History PlayingWith / StrawCharacter

** Bob's campaign speech is "[[DrugsAreBad BAN ALL DRUGS!]] LET'S KILL RACIAL MINORITIES! SEAL THE BORDERS! I'M A REPUBLICAN! VOTE FOR ME!" Then he disappears into a cloud of red smoke.

** Alternatively, Alice or Bob is only correct once, or about something of no importance to most people, or they're RightForTheWrongReasons, or any combination thereof. Most of the time, it's safe to ignore or even [[AntiAdvice reverse-engineer]] whatever they say to get to the truth.

** In addition to any of these, Alisa is a straw that always faces left and Bob's a straw that always faces right.

** Carla, a Democrat, tells TheHero that few Democrats are like Alice, and that's just what she would like you to think. In fact, [[StopBeingStereotypical Carla and the other Democrats are sick to death of Alice]] and seriously considering voting Republican in the next election to get rid of her.
** Chris, a Republican, tells TheHero that few Republicans are like Bob, and that's just what he would like you to think. In fact, [[StopBeingStereotypical Chris and the other Republicans are sick to death of Bob]] and seriously considering voting Democratic in the next election to get rid of him.

** AliceAndBob switch from party to party regularly, and they are very extreme with whatever party they're in at the moment. When they are Democrats, they're crazy Democrats, and when they're Republicans, they're crazy Republicans.
** Alice and Bob give voice to political views that the writers associate with one party or the other in the text of the show. Depending on the issue at hand, their views run the gamut from ridiculous to sensible.

** The characters all belong to the same party, so members of other parties can take small comfort in not even being shown; at least they're not depicted as stupid or evil.

* '''Played for Drama''': Bob and Alice are dating, but the time comes when they find it hard to talk to each other because of the oppositional extremism of their views. They break up.

** Bob is a Republican. He's a bearded hillbilly who wants to send all the UsefulNotes/{{Mexic|o}}ans back to Mexico, [[StayInTheKitchen restrict women to homemaking]], and [[HeteronormativeCrusader institute a death penalty for homosexuality]]. The whole party is implied to be like Bob.

** Carla, a member of the Democratic Party, tells the main character that few Democrats are like Alice, and that's just what she would like you to think. In fact, [[StopBeingStereotypical Carla and the other Democrats are sick to death of Alice]] and seriously considering voting Republican in the next election to get rid of her.
** Chris, a member of the Republican Party, tells the main character that few Republicans are like Bob, and that's just what he would like you to think. In fact, [[StopBeingStereotypical Chris and the other Republicans are sick to death of Bob]] and seriously considering voting Democratic in the next election to get rid of him.

** Chris or Carla is just as committed as Alice and Bob to destructive, negative politics. Just because they're politer does not mean they're materially better.

* '''Played for Drama''': Bob and Alice are dating, but the time comes when one or both of them find it hard to talk to each other because of the oppositional extremism of their views. They break up.

** Alice or Bob says [[PoesLaw something that sounds too extreme for anybody to believe]]. The show cuts away to a RealPersonCameo by the scriptwriter, who reads from a contemporary document endorsed by the real party, which [[SpoofedWithTheirOwnWords uses the same words the character just said]]. The writer adds a deadpan NotMakingThisUpDisclaimer that [[LampshadeHanging that's actual Democratic or Republican policy]].

** [[MirroringFactions Most Republicans are stupid, unpleasant extremists. Most Democrats are also stupid, unpleasant extremists.]] The show is about [[OnlySaneMan Alice, the only reasonable Democrat, and Bob, the only reasonable Republican]].

** Every party in the work is a FictionalPoliticalParty that doesn't closely resemble any active parties in the country where it is set. Alternatively, in this UsefulNotes/UnitedStates-set work, the Democratic and Republican Parties are InNameOnly versions of themselves.

** The characters all belong to the same party, so members of the other party can take some small comfort in not being shown to be stupid and evil.

