April 19, 2012

"Show you're proud to be a Democrat—claim your free bumper sticker!"

Says the Democratic National Committee, at this page where I was sent by email that said: "Show people exactly where you stand in this year's election." But look at the sticker:



Is that really out-and-proud about being a Democrat? Not a Republican. It seems modest and even a bit ashamed, sort of like well, at least I'm not a Republican.

117 comments:

Quaestor said...

Not a Republican, ergo a likely credulous idiot is behind the wheel. Proceed with caution.

Alan said...

Not particularly American, either. Would look right at home on a KLM aircraft, though.

chickelit said...

That bumper sticker makes "to be or not to be" sound like passive agression.

DADvocate said...

"Be Democratic, Vote Republican"

A Repubican bumbersticker from the Nixon era that I've thought of reviving. Didn't like Nixon, but he's dead and gone. Now there's someone else in the White House just as bad or worse.

FloridaSteve said...

As a Libertarian I find this sticker offensive. It implies that there are only two avenues of politics in this country.

Strelnikov said...

Hey, I'm not a Republican - but I'm not a Dem, either. Dumb sticker. It does adequately sum up Obama's campaign so far, though.

Tim said...

They also could have said:

"Not a Smart Voter"

"Not Capable of Taking Care of Myself"

"Why Aren't You at Work? I Need Your Tax Dollars"

"Guess How Many Times I Signed the Recall Petition?"

"Guess How Many Times I Voted?"

"If a Little Debt is Good for the Economy, Lots of Debt Must be Great!"

"I Support 'Free' Birth Control for Women"

"I Wants My Free Health Care"

"Obama Will Pay My Mortgage and Buy My Gas in His Second Term"

"Free Tibet!"

"I Already Oppose the Next War"

"I Believe The Media"

"Balance the Budget - Repeal the Bush, er, Obama Tax Cuts for the RICH!"

"Pass the Senate Democrat Budget NOW"

"I am a Feminist - I vote the NOW Slate Card"

"I Like To Eat Dog"

Scott M said...

If Team Romney is as on the ball as they have been, they will lampoon the hell out of this. It's ripe for it.

Dan in Philly said...

Kind of an annoying bumper sticker.

ricpic said...

That's what happens in a fern bar on the upper west side: " Ooh, I'm so sick of getting mugged but but please believe me, I'm not a REPUBLICAN!"

Eric the Fruit Bat said...

Not much opportunity for Boolean algebra, there.

Bob Ellison said...

Secret Service One's bumper sticker says "I BRAKE FOR POODLES".

Coldstream said...

It's a perfect summation of the current Democratic party. A Senate that refuses to pass a budget for years. Tim Geithner attacking the Paul Ryan budget while admitting not having any plan of his/Obama's own to reduce the budget...

No ideas other than "we don't like yours"

Showing us where they stand indeed.

traditionalguy said...

They are saying that The Republican brand is shameful. That IS the Obama campaign's meme.

That message has been worked over the last 4 years into media story lines; to wit: that Republicans hate Hispanics, hate blacks, hate women, hate gays, are against contraception and abortion, are super rich religious fanatics.

Even if only one or two of those seven are partly true, it becomes a shameful brand to be hidden away. OMG the hated RINOs are Republicans too.

Which is why Obama as an enemy agent of a world Marxixt Conspiracy needs to be mentioned. ABO is enough this election.

TANSTAAFL said...

Carry a sharpie with you and write "-I'M A FOOL" on it.

crosspatch said...

The Democrats' entire strategy is "don't vote for them because they suck even worse than we do".

The Democrats have nothing. And they are losing.

X said...

Not Obama is going to win the election

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Operation Chaos..

Claim the bumper stickers..

And then what do you do with them?

edutcher said...

No Hope, Got Any Change?

All of a sudden, I hate the Supreme Court.

No, I've never eaten my Schnauzer.

Cornroaster said...

And you can cut off the "Not a...' and the bottom line and have a bumper sticker that says "Republican" and is paid for by the Democrats. Talk about taking advantage of someone...

Hoosier Daddy said...

