AUTHORITARIANISM

PAGE ONE

Panel 1

An anthropomorphic scroll of paper, looking much like the Bill from Schoolhouse Rock but with stereotypical female features (eyelashes, defined lips, and high heels) stands with one hand on her hip and the other pointing a thumb at herself. Around her “waist” is a belt or cord, at the center of which is a round seal that reads “US.” This is Connie, the talking Constitution of the United States of America. Behind her is a world map with photographs linked together by string. The photos are of Vladimir Putin, in front of Russia, Viktor Orbán, in front of Hungary, and Kevin D. Roberts, one of the architects of Project 2025, in front of the US.

CONNIE: Hi! I’m the Constitution of the United States of America, but you can call me Connie!

CONNIE: I’m the founding document of our Republic! “Of the people, by the people, and for the people!”

CONNIE: That’s me!

Panel 2

Same panel, but Connie is holding a hand to her forehead, eyes downcast. To her right, a hand holding a lit match thrusts into the panel.

CONNIE: Wow, I’ve been under attack a lot lately!

CONNIE: And a lot of those attacks look like they’re coming from inside our country but they’re actually the result of foreign influence!

CONNIE: Two authoritarian regimes in particular have ties to Donald Trump and Project 2025!

Panel 3

Same panel, but Connie leans down to slap the match out of the hand that was reaching for her.

CONNIE: You see, authoritarian regimes hate me simply because I exist.

CONNIE: Democracy by its very nature threatens authoritarians and fascists!

Panel 4

Connie looks at the reader seriously, raising two fingers into the air. Filling the panel behind her is a photograph of the crowd storming the Capitol on January 6^th.

CONNIE: That’s why they’re working so hard to undermine our democracy any way they can.

CONNIE: There’s a lot of people in that “they,” but we’re going to focus on two of them.

Panel 5

A close up of the section of Connie’s map that includes the pictures of Putin and Orbán. Connie, mostly off panel, gestures to the photos with her hand.

CONNIE: That’s Vladimir Putin. He’s ruled Russia one way or another since 1999.

CONNIE: And this is Viktor Orbán. He’s been ruling Hungary unopposed since 2010.

Panel 6

Connie stands in front of the map again. A new hand reaches to her from off panel on the right, this time holding a lit tiki torch.

CONNIE: Putin has banned opposition parties and outlawed any criticism of him or his war in Ukraine.

CONNIE: Which might explain how he “won re-election” earlier this year with 87% of the vote. (1)

CONNIE: And Orbán, who controls Hungarian media, only grants five minutes of air time every four years to opposition parties before elections.

FOOTNOTE: (1) “West condemns Vladimir Putin’s re-election as violating ‘civil and political rights’,” Financial Times, 18 March 2024, by Henry Foy, Lella Abboud, and Max Seddon.

FOOTNOTE: (2) “How Hungary’s Orbán uses control of the media to escape scrutiny and keep the public in the dark,” Associated Press, 31 July 2024, by Justin Spike.

PAGE TWO

Panel 1

An image of Putin and Orbán, side by side. Between them, Connie peeks up from the bottom of the panel, only visible from the nose up, rolling her eyes.

CONNIE: Both men maintain their countries are democracies, mind you.

CONNIE: Putin’s press secretary has said Russia’s democracy is “the best” in the world! (3)

FOOTNOTE: (3) “Kremlin: Russia’s democracy is ‘the best’ in the world,” Politico, 6 March 2024, by Denis Leven.

Panel 2

Connie, in front of the map, turns to her right, her face disappearing past the left side of the panel. Her arm is outstretched as if she’s reaching for something. The hand with the tiki torch has gotten closer.

CONNIE: Both men also claim that they’re defenders of Christianity. (4)

CONNIE: In fact, Orbán calls his authoritarian regime a “Christian democracy”… (5)

FOOTNOTE: (4) “Vladimir Putin compares himself to Jesus in mission to uphold ‘traditional values’”, The Evening Standard, 9 April 2024, by Maryam Kara.

FOOTNOTE: (5) European Academy on Religion and Society, 25 February 2022, by Freddie Scott.

Panel 3

Connie is back in the panel, and she uses a fire extinguisher to put out the tiki torch with a “FFFSSHH” sound effect. The arm holding the tiki torch goes limp.

CONNIE: …which is a thinly-veiled way of saying “white power racism” fueled by this “great replacement theory” garbage. (6)

CONNIE: You’ll be stunned to hear that Putin and Orbán are tight, I’m sure. (7)

FOOTNOTE: (6) “Does Hungary Offer a Glimpse of Our Authoritarian Future?”, The New Yorker, 27 June, 2022, by Andrew Marantz.

FOOTNOTE: (7) “Putin and Orban reaffirm Russian-Hungarian ties amid international strains,” Reuters, 17 October 2023, reporting by Reuters.

Panel 4

Connie, in close up, holds the nozzle of the fire extinguisher up to the third photo on the board, that of Kevin D. Roberts.

CONNIE: Now, this fellow is Kevin D. Roberts. He’s one of the major architects behind Project 2025.

CONNIE: He used to be president of The Heritage Foundation.

Panel 5

In close up, Connie whispers to the reader knowingly behind her hand.

