Illinois Republican Party Issues Blago T-Shirts

By Kevin Robinson in News on Jul 9, 2010 4:30PM

The Illinois Republican Party announced yesterday in a message to its email list that the state party "has launched a full line of shirts, hats, mugs and other memorabilia which feature a caricature of former Governor Rod Blagojevich blow-drying his hair along with an elephant in the background who’s pulling the plug on the hair dryer." The state GOP says that they're "having some fun, but also trying to make a point," that point being that a slouchy white elephant can play a practical joke on a disgraced former governor by unplugging his hair dryer. No, wait. The point is that the Machine is a cheap plastic hair dryer used to coif Blago's famous hair. No, wait. Well, we don't know what the point is by looking at the image. But the party says that the point is that "the whole Blagojevich/Quinn/Madigan regime has been in power way too long" and it's time for a change. Clearly.

As if the imagery wasn't bad enough, the tchotchke for sale are from Cafe Press - which is headquartered in San Mateo, California. Good job supporting local screenprinters, guys! Maybe when Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Brady lowers the state minimum wage the Illinois GOP can afford to have the shirts made locally.

Really want a Blago shirt but want something more local? Check out these tees by Chicago-based Thirst (though screen-printed in Ohio).