Politics in The Simpsons
Politics is a common theme in the animated television series The Simpsons, and this phenomenon has had some crossover with real American politics. U.S. conservatives have voiced opposition to the show, perhaps because The Simpsons has mocked traditional authority figures such as teachers and parents. U.S. President George H. W. Bush has even said that the U.S. needs to be closer to The Waltons than to The Simpsons (interestingly enough, fellow conservative President and also his son, George W. Bush is an admitted fan of the show). If the show has a liberal slant, this was joked about in the episode "The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular," in which reference was made to "hundreds of radical right-wing messages inserted into every show by creator Matt Groening." More recently, however, U.S. Republicans have adopted a derisive Simpsons term for the French, "cheese-eating surrender monkeys."
Creator Matt Groening and the majority of people who work on the show are very liberal, but some are conservative. In a certain Life In Hell cartoon, Groening considers Republicans to be in the case against the existence of God. However, The FOX Network is very conservative.
Political affiliations of Simpsons characters have also been speculated on. [1] See political affiliations below.
Political topics addressed on The Simpsons include gay marriage (in the episode "There's Something About Marrying"), gun rights, and election campaigns.
Political affiliations
This is a list of characters on The Simpsons by their political affiliation.
Republicans
- Montgomery Burns — shown at a Republican Party meeting in "Sideshow Bob Roberts". Runs for governor on a seemingly right wing platform in "Two Cars in Every Garage, Three Eyes on Every Fish."
- Rainier Wolfcastle (a.k.a. McBain) — at the same Republican Party meeting as Mr. Burns. Is a parody of Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger.
- Dr. Hibbert at the same Republican Party meeting as Mr. Burns and McBain.
- Antoine Tex O'Hara — also at the meeting.
- Count Dracula — also at the meeting, along with Frankenstein (who has been renamed "Franken-Reagan).
- Sideshow Bob — briefly served as Republican mayor of Springfield.
- Krusty the Clown — In "Mr. Spritz Goes to Washington" is elected to Congress as a Republican. Seen as a Republican party member in "Brawl in the Family". Also present at the meeting.
- Ned Flanders — also at the meeting. Ned is a very conservative Christian who has sometimes expressed disdain for liberals. He also wished that he lived in the America of yester-year that only exists in the minds of Republicans. It has been stated that his voice is also reminiscent of former President George H.W. Bush, whom he befriended in one episode, "Two Bad Neighbors"
- Birch Barlow — conservative radio talk-show host, modeled after Rush Limbaugh.
- Waylon Smithers- Loyal assistant to Burns, was seen at the Sprinfield Republican meeting. Because of Smithers' sexual orientation, he can be considered a Log Cabin Republican.
He also had a well-known brouhaha with George H. W. Bush in Two Bad Neighbors, and told him to "apologize for the tax hike!" In Regarding Margie Homer goes through a scrapbook with two pictures of himself punching George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush.
One of the Springfield Republicans' evil plots was to rename everything after Ronald Reagan, a reference to the Ronald Reagan Legacy Project which aims to attach Reagan's name to landmarks in every U.S. state and county (see List of things named after Ronald Reagan).
The Springfield Republican Party headquarters is an isolated lair, usually a Transylvanian castle on a mountain, which is usually depicted amid flashes of lightning and ominously spooky mood music.
According to Episode 1F15, "Bart Gets an Elephant", the attendees of the Republican Convention are described as "We want what's worst for everyone" and "We're just plain evil."
Democrats
- Marge Simpson, in "Marge Gets a Job" she is reported to have voted for Jimmy Carter twice, strong proponent of Burns rival Mary Bailey for state governor. In "There's Something About Marrying", Marge is a leading advocate of gay marriage.
- Mayor Quimby based on the worst parts of the Democrat Kennedy family, challenged by Republican Sideshow Bob for the mayoralty.
- Lisa Simpson is ideologically to the left, supporting feminism and environmentalism and criticizing materialism. In "Mr. Spritz Goes to Washington", when Krusty the Clown runs for Congress, Lisa says "I usually don't give advice to Republicans...." In the video game The Simpsons: Hit and Run, Lisa greets some characters with "Hello, vote Democrat." She is also a subscriber to The New Republic for Kids magazine. In any case, Lisa is still a child (and always will be in the Simpsons universe) and hence illegible to vote. Lisa's youth also means that her political orientation may change as she grows older. In Bart to the Future, an adult Lisa Simpson was shown as the President of the United States (also see below). However, ther was no mention of her political party in the episode.
- Mary Bailey, was the former mayor of Springfield- though never during the show and now the State Governor. Mr. Burns tried to unseat her in an election.
- Patty Bouvier
- Snake Jailbird
- Apu
- Dr. Nick Riviera
- Luigi Risotto
- Cletus the Slack-Jawed Yokel
A statue of the 39th President, Jimmy Carter, was built in Springfield with the sign "Malaise Forever!" and was referred to (ironically) as "History's greatest monster!".
According to Episode 1F15, "Bart Gets an Elephant", the attendees of the Democratic Convention are described as "We hate life and ourselves" and "We can't govern".
Communists
- Abraham Simpson is shown to be a card-carrying communist in "Homer the Great". However, at the same time, he is shown to be an Elk, a Freemason, and the president of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance "for some reason."
