why does Democratic Party use donkey as its symbol while Republic makes use of Elephant?
956948
An elephant has a long memory and is loyal...a donkey is just an a.s.s
100094
National Republican and Democratic Republican. The Democratic Republican is our Democratic party today, and the National Republican party fell apart, many of it's members joining the Whig party, and many joined the Republican party we have today after it was formed.
753764
Look how the Clinton staff acted when they moved out of the White House - trashed it, stole stuff, and took the W's off of the typewriters. During the last Presidential election in my state the donkeys slashed tires of Republican vans.  Those guys are in jail now.\n\nThe Democrats are immature and destructive from top - down.
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.
728139
Republicans are known as the party of bad ideas and Democrats the party of NO IDEAS.
311567
Right now with the Republicans it is a Republic. When the Democrats are in power it is a Democracy. That is the difference. One is for the people, and the other for wealth.
943247
It is symbolic of the democratic party's thinking.
824354
Disney Studios was assumed to be conservative, Republican, and therefore not "politically correct," although that term had not yet gained general usage.  That term was "borrowed" from the Soviets, who had only one party.  You were either politically correct or an enemy of the state.  So the Democrats, who had more clout in the media than the Republicans, made fun of Disney and considered their products too sweet and cute, not fashionably cynical.
166669
I found this on the internet, here is how the Democratic donkey came along:\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. During his presidency, the donkey was used to represent Jackson's stubbornness when he vetoed re-chartering the National Bank. \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. Kind of like President Clinton was doing after he was no longer President. 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\nInterestingly enough, the person credited with getting the donkey widely accepted as the Democratic party's symbol was Political Cartoonist, Thomas Nast. He first used the donkey in an 1870 Harper's Weekly cartoon shown above, 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.
485280
Republicans: to conserve national traditions, limit government interference, promote big business, and support democracy causes.\n\nDemocrats: to reshape government, to acquire more government control, limit big businesses, and focus on domestic issues.
206274
Republicans believe in using religion and money and power to control others lives, behavior and finances.\n\nDemocrats believe people should be free to make their own behavior choices, and democrats believe in giving the working class a decent comfortable lifestyle.
790947
To over simplify things... Democrats are for a "Nanny State" Republicans are for less government and independence.
921161
I am a Democrat.\n\nIn 1998, I ran for public office in my town - and won. \n\nWhile campaigning, I never hesitated to display my party logo on my left lapel under the American flag. On all my signs and literature, the word DEMOCRAT was prominently placed for ALL to see.\n\nI challenge anyone who is running for public office to do the same. If a candidate is reluctant to display which party they are aligned to, then I say DON'T VOTE FOR THEM. That is the voter's first sign of a HIDDEN AGENDA.
908037
The Democrats are the party that says government will make you smarter, taller, richer, and remove the crabgrass on your lawn.  The Republicans are the party that says government doesn't work and then they get elected and prove it. \n\nSeriously though, the Democrats are the party that believes: The national government has a central and positive role to play in bettering the lives of all Americans.\n\nWhereas the Republicans believe that business, if left alone, will govern the market, control the people, and reach a natural balance between the haves and needs of society.\n\nIt's the balance between these two that makes our country strong.  Too much of either one and you have the government growing in size (Democrats, historically) or completely ignoring problems that are directly caused by business (Republicans, historically).\n\nThe last few years have been very different for the Republicans.  They've moved from a conservative base to one not quite comfortable to most Americans.  Whereas the Democrats, who were historically liberal, moved closer to the middle.\n\nThe problem with this is that a liberal is always an ideologist and a conservative is not.\n\nA conservative with an ideology is either on the way to being a liberal or a neoconservative, depending on whether that ideology favors isolationism or greater inclusion.\n\nThe neoconservative who is successful in pushing their ideology will eventually become an authoritarian.  They will then immediately feel the recoil from a public who is, by nature, ideological. \n\nThat is what happened this week.\n\nI believe that the Republicans will once again start being conservative and that the Democrats will start to move back towards their historical liberal ideology.\n\nHope that helps!
375084
Seems to me that you pretty much hit the nail on the head.  Both parties have their scandals, their morons, and their self-righteous flag-toting extremists.  It is easy to complain when you aren't held accountable for the decision, so Bush-bashing is becoming more popular than ever.  The Democrats, being liberals in most regards, also have more division within their party.  Having said that, if it was up to some of the Republicans today, we'd still have blacks as slaves and women working only for the family.  What I'm saying is, both sides have their great minds and their fools, but historically the Democratic party has been more influencial and active in promoting equality.
351183
Mainly nowadays political party is more accompanied to the political theory one believes in.  Democrats usually relate to liberalism - socialistic, focus on individualism, and freedom to do what you want so long as you don't hold back anyone from doing what they want.  Republicans usuually relate to conservatism - capitalistic, focus on conformitiy, and a strong national government.  Of course they can be switched up, but often not.  The main reason nowadays for political parties is to simply seperate yourself from the other side in order to present a solid political platform.
376441
Democrats tend to think about what is best for the average citizen, Republicans favor corporations and the wealthy who can buy influence.   Also Republicans like wars.