The United States government was founded upon the ideals of democracy and representation. When policies are enacted, they are supposed to be for the good of the people, and everyone is supposed to be taken into consideration. There is a general track record of success in doing so. But, what if the government can't pass such policies in the first place? With the growing bipartisan tensions as well as sluggishness of enactments, this has become a growing concern. While this is evident in both houses of congress, it is specifically the case in the senate. RJ Matson, the creator of Roll Call, illustrates this important issue in his cartoon entitled "Senate Speed-Trap." Matson utilizes metaphor as well as a pun to demonstrate his argument, illustrating the issue on a very effective and intelligible level.
In the cartoon, the senate is featured as a vehicle and the police force, entitled "minority", is depicted as giving it a ticket. This analogy relates the troublesome governmental issue to the topic of traffic tickets, which is an issue most citizens have a stigma towards. Doing this increases Matson's effectiveness, for the issue now becomes something much more relatable to his audience of the "common man." Within this metaphor, there is also a pun. The cop giving the ticket says, "Yes sir, I'm afraid attempting to pass any legislation here is a "moving violation."" Moving violations are a common terminology for traffic tickets, and here it has a dual-meaning. It can also be used to show the sluggishness of senate's capabilities, so that they are prevented from being able to move in any direction. This is a clever and effective way of relating the glacial abilities of congress to the commonly hated "moving violation." By utilizing this metaphor and pun, Matson is ultimately effective in illustrating his argument concerning the restrictions that are placed on congress, appealing to the audience of Americans who have seen very little change in the past couple of years.
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