rbtenorio.

Is the health care bill a boon to the 30 million-plus Americans it will cover ... or a nightmare because of its $938 billion price tag? Satan and Frank Faust weigh in for the latest episode of "The Devil Made Me Blog It"!

Health Care Reform: A Revolutionary Idea?

Health Care Rally Cartoon, originally uploaded by rbtenorio.

Satan, Frank Faust and the ghost of Sam Adams check in on a rally for health care reform -- during a critical stage for the movement -- at the Massachusetts State House in Boston, in the latest episode of "The Devil Made Me Blog It"!

Quotes not made by the Devil in the first three panels are more or less verbatim from an actual rally I attended at the State House on Tuesday.

Health Care Costs 'Taxing' Obama, Dems

President Obama's new health care reform plan shows that the history of American health care is as big an obstacle to Obama and the Democrats as is the Republican opposition.
"Officials said the president’s bill was expected to include a version of the Senate’s proposed tax on high-cost, employer-sponsored insurance policies," the New York Times reported.
Ouch. So much for employers getting behind the bill. For it was tax breaks, not tax hikes, that spurred employer-based coverage in the past century.
"In 1943, the Internal Revenue Service ruled that employer-based health care should be tax free," NPR reported. "A second law, in 1954, made the tax advantages even more attractive."
The problem for Obama seems to be where to find the $900 billion that would insure about 30 million Americans by 2019. Taxing employer-sponsored policies is a shortsighted solution, as it would remove one of the incentives for employers to offer health care.
Then again, it's not like there are many more appealing ways. Look at what my home state, Massachusetts, did to fund near-universal care.
"Democrats have already hiked the fines for people who don't obtain insurance under the 'individual mandate,' already increased business penalties, taxed insurers and hospitals, raised premiums, and pumped up the state tobacco levy," the Wall Street Journal noted. "That's still not enough money."
Still, if Obama wants to pass health-care reform, he has to find funding alternatives to taxing businesses. If those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat its mistakes, those who go against health-care history are doomed to make even worse mistakes.

Obama Makes "House Call" for Health Care

State of the Union 2010 Cartoon, originally uploaded by rbtenorio.

President Obama defended health care reform in his State of the Union address last week. And even though the issue is down in the polls, Obama's still shrugging off devilish advice to mothball the issue in the latest episode of "The Devil Made Me Blog It"!

Romney's Republican Socialism

Into the breach of the health-care debate stepped former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney Monday morning -- and he took a stance that blended conservatism with socialism.
Before then-Gov. Romney helped pass a bill mandating Massachusetts residents to obtain health insurance in 2006, "a lot of people who were able to buy (insurance) just went to the hospital (emergency room)," Romney said on Laura Ingraham's radio show on WRKO-AM (680). "We said, 'No more free riders.'"
This came off as conservative chutzpah from a one-term governor (2003-07) who failed to win the Republican presidential nomination in 2008 and whose support of statewide health insurance could further hurt his presidential prospects in 2012. For it sounds like Romney is playing defense by casting his cooperation with the Democratic-dominated state legislature in a Republican light as his party tilts ever more to the right on health care.
Laura seemed like she wasn't buying it, telling Mitt, "Sometimes experiments do fail" and that the bill was "not exactly the way I'd have fashioned it." She did concede that "I do like this state's trying new ways of going about things."
And it sounds like even Romney's would-be heirs in the Bay State are abandoning his standard. Romney noted that State Sen. Scott Brown, the GOP candidate in the special election for Ted Kennedy's former US Senate seat, was "one of those who supported the bill." Something tells me that Brown, sounding ever more conservative with an election looming on Jan. 19, won't appreciate Romney's bringing up the past. (Especially since on his own campaign website, Brown says he supports the 2006 Massachusetts health-care law.) And neither will the national Republican party, no matter how much Romney spins it.

Thanksgiving 2009: Full Plate for Obama

Thanksgiving 2009 Cartoon, originally uploaded by rbtenorio.

Despite the economic slowdown and the other turmoils of 2009, Frank Faust realizes he has a lot to be thankful for in a Turkey Day episode of "The Devil Made Me Blog It"!
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Abandon All Hope on Health Care?

Senate Health Care Cartoon, originally uploaded by rbtenorio.

My latest cartoon is about the next hurdle for health-care reform in the Senate following Saturday's victory in the House. Anyone know which author inspired the sign Satan places above the Senate chamber?

Satan Sees Will Ferrell's Health Care Ad

Will Ferrell Ad Cartoon, originally uploaded by rbtenorio.

Sometimes, humor is so deadpan that we miss the fact that it's a joke. Satan proves this point when he watches the recent Will Ferrell "ad" on health care and thinks the comedian is actually feeling sorry for health-care execs. Frank Faust gives Mephistopheles a reality check in the latest episode of "The Devil Made Me Blog It"!

Hat tip to my friend Mark for telling me about the ad in the first place.

Joe Wilson, Serena Williams, Kanye West and Yom Kippur

Yom Kippur 2009 Cartoon, originally uploaded by rbtenorio.

Much ink has already been spilled in writing about the sins of Joe Wilson, Serena Williams and Kanye West. Now it's time for God and Mephistopheles to voice their views, in a special Yom Kippur-themed edition of "The Devil Made Me Blog It"!

Ted Kennedy: ‘Last Hurrah’ for Boston Politics?

Ted Kennedy Tribute, originally uploaded by rbtenorio.

People are mourning the death of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA) as not only the passing of a great legislator, but also the end of an era of Boston politics in the national spotlight. Many of the politicians from the “Athens of America” had colorful and controversial careers, from the original “Rascal King,” James Michael Curley, to former State Senate and UMass president William Bulger. This tribute edition of “The Devil Made Me Blog It” examines where Ted fits in this cast of characters.
My condolences to the Kennedy family.

Vick, Palin Eat Their Wheaties

Vick-Palin Cartoon, originally uploaded by rbtenorio.

At first glance, the situations of the NFL's Michael Vick and the GOP's Sarah Palin are dissimilar. Vick just got a job, Palin just lost one. Yet both have achieved success after some pretty notorious actions. Frank Faust shows Satan the similarities in the latest episode of "The Devil Made Me Blog It"!