Robert F. Kennedy Jr. got a new logo after going from Democrat to independent
Plus: The parties have a brand problem, but Republicans have this advantage
Hello, in this issue we’ll look at…
The parties have a brand problem, but Republicans have this advantage
How Robert F. Kennedy Jr. rebranded from Democrat to independent
Oh, for cute, Minnesota just opened submissions to redesign its flag and seal
Scroll to the end to see: How the White House showed solidarity with Israel.
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The parties have a brand problem, but Republicans have this advantage
Recent Gallup polling confirmed what everybody already knows: the major parties have a brand problem.
Polls released last week showed 56% of Americans view the Republican Party unfavorably, 58% view the Democratic Party unfavorably, and a record 63% believe a third major party is needed, the highest that figure has been since Gallup began polling on the question in 2003. About a third of Americans say Democrats and Republicans do an adequate job.
Americans’ dissatisfaction with the two major parties isn’t a sudden development (see the chart below), but with the third party group No Labels preparing to run a possible presidential ticket next year and third party bids by Green Party candidate Cornel West, and as of Monday, former Democrat Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (see more in the next section), the threat posed by third parties next year could be more than just theoretical.
Independent voters are not a monolith, though, and assembling the coalition needed to win without being attached to a major party requires deft political skill and a bit of luck. A leaked memo from Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s (I-Ariz.) team obtained by NBC News pitched to donors her planned path to victory as an independent in a narrowly contested swing state. According to the document, Sinema needs to win 10% to 20% of Democrats, 60% to 70% of independents and 25% to 35% of Republicans.
Gallup found three-fourths of independents nationally believe a third party is needed compared to 46% of Democrats, while the percentage of Republicans who believe a third party is needed has jumped from 45% last year to 58% this year. If national trends hold in Arizona, Sinema could run a competitive campaign, but the effect of third-party candidates could be more complicated at the national level where their impact is measured on the margins in must-win battleground states.
While a majority of Republicans want a third party, it’s the Republican Party that has an advantage on two top issues. Gallup found more voters trust Republicans than Democrats to keep the country prosperous (53% to 39%) and to protect the country from international terrorism and military threats (57% to 35%). The polling firm noted, however, “that party advantages often change in the span of a year, thus making these indicators of limited value in forecasting what the public’s mood will be at the time of the next presidential election.”
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. got a new logo after going from Democrat to independent
Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s long-shot bid for the Democratic nomination was never able to muster more than about 17% in FiveThirtyEight’s national polling average, but now he doesn’t have to worry about winning a nomination: RFK Jr.’s running as an independent.
Kennedy announced at a campaign event in Philadelphia Monday that he’s seeking “independence from the Democratic Party and all other political parties,” and his party switch came with a new logo with a taller, skinnier font and a new shade of blue.
Kennedy’s campaign has made other tweaks to its branding. The message to “Reclaim Democracy” on his campaign website is now “Declare Your Independence,” and references to being a “Kennedy Democrat” have been swapped out for being a “Kennedy American.” The sign on his lectern for his re-announcement also looked more professionally designed than the sign for his initial announcement (below).
“It’s very painful for me to let go of the party of my uncles, my father, my grandfather, and both of my great-grandfathers,” Kennedy, a environmental lawyer, nepo baby, and anti-vaccine advocate said at the rally. He said if elected, he intends to “wrest the reins of both parties and return power to the American people.”
RFK Jr. was never a match for today’s Democratic primary voters, and since he left the party, his campaign began selling $44.99 camo trucker hats with the new logo. Combine that with a relaunch speech that included a callout for Indigenous Peoples’ Day, and it’s clear Kennedy doesn’t fit neatly into the contemporary partisan box. It’s Republicans, though, who appear more concerned by his candidacy, and they have reason to be: polls over the summer found Republicans have a more favorable opinion of Kennedy than Democrats.
The Republican National Committee responded to Kennedy’s change in party affiliation by criticizing his past support for liberal policies and conspiracy theories about COVID-19 and stolen elections in 2000 and 2004, and Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung told the Associated Press Kennedy’s campaign is “nothing more than a vanity project for a liberal Kennedy looking to cash in on his family’s name.”
Kennedy’s relaunch speech railing against the major parties and political division sounded like an attempt at inoculating himself against charges of partisan heresy like this. “Getting us to hate each other is all apart of the scam,” he said.
Oh, for cute, Minnesota just opened submissions to redesign its flag and seal
Ope! Minnesota’s seal-on-a-bedsheet flag could soon be replaced by a new design. Since the Minnesota State Emblems Redesign Commission opened submissions for a new state flag and seal last week, hundreds of residents have sent in their concepts, according to the commission.
The call for designs is open through the end of the month, and the group has a deadline to turn in a report about its adopted design to the governor and legislature by New Year’s Day 2024.
There are few restrictions on what the new flag should look like. State law passed this year only says the new flag and seal “must accurately and respectfully reflect Minnesota's shared history, resources, and diverse cultural communities,” but it does state that “symbols, emblems, or likenesses that represent only a single community or person, regardless of whether real or stylized, may not be included in a design.”
WCCO in Minnesota shared two alternative state flag designs that could be among the finalists: the popular "North Star Flag" designed by Rev. William Becker and Lee Herold that shows a wavy white line separating blue and green background with a yellow star, and the “L'etoile du Nord” flag designed by Brandon Hundt, for the state’s motto, which is French for “the Star of the North.”
The state’s current flag, adopted in 1957, shows its seal, which includes symbols depicting agriculture, timber, and Native Americans. If Minnesota goes forward with picking a new flag, it will join Utah as the latest state to move away from flag designs showing the state’s seal on a blue background, a trend popularized after the Civil War.
Have you seen this?
The White House was lit blue and white Monday to show solidarity with Israel. More than 1,600 people have been killed in the four days since Hamas terrorists attacked Israel, according to the Associated Press, and President Joe Biden said at least 11 U.S. citizens are among the dead. Biden said in a joint statement with the leaders of France, Germany, Italy, and the U.K., “Our countries will support Israel in its efforts to defend itself.”
Adobe A.I. is coming for your branding. Today, Adobe announced the Image 2 Model of its artificial intelligence tool Firefly at the Adobe MAX keynote, and among the updates are fully editable vector image generation and a feature that stylizes A.I.-created images to match a specific aesthetic. [Fast Company, by me]
An Australian photo festival inaugurated an A.I. art award recognizing “prompt-ography” as a bona fide medium. Rather than reject images created with artificial intelligence, this competition created a separate category for them. [Artnet News]
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History of political design
Hubert Humphrey “Some talk change. Others cause it.” campaign poster (1968). This poster is clean. Its message was an effort “to make Humphrey more acceptable to disgruntled Eugene McCarthy and Robert Kennedy supporters” by positioning Humphrey as progressive reformer, according to Roger Fischer’s “Tippecanoe and Trinkets Too.”
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