Okay, I know this may bore you but…The donkey and elephant symbols come from a political cartoon by the famous Thomas Nast (Look him up, he also invented our modern depiction of Santa Claus.).His cartoon was comparing the craziness of politics to an incident with the Central Park Zoo in NYC. All the animals had escaped and there was chaos. Each of the animals was labeled with a party or organization.Guess which animals were the Democrat and Republican parties.
It should be obvious why politicians are symbolized by a jackass. Which group of politicians this symbol became associated with is a historical accident.
The elephant is another historical accident. The king of Siam (now Thailand) showed his respect for Abraham Lincoln by giving him an elephant. After Lincoln was assassinated, somehow the elephant became the possession of Lincoln’s party, which showed it off in political rallies and parades for many years. And so when political cartoonists needed an iconic symbol for the Republican party, they drew an elephant. Besides, the jackass was already taken.
Observer fo Irony over 9 years ago
I wonder how the muslims hide from being confused with the ISIS group.
ladykat over 9 years ago
Apparently some governments have changed the name of their group and the militants are now feeling insulted.
ClayManBob over 9 years ago
Nobody will adopt them, that’s for sure.
SkyFisher over 9 years ago
Okay, I know this may bore you but…The donkey and elephant symbols come from a political cartoon by the famous Thomas Nast (Look him up, he also invented our modern depiction of Santa Claus.).His cartoon was comparing the craziness of politics to an incident with the Central Park Zoo in NYC. All the animals had escaped and there was chaos. Each of the animals was labeled with a party or organization.Guess which animals were the Democrat and Republican parties.
markmoss1 over 9 years ago
It should be obvious why politicians are symbolized by a jackass. Which group of politicians this symbol became associated with is a historical accident.
The elephant is another historical accident. The king of Siam (now Thailand) showed his respect for Abraham Lincoln by giving him an elephant. After Lincoln was assassinated, somehow the elephant became the possession of Lincoln’s party, which showed it off in political rallies and parades for many years. And so when political cartoonists needed an iconic symbol for the Republican party, they drew an elephant. Besides, the jackass was already taken.
dzw3030 over 9 years ago
“Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right…”
jbmlaw01 over 9 years ago
President Lincoln did not know about Hohenwald, TN.
JP Steve Premium Member over 9 years ago
I thought Yul Brynner wanted to send Lincoln male elephants untill Deobora Kerr convinced him they wouldn’t breed…
Just one more thing over 9 years ago
I love this comic but what i dont like are pit bulls cause i dont think there amusing at all please replace the pit with a lab