Seems like most Democrat policy positions can fit on a bumper sticker anyway.

Scott M said...

A Senate that refuses to pass a budget for years.

The pool picture from yesterday's Senate budget committee meeting, in which all of the member Republicans are there, but the only Democrat is the committee chairman. The picture of a crowded table (on one side), a room full of reporters and eleven empty Democrat chairs had better make it into some GOP advertising or I call malpractice.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Over 'NOT A' stick the letters 'VOTE' so that it reads VOTE REPUBLICAN..

Leave the smaller democrat.org untouched as a tail.. oops tell, that things are so bad under Obama, democrats are crossing over and campaigning for republicans.

DADvocate said...

"I Like To Eat Dog"

This is going to be a dog eat dog presidential campaign. Obama has more experience at that.

Anonymous said...

I like this sticker. I can put it on my car, and then cover the lower third with another one I have that reads, "Libertarian; More Freedom, Less Government"

yashu said...

A perfect encapsulation of the Obama 2012 campaign: with nothing else to go on, it's a campaign ad hominem.

Not "Winning the Future". Not "Hope and Change". Not "Yes We Can". But: "Not A Republican."

Quaestor said...

I tried the link in hope of get a free sticker to modify à la mode de Cornroaster, and guess what happened? The form was autofilled with some of Althouse's info, specifically an email address, a last name, a zip code and a city! A city in Thailand!

It looks like Althouse has ordered a sticker and had it shipped overseas.

Amartel said...

I know conservatives who would happily put that on their car. Hell, I know Republicans who would like to put that on their car. Well, except they'd cross out the "democrats.org" part.

Jay Vogt said...

Perfect for holding together the rusted bumper of a Volvo 740.

geokstr said...

It's probably a good idea that every Republican get one for each vehicle and one for each residence/business location. When Van Jones/MoveOn.org get their nouveau hippie "99% Spring" up andrunning, it's good insurance to keep your car from getting keyed or crapped on and your home or business from being picketed or vandalized.

Let them explain to all the Democratic voters who didn't you get a sticker why it was their property that got trashed.

kimsch said...

My first visual was of Baby Sinclair sitting on Earl Sinclair's shoulders hitting him with a frying pan saying, "Not the momma! Not the momma!"

Scott M said...

If Team Romney was smart, the would get a custom bumper-sticker made.

Same colors, same font, but with the text VOTE REPUBLICAN with the smaller text reading "BEAT THE DEMOCRATS"

You have it made so the cut runs right between the E in VOTE and the R in Republicans. The purpose being to change someone's NOT A bumper-sticker to a VOTE. Or, just use the whole thing on your own car.

Win-win.

damikesc said...

A perfect encapsulation of the Obama 2012 campaign: with nothing else to go on, it's a campaign ad hominem.

Exactly. Nothing describes the sheer level of fail of Obama than that sticker. You had 4 years, Mr. Resident. You had a super majority for 2 of those years. And the net effort of having this massive amount of power --- is that you have to say "I'm not a Republican".

And he'll still get a frighteningly large percentage of the vote.

Also --- can anybody explain why a Republican should give the Resident the time of day with this crap? He has near total control over the DNC (his as-of-yet-not-eaten-poodle runs it) so he can nix this.

He's telling anybody who isn't a Democrat that they don't matter.

Amartel said...

Sorry, Shawn L., you got there first.
This bumpersticker, minus alterations, has a desperate pleading quality about it.

Jay Vogt said...

ricpic said...
That's what happens in a fern bar on the upper west side: " Ooh, I'm so sick of getting mugged but but please believe me, I'm not a REPUBLICAN!"

. . . a "fern bar"? was this meant to be ironic?

If somehow a fern bar could be permitted on the UWS, no one would be caught dead in it.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Oh man..

Drudge has tied an Obama Clooney $3 fund raiser with the Secret Service Cartagena Latina in a swimsuit pose on a beach.

Its a gold mine.

KLDAVIS said...

Now who's the party of no?

yashu said...

And this is a clear indication that Obama and the Dems have given up-- completely-- on any of the moderate Republican voters they got in 2008.

