I can understand why it wasn’t clear to people who aren’t Shoe fans, but that day’s comic was aimed at the politician of the strip, Senator Belfry. (From the term “bats in the belfry”)
According to ChatGPT:
The long-running newspaper comic strip Shoe (created in 1977 by Jeff MacNelly) features a recurring politician character named Senator Batson D. Belfry.
He’s a pompous, often clueless, self-important bird-politician — basically a satire of Washington insiders. MacNelly, who was also a Pulitzer Prize–winning editorial cartoonist, used Belfry to poke fun at political hypocrisy, spin, and ego.
Belfry was not modeled on one specific real-life politician; rather, he’s a composite caricature of the “career politician” type.
Years ago I was a Shoe follower, and I was recently surprised to see it at GoComics.com. According to Wikipedia:
Shoe is an American comic strip about a motley crew of newspapermen, all of whom are birds. It was written and drawn by its creator, cartoonist Jeff MacNelly, from September 13, 1977, until his death in 2000. MacNelly’s last strip was dated July 9, 2000;[3] it has since been continued by Chris Cassatt, Gary Brookins, Ben Lansing, and Susie MacNelly (Jeff’s widow).
I am once again a follower.
February 22, 2026
LOL
🙂
Thanks the info. I’ve seen the comic strip but never followed it. I enjoy seeing it here on your blog though.
🙂
…and Trump’s brain is in sad shape and getting worse.
🙂
I am not a comic follower, as a teen, I did look at the comic strips in the news paper, but not since then, and have never followed politics or political cartoons. The only ones I see are the ones you post. I do love Calvin and a couple of others but do not get news papers to see them.
I think a lot of people are with you on this. 🙂
I knew it was Shoe, and a politician. It just reminded me of that Simpsons episode. And how comics are often more forward looking than we think in the moment! Like Ann, I enjoy seeing these on your blog! Thank you.
Thanks. 🙂
Thanks for clarifying this! Haters still gonna hate (*sigh*).
🙂
Interesting to know the history behind the comics. When I was younger, I did not read the comics (they were so popular and in color)…but what I did do was have fun with that silly putty that you could place on top of the comic and the ink would transfer to the putty…anyone else do that?
We never had silly putty when I was a kid. Apparently it didn’t come out until the ’50s. 🙂
I never see comic strips these days since we don’t subscribe to anything that has them.
I subscribe to gocomics.com, so I don’t get them in print.
So the term Bats In the belfry was patterned after this cartoon, or the other way around? Going to Google!
The other way around. 🙂
The first authors to use the words are American:
1903 A. L. Kleberg – Slang Fables from Afar: “She … acted so queer … that he decided she was Batty.”
1919 Fannie Hurst – Humoresque: “‘Are you bats?’ she said.”
Thanks. 🙂
Heeheehe I’ve always enjoyed Shoe. I think they only have it in the Sunday comics here.
🙂
Interesting-Christine cmlk79.blogspot.com
🙂
OK…
🙂