A sample ballot distributed before the first post-apartheid South African election.
American memorabilia: A “45″ record with Richard Nixon’s face on it and a Big Bill Thompson ashtray.
On a more personal note, there’s also the campaign yard sign that I designed for my brother’s successful aldermanic bid in Texas. It’s way cool looking, if I do say so myself.
A handwritten note from Paul Simon to Eulalia Hotz, Madison County clerk, from April 1952 when Paul was in Germany serving in the U.S. Army. This is a year before he began his campaign for state representative.
The favorite one I acquired personally was an autograph from Paul Tsongas in 1992 on the eve of the Illinois and Michigan primaries. I had just moved to Springfield and Tsongas was campaigning at the Old State Capitol. At the time he was one of three people who would be president, along with George Bush and some guy from Arkansas. Clinton’s sweep of the union primaries clinched the nomination for him….
i have a modest collection of political pins. I own every successful gubernatorial campaign pin since the early 1900’s except one. (he was appointed) lots of time and ebay-ing paid off
- Common Sense in Illinois - Friday, Nov 17, 06 @ 9:02 am:
A 1936 Stratton for Secretary of State palm card…that’s Stratton senior!
I’ve also got one of those “Run Jesse Run” pins, but it is not my favorite item.
That goes to my signed campaign poster from Paul Simon’s first senate run. The sign says something like “Some Illinois families don’t have to worry about housing costs or heating bills or school tuition. But who will speak for the rest of us?” It sort of sums up why I’m a Democrat.
Another item worth mentioning: I did some work for Dukakis. I wrote the campaign a letter that started “Dear Sirs.” A received a standard response that was sent to all the college campaigns, but it included a handwritten note berating me for starting my letter “Dear Sirs.” I knew immediately that the campaign was lost.
From national elections I have an original RFK Presidential poster from 1968 and then I also have a “Mario Cuomo for President-Vote Undecided” which I think is from 1998. On the state (and sillier) side, I have a “John Schmidt for AG But Don’t Tell the Speaker” Button from whatever year that was.
Yay Skeeter! If possible, could you send a digital photo of your poster to troynewsguy@yahoo.com? The Paul Simon Museum in Troy is holding its second annual birthday dinner Nov. 29 (with Paul’s son Martin and, depending on the Senate schedule, Dick Durbin) and that would be a great display piece. Thanks!
- the Other Anonymous - Friday, Nov 17, 06 @ 9:22 am:
A “Jerry Springer for Governor” bumper sticker — post-prostitute, pre-trash TV.
Champagne corks with the dates and elections written on them from all the successful campaigns I’ve worked. Not exactly eBay-worthy, but I treasure every victory, big or small.
A set of the magnetic passes for each day of the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago. Besides the significant history of events surrounding that convention, the passes were the first time magnetic badges were used for a national convention (and they didn’t always work, which added to the confusion and paranoia surrounding the week).
A few: 1. Autographed Paul Tsongas book; 2. Autographed John McCain book; 3. tape of my college radio interview with Senator John Kerry (in his first Senate term) in which I riled him up quite a bit over his double talk on certain healthcare issues; 4. 1988 Mike Dukakis miniature doll from the convention (what a joke!).
I don’t have much memorabilia, but I do like my 1972 Shirley Chisholm for President pin. I look at it when I start getting too cynical and discouraged–it’s a tangible reminder that some people really are in this business for all the right reasons.
I come from Kansas Republican stock. So it’s Alf Landon and Bob Dole for me.
My letter from former president Ford thanking me for my work on his campaign as his college campaign coordinator in Colorado. Dole ran as his VP.
My 1936 Landon/Knox sunflower lapel pin from my grandmother. Landon was the Kansas Republican governor who lost BIG against FDR. (Knox was the Chicago Daily News publisher and owner.)
All my Bob Dole pictures, Rusell Kansas photos and memories, Dole yard signs and bumper stickers.
I have been a Bob Dole fan when he was considered a right-winger, a centrist, and a liberal. MY! How times have changed!
I have pins from the 2000 presidential election and recount of both Gore Liebermann and Bush Cheney. Plus a couple of the Bush Texas Ranger pins given out just before Bush’s first inaugural.
Percy for Governor, Ike, Goldwater and Johnson Humphrey pins. And, our all time favorite, a photo given to us by Jay Hoffman of our daughter on a stage in Collinsville sitting next two and laughing with, Al Gore.
My cuff links from the 2004 Presidential Innaugural, my vintage 1960 “Students for Kennedy” pin, my Anti-Clinton-Gore “Nix the Hicks in ‘96″ bumper sticker, and my personalized and signed first edition of John McCain’s first book.
- So Blue Democrat - Friday, Nov 17, 06 @ 12:38 pm:
I 1900 William Jennings Bryan, Adli Stevenson campaign whip, a 1900 McKinley, Teddy, Yates campaign ribbon that says Olney, Ill. across the bottom, a FDR and Humanity green tie
- if it walks like a duck... - Friday, Nov 17, 06 @ 12:51 pm:
#1 Paul Simon (with bow tie over the i) United States Senate button - God, I miss him.
