SLS_LambChops

Baa, ram, ewe, fleece be true blue, it's Sick Little Suicide #39, "Lamb Chops," in which we slaughter polling deficits.

This piece is inspired by Conor Lamb (D)'s presumptive victory in the Pennsylvania 18th district's special election, overcoming a deficit of 20 points in favor of the orange fraud in 2016. As of this writing, Mr. Lamb is not yet technically the winner, but with 100% reporting, it is mathematically extremely improbable he loses since his opponent would have to dominate the remaining 1,195 absentee ballots severely, to the tune of an astounding 70%, last I heard from the frantic smartboard scribbler on TV. This is especially unlikely since this election has shown a massive evacuation of Republican votes in this district as compared to 2016, but a powerful showing from voters willing to D 'em up.

Anyway, the concept of the piece is pretty straightforward. Playing with the dichotomy of lion vs. lamb, we have a cute but mighty lamb embodying the spirit of a fierce lion, hence a sketched-in, "imaginary" mane. I wanted this to look scrappy since the mood is of an underdog putting up a fight (see the $12+ million dollars the Republicans spent on this special election, vs. the comparatively tiny support Lamb took in. To help convey the mood, I made sure to make the lines feel as guerilla as possible, while still being "neat" in its own way (the askew color was a tricky balance of tidy and slapped-together, for instance.).

Fun Facts: I had a dog that looked like a lamb, but it was actually a poodle. Also, this election came down to the wire--at one point there was a 94 vote difference!--so this supports my belief that we should treat elections (including how I felt about 2016) like games of Magic, in that you don't give up until the game is over and you make your opponent "slit your throat," meaning you don't give up until they definitively close the deal. You can often buy yourself at least one more turn to draw a solution if you don't let your opponent know you're Lou Dobbs, because as long as you force them to have to land the finishing blow before scooping, you're still in it to win it.

Similarly, in every election, we need to freaking turn out like we're fighting uphill, no matter where the election is. We can't rely on polls to say anything's in the bag, or believe the "blue wave" hype is guaranteed and will rescue us from this present orange nightmare--let the wave talk keep your spirits high, but act as if nothing's guaranteed--and turn out in masses to run up the score on them. Only lose because they overwhelmed us with voters. But do not give them the game by taking the win for granted and counting on others to do the actual voting. If the Republicans should win, make them only ever actually win it; don't scoop, don't stay home, don't vote third party.

Easter Eggs: Much like "Funny," we used a lot of blue for the Democratic color.

Not normal,

Reuxben