Why is the democratic symbol a donkey?
829379
Interestingly enough, the person credited with getting the donkey widely accepted as the Democratic party's symbol probably had no knowledge of the prior associations. Thomas Nast, a famous political cartoonist, came to the United States with his parents in 1840 when he was six. He first used the donkey in an 1870 Harper's Weekly cartoon to represent the "Copperhead Press" kicking a dead lion, symbolizing Lincoln's Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, who had recently died. Nast intended the donkey to represent an anti-war faction with whom he disagreed , but the symbol caught the public's fancy and the cartoonist continued using it to indicate some Democratic editors and newspapers.
977663
How did the animal icons of the Republicans and Democrats originate? \nTony\nAuburn, Indiana \n \nDear Tony: \nWe've always thought it a little strange that our nation's most prominent political parties are represented by two less-than-majestic animals. There must be a good reason why the Republicans use a pachyderm and the Democrats use an ass so we set out to find it. \nWe started our search by typing "republican elephant" into the search field. Although we didn't receive any Yahoo! category matches, we did receive 4,710 relevant web pages. \n\nThe first search result took us to "Origin Of The Republican Elephant," a web page on the Republican National Committee web site. \n\nAccording to the site, the symbol of the party was born in the imagination of cartoonist Thomas Nast and first appeared in Harper's Weekly on November 7, 1874. The entire explanation is rather convoluted, but the whole story is outlined in the article. \n\nInterestingly, Nast is also the person credited with gaining wide-spread acceptance of the donkey as a symbol for the Democratic party, although he was not the first to use the symbol. \n\nThe Republican National Committee web site provided a stellar answer, so we decided to use its counterpart, The Democratic National Committee web site to find the origin of the donkey. When we arrived at the site, we immediately searched for "donkey" and were presented with a number of pages. We clicked on the first document listed, "The Democratic Donkey," and found some interesting history behind its use. \n\nWhen Andrew Jackson ran for president in 1828, his opponents tried to label him a "jackass" for his populist views and his slogan, "Let the people rule." Jackson turned it to his advantage by using the donkey on his campaign posters. \n\nIn 1837, the donkey was used in a political cartoon for the first time to represent the Democratic party, again in conjunction with Jackson. Jackson was retired, but still considered himself the party's leader. The cartoon, titled "A Modern Baalim and his Ass," showed Jackson trying to get the donkey to go where he wanted it to go. \n\nTwice in the early 1870s, Thomas Nast used the donkey to represent the Democrats. He first used the animal in an 1870 Harper's Weekly cartoon to represent the "Copperhead Press" kicking a dead lion. He later used the donkey to portray what he called "Caesarism" showing the alleged Democratic uneasiness over a possible third term for Ulysses S. Grant. This later cartoon also marked the first use of the Republican elephant. \nThe donkey and the elephant have become the accepted symbols of the Democratic and Republican parties, even though the Democrats have never officially adopted the donkey as a party symbol. The Republicans, however, have actually adopted the elephant as their official symbol. \nGod bless America.
697810
You must have heard this from a Trinidadian person ... Donkey years does not specify a certain amount of time .. it just means "in a really long time".
781966
http://www.c-span.org/questions/week174.htm\n\n\n\nThis describes how both party's symbols became into existence!!!!\nhttp://www.infoplease.com/askeds/donkey-elephant.html
294898
In its original form, the jackass was born in the intense mudslinging used during the presidential race of 1828 as a play on the name of President Andrew Jackson, the Democratic candidate.\n\nOn January 19, 1870, a political cartoon by Thomas Nast appearing in Harper's Weekly titled "A Live Jackass Kicking a Dead Lion" revived the donkey as a symbol for the Democratic Party; it had also been used in the 1830s. Cartoonists followed Nast and used the donkey to represent the Democrats, and the elephant to represent the GOP. The DNC's official logo, pictured above, depicts a stylized kicking donkey.\n\nWhile every political party utilizes the traditional red, white, and blue colors in their marketing and representations, in the media states voting democratic are often depicted as blue while those voting republican are depicted as red.
1130347
When Andrew Jackson ran for president in 1828, his opponents tried to label him a "jackass" for his populist views and his slogan, "Let the people rule." Jackson, however, picked up on their name calling and turned it to his own advantage by using the donkey on his campaign posters. During his presidency, the donkey was used to represent Jackson's stubbornness when he vetoed re-chartering the National Bank.\n\n \n\nThe first time the donkey was used in a political cartoon to represent the Democratic party, it was again in conjunction with Jackson. Although in 1837 Jackson was retired, he still thought of himself as the Party's leader and was shown trying to get the donkey to go where he wanted it to go. The cartoon was titled "A Modern Baalim and his Ass".