You'd never see the GOP officially use a slogan like "Not A Democrat"-- a gratuitous insult toward all registered Democrats, equating "Democrat" to an epithet. The GOP knows-- or hopes-- those blue dog Democrats, those Reagan Democrats, are in play. They certainly will be in 2012.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

I cant believe the Daily News beat the Post to these pics.

Julie said...

"No Party Owns My Vote" - the only sticker I would consider displaying.

chickelit said...

Lem wrote: the Secret Service Cartagena Latina in a swimsuit pose on a beach.

You mean the "Canoe Rentals By The Hour" photo?

JackOfClubs said...

This just begs for a Lyle Lovett treatment: That's Right You're Not From Texas

bagoh20 said...

I'm a life-long Democrat (an accident of youth), and I would still like one that says: "I'm ashamed to be a Democrat, aren't you?"

JackOfClubs said...

PS: You would think someone would have thought to put the Blue on the top and Red on the bottom!

Penny said...

Brilliantly on point for the negative campaign ahead.

ricpic said...

Vogt - There aren't any yuppie fern bars on the UWS? Okay, I admit I've never been in one but there has to be a bar for the better sort of person there.

HurfDurf said...

Step 1. Sign up for a free sticker.
Step 2. Cut strategically.
Step 3. Apply marker.

REsult: http://i.imgur.com/7vNWa.png

edutcher said...

I guess they'll have to stick one across Claire McCaskill's ass.

Isn't she the one forever trying to avoid appearing with the Messiah?

PS That bumper sticker may go down in history with "I vas in Schvitzerland during ze var".

Lyssa said...

I used to regularly walk by a parked car with a bumper sticker that said "I'm too poor to vote Republican." That always struck me as pretty stupid, too.

I'd think "I'm probably just as poor as you are, now, but the difference is that I don't plan to stay that way."

You know, I'll bet I am a lot richer than that person is now.

Franklin said...

I always sign up for these things so they have to spend money mailing them to me. Every little bit helps.

Mr. Forward said...

"NOT A CLUE"

Penny said...

And having read the comments now, the other advantage is both Independents and Libertarians feel compelled to join in with the "NOT REPUBLICAN!" chorus.

Tricky, and very effective. Well done!

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

See what I did with that verb back there?

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

"Canoe Rentals By The Hour" photo..

You know what..

I was trying to be Supremely empathetic.

AllenS said...

Bumpersnicker --

NODOGMA

Astro said...

Reminds me of one of stupidest car commercials I've heard in a while. The announcer voices-over, "We don't just make luxury cars, we make Cadillacs."
Oh, so you make luxury cars and you make Cadillacs too? Glad you made that distinction.

Econophile said...

"Not a Republican... Just Another Proud Dutchman."

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Almost as classy as Republicans for Voldermort.

Peter said...

'crosspatch' said, "The Democrats have nothing. And they are losing."

Well, they've captured most of the old media, and much of the university heights.

And they surely have lots of union money. It buys TV ads, phone banks, walk-around cash.

Oh you meant, "nothing" in the way of new, interesting ideas- just doubling-down on the same-old?

Fen said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
wyo sis said...

Even in a lame ass meeting in Wyoming we always think of what possible misinterpretation could the reader/user get from this. It's clear this was not subjected to even the most minimal scrutiny. Some drunken frat boy thought this was brilliant.

Rliyen said...

An unsuccessful Democratic candidate for SOS and Lt. Governor in my state said that Republicans were "cruel and destructive" and "eat their young."

So what happened? The state's GOP made bumper stickers declaiming that the candidate hates me (for being a Republican).

I have mine hanging on the wall.

Fen said...

Not a Jew"

Please let me sit at the cool kids table. oh pretty please.

I have a very intelligent enlightened sophisticated libtard friend who wrote a blog thread about Republicans = Taliban. That is his justification for voting Obama again.

Obama must really suck if you have to pretend the alternative is the "Taliban"

alan markus said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
alan markus said...

Step 1. Sign up for a free sticker.
Step 2. Cut strategically.
Step 3. Apply marker.