#2 I’m for Nixon (vari-vue) button with his smiling mug - actually I hated Nixon, but know the button is worth a bunch; BTW did you know he wasn’t a crook, either?
I have actual marble from my visit to the Acropolis (I don’t think you’re supposed to run off with bits of it, but I’ve had it for years with no problems–shhhh).
Of course, this is tied to ancient politics, but it is my prized bit of history.
Wow, ya’ll have some very cool stuff! I put my bumper stickers on magnets so that I can save them and not be THAT person with all the old stickers on my car. I use my old pins for push pins on my bulletin board.
I don’t have anything super cool, though. Now I’m inspired to hit eBay!
I have a lot of buttons, old & new. I’m a big Daley fan but I like to have some of the buttons of the other candidates. Bernie Epton, Harold Washington & Jane Byrne buttons bring back some old memories. I also have a bunch of invites, inaugaral stuff, signs, etc.
But I think my favorite political item is a lawn sign that looked exactly like a George Ryan sign but under his name it said:
George Ryan
Driver Licenses For Sale
Expires November 3, 1998
Poshard got pissed at the guys who printed the signs up and put them around Chicago. He made us take them down. But I thought they were great.
My 24″x36″ poster of Richard Nixon and Spiro Agnew, in the background are plethoria of sports figures, statesmen, congressmen, etc…and signed by Tricky Dick himself.
From today’s LA Times Op/Ed page, The liberal filmmaker extends an olive branch to disheartened conservatives:
Michael Moore’s pledge:
I would like to extend an olive branch. Those of you who consider yourselves conservative and usually vote Republican have not had a very good couple of weeks. Trust me, I know how this feels.
In fact, those of us on the other side of the fence don’t really know what it’s like to win, so if we seem a bit awkward right now (were we supposed to vote for the majority leader the speaker said to vote for, or stick to our promise to the other guy?), forgive us.
I know you are dismayed at the results of last week’s election. You’ve got to be freaking out about what this bunch of tree-hugging, latte-sipping, men-kissing-men advocates will do now that the country is in our hands. I don’t blame you. We’d never admit it, but we secretly admire you because you know how to chop down a tree, take your coffee black and enjoy watching women kissing women. Good on you!
What I don’t want is for you to drop into the deep funk we liberals have been in for two-plus decades. Yes, your Republican revolution is over, but hang in there. And do not despair. I, and the millions who voted for Democrats, have no interest in revenge for the last 12 years. In fact, let me make 12 promises as to how we will treat you, the minority, in the coming years.
Thus, here is “A Liberal’s Pledge to Disheartened Conservativesâ€:
1) We will always respect you. We will never, ever, call you “unpatriotic†simply because you disagree with us. In fact, we encourage you to dissent and disagree with us.
2) We will let you marry whomever you want (even though some among us consider your Republican behavior to be “different†or “immoralâ€). Who you marry is none of our business. Love, and be in love — it’s a wonderful gift.
3) We will not spend your grandchildren’s money on our personal whims or to enrich our friends. It’s your checkbook too, and we will balance it for you.
4) When we soon bring our sons and daughters home from Iraq, we will bring your sons and daughters home too. We promise never to send your kids off to war based on some amateur Power Point presentation cooked up by men who have never been to war.
5) When we make America the last Western democracy to have universal health coverage, and all Americans are able to get help when they fall ill, we promise that you too will be able to see a doctor, regardless of your ability to pay. And when stem cell research delivers treatments and cures for diseases that afflict you and your loved ones, we’ll make sure those advances are available to you and your family too.
6) When we clean up our air and water, you too will be able to breathe the cleaner air and drink the purer water. When we put an end to global warming, you will no longer have to think about buying oceanfront property in Yuma.
7) Should a mass murderer ever kill 3,000 people on our soil, we will devote every single resource to tracking him down and bringing him to justice. Immediately. We will protect you.
8) We will never stick our nose in your bedroom or your womb. What you do there as consenting adults is your business. We will continue to count your age from the moment you were born, not the moment you were conceived.
9) We will not take away your hunting guns. If you need an automatic weapon or a handgun to kill a bird or a deer, then you really aren’t much of a hunter and you should, perhaps, take up another sport. In the meantime, we will arm the deer to make it a fairer fight.
10) When we raise the minimum wage, we will raise it for your employees too. They will use that money to buy more things, which means you will get the money back! And when women are finally paid what men make, we will pay conservative women that wage too.
11) We will respect your religious beliefs, even when you don’t practice those beliefs. In fact, we will actively seek to promote your most radical religious beliefs (â€Blessed are the peacemakers,†“Love your enemies,†“It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God†and “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for meâ€). We will let people in other countries know that God doesn’t just bless America, he blesses everyone. We will discourage religious intolerance and fanaticism — starting here at home.
12) We will not tolerate politicians who are corrupt and break the law. And we promise you we will go after the corrupt politicians on our side first. If we fail to do this, we need you to call us on it. Simply because we are in power does not give us the right to turn our heads the other way when our party goes astray. Please perform this important duty as the loyal opposition.
