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What political affiliation would you say the different characters of M*A*S*H fit?

I got a LOT of good responses on another question I asked on the subject of politics and was curious where people would place characters of my FAVORITE comedy… there ARE others… but MASH will always hold a special place in my heart. Characters I am wondering most about are the really extreme ones… Like Col. Flagg… Frank Burns… but the main characters are OK to speculate on as well… I have been wondering about other shows I watch as well… Like 3rd Rock From the Sun… The Big Bang Theory… mostly comedies I know… but it seems to me it helps me sort out ideas if they are put in a context I am familiar with… Like the Scale Solar System… you know where the Sun is a certain size… and the planet mercury is 1/4 Mile away… I think this is in Peoria Illinois. Anyway what do you think?

Interesting question….very interesting.

Here’s my best guess on how the gang of the 4077th would vote on election day:

Captain Pierce – Definitely a liberal. He’s the compassionate humanitarian who isn’t very worried about wealth and just wants to help people, including through more social programs and funding. And he’s a rebel who comes from a wealthy family who most assuredly would’ve been Republicans. Voting Dem is a great way for him to rebel against his background. Plus he tends to be anti-war. He doesn’t like the mess. So clearly Liberal.

(Just to be clear, I hate making large generalizations, but let’s assume for the sake of argument and this one question that we can all agree on the characature that Conservatives tend to be more war-mongering, and Liberals are peace-loving hippies.)

B.J. Honeycut – Undecided. I think he has Republican leanings, as he’s a tradtional family man who probably goes to church every Sunday when he can. But he’s also a free thinker who opposes unnecessary wars. So his vote’s a toss-up.

Trapper John – Democrat. He’s a lover not a fighter. Although I’m guessing he might not always show up to vote….unless there was talk of prohibition.

Col. Potter – Republican. He’s an old-timer who’s devoted his life to military service and speaks frequently of strong Christian faith. He makes a handsome living in the army, and probably doesn’t want his officer’s commission taxed by Democrats. Plus, being older he might be more averse to change and differences.

Col. Blake – Democrat. Slightly. I mean, if he had survived that chopper ride. He was never a big fan of the war and loved the outdoors. A fishing man. So there’s a good chance he cares about outdoors issues and wouldn’t want to see his favorite fishing lake polluted. He’d favor government intervention and environmental clean up.

Hot Lips Houlihan – Republican. During wartime, at least. To serve in the military and be educated as a surgeon in the 50s is pretty advanced, and so she must be in favor of some form of women’s lib. But when there’s a war on, Hot Lips is all about blind faith in her country – and that would include following the military industrial complex’s agenda. And she’s extremely anti-communist. So she would’ve been proud of Sen. McCarthy’s(R) agenda. Republican votes all the way. When the war’s over she may sneak in a Dem vote.

Frank Burns – Republican. That ninny was raised in a pampered environment with servants at his feet. He would want a safe umbrella of financial protection that trickle-down economics offers. Tax cuts for the rich! Ha! He’s definitely riding the elephant. Plus, he insists he’s vigilantly anti-communist, which tended to be a more conservative characteristic.

Maj. Winchester – Republican. He’s kickin’ it old school. Winchester is big on doing things the upper-class traditional way. There’s no way he would vote for anything resembling a radical upstart. He wants social policies that will take him back to the days of yore.

Radar O’Reilly – Too Close to Call. I’ll say that he probably comes from a strongly Republican family – born and raised in Iowa in the Bible-loving corn belt. And seeing as he dropped out of high school to rush right into military service, a young and naive Radar probably started Republican. Plus he doesn’t care for drinking or smoking, suggesting he has old-fashioned, conservative values. He’s a God-loving Christian who is fiercely patriotic (yes, sometimes to a fault). So that all puts him in the Republican column.

But….Radar is an animal lover, and that makes him a little bit of a bleeding heart. And he is very young, making him slightly more likely to want to enact progressive social change. And, the war may have changed him and hardened him a bit. So there may be a few Dem votes somewhere inside of him.

Corporal Klinger – Democrat. Com’on! How could anyone say Klinger has “traditional” moral values? Bah! He has open disdain for the military, isn’t afraid to flaunt about in women’s dresses, and even once pronounced himself a Communist to get a Section 8. Now what 1950s republican would even utter the “C” word? None, I tells ya. Klinger also ends up marrying a Korean woman, which back in the 50s was very taboo. Interracial marriage? Oh, the shock!

Col. Flagg – Republican. Sorry, Republicans. This isn’t to diss you. But Col. Flagg was always paranoid about Communist infiltration – to an alarming and mentally disturbed rate. And knowing his tactics, he probably thought Sen. McCarthy (again, a Repub senator) didn’t go FAR ENOUGH! Ha! Col. Flagg wouldn’t be able to stomach hippies, that’s for sure.

Dr. Sidney – Democrat. We don’t know all that much about the doc. But not only does he come across as a bit hippie-dippy, but he does explore a lot of forward-thinking methods in psychiatry – such as hypnosis. This would be very new-age for the 50s. Plus with all the hurting he saw in the war, he probably wasn’t a big fan.

David Pickett – Stand Up Comedy Show – Rockford, IL 2/23/2010