I like that idea - hijack the bumper sticker - a low-tech alternative for conservatives who don't do Twitter. Those who haven't been able to be part of the movement to hijack all those Twitter hashtags that Obama puts out:

I.e; #AttackWatch; #LikeObamaCare; #Gen44; #BuffettRule; #WhatsRomneyHiding, etc.

Everytime they do it, they get beat over the head, but they just keep coming back for more.

edutcher said...

Peter said...
'crosspatch' said, "The Democrats have nothing. And they are losing."

Well, they've captured most of the old media, and much of the university heights.

And they surely have lots of union money. It buys TV ads, phone banks, walk-around cash.

Oh you meant, "nothing" in the way of new, interesting ideas- just doubling-down on the same-old?


No, they're losing.

The Romster's tied with Zero in the polls and is doing so in the swing states - look at PA - and is kicking his ass in the media wars - new media's making a laughingstock of the old. Axelrod and Plouffe's "Oh, look! A squirrel!" campaign is being one-upped daily (check the latest Hitler vid) and the Romster still stays on message with, "It's the economy, stupid".

University heights beclowned itself over the last 4 years with Stimulus and Green Energy.

And the money just isn't flowing in. Zero's lost the plutocrats from last time and the unions aren't what they once were.

Yeah, they're losing.

Anonymous said...

I'll tell you exactly where I stand.

I'm not standing in Kansas.

James Pawlak said...

I am ordering up some bumper stickers which will read:

LOBOTOMIZE REPUBLICANS!
MAKE THEM DEMOCRATS!!!

ddh said...

"Not a Republican" gives me the impression that the speaker is embarrassed to be a Democrat.

To use an analogy, saying "I'm not an American" is not a proud, unequivocal statement of Canadian patriotism.

edutcher said...

Maybe this picture is the reason they'd print up such a bumper sticker.

Chip S. said...

What's the fuss?

Don't the wingnuts get all excited when Lee Greenwood belts out "Proud to Be Not Mexican"?

bgates said...

I for one am glad to see Christine O'Donnell's campaign manager is still getting work.

And then what do you do with them?

Look for large pictures of, eg, Charlie Sheen, Al Sharpton, Barney Frank, Bashar Assad....

bgates said...

Dear DNC,

I am very proud of my political leanings, but not so much that I would pay cash to display them. Please send me free stuff.

Yours &c,
B____

Nora said...

Why the Luxemburg flag. Are they getting ready to flee there if Obama looses elections?

Unknown said...

@ddh:

To use an analogy, saying "I'm not an American" is not a proud, unequivocal statement of Canadian patriotism.


Well, duh! Everyone knows that the unequivocal statement of Canadian patriotism is, "I'm not an American, eh?"

ddh said...

Jess,

That just shows I am an American.

Roadkill said...

NOT A REPUBLICAN

Conservatives.org

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

It's not news the professor is a democrat.. Is it?
Advanced groundwork for a secret roundevu?.. Is it?
Cartagena ala Althouse.
Guess what...
The Professor is voting for Obama, as she has for every other democrat presidential candidate, with the exception of Al Gore.

edutcher said...

Wrong.

Lurch.

harrogate said...

This is garden variety stuff for the more ideologically committed who invest in both major parties.

Sheesh, a lot of people are disgusted with/embarrassed by the thoroughgoing corporate lackeyship of the Dems; such people vote, not for Dems, but against GOP. Not rocket science.


On a site like Townhall the comments sections teem with catarwauling about how bad and corrupt the GOP is but at least they are better than the Evil Commie Democrats. Oh wait. That's also not too dissimilar from what one finds in a lot of comments here.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

The professor already has a "How Romney Lost Me" post ready, fully fueled, waiting in the wings..

(I know there is a better way to transition here)

But because Obama keeps crashing and burning, like a virgin, the professor has had to keep it under wraps.

Deborah M. said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Chip Ahoy said...

No. Neither. And so politically you might say I am Independent and I go there you go again slapping labels around. That does it, I'm too independent to be Independent, those guys are nuts.

Damn that makes a terrible bumper sticker.