I promise all of the above to you because this is your country too. You are every bit as American as we are. We are all in this together. We sink or swim as one. Thank you for your years of service to this country and for giving us the opportunity to see if we can make things a bit better for our 300 million fellow Americans — and for the rest of the world.
Now pull yourself together and let’s go have a Frappuccino.
My Kennedy/Johnson pin that I received when I saw JFK, and got to shake his hand, at Scottsdale shopping center at 79th and Cicero during his campaign against Nixon.
I was an impressionable 7 year old and I couldn’t conceive of being anything but a lifelong Democrat at the time.
What was I thinking?????????
Second place….My McGovern pin from the first time I voted in a Presidential election in 1972.
I was “head over heals” for a girl who worked on his campaign in Champaign.
Lovitt for Congress Comb - Senator Durbin should have one in his back pocket unless he has run out. A lot of other people carry them around for sentimental value/luck, too.
you don’t have to go online to buy some cool stuff. you can go to fleamarkets and get stuff from collectors, Kane County is supposed to be a good one although I’ve bought mine in smaller markets.
i gave away my favorite JFK button to someone who probably gives a rats petoot about me.
my shirt from the Chicago convention, not that I went, (96) is something that I cling to.
if our rock star wins I will probably be pretty keen on my Obama stuff
1. RFK button from his 1964 New York Senate campaign.
2. JFK “The Man for the 60s” holographic button
3. FDR buttons.
4. Landon-Knox sunflower button
5. A wooden Wendell Wilkie button
6. Blown-up B&W photo of JFK campaigning in downtown Moline, October 1960
Lovie, those family items are the best of all. My late father sparked my interest in politics and I have several autographed fotos with him and assorted politicians from the 50’s through the 90’s. My favorite is taken with Sen. Everett Dirksen. We could use him back in DC.
My two most prized so far are my invitation to the first Reagan/Bush Inauguration and a Ford button which Elliot Richardson took off of his own lapel and pinned to mine.
The eventual most prized – as it will help restore my faith in the system – will be a newspaper front page with the headline “Blagojevich Indictedâ€. I already have a frame for it.
1. Invitations, tickets, and programs to every Republican Presidential Inauguration from 1972 through 2001 (Including grounds ticket to Reagan 1985 Inauguration which was moved indoors due to subzero whether.)
2. “Groovy” Nixon presidential campaign poster, orange, with drawings of all sports, rock, and entertainment celebs who endorsed him. Some have sold for over $300.
3. Finally threw out Reagan golf umbrella, which broke. I used it for over 15 years.
4. Official panoramic photo of Republican National Convention delegates (I’m in it).
My collection of campaign buttons from each of the many Illinois Governors that were indicted and sent to prison to serve their federal sentences. I have recently been going to flea markets looking for a “George Ryan for Governor” button.
My wife suggested that I look for a “Blagojevich for Governor” button at the same time so I won’t be dragging her along with me to another flea market a year from now.
I’m going to tell my wife that I’m not the only “crazy” person who saves campaign buttons, signs, literature, magnets, combs, pens, pencils,rulers, etc.
My favorites RFK lapel pin, Nixon button I bought as a joke but started my collection, and my Poshard T-Shirt.
- ghosts from the past - Monday, Nov 20, 06 @ 1:27 pm:
A “Boycott Grapes” button from Cesar Chavez’s United Farm Workers. Got it in 1968 in California. Also have a lapel pin from Bobby Kennedy’s campaign.
does a personalized, signed copy of Crashing the Gates (DailyKos book, for those who don’t know) count?
Otherwise, all that I’ve got is a dan seals button, a few letters from ‘06 campaigns, and a few stickers here and there. I might have a Kerry/Edwards button somewhere that I got from the Teamsters.
I just sold my old car. Still had the Kerry/Edwards bumpersticker on it. Covering a big scratch in the paint. I was kind of torn on giving that sticker up. My way of saying, “see? toldja so!”
From the 2003 NH campaign softball tournament, a softball autographed by all the 2004 Democratic contenders….even that jackass Kerry, whose team, in some seriously alarming foreshadowing, came from 10 runs down to scrape out a win over the fired-up Dean team, which had already crushed the uninspired and slow-moving Gephardt team like a gnat.
Also my pictures of the good Governor himself coaching at first base with ice cream cone in hand.
- Prez of the FTPC - Monday, Nov 20, 06 @ 3:16 pm:
My autographed Barack Obama ball cap.
- Taylor Street Brian - Monday, Nov 20, 06 @ 3:35 pm:
I own the following:
A bust of Richard J. Daley; A Stevenson shoe pin; a signed Mary Matalin Bush/Quayle sign and a cancelled check of Mary Jo Kopeckne - all of which I value significantly.
My most unique items of political memoriabila would be the red feather that is stamped “We’re Tickled to be with Wendell L. Willkie” and then I have a large pitcher and smaller one with FDR’s mugs on the side…and I bought a small portion of Alf Landon’s political button collection at Leslie Hindman’s during the last Democratic convention here in Chicago.