149727
When Andrew Jackson ran for president in 1828, his opponents tried to label him a "jackass" for his populist views and his slogan, "Let the people rule." Jackson, however, picked up on their name calling and turned it to his own advantage by using the donkey on his campaign posters. During his presidency, the donkey was used to represent Jackson's stubbornness when he vetoed re-chartering the National Bank.\n\nThe first time the donkey was used in a political cartoon to represent the Democratic party, it was again in conjunction with Jackson. Although in 1837 Jackson was retired, he still thought of himself as the Party's leader and was shown trying to get the donkey to go where he wanted it to go. The cartoon was titled "A Modern Baalim and his Ass."\n\nInterestingly enough, the person credited with getting the donkey widely accepted as the Democratic party's symbol probably had no knowledge of the prior associations. Thomas Nast, a famous political cartoonist, came to the United States with his parents in 1840 when he was six. He first used the donkey in an 1870 Harper's Weekly cartoon to represent the "Copperhead Press" kicking a dead lion, symbolizing Lincoln's Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, who had recently died. Nast intended the donkey to represent an anti-war faction with whom he disagreed, but the symbol caught the public's fancy and the cartoonist continued using it to indicate some Democratic editors and newspapers.\n\nLater, Nast used the donkey to portray what he called "Caesarism" showing the alleged Democratic uneasiness over a possible third term for Ulysses S. Grant. In conjunction with this issue, Nast helped associate the elephant with the Republican party. Although the elephant had been connected with the Republican party in cartoons that appeared in 1860 and 1872, it was Nast's cartoon in 1874 published by Harper's Weekly that made the pachyderm stick as the Republican's symbol. A cartoon titled "The Third Term Panic," showed animals representing various issues running away from a donkey wearing a lion's skin tagged "Caesarism." The elephant labeled "The Republican Vote," was about to run into a pit containing inflation, chaos, repudiation, etc.\n\nBy 1880 the donkey was well established as a mascot for the Democratic party. A cartoon about the Garfield-Hancock campaign in the New York Daily Graphic showed the Democratic candidate mounted on a donkey, leading a procession of crusaders.\n\nOver the years, the donkey and the elephant have become the accepted symbols of the Democratic and Republican parties. Although the Democrats have never officially adopted the donkey as a party symbol, they have used various donkey designs on publications over the years. The Republicans have actually adopted the elephant as their official symbol and use their design widely.\n\nThe Democrats think of the elephant as bungling, stupid, pompous and conservative -- but the Republicans think it is dignified, strong and intelligent. On the other hand, the Republicans regard the donkey as stubborn, silly and ridiculous -- but the Democrats claim it is humble, homely, smart, courageous and loveable.
65563
During the mid term elections way back in 1874, Democrats tried to scare voters into thinking President Grant would seek to run for an unprecedented third term. Thomas Nast, a cartoonist for Harper's Weekly, depicted a Democratic jackass trying to scare a Republican elephant - and both symbols stuck.
587406
I almost always vote for one party over the other but just so I wont be a zombie I refuse to vote straight ticket.  \n\nI used to know a very old man who was illiterate and he would go into the voting booth and look for the donkey at the top of the ticket and punch straight party.  He would say, "The donkey means Democrat.  And Roosevelt was a Democrat...and that makes me a Democrat"  \n\nRepublican or Democrat don't give up your individuality for the party.
624099
Well...what can ypu saY ABOUT a political party that has an ass for it's symbol?
465935
THE CADUCEUS SYMBOL\nhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caduceus
639530
I'm going to say democratic because I used to hit rhinos there.  What do you think of that, Drebbon?
667680
because sepp blatter is a donkey
489501
Christ =  a imaginary savior\n\nGod =  Anthropomorphic symbol for nature, but with a human mind.\n\nJudas = Traitor
973886
The Democrat Party has been taken over by the Left Wing.\nTheir goal is a socialist/communist nation.
253030
I am an Orthodox Jew and did a quick check on a few of my books.  The one thing I cannot find is any link between that kind of symbol and Judaism.  It was not used by any of the 12 tribes or any of the various Kings of Israel.\n\nIt doesn't meant here isn't any (I am no authority on this matter), but I cannot find one.  Maybe something more local to you and the area though.  Another option is that it is merely decorative- especially if it is an oriental dragon, orientalism has come and gone in fashion.  (A sudden thought- he wasn't originally Welsh was he?  It is a slim chance, I know)
437740
People associate it with witchcraft, which they (incorrectly) associate with devil worship.  Therefore they assume its a santanic symbol, even though it isn't.