The Wasp — 1880 — page 89: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page features an "Irregular Repocratic Ticket" — a satirical mock election slate for the 1880 U.S. presidential race. The cartoon presents fictional candidates: - **President: Jafield Scobraham Garcock of Ohioyania** - **Vice-President: Chesliam Habsalom Arlish of New Yordiania** These are clearly absurdist parodies of real candidates (likely James Garfield and Chester Arthur, the actual Republican ticket). The ridiculous names mock the candidates as incompetent or unworthy. The accompanying text attacks both major parties' corruption, patronage systems, and empty campaign rhetoric about "Reform." The satire argues that elections are mere spectacles where politicians make grand promises they won't keep, and that the American political system is fundamentally broken — a critique of the Gilded Age's notorious machine politics and cronyism.