- Ravenswood Right Winger - Friday, Nov 17, 06 @ 8:30 am:
a Pete DuPont for President ‘88 bumper sticker.
- OneMan - Friday, Nov 17, 06 @ 8:32 am:
A toss up between a fundraiser invite with my name as part of the host committee and an old Nixon pin.
- Illinois ex-pat - Friday, Nov 17, 06 @ 8:33 am:
A bumper sticker that says, “My governor is more crooked than your governor.” Worked for the Ryan days, still works now
- Rich Miller - Friday, Nov 17, 06 @ 8:38 am:
A sample ballot distributed before the first post-apartheid South African election.
American memorabilia: A “45″ record with Richard Nixon’s face on it and a Big Bill Thompson ashtray.
On a more personal note, there’s also the campaign yard sign that I designed for my brother’s successful aldermanic bid in Texas. It’s way cool looking, if I do say so myself.
- Troy News Guy - Friday, Nov 17, 06 @ 8:46 am:
A handwritten note from Paul Simon to Eulalia Hotz, Madison County clerk, from April 1952 when Paul was in Germany serving in the U.S. Army. This is a year before he began his campaign for state representative.
- Anon - Friday, Nov 17, 06 @ 8:47 am:
A signed “Mongo Wants You Mayor” poster from Memphis, TN.
- Arthur Andersen - Friday, Nov 17, 06 @ 8:48 am:
Authentic, “still ticking,” first edition Spiro Agnew watch.
- Troy News Guy - Friday, Nov 17, 06 @ 8:50 am:
The favorite one I acquired personally was an autograph from Paul Tsongas in 1992 on the eve of the Illinois and Michigan primaries. I had just moved to Springfield and Tsongas was campaigning at the Old State Capitol. At the time he was one of three people who would be president, along with George Bush and some guy from Arkansas. Clinton’s sweep of the union primaries clinched the nomination for him….
- version2point0 - Friday, Nov 17, 06 @ 8:58 am:
i have a modest collection of political pins. I own every successful gubernatorial campaign pin since the early 1900’s except one. (he was appointed) lots of time and ebay-ing paid off
- Common Sense in Illinois - Friday, Nov 17, 06 @ 9:02 am:
A 1936 Stratton for Secretary of State palm card…that’s Stratton senior!
- Fiefdom - Friday, Nov 17, 06 @ 9:02 am:
My “Run Jesse Run” pin with Afro photo is my favorite. I’m thinking this was from the ‘76 presidential campaign.
- Skeeter - Friday, Nov 17, 06 @ 9:13 am:
I’ve also got one of those “Run Jesse Run” pins, but it is not my favorite item.
That goes to my signed campaign poster from Paul Simon’s first senate run. The sign says something like “Some Illinois families don’t have to worry about housing costs or heating bills or school tuition. But who will speak for the rest of us?” It sort of sums up why I’m a Democrat.
Another item worth mentioning: I did some work for Dukakis. I wrote the campaign a letter that started “Dear Sirs.” A received a standard response that was sent to all the college campaigns, but it included a handwritten note berating me for starting my letter “Dear Sirs.” I knew immediately that the campaign was lost.
- Anon - Friday, Nov 17, 06 @ 9:13 am:
From national elections I have an original RFK Presidential poster from 1968 and then I also have a “Mario Cuomo for President-Vote Undecided” which I think is from 1998. On the state (and sillier) side, I have a “John Schmidt for AG But Don’t Tell the Speaker” Button from whatever year that was.
- Pat Hickey - Friday, Nov 17, 06 @ 9:17 am:
A JFk Button & a X for Nixon Ladies Hair Net Hat
- Troy News Guy - Friday, Nov 17, 06 @ 9:21 am:
Yay Skeeter! If possible, could you send a digital photo of your poster to troynewsguy@yahoo.com? The Paul Simon Museum in Troy is holding its second annual birthday dinner Nov. 29 (with Paul’s son Martin and, depending on the Senate schedule, Dick Durbin) and that would be a great display piece. Thanks!
- the Other Anonymous - Friday, Nov 17, 06 @ 9:22 am:
A “Jerry Springer for Governor” bumper sticker — post-prostitute, pre-trash TV.
- QueenB - Friday, Nov 17, 06 @ 9:31 am:
Champagne corks with the dates and elections written on them from all the successful campaigns I’ve worked. Not exactly eBay-worthy, but I treasure every victory, big or small.
- Anon - Friday, Nov 17, 06 @ 9:34 am:
An Associated Press 8 x 10 print of JFK, flanked by his brothers, all wearing black tux w/white tie and vest, all three smiling….
- Dem Bob - Friday, Nov 17, 06 @ 9:36 am:
A set of the magnetic passes for each day of the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago. Besides the significant history of events surrounding that convention, the passes were the first time magnetic badges were used for a national convention (and they didn’t always work, which added to the confusion and paranoia surrounding the week).
