Friday, July 31, 2020

Bupkes





Bupkes, September 25, 2004 (Maryland) - February 16, 2007 (Maryland)

VP candidate for Hamster Party (2004)

Running mate with nominee: Diddley Squat V (2004-2006)
Popular vote: ? (0.00%)
Electoral vote: 0/538

The campaign:

The Hamster Party, which has nominated hamsters for President since 1996, had an unusual candidate in the off year of 2002-- a hamster named Potus. Yes, he ran for President in 2002 [!!!], but without a running-mate. As Fate would have it, he died on Oct. 5, 2004, aged 29 months, a month shy of the 2004 national election. Since hamsters have such short lifespans, it is highly unlikely any elected ticket with these creatures would ever survive a four-year term.

The 2004 Hamster Party nominees were siblings, Diddley Squat V and Bupkes, born Sept. 25, 2004. It certainly was not the first time a Presidential ticket had been comprised of brothers, but their age made them among the youngest ever teams in Electoral history.

Putting aside the tiny detail that both candidates were hamsters, there are the two Constitutional problems: They were way below the required age of 35 and also they were residents of the same state. But if by some miracle they had attained the offices they sought, both of them died within a few months of each other, first Diddley Squat V and then Bupkes. Even though some might say the US Senate is already occupied by fellow rodents (rats) it seems unlikely they would have confirmed a hamster to fill the VP vacancy, which would have elevated Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi to the Presidency after the death of President of the United States Bupkes.

Election history: none

Other occupations: hamster

Buried: ?

Notes:
Diddley Squat V died October 19, 2006.
According to the Presidential Pet Museum, President Lyndon Johnson had pet hamsters in the White House.