Donkeys vs jackasses
1st June 2021 · 0 Comments
The donkey is not the official logo of the Democratic Party. However, its association with the Democratic Party began in 1828 when opponents of presidential candidate Andrew Jackson, a Democrat, called him Andrew Jackass for his populist attitude.
Jackson embraced the nickname, using it on campaign posters and rebranding the donkey (male mule or ass) as steadfast, determined and willful instead of stubborn, stupid and slow. Jackson served as the seventh president of the United States.
Thomas Nast, the first political cartoonist in the nation, is credited with depicting the donkey and elephant as symbols of the Democratic Party and the Republican Party, respectively, in 1870. Nast was a Republican. His drawings showed Democrats as stupid, obstinate, jackasses and Republicans as strong, intelligent, benevolent elephants.
Back then, Democratic Party members were Confederate sympathizers, ex-slave owners and KKK members. Conversely, Republican Party members were patriots whose primary mission was preserving the Union.
The political script got flipped.
Republicans crow about being the party of Lincoln, but they act like the Post-Civil War Democratic Party under racist, impeached President Andrew Johnson’s leadership.
Lincoln must be turning over in his grave.
Democrats’ values are more aligned with Lincoln’s Republican Party, which believed in the Constitution and freedom for all.
Today the donkey is viewed as a symbol of service, peace and humility, as depicted in the Bible, and the Democratic Party shares those attributes.
To be affiliated with a donkey is a good thing. Acting a jackass is not.
U.S. Senators Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Kristen Sinema (D-Ariz.) are jackasses in traditional political terms.
For example, Senator Tim Kaine called Trump a jackass for not shaking Speaker Pelosi’s hand before his 2020 State of the Union address.
Like Trump, both Manchin and Sinema are acting contrary and being obstructionist against their own party’s agenda. What they’re doing is pure jackassery.
President Barack Obama recently called the filibuster a relic of the Jim Crow era. The majority of Capitol Hill Democrats want to eliminate the filibuster, but Manchin and Sinema wish to keep it.
They know Republicans use the filibuster to block legislation from being put to the vote. They know this. So, what the hell is wrong with them?
There’s a dead cat on the line, as the old folks say. Something is not right. We need to ask them why they think it’s OK to be their party’s outliers. Why don’t they act like Democrats? Why are they in bed with the Republicans? Why did they vote for Trump’s agenda at least 70-80 percent of the time?
A few months ago, Senate Minority Leader Mitchell McConnell bragged about Manchin and Sinema being with “us” in opposing the cost of Biden’s first stimulus package.
Manchin is a jackass if he thinks his so-called “moderate” democratic base appreciates his insistence on cutting COVID supplemental unemployment relief money from $400 to $300, which is what the Republicans wanted.
Now, he’s against Senate Bill #1 (For the People Act), the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, and the Infrastructure bill because Republicans oppose them. #Republican Jackassery.
Manchin and Sinema are like Post-Reconstruction Democrats. They claim to be “moderate” Democrats, but they are far right of center.
Their letter to Senate Republicans encouraging them to vote for a Jan. 6 Commission is nothing less than the theater of the absurd. Manchin and Sinema want us to believe that bipartisanship is more critical than getting President Biden’s agenda items passed.
We’re sorry to have to tell them, but they alone are jackasses. What these two are doing is as clear as day. They have formed a voting bloc to wield power and raise their public profiles, full stop.
Their jackassery is working. It’s newsworthy. When a political party controls the presidency, the House and Senate, and a couple of members align themselves with the opposition, news platforms provide more coverage than they could ever afford. It also allows them to rack up political favors.
Meanwhile, Manchin and Sinema have put Democrats between a rock and a hard place. The 50-50 Senate split means every democrat plus Vice President Kamala Harris must vote to pass legislation.
Not to mention the 60 votes needed to pass legislation with hefty price tags like S.B. (The for the People Act), the Jan. 6 Commission, Infrastructure bill and other legislation designed to level the playing field for all Americans.
Machin and Sinema are not moderate Democrats. They are jackasses and DINOs (Democrats in Name Only).
We know Manchin and Sinema are not loyal to the Democratic Party. They’re out for themselves. But at what price? Are they going to back Republicans who refuse to investigate the Jan. 6 insurrection?
Maybe Manchin and Sinema want to run for president and vice president in 2024.
They want us to think they care about bipartisanship but do they, though?
Where were they when McConnell made it crystal clear that he’s not interested in bipartisanship? Did they not believe McConnell when he said he’s solely focused on stopping Biden?
Where were Manchin and Sinema when McConnell, last week, reportedly asked Senate Republicans to do him a favor and not vote for a Jan. 6 Commission?
McConnell obstructed President Obama’s plans for six straight years. Now he’s doing the same to President Biden, Obama’s former vice president.
Are Manchin and Sinema’s heads buried in the sand? We think not. They know what’s up. They’re aiding and abetting the Republicans’ white supremacist agenda.
Suppose Manchin and Sinema think their constituents want them to back the permanent tax cut, the filibuster, end COVID-Relief and vote against their interests. In that case, their voters are also DINOs and jackasses who should switch parties.
This article originally published in the May 31, 2021 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