- Niles Township - Friday, Nov 17, 06 @ 9:42 am:
A few: 1. Autographed Paul Tsongas book; 2. Autographed John McCain book; 3. tape of my college radio interview with Senator John Kerry (in his first Senate term) in which I riled him up quite a bit over his double talk on certain healthcare issues; 4. 1988 Mike Dukakis miniature doll from the convention (what a joke!).
- sad - Friday, Nov 17, 06 @ 9:44 am:
hard choice…either my Richard Nixon showerhead or the 2000 West Palm Beach voting booth with butterfly ballot and chad.
- Jacques Strappe - Friday, Nov 17, 06 @ 9:45 am:
My Tammy Duckworth for Congress button. Oh, wait…
My signed Denny Hastert autobiography. Oh, wait…
- ZC - Friday, Nov 17, 06 @ 9:48 am:
Didn’t work on his campaign, but I love my SCHIMDT HAPPENS 98 bumper stickers.
- Pollyanna - Friday, Nov 17, 06 @ 9:52 am:
I don’t have much memorabilia, but I do like my 1972 Shirley Chisholm for President pin. I look at it when I start getting too cynical and discouraged–it’s a tangible reminder that some people really are in this business for all the right reasons.
The S. African sample ballot–wow. Fantastic.
- VanillaMan - Friday, Nov 17, 06 @ 9:54 am:
I come from Kansas Republican stock. So it’s Alf Landon and Bob Dole for me.
My letter from former president Ford thanking me for my work on his campaign as his college campaign coordinator in Colorado. Dole ran as his VP.
My 1936 Landon/Knox sunflower lapel pin from my grandmother. Landon was the Kansas Republican governor who lost BIG against FDR. (Knox was the Chicago Daily News publisher and owner.)
All my Bob Dole pictures, Rusell Kansas photos and memories, Dole yard signs and bumper stickers.
I have been a Bob Dole fan when he was considered a right-winger, a centrist, and a liberal. MY! How times have changed!
- Funny Girl - Friday, Nov 17, 06 @ 10:35 am:
My favorite is my Clinton/Gore paper doll book titled, “Bill and Al’s Excellent Adventure”
- Shelbyville - Friday, Nov 17, 06 @ 11:32 am:
A picture I took myself, of President Nixon, when he addressed our Young Republican convention in D.C. It was shortly before his resignation.
- diane - Friday, Nov 17, 06 @ 11:33 am:
I have pins from the 2000 presidential election and recount of both Gore Liebermann and Bush Cheney. Plus a couple of the Bush Texas Ranger pins given out just before Bush’s first inaugural.
Percy for Governor, Ike, Goldwater and Johnson Humphrey pins. And, our all time favorite, a photo given to us by Jay Hoffman of our daughter on a stage in Collinsville sitting next two and laughing with, Al Gore.
- Anon - Friday, Nov 17, 06 @ 12:24 pm:
A William McKinley assassination memorial book; a Woodrow Wilson embroidered hankerchief and a FDR button
- Nick Naylor - Friday, Nov 17, 06 @ 12:31 pm:
My cuff links from the 2004 Presidential Innaugural, my vintage 1960 “Students for Kennedy” pin, my Anti-Clinton-Gore “Nix the Hicks in ‘96″ bumper sticker, and my personalized and signed first edition of John McCain’s first book.
- So Blue Democrat - Friday, Nov 17, 06 @ 12:38 pm:
A LBJ for USA flag.
- Gus Bode - Friday, Nov 17, 06 @ 12:41 pm:
I 1900 William Jennings Bryan, Adli Stevenson campaign whip, a 1900 McKinley, Teddy, Yates campaign ribbon that says Olney, Ill. across the bottom, a FDR and Humanity green tie
- if it walks like a duck... - Friday, Nov 17, 06 @ 12:51 pm:
#1 Paul Simon (with bow tie over the i) United States Senate button - God, I miss him.
#2 I’m for Nixon (vari-vue) button with his smiling mug - actually I hated Nixon, but know the button is worth a bunch; BTW did you know he wasn’t a crook, either?
- Angie - Friday, Nov 17, 06 @ 12:53 pm:
Heh heh heh.
I have actual marble from my visit to the Acropolis (I don’t think you’re supposed to run off with bits of it, but I’ve had it for years with no problems–shhhh).
Of course, this is tied to ancient politics, but it is my prized bit of history.
- Mark - Friday, Nov 17, 06 @ 1:21 pm:
A 8oz Coke Bottle from the 1996 Republican National Convention (my 1st) that has an Elephant on it and all the details.
I also have an official invite to Bush Sr inaugural that I received as a Teen Age Republican in 1989.
Also a 1980 Reagan bumper sticker that I picked up a few years ago for 5 dollars at a flea market.
- zatoichi - Friday, Nov 17, 06 @ 1:53 pm:
A night stick I picked off the ground while running from the police line during the 68 Demo convention. My speed was far better then.
- Bridget Dooley - Friday, Nov 17, 06 @ 1:58 pm:
Wow, ya’ll have some very cool stuff! I put my bumper stickers on magnets so that I can save them and not be THAT person with all the old stickers on my car. I use my old pins for push pins on my bulletin board.
