Judge — August 24, 1895 — page 8: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This satirical cartoon from *Judge* magazine depicts chaos inside the Republican Party, with the caption asking "Are you working for the nomination?" The scene shows multiple figures engaged in destructive activity—sawing down a building (labeled "ELECTION FOR..."), surrounded by debris and tools of destruction. The figures appear to be caricatured politicians or party operatives. The satire critiques infighting within the Republican Party during a nomination contest. Rather than constructively building their platform, the figures are literally dismantling their own political house—suggesting that internal competition for the nomination is destructive to the party itself. This reflects a common theme in Gilded Age political cartooning: that partisan ambition undermines collective party interests.