Mike aka Proof said...

"Not a Republican"? Probably couldn't pass the entrance exam!

Quaestor said...

Easy fix with just scissors

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Nice work Quaestor.

edutcher said...

harrogate said...

This is garden variety stuff for the more ideologically committed who invest in both major parties.

Sheesh, a lot of people are disgusted with/embarrassed by the thoroughgoing corporate lackeyship of the Dems; such people vote, not for Dems, but against GOP. Not rocket science.


Those are the people who will be staying home this year.

Perhaps the biggest sign the Demos, and particularly Axelrod and Plouffe, are worried is the fact that they have to find some black people to work in Zero's re-election campaign .

harrogate said...

edutcher:


You may be right, but I do not believe they will stay home. Not when the GOP nominee, Romney is such an excellent all-out embodiment of the thing.

KCFleming said...

More and more former US citizens are saying Not an American.

Caroline said...

Never understood this need to express one's politics on one's car. It's just begging for some miscreant who happens to disagree with you, to do something nasty to your car.

In my neighborhood someone owned a car with an "ANARCHY" sticker on it. Both I and my husband independently had the idea that it would be amusingly appropriate to smash the windows and set fire to the car. ( We didn't of course; we're law-abiding people.)

The car eventually disappeared. I wonder if it was stolen, and if so, did the owner call the police to report it?

Michael Haz said...

I want a bumper sticker that reads

This Comment Has Been Revoved By The Author

Astro said...

Revoved?
I refudiate that revoved is a word.

Phil 314 said...

Shouldn't it say "free thanks to America Reinvestment and Recovery Act" ?

Quaestor said...

Chip Ahoy wrote:
Damn that makes a terrible bumper sticker.

Here's a revision of that stupid, lame-ass creation made by cretins at the DNC that ought to satisfy the small i independents.

For the left side of your bumper.

For the right side of your bumper.

There are lots of ways you can work these up yourself. For instance you could just print these out on standard paper. They will each be 10 3/4" by 4 3/4" -- so they're a nice size. Apply the to your bumper with rubber cement and then cover with transparent tape. They should last for months. If they fad or run just print up some new ones. Or if you've got the cash get them made up as stickers by a professional shop. Free! I waive all claims to copyright.

rcommal said...

Quite apart from being independent and pro-democracy, I am most emphatically republican. Always have been, always will be. I think the form of government our various founders envisioned is in many ways genius (and, again, always have thought so) in, for just once example, the notion of checks and balances.

Oh. Wait. Is this about modern and/or current party labels? Again.

What-ev-er.

edutcher said...

harrogate said...

You may be right, but I do not believe they will stay home. Not when the GOP nominee, Romney is such an excellent all-out embodiment of the thing.

No, those poor people can't take another 4 years of this Administration and the Reid-Pelosi Congress.

They may not be able to bring themselves to vote Republican - at least publicly - although the Romster is showing himself to be a much better campaigner than many of us dared dream, but they can't afford what the Demos are doing to them and it's the Demos, and their Lefty ideology - that are crushing them under the weight to inflation and unemployment double the national average.

Can we all say triple dip?

This is why Kerosene Maxine and the rest of the Black Caucus had that presser a couple of months ago telling Zero to get busy.

Unknown said...

Ankle biters. That's why I'm not a Dem any more.

They are not something; they are anti-the something. Big difference in politics.

Kirby Olson said...

The Democrats are something like the Titanic. They have such a sense that they are unsinkable. The whole country is going underwater and the band plays on.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

Almost as classy as Republicans for Voldermort.

I like this idea for a bumper sticker


Voldermort votes Democrat

Ritchie The Riveter said...

Let me guess ... this HAS to have come from the same people that gave us "Winning The Future" as a slogan ... not even thinking about the resultant acronym?

Of course, here's how I'd have done it ...

A puppy on your plate
A leash around your neck
Democrats.org

Seerak said...

Quite a number of folks here in Vegas are certain that "Not Harry Reid" would have won Sharron Angle the Senate seat. Of course, that's contingent on her saying absolutely nothing else.

