Were these emblems once upon a time chosen by leaders of the given party, or by critical print editorials? How is the Republican party like an elephant? How is the Democratic party like a donkey? More to the point, what influenced the creative minds in question to compare the parties to these beasts? When were these parties originally equated to their respective animal emblems?
2006-11-10 09:30:13 · 11 answers · asked by warped_factor_ten 2 in Politics & Government ➔ Other - Politics & Government
The images were created by newspaper cartoonists. The parties did not select these symbols for themselves.
The newspapers selected these images for their negative qualities. The parties have adopted the images for their positive traits.
So you can see in this example that the Press has a real impact on the political parties.
The elephants come from US Grant's era and is related to a bunch of slow moving circus elephants that escaped.
More interesting is the origin of the Uncle Sam character.
2006-11-10 10:11:32 · answer #1 · answered by angelthe5th 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I'm not sure of the history, but the reasoning is obvious.
Elephants are very regal & majestic animals, blessed with communications skills that rival any in the animal kingdom (their subsonic vocals can be heard by other elephants over many miles), they're immensely strong yet dexterous enough to pick individual leaves from a twig, they have incredible memories, are very wise compared to most other animals, and are extremely protective of the herd.
Donkeys are stubborn jackasses, good for pulling a plough or cart (but only if they feel like it) but little else.
2006-11-10 09:45:53 · answer #2 · answered by My Evil Twin 7 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Republicans are very resistant to change, and democrats are foolish like asses, I guess. I am grateful that we have both parties to keep each other in check, although I don't personally claim to be either.
2016-05-22 03:37:37 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
President Andrew Jackson was a former general. He refused to surrender and was called stubborn for his strong nature. He chose the donkey, a stubborn animal to be his party's mascot.
2006-11-10 09:32:48 · answer #4 · answered by notyou311 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Yeah I always thought that was funny too.
Kinda contradictory though as the Republicans have a Donkey (or ***) as a figure head. Don't figure!
2006-11-10 09:40:50 · answer #5 · answered by christinacoa 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Republicans - Elephant - will not forget what's best for America
Democrats - Donkey - Asses
Done.
2006-11-10 09:33:35 · answer #6 · answered by jasonzbtzl 4 · 3⤊ 4⤋
republicans (elephants) never forget
Democrat (Donkey) very stubborn "stubborn as a mule"
2006-11-10 09:32:21 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
I don't know, but republicans should be a moth since so many of them are in the closet......
2006-11-10 09:32:01 · answer #8 · answered by renee 5 · 2⤊ 3⤋
elephants have a good memory but are generally a stupid animal, lol... asses are smart asses.
2006-11-10 09:34:20 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 5⤋
shelly's answer is funny! lol.....
2006-11-10 10:05:14 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