CONNIE: When he got the job in 2022, Trump said, “He’s going to be so incredible.” (8)

CONNIE: But when Trump’s connection to Project 2025 started getting attention earlier this year, Roberts resigned and Trump claimed he didn’t know him! (9)

FOOTNOTE: (8) “Donald Trump on Heritage’s Kevin Roberts, who oversees Project 2025: ‘He’s going to be so incredible’,” Media Matters for America, 8 July 2024, by Matt Gertz

FOOTNOTE: (9) “Project 2025 shakes up leadership after criticism from Democrats and Trump, but says work goes on,” Associated Press, 30 July 2024, by Ali Swenson and Lisa Mascaro.

Panel 6

Connie, zoomed in even closer, gives the reader a skeptical sideways glance, a “give me a break” kind of look.

CONNIE: Because they think we’re stupid.

CONNIE: Anyway…

PAGE THREE

Panel 1

Connie is back in front of the map, gesturing at it—but now the edge of a flamethrower is entering the panel to her right.

CONNIE: …if you’ve even glanced at Project 2025, you’ll have noticed that it’s driven by a very unpopular and repressive view of Christianity.

CONNIE: Its goal is to do what Orbán is doing in Hungary – to make the U.S.A. a “Christian democracy” – but to take it even further.

Panel 2

Connie, in close up, looks insistently at the reader, arm raised at the elbow.

CONNIE: How do I know this? Because Kevin D. Roberts and Viktor Orbán have been in partnership for years.

CONNIE: Hungary has their version of The Heritage Foundation, too, you see. Except it’s state-funded, called “premier mouthpiece for propagating Orbánist policies.” (10)

FOOTNOTE: (10) “How Viktor Orbán Conquered the Heritage Foundation,” The New Republic, 15 March 2024, by Casey Michel.

Panel 3

An extreme close up of the strings on the map crossing the Atlantic Ocean between the US and Hungary. We now see that two index cards are pinned there. One reads “The Heritage Foundation,” and the other reads “The Danube Foundation.” From off panel, Connie’s points to these cards.

CONNIE: Since 2022, The Danube Foundation and The Heritage Foundation have had a “formal cooperation agreement.” (11)

CONNIE: The 2023 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) was held in Hungary. Kevin’s attended.

CONNIE: His bio at the event stated he was “the president of The Heritage Foundation, who sees Hungary as an example.” (12)

FOOTNOTE: (11) Ibid.

FOOTNOTE: (12) Ibid.

Panel 4

Connie ducks as the flamethrower fires over her head with a large “FWOOSH!” She is unperturbed.

CONNIE: Now, here’s where things – pardon the pun – heat up.

Panel 5

Connie, in close up, has straightend up, and she’s running a hand through her “hair” (the top of her scroll). Residual smoke from the flamethrower partially obscures the map behind her.

CONNIE: This past March, following a private meeting with Putin in Moscow, Orbán – remember, he’s Prime Minister of Hungary, the Head of State – visited the United States.

CONNIE: Yet he didn’t meet anyone at the State Department or the White House. (13)

FOOTNOTE: (13) “A Week After Meeting Putin, Hungary’s Viktor Orbán To Meet With Trump,” Huffington Post, 11 July 2024, by Ryan Grenoble.

Panel 6

From off panel, Connie points to another item pinned to the map at Florida: a photograph of Mar-a-Lago.

CONNIE: Instead, he went to Mar-a-Lago, where Trump fawned all over him the way he does over every authoritarian he meets.

CONNIE: “There’s nobody that’s better, smarter or a better leader than Viktor Orbán,” Trump said. “He’s fantastic. ” (14)

FOOTNOTE: (14) “Trump praises ‘fantastic’ Viktor Orbán while hosting Hungarian autocrat at Mar-a-Lago for meeting and concert,” CNN, 9 March 2024, by Kristen Holmes and Andrew Milliman.

PAGE FOUR

Panel 1

Connie looks over her shoulder at us, jutting her thumb toward the map. The flamethrower nozzle has returned at the right edge of the panel, but this time it’s enormous.

CONNIE: You’d think Orbán not meeting with someone in Washington, D.C., would be – at the least – a sign of disrespect.

CONNIE: At the most, it’s an insult.

CONNIE: But Orbán did make it to the nation’s capital after all…

Panel 2

Connie, still speaking to us, has grabbed the nozzle of the flamethrower with two hands and pushed it up and backwards so that it’s firing back at whoever is holding it. It fires with a giant FWOOSH.

CONNIE: …for a closed door meeting with Kevin Roberts at The Heritage Foundation. (15)

CONNIE: Just…think about that for a moment.

FOOTNOTE: (15) “PM Orbán Takes Centre Stage at the Heritage Foundation’s Panel Discussion in Washington DC,” Hungarian Conservative, March 8, 2024, by Marton Losonczi.

Panel 3

Connie, in close up, looks at the reader intently, raising one finger in the air, the other hand on her hip. Black smoke billows behind her.

CONNIE: So Putin to Orbán to Trump to Roberts…all of them with a hand in Project 2025.

CONNIE: This is how they intend to get around me.

CONNIE: This is how they will turn our country into into a fascist, authoritarian state.

Panel 4

A silent panel looking over Connie’s shoulder at a soot-covered Putin, Roberts, Orbán, and Trump – who is holding the flamethrower.

Panel 5

Connie, in close up, gestures to an American flag that fills the panel behind her.

CONNIE: Remember to vote.

CONNIE: That’s how democracies work.

CONNIE: Let’s keep ours.