In what you could see as a sign of the times, the Larimer County Republican Party has announced a contest to remake its logo and is asking for design submissions. As the entire nation witnessed during the last election cycle, however, it ain’t easy for conservatives to speak convincingly about change, and the Larimer logo contest announcement is predictably awkward.
“It’s out with the old and in with your new logo! Help us design an… image that will… excite, motivate and inspire Larimer County Republicans and represent the new Republican renaissance of 2010 and beyond!”
Analysts see Larimer County as key to the 2010 elections and the state GOP seems to agree. The party announced last week that it will be holding its state convention at the Budweiser Events Center in Loveland, just south of Fort Collins.
But first there must be a new logo.
The present logo is simple and has a kind of retro-cachet. It features a stylized GOP elephant silhouette: three white stars shine out on the blue upper half; legs and trunk make up the red lower half. The words “Larimer” and “County” appear in a roundish straightforward font. The logo is nice. It’s solid and familiar and friendly — and it’s days are numbered. The underdog conservative party feels the need to not conserve this little logo. The Grand Old Party feels the need to do something dramatic and new.
Flyers passed out at a GOP event last week ask contestants to send submissions in “electronic format” to a party email address by July 20th. The designer of the winning logo will receive two tickets to the party’s 2010 Lincoln Day Dinner.
The submissions may say a great deal about how party members view their GOP these days and how they want to see it in the future. So far, though, there looks to be no mention of the contest at the Larimer County GOP website, and the office and County Party Chairman Larry Carillo haven’t returned calls for an interview. Stay tuned.
