The history of the use of a Jackass to symbolize the Democratic Party had it's start with President Andrew Jackson.
Excerpt from Democrats.org:
When Andrew Jackson ran for president in 1828, his opponents tried to label him a "jackass" for his populist views and his slogan, "Let the people rule." Jackson, however ...turned it to his own advantage ... During his presidency (it) was used to represent Jackson's stubbornness when he vetoed re-chartering the National Bank.
Thomas Nast, a famous political cartoonist ... first used the donkey in an 1870 Harper's Weekly cartoon ... Nast intended the donkey to represent an anti-war faction with whom he disagreed, but the symbol caught the public's fancy and the cartoonist continued using it to indicate some Democratic editors and newspapers.
However, while the symbol of the Jackass (more commonly referred to as a Donkey in modern times) was a good reflection of the times in which it was instituted, in the modern world, it is an anachronistic icon, more commonly associated with stubborness then strength, and as such, it reflects perfectly on the internecine warfare that has prevented the modern Democratic Party from achieving gains that a more coherent Party might be able to enact.
Perhaps it's time ditch the donkey, in favor of a more suitable symbol:
The Lion.
Solitary and stubborn are donkeys, not like Lions, who are social creatures. When Lions form pack relationships, their Pride lives a more secure and healthy lifestyle. Individuals Lions, especially the females, are world renowned for their strength and fierceness in the face of opposition or attack.
One of the most adulated politicians in modern Democratic politics was Senator Edward (Ted) Kennedy of Massachusetts, well-known as the Lion of the Senate for aggressively pushing for legislation on causes such as immigration, voter rights, gun control and, most recently, healthcare reform.
If the recent behavior of President Obama is any indication, then this change of symbol could also be seen as a move to affirm the new face of the modern Democratic Party. One with the ambition and strength to move briskly forward into the 21st Century, no longer content to languidly ramble along on solitary paths, but to pace forward as a well assembled group, with strong leadership and a well-establish set of priorities to tackle together, with the combined strength of their numbers.
So, let us peel off the facade of the Jackass and take on the mantle of the Lion - and charge forward into the future, proud and fierce, with the courage of our convictions to guide us through the coming years and decades as a strong, diverse membership whose goals are those espoused in our founding documents:
We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity...
One would be hard pressed to find a better description of the goals of the Democratic Party than that.
Isn't it about time that our Party chooses a more apt icon to represent those goals to the world at large? One more suited to the modern world in which our Party must act to ensure that our members and our fellow Americans can prosper and aim for those lofty goals outlined in The Preamble to the Constitution?
I say it's time to ditch the donkey and become the Lions that live in our hearts.