To: 350.org, The Illinois State House, The Illinois State Senate, The United States House of Representatives, and The United States Senate
Ditch the Donkey
It's time for the Democrats to "Ditch the Donkey." The symbol of the donkey is outdated, offensive, and taints the Democratic Party with guilt by association. Let's Ditch the Donkey and MoveOn to a more progressive symbol.
Why is this important?
In the 1870s, the grandfather of the modern political cartoon, Thomas Nast popularized the donkey as the “part and parcel” symbol for the Democratic Party.
The Democratic symbol of the “donkey” first appeared in the noxious presidential election of 1828, when a print portrayed democratic nominee Andrew “Old Hickory” Jackson as an unruly jackass. However, rather than rebuff the label, Jackson embraced the drawing, and channeled the “donkey” on the stump depiction.
Fast-forward to 2016, and the removal of Andrew Jackson from the front of the 20$ bill planned. In Adolph Hitler’s attempt to exterminate the Jews he modeled his prison camp system after the US Indian Reservation system. Andrew Jackson coined the issue as the “Indian problem.” Jackson, in his tyrannical advocacy of Indian removal as his core mission, had opponents in Congress claiming his concept of an “imperial presidency” would ultimately destroy what the founding fathers had envisioned.
And now, similar to the inane Pokemon Go, a scavenger hunt released by the 2016 Host Committee for the DNC “Donkeys Around Town,” a game for people to play on their smartphones through an app is being marketed.
"It did come out of my fertile and overactive mind, but it had some rational basis," said former Gov. Ed Rendell, chair of the Democratic National Convention's host committee, at a news conference announcing the donkeys. According to Rendell, "I thought, what a great idea to have 'Donkeys Around Town.' [We] want this to be a great convention for the Democratic Party and its nominee, but we also want to make it a great convention for the people of Philadelphia." The objective is simple; find the DNC Donkeys to win prizes, while being further disenfranchised from democracy.
The same Ed Rendell who took to the New York Daily News op-ed page back in 2013 with a message to local officials: stop worrying and learn to love fracking. Rendell invoked his own experience as a Democratic governor who presided over a fracking boom. Rendell argued for embracement of the nation’s “fracking revolution.” He rejected what he called the “false choice” of “natural gas versus the environment.” What Rendell’s passionate plea failed to note was this: since stepping down as governor in 2011, he has worked as a paid consultant to a private equity firm with investments in the natural gas industry.
Let's not be associated with these jackasses, and let's ditch the donkey.
Respectfully,
Eric Sterling
IL-16 CD Pledged Delegate for Bernie Sanders
The Democratic symbol of the “donkey” first appeared in the noxious presidential election of 1828, when a print portrayed democratic nominee Andrew “Old Hickory” Jackson as an unruly jackass. However, rather than rebuff the label, Jackson embraced the drawing, and channeled the “donkey” on the stump depiction.
Fast-forward to 2016, and the removal of Andrew Jackson from the front of the 20$ bill planned. In Adolph Hitler’s attempt to exterminate the Jews he modeled his prison camp system after the US Indian Reservation system. Andrew Jackson coined the issue as the “Indian problem.” Jackson, in his tyrannical advocacy of Indian removal as his core mission, had opponents in Congress claiming his concept of an “imperial presidency” would ultimately destroy what the founding fathers had envisioned.
And now, similar to the inane Pokemon Go, a scavenger hunt released by the 2016 Host Committee for the DNC “Donkeys Around Town,” a game for people to play on their smartphones through an app is being marketed.
"It did come out of my fertile and overactive mind, but it had some rational basis," said former Gov. Ed Rendell, chair of the Democratic National Convention's host committee, at a news conference announcing the donkeys. According to Rendell, "I thought, what a great idea to have 'Donkeys Around Town.' [We] want this to be a great convention for the Democratic Party and its nominee, but we also want to make it a great convention for the people of Philadelphia." The objective is simple; find the DNC Donkeys to win prizes, while being further disenfranchised from democracy.
The same Ed Rendell who took to the New York Daily News op-ed page back in 2013 with a message to local officials: stop worrying and learn to love fracking. Rendell invoked his own experience as a Democratic governor who presided over a fracking boom. Rendell argued for embracement of the nation’s “fracking revolution.” He rejected what he called the “false choice” of “natural gas versus the environment.” What Rendell’s passionate plea failed to note was this: since stepping down as governor in 2011, he has worked as a paid consultant to a private equity firm with investments in the natural gas industry.
Let's not be associated with these jackasses, and let's ditch the donkey.
Respectfully,
Eric Sterling
IL-16 CD Pledged Delegate for Bernie Sanders