** The producers are independents or members of third parties. They have to put Democrats and Republicans in their political drama due to viewers' SmallReferencePools, but they don't want the audience to sympathize with any of them, so they make them straw, extreme crazy people.

** Alice or Bob realizes that everyone else hates them because of how extreme, wrong, and unpleasant they are, so they moderate their own views.
** Alice or Bob says [[PoesLaw something that sounds so extreme that nobody could believe it]]. The show cuts away to a RealPersonCameo by the scriptwriter, who reads from a contemporary document endorsed by the real party, which [[SpoofedWithTheirOwnWords uses the same words the character just said]]. The writer adds a deadpan NotMakingThisUpDisclaimer that that's actual Democratic or Republican policy.

** Alice is a Democrat. She's a whiny, marijuana-addicted ShamelessFanserviceGirl [[HollywoodAtheist who thinks religion is for idiots]]. The whole party is implied to be like Alice.

** Alice is a [[DirtyCommunists communist]] college student who spends every second of her screen time [[CapitalismIsBad decrying capitalism]], despite being [[StrawHypocrite very wealthy and not spending a nickel of her money to help the poor]], [[BoomerangBigot is white but hates all white people]], and sees all Christians, [[DoubleStandard and only Christians]], as being TheFundamentalist. Her Democratic peers see her as a moderate milquetoast.

* '''Exploited''': Alice and Bob both find themselves susceptible to the tropes IronicEcho, DamnedByAFoolsPraise, and AntiAdvice.

** The producer and main character are Republicans, but Alice, a Democrat, is portrayed as being level-headed and intelligent or else AffablyEvil.
** The producer and main character are Democrats, but Bob, a Republican, is portrayed as being level-headed and intelligent or else AffablyEvil.
** Alternatively, the main character is average in their political views, but Alice or Bob is portrayed as exceedingly intelligent and charming.
** Instead of portraying Bob or Alice as a strawman, the writers decide to create them as a steelman instead to prove that their arguments are better if they can have Bob or Alice overcome the steelman's argument.

** (Meta example) Alice and/or Bob are Straw Characters, but unfortunately the writer accidentally gave them [[StrawmanHasAPoint some surprisingly detailed and insightful arguments]]. Whoops!

** While their views are extreme, Alice and Bob are very charismatic and persuasive, and have the other members of their respective party convinced that they're good at what they do. The Republicans only oppose Alice because she's a Democrat, while the Democrats only oppose Bob because he's a Republican. No one notices how extreme Alice or Bob are.
** Chris or Carla is just as committed to extreme as Alice and Bob to destructive, negative politics. Just because they're politer does not mean they're materially better.

** The characters all belong to the same party, so members of the other party can take some small comfort in not being misrepresented.

** The producers are independents or members of third parties. They have to put Democrats and Republicans in their political drama, but they don't want the audience to sympathize with any of them, so they make them straw, extreme crazy people.

* '''Implied''':
** Bob complains that he's dreading Thanksgiving because Alice will start with her crazy opinions.
** Alice complains that she's dreading Thanksgiving because Bob will start with his crazy opinions.

* '''Played for Drama''': Bob and Alice are in a relationship, but the time comes when one or both of them find it hard to talk to each other because of the oppositional extremism of their views. They break up.

** Alice or Bob says [[PoesLaw something that sounds so extreme that nobody could believe it]]. The show cuts away to a RealPersonCameo by the scriptwriter, who reads from a document endorsed by the real party, which [[SpoofedWithTheirOwnWords uses the same words the character just said]]. The writer adds a deadpan NotMakingThisUpDisclaimer that that's actual Democratic or Republican policy.

** Chris or Carla is just as committed to extreme as Alice and Bob to destructive, negative politics

* '''Justified''': Both Bob and Alice have only vague ideas of what conservatism, liberalism, and socialism actually are and they're both [[TheDitz quite dumb]], so they think that identification with some ideology means they must pursue the LowestCommonDenominator version thereof.