I don’t have anything super cool, though. Now I’m inspired to hit eBay!
- Establishment Republican - Friday, Nov 17, 06 @ 2:04 pm:
A napkin containing Alan Keyes’ sweat from his 2004 Senate campaign annoucement in Arlington Heights…
No, I don’t really have that, but somebody bought it off of ebay and I imagine they consider it quite a prize.
I was there that day though.
Is a Topinka Rolling Pin lapel (aka assault weapon) pin going to be worth anything?
- Howie - Friday, Nov 17, 06 @ 3:13 pm:
My Dawn Clark Netsch for Governor button. I can’t find posters anywhere. *sigh*
- anon - Friday, Nov 17, 06 @ 3:18 pm:
I have a lot of buttons, old & new. I’m a big Daley fan but I like to have some of the buttons of the other candidates. Bernie Epton, Harold Washington & Jane Byrne buttons bring back some old memories. I also have a bunch of invites, inaugaral stuff, signs, etc.
But I think my favorite political item is a lawn sign that looked exactly like a George Ryan sign but under his name it said:
George Ryan
Driver Licenses For Sale
Expires November 3, 1998
Poshard got pissed at the guys who printed the signs up and put them around Chicago. He made us take them down. But I thought they were great.
- polhack - Friday, Nov 17, 06 @ 3:29 pm:
My landgrant signed by John Quincy Adams. I have onln seen one other, that was in the White House.
- Siyotanka - Friday, Nov 17, 06 @ 3:49 pm:
My 24″x36″ poster of Richard Nixon and Spiro Agnew, in the background are plethoria of sports figures, statesmen, congressmen, etc…and signed by Tricky Dick himself.
- The Horse - Friday, Nov 17, 06 @ 3:51 pm:
My JFK pin.
- The Horse - Friday, Nov 17, 06 @ 3:55 pm:
ps… does my stuff from woodstock count?
- Anon - Friday, Nov 17, 06 @ 4:43 pm:
From today’s LA Times Op/Ed page, The liberal filmmaker extends an olive branch to disheartened conservatives:
Michael Moore’s pledge:
I would like to extend an olive branch. Those of you who consider yourselves conservative and usually vote Republican have not had a very good couple of weeks. Trust me, I know how this feels.
In fact, those of us on the other side of the fence don’t really know what it’s like to win, so if we seem a bit awkward right now (were we supposed to vote for the majority leader the speaker said to vote for, or stick to our promise to the other guy?), forgive us.
I know you are dismayed at the results of last week’s election. You’ve got to be freaking out about what this bunch of tree-hugging, latte-sipping, men-kissing-men advocates will do now that the country is in our hands. I don’t blame you. We’d never admit it, but we secretly admire you because you know how to chop down a tree, take your coffee black and enjoy watching women kissing women. Good on you!
What I don’t want is for you to drop into the deep funk we liberals have been in for two-plus decades. Yes, your Republican revolution is over, but hang in there. And do not despair. I, and the millions who voted for Democrats, have no interest in revenge for the last 12 years. In fact, let me make 12 promises as to how we will treat you, the minority, in the coming years.
Thus, here is “A Liberal’s Pledge to Disheartened Conservativesâ€:
1) We will always respect you. We will never, ever, call you “unpatriotic†simply because you disagree with us. In fact, we encourage you to dissent and disagree with us.
2) We will let you marry whomever you want (even though some among us consider your Republican behavior to be “different†or “immoralâ€). Who you marry is none of our business. Love, and be in love — it’s a wonderful gift.
3) We will not spend your grandchildren’s money on our personal whims or to enrich our friends. It’s your checkbook too, and we will balance it for you.
4) When we soon bring our sons and daughters home from Iraq, we will bring your sons and daughters home too. We promise never to send your kids off to war based on some amateur Power Point presentation cooked up by men who have never been to war.
5) When we make America the last Western democracy to have universal health coverage, and all Americans are able to get help when they fall ill, we promise that you too will be able to see a doctor, regardless of your ability to pay. And when stem cell research delivers treatments and cures for diseases that afflict you and your loved ones, we’ll make sure those advances are available to you and your family too.
6) When we clean up our air and water, you too will be able to breathe the cleaner air and drink the purer water. When we put an end to global warming, you will no longer have to think about buying oceanfront property in Yuma.
7) Should a mass murderer ever kill 3,000 people on our soil, we will devote every single resource to tracking him down and bringing him to justice. Immediately. We will protect you.
8) We will never stick our nose in your bedroom or your womb. What you do there as consenting adults is your business. We will continue to count your age from the moment you were born, not the moment you were conceived.
9) We will not take away your hunting guns. If you need an automatic weapon or a handgun to kill a bird or a deer, then you really aren’t much of a hunter and you should, perhaps, take up another sport. In the meantime, we will arm the deer to make it a fairer fight.
10) When we raise the minimum wage, we will raise it for your employees too. They will use that money to buy more things, which means you will get the money back! And when women are finally paid what men make, we will pay conservative women that wage too.
