Why are democrats and repulicans referred as donkeys and elephants?

[E equals MC2]

I know all of you are dying to make a joke and flame either side, but I just want a simple and real answer.

 

[So]

Thomas Nast

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Nast

 

[So]

(see notable works)

 

[chambersc]

An old political cartoon.

 

[Safeway]

And Independents as tweens?

 

[ElFenix]

i'm trying to figure out why republican states are 'red states' and democrat states are 'blue states'


what really confuses me is that the republican party is called the 'grand old party' when the democratic party is the older of the two. i guess they're the 'grand older party'

 

[deerslayer]

Because democrats are asses.

 

[blackllotus]

asses and fatasses

 

[So]

Originally posted by: ElFenix
i'm trying to figure out why republican states are 'red states' and democrat states are 'blue states'

That really bothers me.

Also, I remember the Dems and GOP switching what color represented their states repeatedly in my lifetime. I think it used to be arbitrary.

 

[FoBoT]

dems are bigger jackasses and repubs are more full of crap (elephants crap more/have bigger craps)

 

[E equals MC2]

Originally posted by: So
(see notable works)

Thanks but still doesn't explain WHY they are donkeys and elephants.

 

[Zysoclaplem]

Originally posted by: ElFenix
i'm trying to figure out why republican states are 'red states' and democrat states are 'blue states'


what really confuses me is that the republican party is called the 'grand old party' when the democratic party is the older of the two. i guess they're the 'grand older party'

Because republicans use fire magic, and democrats use water magic.

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: So

Originally posted by: ElFenix
i'm trying to figure out why republican states are 'red states' and democrat states are 'blue states'

That really bothers me.

Also, I remember the Dems and GOP switching what color represented their states repeatedly in my lifetime. I think it used to be arbitrary.

it used to be whatever the news happened to assign to it, i think.

wikipedia:
Prior to the 2000 presidential election, there was no universally recognized color scheme to represent political parties in the USA. The practice of using colors to represent parties on electoral maps dates back at least as far as the 1950s, when such a format was employed within the Hammond series of historical atlases. Color-based schemes became more widespread with the adoption of color television in the 1960s and nearly ubiquitous with the advent of color in newspapers. Early on, the most common?though again, not universal?color scheme was to use red for Democrats and blue for Republicans. This was the color scheme employed by NBC?David Brinkley famously referred to the 1984 map showing Reagan's 49-state landslide as a "sea of blue", but this color scheme was also employed by most newsmagazines. CBS during this same period, however, used the opposite scheme?blue for Democrats, red for Republicans. ABC was less consistent than its elder network brothers; in at least two presidential elections during this time before the emergence of cable news outlets, ABC used yellow for one major party and blue for the other. As late as 1996, there was still no universal association of one color with one party.[2]; if anything, the majority of outlets in 1996 were using blue for the GOP and red for the Democrats.

But in 2000, for the first time, all major media outlets used the same colors for each party: Red for Republicans, blue for Democrats. Partly as a result of this first-time universal color-coding, the terms Red States and Blue States entered popular usage in the weeks following the 2000 presidential election. Additionally, the closeness of the disputed election kept the colored maps in the public view for longer than usual, and red and blue thus became fixed in the media and in many people's minds.[3] Journalists began to routinely refer to "blue states" and "red states" even before the 2000 election was settled, such as The Atlantic's cover story by David Brooks in the December 2001 issue entitled, "One Nation, Slightly Divisible." Thus red and blue became fixed in the media and in many people's minds [4] despite the fact that no "official" color choices had been made by the parties.

 

[AnyMal]

Originally posted by: FoBoT
dems are bigger jackasses and repubs are more full of crap (elephants crap more/have bigger craps)

:thumbsup: That pretty much sums it up nicely

 

[E equals MC2]

Originally posted by: ElFenix
i'm trying to figure out why republican states are 'red states' and democrat states are 'blue states'


what really confuses me is that the republican party is called the 'grand old party' when the democratic party is the older of the two. i guess they're the 'grand older party'

I'm assuming republicans are traditional, conservative and slow to change.. that's why they use a heavy color like red.

democrats are fast to adopt, liberal and etc.. hence a more cool and refreshing color of blue....

just my guess.

 

[So]

Originally posted by: E equals MC2

Originally posted by: ElFenix
i'm trying to figure out why republican states are 'red states' and democrat states are 'blue states'


what really confuses me is that the republican party is called the 'grand old party' when the democratic party is the older of the two. i guess they're the 'grand older party'

I'm assuming republicans are traditional, conservative and slow to change.. that's why they use a heavy color like red.

democrats are fast to adopt, liberal and etc.. hence a more cool and refreshing color of blue....

just my guess.

WTF?

 

[rockyct]

I think technically in 2008, the Democrats will be red and the Republicans blue. I doubt that will happen now though.

 

[LEDominator]

Originally posted by: rockyct
I think technically in 2008, the Democrats will be red and the Republicans blue. I doubt that will happen now though.

The propaganda machine rolls. Its subtle, but red is the more dominant color while blue is the weaker color.

Anyways, I believe the term GOP is from the civil war and whatnot. At that time it was the Gallant/Grand (terms were interchangeable) OP. Obviously this is good on a number of levels because it affirms you are on the right side (Union vs Confederacy -remember the North was solidly Republican and the South Democrat) and implies that you are somehow on a higher moral level than your enemy. After that, the terms pretty much stuck and Grand fell into greater use because it was the party that preserved the Union and freed the slaves.