FormerlyUnknown said...

I like bringing in the ObamaAteADog reference in a subtle way, and I like alluding to the plantation mentality of the Democrats. But you have to keep it very succinct for a bumper sticker, so I'd go

Vote Democrat. Good Puppy.

ed said...

I wonder if the Democrats realize that this bumper sticker opens up a brand new horizon of parodies?

"Not a Republican; easily mislead."

"Not a Republican; I watch MSNBC"

"Not a Republican; wait ... what?"

"Not a Republican; look ... squirrel!"

"Not a Republican; watch out for flying spittle"

Unknown said...

On a site like Townhall the comments sections teem with catarwauling about how bad and corrupt the GOP is but at least they are better than the Evil Commie Democrats. Oh wait. That's also not too dissimilar from what one finds in a lot of comments here.

It's one thing for blog commenters to say it. It's quite another for a political party to put it on a bumper sticker.

Micha Elyi said...

AprilApple (4:36 PM) said...
Almost as classy as Republicans for Voldermort.

Them's crossover voters. Joke's on the Democrats.

God, An Original A-hole said...

NOT A REPUBLICAN

fuckyou.org

...a better message, don't you think?

Bruce Hayden said...

Quite a number of folks here in Vegas are certain that "Not Harry Reid" would have won Sharron Angle the Senate seat. Of course, that's contingent on her saying absolutely nothing else.

Well, yes, but there was also a lot of other stuff going on too, including the casinos, for the first time in recent memory, getting in bed with their labor unions, to reelect Sen. Reid.

ampersand said...

Anyone remember Marjorie Knoller and Robert Noel ,the San Fran lawyers with the lesbian-killer dogs?
They were raising pooches for imprisoned Aryan Brotherhood members, and , If I recall correctly, had adopted one of the inmates, even though said inmate was banging Marge.
At any rate when arrested Marge said " At least we're not Republicans."

DVSONE said...

"Coward Barry 2012: Running Away From My Record Instead of On It"

"Barry 2012: My Record--Sit On It"

"Barack Squawk 2012--I'm Not A Republican"

"Barry 2012: I'm A (Democ)RAT"

Ann Althouse said...

"The Professor is voting for Obama, as she has for every other democrat presidential candidate, with the exception of Al Gore."

I voted for Al Gore.

The only one I didn't vote for was John Kerry.

I also voted against Jimmy Carter one of the times he ran -- the time he won.

Joe Schmoe said...

They are not something; they are anti-the something.

Bingo. They are never for something; just against it. AndyR never posts about Democrats and their ideas that he supports; it's only 'what a douche and idiot that Santorum is...' And Garage is all 'Walker's an asshole...' And PinchALoaf gets his panties in a bunch about whatever the lefty-manufactured diversion-du-jour is 'Anyone who has ever read Derbyshire is a racist!'

And on, and on, and on. Once you get your mind around the failure of a responsibility-free entitlement-driven society, you're welcome to switch parties and you know, actually help start fixing all these problems you created.

Laura said...

"I'd think 'I'm probably just as poor as you are, now, but the difference is that I don't plan to stay that way.'"

This. One woman's wealth is the ability to buy Manolo Blahnik and Louis Vuitton, another woman's joy is to borrow An Inconvenient Truth or Inside Job from the library and return them before accruing library fees.

harrogate said...

"It's one thing for blog commenters to say it. It's quite another for a political party to put it on a bumper sticker."

Tell that to Allen West.

Jim said...

The reason they used that "not a republican" slogan is because "meh..." was already taken.

Scott M said...

The reason they used that "not a republican" slogan is because "meh..." was already taken.

I read that comment and then thought about the status of the Senate's work on the budget. Say what you will about the GOP, but at least they show up for budget meetings. The Democrats couldn't be bothered.

RebeccaH said...

"Not a Republican"

"And Republicans thank you for that."

Jeany said...

Some years ago, the DNC sent me one of these, which I put on my ex-Republican father's Mercury Grand Marquis. Last week, a woman chased him down in a parking lot and asked him where he got it, because she wanted one.

Location: The Villages, Florida.