11) We will respect your religious beliefs, even when you don’t practice those beliefs. In fact, we will actively seek to promote your most radical religious beliefs (â€Blessed are the peacemakers,†“Love your enemies,†“It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God†and “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for meâ€). We will let people in other countries know that God doesn’t just bless America, he blesses everyone. We will discourage religious intolerance and fanaticism — starting here at home.
12) We will not tolerate politicians who are corrupt and break the law. And we promise you we will go after the corrupt politicians on our side first. If we fail to do this, we need you to call us on it. Simply because we are in power does not give us the right to turn our heads the other way when our party goes astray. Please perform this important duty as the loyal opposition.
I promise all of the above to you because this is your country too. You are every bit as American as we are. We are all in this together. We sink or swim as one. Thank you for your years of service to this country and for giving us the opportunity to see if we can make things a bit better for our 300 million fellow Americans — and for the rest of the world.
Now pull yourself together and let’s go have a Frappuccino.
- PalosParkBob - Friday, Nov 17, 06 @ 4:51 pm:
My Kennedy/Johnson pin that I received when I saw JFK, and got to shake his hand, at Scottsdale shopping center at 79th and Cicero during his campaign against Nixon.
I was an impressionable 7 year old and I couldn’t conceive of being anything but a lifelong Democrat at the time.
What was I thinking?????????
Second place….My McGovern pin from the first time I voted in a Presidential election in 1972.
I was “head over heals” for a girl who worked on his campaign in Champaign.
I guess love is a mind-killer!
- NumbersGuy - Friday, Nov 17, 06 @ 5:36 pm:
I have a lot of this stuff, but a couple favorites:
-Unopened cans of Billy Beer and “Gold Water (ginger ale as I recall)
-Gerald Ford’s autograph on the back of the late Ed Madigan’s Congressional business card. (From a 1976 campaign swing through Central IL)
- T.J. - Friday, Nov 17, 06 @ 6:14 pm:
A button with a crossed out bowtie.
- Mary Kennedy - Friday, Nov 17, 06 @ 7:18 pm:
My Dad’s partner for many years was a man named Ray Johnson. My Kennedy-Johnson bumpersticker is still a treasure.
- Lovie's Leather - Friday, Nov 17, 06 @ 7:27 pm:
An autographed picture of George and Barbara Bush with my parents circa 1992.
- Cal Skinner - Friday, Nov 17, 06 @ 7:53 pm:
The forbidden by future U.S. Senator Charles Percy button with a goldfish on it saying, “I can’t believe he ate the whole thing.”
It refers to Paul Douglas’ having swollowed a gold fish. Percy thought it was undignified, but I still talked a staffer out of it.
- Grace's Mom - Friday, Nov 17, 06 @ 8:17 pm:
Lovitt for Congress Comb - Senator Durbin should have one in his back pocket unless he has run out. A lot of other people carry them around for sentimental value/luck, too.
- Hugh G. Rection - Friday, Nov 17, 06 @ 8:53 pm:
A 1968 campaign poster with Richard Nixon and Wilt Chamberlain (among others)
A 1972 McGovern+Eagleton bumper sticker
A 1976 Fred Harris for president sticker
A Harold Washington mayor/Bobby Rush alderman button from my first election vote as a Chicago resident
- anonymous - Friday, Nov 17, 06 @ 9:02 pm:
Bridget,
you don’t have to go online to buy some cool stuff. you can go to fleamarkets and get stuff from collectors, Kane County is supposed to be a good one although I’ve bought mine in smaller markets.
i gave away my favorite JFK button to someone who probably gives a rats petoot about me.
my shirt from the Chicago convention, not that I went, (96) is something that I cling to.
if our rock star wins I will probably be pretty keen on my Obama stuff
- Democrat - Friday, Nov 17, 06 @ 9:15 pm:
A lighter that Paul Powell gave out when he was Sec. Of State
- Porter McNeil - Friday, Nov 17, 06 @ 9:29 pm:
Great question, Rich.
1. RFK button from his 1964 New York Senate campaign.
2. JFK “The Man for the 60s” holographic button
3. FDR buttons.
4. Landon-Knox sunflower button
5. A wooden Wendell Wilkie button
6. Blown-up B&W photo of JFK campaigning in downtown Moline, October 1960
- Lovie's Leather - Friday, Nov 17, 06 @ 10:11 pm:
Porter, there is no point in having a photo of JFK in Moline… we all know that Chicago GAVE him that election….
- NumbersGuy - Friday, Nov 17, 06 @ 10:47 pm:
Lovie, those family items are the best of all. My late father sparked my interest in politics and I have several autographed fotos with him and assorted politicians from the 50’s through the 90’s. My favorite is taken with Sen. Everett Dirksen. We could use him back in DC.
- Stormy - Saturday, Nov 18, 06 @ 8:32 am:
Invitation to the first Presidential debate Nixon vs. Kennedy in which I coordinated press coverage in the CBS Chicago studio.
- Casey Jones - Saturday, Nov 18, 06 @ 10:39 am:
My two most prized so far are my invitation to the first Reagan/Bush Inauguration and a Ford button which Elliot Richardson took off of his own lapel and pinned to mine.