** Bob begins the series as a caricature of a Republican, and Alice begins as a caricature of a Democrat, but then they get CharacterDevelopment.

** At least, that's what they told their respective superiors. They are indeed the crazy extremists they appear to be, and they believe every word they say, as do the parties to which they belong.

** Carla, a member of the Democratic Party, tells the main character that the Democrats aren't all like Alice, and that's just what she would like you to think. In fact, [[StopBeingStereotypical Carla and the other Democrats are sick to death of Alice]] and seriously considering voting Republican in the next election to get rid of her.
** Chris, a member of the Republican Party, tells the main character that the Republicans aren't all like Bob, and that's just what he would like you to think. In fact, [[StopBeingStereotypical Chris and the other Republicans are sick to death of Bob]] and seriously considering voting Democratic in the next election to get rid of him.
** TheExtremistWasRight about something very important, whether it was Alice, Bob, or both. Unfortunately, they were {{ignored|Expert}} because most people didn't believe someone with such extreme-left or extreme-right views could be correct. Alice and Bob use this event as a teachable moment about the GoldenMeanFallacy.
** (Meta example) Alice and/or Bob are Straw Characters, but unfortunately the writer accidentally gave them [[StrawmanHasAPoint some surprisingly detailed and insightful arguments]]... Whoops!

** While their views are extreme, both Alice and Bob are very charismatic and persuasive, and have the other members of their respective party convinced that they're good at what they do. The Republicans only oppose Alice because she's a Democrat, while the Democrats only oppose Bob because he's a Republican. No one notices how extreme either Alice or Bob is.

** The Republican producers want to have Democrats in their political drama, but they don't want the audience to sympathize with the Democrats, so they make them straw, extreme crazy people.
** The Democratic producers want to have Republicans in their political drama, but they don't want the audience to sympathize with the Republicans, so they make them straw, extreme crazy people.

** Alice and Bob realize that everyone else hates them because of how extreme, wrong, and unpleasant they are, so they moderate their own views.

** Bob is a Republican. He's a bearded hillbilly who wants to send all the UsefulNotes/{{Mexic|o}}ans back to Mexico, [[StayInTheKitchen confine women's work to homemaking]], and [[HeteronormativeCrusader institute a death penalty for homosexuality]]. The whole party is implied to be like Bob.

** Alice is a [[DirtyCommunists communist]] college student who spends every second of her screen time [[CapitalismIsBad decrying capitalism]], despite being [[StrawHypocrite very wealthy and not spending a nickel of her money to help the poor]], and sees all Christians, [[DoubleStandard and only Christians]], as being TheFundamentalist. Her Democratic peers see her as a moderate milquetoast.

** [[MirroringFactions Most Republicans are stupid, unpleasant extremists. Most Democrats are also stupid, unpleasant extremists.]] The show is about [[OnlySaneMan the only reasonable Democrat and the only reasonable Republican]].

** The producer and main character are Republicans, and Alice, a Democrat, is portrayed as being level-headed and intelligent or else AffablyEvil.
** The producer and main character are Democrats, and Bob, a Republican, is portrayed as being level-headed and intelligent or else AffablyEvil.

** Alice seems like a crazy extremist Democrat, but she's actually [[TheMole a scheming Republican who's pretending to be a crazy Democrat to decrease support for the party]].
** Bob seems like a crazy extremist Republican, but he's actually [[TheMole a scheming Democrat who's pretending to be a crazy Republican to decrease support for the party]].
** Bob begins the series as a caricature of a Republican, and likewise, Alice begins as a caricature of a Democrat, but then they get CharacterDevelopment.

** It's not long before AliceAndBob are {{Flanderiz|ation}}ed back into the nutcases they used to be.

** While their views are extreme, both Alice and Bob are very charismatic and persuasive, and have the other members of their respective party convinced that they're good at what they do. The Republicans only oppose Alice because she's a Democrat, while the Democrats only oppose Bob because he's a Republican. No one sees how extreme either Alice or Bob is.

