Red State, Blue State: Weird Facts About the Two Big Political Parties
The Republican Elephant
The elephant became associated with the Republican Party back in 1874, at a time when the Republicans were able to still call themselves the party of Lincoln without even a trace of irony. Cartoonist Thomas Nast drew an image of the Democratic “donkey clothed in lion’s skin, scaring away all the animals at the zoo. One of those animals, the elephant, was labeled ‘The Republican Vote.'” So, this was a time when the Republicans were considered stalwart and brave. My, my, how times have changed.