The eventual most prized – as it will help restore my faith in the system – will be a newspaper front page with the headline “Blagojevich Indictedâ€. I already have a frame for it.
- Conservative Republican - Saturday, Nov 18, 06 @ 12:09 pm:
1. Invitations, tickets, and programs to every Republican Presidential Inauguration from 1972 through 2001 (Including grounds ticket to Reagan 1985 Inauguration which was moved indoors due to subzero whether.)
2. “Groovy” Nixon presidential campaign poster, orange, with drawings of all sports, rock, and entertainment celebs who endorsed him. Some have sold for over $300.
3. Finally threw out Reagan golf umbrella, which broke. I used it for over 15 years.
4. Official panoramic photo of Republican National Convention delegates (I’m in it).
- OAD - Saturday, Nov 18, 06 @ 7:29 pm:
I have a campaign button for Željko Ražnatović - AKA ‘Arkan’.
- Beowulf - Sunday, Nov 19, 06 @ 10:11 am:
My collection of campaign buttons from each of the many Illinois Governors that were indicted and sent to prison to serve their federal sentences. I have recently been going to flea markets looking for a “George Ryan for Governor” button.
My wife suggested that I look for a “Blagojevich for Governor” button at the same time so I won’t be dragging her along with me to another flea market a year from now.
- bobo - Monday, Nov 20, 06 @ 7:55 am:
JACK! t-shirt
- Couincilman Sinnock Online - Monday, Nov 20, 06 @ 12:31 pm:
I’m going to tell my wife that I’m not the only “crazy” person who saves campaign buttons, signs, literature, magnets, combs, pens, pencils,rulers, etc.
My favorites RFK lapel pin, Nixon button I bought as a joke but started my collection, and my Poshard T-Shirt.
- ghosts from the past - Monday, Nov 20, 06 @ 1:27 pm:
A “Boycott Grapes” button from Cesar Chavez’s United Farm Workers. Got it in 1968 in California. Also have a lapel pin from Bobby Kennedy’s campaign.
- jerry - Monday, Nov 20, 06 @ 2:07 pm:
does a personalized, signed copy of Crashing the Gates (DailyKos book, for those who don’t know) count?
Otherwise, all that I’ve got is a dan seals button, a few letters from ‘06 campaigns, and a few stickers here and there. I might have a Kerry/Edwards button somewhere that I got from the Teamsters.
I just sold my old car. Still had the Kerry/Edwards bumpersticker on it. Covering a big scratch in the paint. I was kind of torn on giving that sticker up. My way of saying, “see? toldja so!”
- NH Dem - Monday, Nov 20, 06 @ 3:15 pm:
From the 2003 NH campaign softball tournament, a softball autographed by all the 2004 Democratic contenders….even that jackass Kerry, whose team, in some seriously alarming foreshadowing, came from 10 runs down to scrape out a win over the fired-up Dean team, which had already crushed the uninspired and slow-moving Gephardt team like a gnat.
Also my pictures of the good Governor himself coaching at first base with ice cream cone in hand.
- Prez of the FTPC - Monday, Nov 20, 06 @ 3:16 pm:
My autographed Barack Obama ball cap.
- Taylor Street Brian - Monday, Nov 20, 06 @ 3:35 pm:
I own the following:
A bust of Richard J. Daley; A Stevenson shoe pin; a signed Mary Matalin Bush/Quayle sign and a cancelled check of Mary Jo Kopeckne - all of which I value significantly.
- johninchicago - Monday, Nov 20, 06 @ 4:34 pm:
My most unique items of political memoriabila would be the red feather that is stamped “We’re Tickled to be with Wendell L. Willkie” and then I have a large pitcher and smaller one with FDR’s mugs on the side…and I bought a small portion of Alf Landon’s political button collection at Leslie Hindman’s during the last Democratic convention here in Chicago.
- cool hand c - Monday, Nov 20, 06 @ 6:29 pm:
oldest button: happy july 4, 1904, ladd, illinois
oddest: somoza for president of nicaragua 1948. he was a ruthless dictator…his name ID was 100% as was turnout…why’d he need buttons?
button i was proudest to wear: the blue sunrise harold button in ‘83.
first e-bay acquisition: poster for RFK victory party at ambassador hotel in LA. (”on to chicago and let’s win there!”)
nearest to my heart: palm cards for my grandfather’s successful illinois house race in ‘58 & dad’s unsuccessful ‘64 race.
- Beer Man - Tuesday, Nov 21, 06 @ 1:22 pm:
A 1973 (Richard Nixon)District of Columbia inauguration license plate (set) plate# 6660.
- Beer Man - Tuesday, Nov 21, 06 @ 1:24 pm:
Oh and a Paul Powell business card
- BerkyTurkey - Tuesday, Nov 21, 06 @ 7:31 pm:
My Dave O’Neal Coffee Cup -beyond priceless!
- Illannoyed - Wednesday, Nov 22, 06 @ 1:13 pm:
My very limited, thankfully, Speaker Daniels mug.