** Alice or Bob says [[PoesLaw something that sounds so extreme that nobody could plausibly believe it]]. The show cuts away to a RealPersonCameo by the scriptwriter, who reads from a document officially endorsed by the real party, which [[SpoofedWithTheirOwnWords uses the same words the character just said]]. The writer adds a deadpan NotMakingThisUpDisclaimer that that's actual Democratic or Republican policy.

** Alice is a Democrat, and she's a whiny, marijuana-addicted ShamelessFanserviceGirl [[HollywoodAtheist who thinks religion is for idiots]]. The whole party is implied to be like Alice.
** Bob is a Republican, and he's a bearded hillbilly who wants to send all the UsefulNotes/{{Mexic|o}}ans back to Mexico, [[StayInTheKitchen confine women's work to homemaking]], and [[HeteronormativeCrusader institute a death penalty for homosexuality]]. The whole party is implied to be like Bob.

** The producer and main character are Republicans, and Alice, a Democrat, is portrayed as being level-headed and intelligent.
** The producer and main character are Democrats, and Bob, a Republican, is portrayed as being level-headed and intelligent.
** Alternatively, the main character is average in their political views, but Alice or Bob is portrayed as exceedingly intelligent.

* '''Played for Drama''': Bob and Alice are in a relationship, but the time comes when they find it hard to talk to each other because of the oppositional extremism of their respective views. They break up.

** Alice is a [[DirtyCommunists communist]] college student who spends every second of her screen time [[CapitalismIsBad decrying capitalism]], despite being [[StrawHypocrite very wealthy and not spending a nickel of her money to help the poor]], and sees all Christians, [[DoubleStandard and only Christians]], as being TheFundamentalist. She's seen as a moderate milquetoast amongst her Democrat peers.
** Bob is an {{inbred|AndEvil}} [[TheKlan Klansman]] with an exaggerated DeepSouth[=ern=] accent and [[ThoseWackyNazis Nazi sympathies]] who spends every second of his screen time [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain spouting extremely bigoted remarks about every minority under the sun]] and [[AsTheGoodBookSays uses the Bible to justify his actions]], even though it’s obvious he’s never even read the Bible. He's seen as a moderate milquetoast amongst his Republican peers.

** Alice and Bob are implied to be among the more moderate, or at least more civil, members of their respective parties.

** Alice and Bob give voice to political views that the writers associate with one party or the other in the text of the show. Their views run the gamut from ridiculous to sensible.

* '''Played for Drama''': Bob and Alice are in a relationship, but Bob finds it hard to talk to Alice because her opinions are extreme and different from his. They break up.

** Alice is a [[DirtyCommunists communist]] college student who spends every second of her screen time [[CapitalismIsBad decrying capitalism]], despite being [[StrawHypocrite very wealthy and not spending a nickel of her money to help the poor]], and sees all Christians, [[DoubleStandard and only Christians]], as being TheFundamentalist.
** Bob is an {{inbred|AndEvil}} [[TheKlan Klansman]] with an exaggerated DeepSouth[=ern=] accent and [[ThoseWackyNazis Nazi sympathies]] who spends every second of his screen time [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain spouting extremely bigoted remarks about every minority under the sun]] and [[AsTheGoodBookSays uses the Bible to justify his actions]], even though it’s obvious he’s never even read the Bible.

** Alice and Bob are implied to be some of the more moderate, or at least more civil, members of their respective parties.

** Alternatively, the main character is average, but Alice or Bob is portrayed as exceedingly intelligent.

** Bob begins the series as a caricature of a Republican and Alice begins as a caricature of a Democrat until they get CharacterDevelopment.

* '''Zig-Zagged''': AliceAndBob switch from party to party regularly, and they are very extreme with whatever party they're in at the moment. When they are Democrats, they're crazy Democrats, and when they're Republicans, they're crazy Republicans.

