Judge — June 8, 1907 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This political cartoon satirizes William Jennings Bryan, the three-time Democratic presidential candidate. The caption quotes Bryan's response to the New York *World*'s question "What is a Democrat?" with his proclamation "I AM A DEMOCRAT!" The cartoon depicts Bryan clutching a chaotic bundle of contradictory Democratic positions and ideologies—papers labeled with conflicting views scattered around him. The satire suggests that Bryan's definition of "Democrat" encompasses such incompatible positions that the party itself is incoherent or self-contradictory. By 1907, Bryan had lost two presidential elections (1896, 1900) and his influence within the party was contested. The cartoon mocks his attempt to claim sole authority over Democratic identity while the party remains fractured and confused about its actual principles.