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This button is from the 1962 senate campaign of Everett M. Dirksen, a Republican who represented Illinois in the U.S. House of Representatives (1933–1949) and U.S. Senate (1951–1969). Dirksen was born in Pekin, Illinois in 1896. He was known for his support of civil rights legislation in 1964 and 1968, and also for being in favor of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. He served as Senate Minority Leader from 1959-1969.

Dirksen enrolled in the University of Minnesota Law School, but dropped out to enlist in the U.S. Army in World War I as a private, eventually being promoted to second lieutenant. First elected to Congress in 1932, Dirksen supported many of FDR's New Deal programs. He announced his candidacy for U.S. president in 1943, but received no votes at the 1944 Republican convention. After 10 years as Senate Minority Leader, Dirksen died in 1969. A Senate office building was named after him in 1972.

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This button is referring to Republican George W. Bush and Democrat Al Gore, who faced each other in the 2000 US Presidential election. Scientifically, “Alpha” is a designation applied to the highest ranking individuals in groups of social animals. “Beta” animals are considered to be second in command to alphas, and are less assertive, generally deferring to alpha males in social situations. In American culture, there is a commonly accepted dichotomy between alpha and beta males. Alpha males are considered to be physically superior, confident, and assertive leaders. Their Beta male counterparts are considered to be more passive, non-assertive, and possess less physical prowess. 

By insinuating that the supporters of George Bush are Alpha, this button is also implying that Bush himself is Alpha and therefore a more natural and assertive leader than Gore. 

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This button is meant as a social commentary against the United States Republican party. The symbol for the Republican Party is the elephant and what the button is trying to convey is that no one wants a good piece of elephant, they want a good piece of ass referring to the Democratic's use of the donkey as their mascot.

The first use of the donkey was in Andrew Jackson's 1828 presidential campaign. Jackson's opponents referred to him as a "jackass" due to his slogan, "Let the people rule!"  In 1870, political illustrator, Thomas Nast used the Democratic donkey in Harper's Weekly and also created the Republican Party mascot, the elephant. The cartoon depicted a donkey, who was dressed as a lion, scaring the other zoo animals including an elephant labeled "The Republican Vote."  Since that cartoon was published, the elephant has been a symbol of the Republican Party due to the fact that the animal is perceived as strong and dignified.

Left third of the button is blue with white stars the right two thirds is white with blue text and there is an upsidedown pink triangle across both.

This button is pointing out the importance of the LGBT population's vote in electoral politics in the United States. Most polling experts place the self-identifying lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender population in the United States as between 5-10%. Though that is a small number compared to the general population of the United States, it can be enough to swing a close election. Studies have shown that the LGBT population is more civically and politically engaged than their non-LGBT counterparts, and courting the “gay vote” has become integral to many campaigns. In fact, several polls and political pundits have attributed the “gay vote” to be the determining factor in the 2012 Presidential election. 

Harless, W. (2012, July 16). How Important is the Gay and Lesbian Vote for the Upcoming Election?. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/how-important-is-the-gay-and-lesbian-vote/

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This button is meant as a humorous social commentary against the United States Republican party. The Republican Party, or Grand Old Party (GOP), is one of the two major political parties within the United States of America. Beginning in the Northern states, the party preserved the Union and promoted the abolishment of slavery and provided equal rights to all men. Throughout the 20th and into the 21st centuries, however, the Republican Party has gradually become associated with a much more socially conservative agenda than it was originally founded upon.

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Jane Byrne served as 50^th Mayor of Chicago, the only woman to hold the position. First entering politics as a volunteer for John F. Kennedy’s 1960 Presidential campaign, Byrne became head of the consumer affairs department of Chicago in 1968. Byrne campaigned to be Mayor of Chicago in the 1979 election against Michael Bilandic. Against the odds, Byrne won the election because the city blamed Mayor Bilandic for not being an effective enough leader to mobilize the city through a blizzard. Byrne’s term as mayor was characterized by her recognition of the LGBT community, moving into a housing project to show how dangerous it was, and banning unregistered handguns in Chicago. Byrne ran for mayor again in 1983 by initiating a write-in campaign, but lost to Harold Washington. Byrne ran for mayor three more times, but lost every election. Byrne died in 2014, after which the Circle Interchange was renamed the Jane Byrne Interchange in her honor.

Jane Byrne. (n.d.). Retrieved November 1, 2015 from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Byrne.

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The Republican Party, or Grand Old Party (GOP), is one of the two major political parties within the United States of America. In 1860, Abraham Lincoln was elected to be the first President to represent the Republican party and allowed the Republicans to regain control of Congress. Beginning in the Northern states, the party preserved the Union and promoted the abolishment of slavery and provided equal rights to all men. The Republican Party was founded by anti-slavery advocates and other conservatives.  

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This button was for the 1984 U.S. presidential campaign of Walter Mondale and Geraldine Ferraro. Mondale had served as vice president under Jimmy Carter from 1977-1981. He chose Ferraro, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 9th district, as his running mate. This marked the first time a woman had been a nominee on a major party's presidential ticket. Mondale and Ferraro lost the 1984 election to President Ronald Reagan and Vice President George H.W. Bush, who won re-election by carrying 49 of the 50 U.S. states. Mondale and Ferraro carried only his home state of Minnesota and the District of Columbia. Their 13 electoral college votes was the lowest total of any major presidential ticket since Alf Landon and Frank Knox earned 8 electoral votes in 1936 against Franklin D. Roosevelt and John Nance Garner.

Mondale attended Macalester College and the University of Minnesota, and served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. He was Minnesota Attorney General in the early 1980s and U.S. Ambassador to Japan from 1990-1993. Ferraro attended Marymount Manhattan College and earned her J.D. from Fordham University in New York. She served as U.S. Ambassador to the UN Commission on Human Rights from 1993-1996 during the Clinton administration.