* '''Played for Horror''': Alice and Bob will kill anyone with opinions that differ from theirs.

** Alice or Bob says something that sounds too extreme to be believed. The show cuts away to a RealPersonCameo by the scriptwriter who reads from a document officially endorsed by the real party during the period when the story is set and concludes, [[NotMakingThisUpDisclaimer "Yes, that's actual [Democratic/Republican] policy."]]

** Bob is a Republican, and he's a bearded hillbilly who wants to send all the Mexicans back to Mexico, [[StayInTheKitchen mandate that women do no work but homemaking]], and [[HeteronormativeCrusader institute a death penalty for homosexuality]]. The whole party is implied to be like Bob.

** Alice is a [[DirtyCommunists communist]] college student who spends every second of screentime [[CapitalismIsBad decrying capitalism]], despite being [[StrawHypocrite very wealthy and not spending a nickel of her money to help the poor]], and sees all Christians, [[DoubleStandard and only Christians]], as being TheFundamentalist.
** Bob is an {{inbred|AndEvil}} [[TheKlan Klansman]] with an exaggerated Southern accent and [[ThoseWackyNazis Nazi sympathies]] who spends every second of screen time [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain spouting extremely bigoted remarks about every minority under the sun]] and [[AsTheGoodBookSays uses the Bible to justify his actions]], even though it’s obvious he’s never even read the Bible.

** Alice and Bob are implied to be some of the more moderate members of their respective parties.

** StrawmanHasAPoint

** TheExtremistWasRight about something very important, whether it was Alice, Bob, or both. Unfortunately, they were {{ignored|Expert}} because most people didn't believe someone with such extreme-left or extreme-right views could be correct.

** Alice and Bob use this event as a teachable moment about the GoldenMeanFallacy.
** Alternatively, Alice or Bob is only correct once, or about something of no importance to most people, or they're RightForTheWrongReasons, or any combination thereof. More than 99 percent of the time, it's safe to ignore or [[AntiAdvice reverse-engineer]] whatever they say.

** Alice is a Democrat, and she's a whiny marijuana addict [[HollywoodAtheist who thinks religion is for idiots]]. The whole party is implied to be like Alice.
** Bob is a Republican, and he's a bearded hillbilly who wants to send all the Mexicans back to Mexico and [[HeteronormativeCrusader institute a death penalty for homosexuality]]. The whole party is implied to be like Bob.

** Alice is a communist college student who spends every second of screentime [[CapitalismIsBad decrying capitalism]], despite being [[StrawHypocrite very wealthy and not spending a nickel of her money to help the poor]], and sees all Christians, [[DoubleStandard and only Christians]], as being TheFundamentalist.
** Bob is an inbred Klansman with an exaggerated Southern accent and Nazi sympathies who spends every second of screen time spouting extremely bigoted remarks about every minority under the sun and [[AsTheGoodBookSays uses the Bible to justify his actions]], even though it’s obvious he’s never even read the Bible.

** AliceAndBob, while still displaying stereotypical traits of members of their respective parties and portrayed negatively, have some depth to their characters past their politics and token attempts are made at giving them a fair portrayal.
** Alice and Bob are implied to be outliers in a more moderate group.

** Instead of portraying Bob or Alice as a strawman, the writers decide to create them as a steelman instead in order to showcase that their arguments are better if they're able to able to have Bob or Alice overcome the steelman's argument.

* '''Double Subverted''': ...at least, that's what they told their respective superiors. They are indeed the crazy extremists they appear to be, and they believe every word they say, as do the parties to which they belong.

** Carla, a member of the Democratic Party, tells the main character that the Democrats aren't all like Alice, and that's just what she would like you to think. In fact, [[StopBeingStereotypical Carla and the other Democrats are sick to death of Alice]] and seriously considering voting Republican in the next election to get rid of her. Likewise, Chris, a member of the Republican Party, tells the main character that the Republicans aren't all like Bob, and that's just what he would like you to think. In fact, [[StopBeingStereotypical Chris and the other Republicans are sick to death of Bob]] and seriously considering voting Democratic in the next election to get rid of him.