- Homer Simpson was also photographed saluting a Soviet flag while drunk (which Lisa knew would one day come back to haunt him). In Homer the Great, Homer says he will take Grampa's Communist card along with the Stone Cutters membership card.
Election campaigns and corruption
Several episodes seemingly critique how election campaigns are run. For example, in his campaign for governor, Mr. Burns blatantly lies about a three-eyed fish, portraying a mutation resulting from poor safety standards at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant as a natural phenomenon. In "Sideshow Bob Roberts," Sideshow Bob runs a negative campaign against Mayor Quimby, and eventually Bob rigs the election. The episode "Mr. Spritz Goes to Washington" also sees the Republican Krusty winning an election partly through conservative bias in FOX broadcasting, specifically Fox News Channel, with the presenter referring to the Democratic candidate as 'our red friend', with devil horns while anti-Democratic slurs scroll along the news ticker such as "Do Democrats cause cancer?", "Dan Quayle: Awesome" and "Hillary Clinton embarrasses self, nation".
In "Bart Gets an Elephant", the Republican Party celebrates under banners saying "We want what's worst for everyone" and "We're just plain evil" while the Democrats have "We can't govern" and "We hate ourselves". (see above)
In the episode "Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington," Lisa Simpson witnesses her representative, Congressman Bob Arnold, receive a bribe, and subsequently her patriotism is severely damaged. However, the show goes on to depict his downfall with his removal from Congress, and Lisa's confidence in the system is restored.
In See Homer Run, Mayor Quimby faced corruption charges and accidentally quoted the town charter which allowed recall elections. Over two hundred people ran (in an obvious parody of the 2003 California Recall) including Rainer Wolfcastle (also spoofing Arnold Schwarzenegger who won the election) and even Homer. Homer was a sure-win, but at a debate his Safety Salamander costume, which was the reason for his popularity, tore apart. In the end, no one received the five percent needed and Quimby won the election.
Government power
Occasionally, complaints about overtaxation can be seen in The Simpsons, such as in "The Trouble with Trillions," in which Mr. Burns, Homer, and Smithers actually leave the US, claiming it was due to its taxes-- however, Burns was also wanted by the FBI for grand grand grand grand larceny, and this was likely the real reason for their flight. In "Bart to the Future," the public reacts unfavorably to a proposed tax raise by Lisa (by then President).
Contemporary concerns about judicial power are reflected by the judge giving Principal Skinner a false identity in "The Principal and the Pauper" and limiting free speech by ruling that anyone who speaks of this should be tortured, although Lisa made a short reference to Skinner's true identity in I, D'oh-Bot.
An interesting debate on government funding versus government taxation can be seen in "The PTA Disbands". Edna Krabappel claims that the demands of the teachers are reasonable, asking simply for better supplies and a modest cost of living wage increase. Principal Seymour Skinner replies that the school is on a very tight budget as it is, pointing out that there's no more money in the school's budget even after the cutbacks he has made, since the school's funding has been cut yet again. Mrs. Krabappel is urging parents to support the teachers in their strike to better their children's futures, while Principal Skinner claims that to pay what the teachers are asking, they would be forced to raise taxes. Both the audience at the PTA meeting and the TV audience viewing at home are left debating over whether the education system is worth an even bigger tax burden.
The episode "Homer vs. The Eighteenth Amendment" can be seen as a statement against Prohibition, as a Prohibition scheme fails in the episode, and an officer charged with enforcing the law is catapulted out of town. While "The Cartridge Family" clearly mocks irresponsibility with firearms hiding behind the Second Amendment, Krusty is seen making a speech about how guns are valuable if handled responsibly.
Trade unions
A satire on collective bargaining is presented in the episode "Last Exit to Springfield". The episode makes reference to union corruption, when Homer is told corruption is the only way he can be financially rewarded as union leader. In fact, the previous, now-deceased union leader who promised to clean up its corruption is not missed by anyone, found buried in a football field, even as union member Carl Carlson knowingly jokes about his disappearance, hoping that he'll "turn up alive and well". Furthermore, Homer considers union ties to organized crime a job perk. However, the episode also depicts the union as effectively saving the company dental plan through strike action. Nevertheless, in "The PTA Disbands," Homer later speaks out against striking and instead advocates sloth in the workplace.
Sugar Lobby
The episode, "Sweets and Sour Marge" features Marge filing against a sugar company, Motherloving Sugar Co., which can in many ways be seen as a reference to the "Big Sugar". In the episode, Springfield gets in to the Duff Book of Records as the "Fat City USA". This makes Marge question the obesity in town and discover that all goods in Kwik-E-Mart are overloaded with sugar. The episode also features an arrogant sugar boss, Garth Sugarloving, who was voiced by Ben Stiller and his company making sugar out of dump.
Immigration
The Simpsons has also covered immigration controversies in the episode "Much Apu About Nothing." The episode seems to suggest legal controversies can be driven by a larger public's outright hostility towards immigrants.
Note
Tony Blair, British PM, appeared when the Simpsons went to Britain. He is a very close ally of George W. Bush, current president of the US, but has not been satirized (although the current US Vice President, Dick Cheney, has been).