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The Donkey and The Elephant
Written By: Donna Rhodes | Issue: March 2024
Buckle Up – 2024’s bruising political season promises all the excitement of a barrel ride over Whitewater Falls.
Art by Norma Jean Zahner
It’s an election year, and we’re floating in a sea of political jabberwocky. To turn the tide, and the channel, here’re some factoids about our Democrats and Republicans.
The Democrats: Why did they choose a donkey for their mascot? The donkey (aka jackass) was the name assigned to Andrew Jackson (our first Democratic president) by his political enemies. In that era, jackasses were considered stupid and stubborn. Jackson rather liked this common-man implication, so he and his party adopted the donkey’s name and image.
Nowadays, the donkey reputation has a new spin. Asses are proven smarter than we thought. They are loyal, though a bit stubborn, but who isn’t? They can be friendly and protective – and they can kick the shizbot out of coyotes and other predators. They are resolute hee-hawnkers just for the pure pleasure of hearing their own bellowing – make your own judgement about Democratic honking.
The Republicans: GOP stood for Gallant Old Party when it was established in 1854. The story goes, a newspaper was printing an article and ran out of space, so it abbreviated Gallant Old Party to G.O.P. Changed later to Grand Old Party, it was considered Lincoln’s party, as he was the first Republican President.
But how did the GOP get its mascot? Influential Thomas Nast, famous newspaper and magazine cartoonist of the mid 1800s, drew a charging, trumpeting elephant to represent the Republican Party. It didn’t take long for newspapers all over the country to imitate Nast’s Republican symbol. The Republicans and the pachyderm have been a union ever sense. (An aside: Thomas Nast was also the creator of the modern image of the Santa Claus we celebrate today.)
In closing, here’s some presidential and mascot trivia: Ronald Reagan was given a baby elephant by the President of Sri Lanka. President Ford and wife, Betty had an elephant room in their house with stuffed, sculpted, painted, and hand-crafted elephants given to them by party members.
Lyndon Johnson said, “Being a President is being like a jackass in a hailstorm. There’s nothing to do but stand there and take it.” Democratic President Franklin Roosevelt had his own personal donkey when he was a child.
So, pick your Party animal and remember Mark Twain’s famous words, “The more I learn about people, the more I like my dog.”