** While their views are extreme, both Alice and Bob is very charismatic and persuasive, and have the other members of their respective party convinced that they're good at what they do. The Republicans are only anti-Alice on the basis that she's a Democrat, while the Democrats are only anti-Bob because he's a Republican. No one sees how extreme either Alice or Bob is.

** Alternatively, Alice or Bob is only correct once, or about something of no economic or cultural importance to most people. More than 99 percent of the time, it's safe to ignore or [[AntiAdvice reverse-engineer]] whatever they say.
* '''Zig-Zagged''': AliceAndBob switch from party to party regularly, and they are very extreme with whatever party they're in at the moment. When either of them is a Democrat, they're a crazy Democrat, and when they're Republicans, they're crazy Republicans.

** Alice and Bob realize that everyone else hate them because of how extreme, wrong, and unpleasant they are, so they moderate their own views.
** Alice or Bob says something that sounds too extreme to be believed. The show cuts away to a RealPersonCameo by the scriptwriter who reads from a recent document officially endorsed by the real party and concludes, [[NotMakingThisUpDisclaimer "Yes, that's actual [Democratic/Republican] policy."]]

* '''Double Subverted''': ...at least, that's what they told their respective superiors. They are indeed the crazy extremists they appear to be, and they believes every word they say, as do the parties to which they belong.

** Bob's campaign speech is "[[DrugsAreBad BAN ALL DRUGS!]] LET'S KILL RACIAL MINORITIES! CLOSE THE BORDERS! I'M A REPUBLICAN! VOTE FOR ME!" Then he disappears into a cloud of red smoke.

* '''Defied''': Alice and Bob realize that everyone else hate them because of how extreme, wrong, and unpleasant they are, so they strive to moderate their own views.

* '''Straight''':
** Alice is a Democrat, and she's a whiny marijuana addict [[HollywoodAtheist who thinks religion is for idiots]]. The whole party is implied to be like Alice.
** Bob is a Republican, and he's a bearded hillbilly who wants to send all the Mexicans back to Mexico and [[HeteronormativeCrusader institute a death penalty for homosexuality]]. The whole party is implied to be like Bob.

** Alice is a communist college student who spends every second of screentime [[CapitalismIsBad decrying capitalism]], despite being [[StrawHypocrite very wealthy and not using it to help the poor]], and sees all Christians, [[DoubleStandard and only Christians]], as being TheFundamentalist.
** Bob is an inbred Klansman with an exaggerated Southern accent and Nazi sympathies who spends every second of screentime spouting extremely bigoted remarks about every minority under the sun and [[AsTheGoodBookSays uses the Bible to justify his actions]], even though it’s obvious he’s never even read the Bible.
** All members of Alice and Bob’s respective parties are implied to be a literal HiveMind.

** Alice and Bob, while still displaying stereotypical traits of members of their respective parties and portrayed negatively, have some depth to their characters past their politics and token attempts are made at giving them a fair portrayal.
** Alice and Bob are implied to be outliers in a more moderate group.

* '''Inverted''': The producer and main character are Republicans, and Alice, a Democrat, is portrayed as being level-headed and intelligent.
** Alternatively, the main character is average, but Alice is portrayed as exceedingly intelligent.

* '''Subverted''': Alice seems like a crazy extremist Democrat, but she's actually a scheming Republican who's pretending to be a crazy Democrat to decrease support for the party.
* '''Double Subverted''': ...at least, that's what she told her superiors. Really, she is a crazy extremist, and she believes everything she's saying, as does her party.
* '''Parodied''':
** Alice's campaign speech is "[[DrugsAreGood DRUGS FOR ALL]]! LET'S KILL BABIES! OPEN THEM BORDERS! I'M A DEMOCRAT! VOTE FOR ME!" Then she disappears into a cloud of blue smoke.
** Bob's campaign speech is "[[DrugsAreBad BAN ALL DRUGS]]! LET'S KILL RACIAL MINORITIES! CLOSE THOSE BORDERS! I'M A REPUBLICAN! VOTE FOR ME!" Then he disappears into a cloud of red smoke.
* '''Deconstructed''': Carla, a member of the Democratic Party, comes up and tells the main character that the Democrats aren't all like Alice, and that's just what she would like you to think. In reality, Carla and the other Democrats are sick to death of Alice and seriously considering voting Republican in the next election to get rid of her.
* '''Reconstructed''': Alice, while her views are extreme, is very charismatic and persuasive, and has the other Democrats convinced that she's good at what she does, and the Republicans are only anti-Alice on the basis that she's a Democrat- no one sees how extreme she is.
* '''Zig Zagged''': Alice is constantly switching from party to party, and whatever party she's in she is very extreme with- when she's a Democrat she's a crazy Democrat, and when she's a Republican she's a crazy Republican.
* '''Averted''':
** There is no politics in the work.
** All the politicians or people with political opinions are realistic, and it's easy to imagine someone of their party supporting them.
* '''Enforced''': The Republican producers want to have Democrats in their political drama, but they don't want the audience to sympathize with the Democrats, so they make them straw, extreme crazy people.
* '''Implied''': Bob complains that he's dreading Thanksgiving because Alice will start with her crazy opinions.
* '''Played for Laughs''': Alice's opinions are as far left as you can possibly go, so much that she's laughable, and she obviously has no idea what she is talking about.
* '''Played for Drama''': Bob and Alice are in a relationship, but Bob finds it hard to talk to Alice because her opinions are extreme and different from his. They break up.
* '''Played for Horror''': Alice will kill anyone with opinions that differ from hers.
* '''Lampshaded''': "Oh, Alice. She's so crazy, it's hard to believe she's even, like, a real Democrat."

'''Basic Trope''': A character with opposing political beliefs to the author is shown as a ridiculous extremist.

** Alice is a communist college student who spends every second of screentime [[CapitalismIsBad decrying capitalism]] , despite being [[StrawHypocrite very wealthy and not using it to help the poor]], and sees all Christians, [[DoubleStandard and only Christians]], as being TheFundamentalist.

** Bob is an imbred Klansman with an exaggerated southern accent and Nazi sympathies who spends every second of screentime spouting extremely bigoted remarks about every minority under the sun and [[AsTheGoodBookSays uses the Bible to excuses his actions]], even though it’s obvious he’s never even read the Bible.

* '''Lampshaded''': "Oh, Alice. She's so crazy, it's hard to believe she's even, like, a real Democrat."

* '''Parodied''': Alice's campaign speech is "WEED FOR ALL! LET'S KILL BABIES! OPEN BORDERS! I'M A DEMOCRAT! VOTE FOR ME!" Then she disappears into a cloud of blue smoke.

* '''Exaggerated''': Being an extreme Democrat is Alice's entire personality- no word comes out of her mouth that doesn't have something to do with her opinions.
* '''Downplayed''': Alice's views are a little farther left than most Democrats', and a few of the other Democrats on the show agree with her.

** Alice is a communist college student who spends every second of screentime [[CapitalismIsBad decrying capitalism]] despite being [[StrawHypocrite very wealthy and not using it to help the poor]].

* '''Basic''': A character with opposing political beliefs to the author is shown as a ridiculous extremist.

** Alice is a Democrat, and she's a whiny marijuana addict who thinks religion is for idiots. The whole party is implied to be like Alice.
** Bob is a Republican, and he's a bearded hillbilly who wants to send all the Mexicans back to Mexico and institute a death penalty for homosexuality. The whole party is implied to be like Bob.