Nick Wilde, 2016 -
VP candidate for Furred Party (2016)
Running mate with nominee: Majira Strawberry (b. ca2013)
Popular vote: 0 (0.00%)
Electoral vote: 0/538
The campaign:
Ahead of time, apologies for my ignorance in the esoteric terminology of Furry culture. No disrespect is intended.
Majira Strawberry is the stage name of Furry Fan Kyle Summers (b. 1969). It seems the exact species of Majira was initially vague, coyote or fox? Looks like the red fox side eventually won out. Majira appears to be an award-winning celebrity in the Furry universe with a large following on social media.
In one of the shortest campaigns in Presidential history, Strawberry announced on Youtube he was running for President a mere two days prior to Election Day. The text introduction read: "I am here to save the country from it's impending doom. vote for me this tuesday. (please don't take this video too seriously, it's just supposed to be funny c: )"
Among the promises made--
-Make it illegal to "awoo." (I have no idea what that means)
-Replace all iPads with drawing tablets.
-"Make people stop telling me to brush my fur suit."
-Stop Vine from closing.
-Ban all squeaker toys from Furry conventions.
-"I will make it treason to ruin the magic, punishable by death."
-When addressing some of the big issues like gun control, etc., Strawberry's motto was "I don't know. Do what you want. Just don't hurt anyone."
-Replace all the Mountain Dew with bleach to rid the world of Furry haters.
-Ban everyone on Twitter except for the Furries. "We're taking over."
Strawberry waved around a toy figure of Nick Wolfe, introducing him as his Vice-Presidential nominee.
Nick Wolfe is a character in the Disney 3-D animated feature film Zootopia, released early in 2016. Wolfe was portrayed as a red fox who was a con artist, but honestly I have never seen the film so I am relying on the description others had made. Wolfe's voice was supplied by actor Jason Bateman, who supported Sen. Sanders in 2016.
A subsequent video was released contending that the Strawberry/Wolfe ticket actually won the election, and it featured the fox's inauguration speech. But in 2020 Strawberry was running again (no VP was mentioned) as if he was the challenger and not the incumbent.
Obviously there would have been a multitude of Constitutional issues if the Strawberry/Wolfe team had really been triumphant in 2016.
Election history: none
Other occupations: cartoon character
Notes:
Here is a post I wrote in Jan. 2011 on my Morty the Dog blog about my comix work Morty the Dog vol. 1 published by MU Press in 1989 which sums up my peripheral and scant connection to Furry culture--
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Hey, you might ask, just how many different series of comix are there with the title Morty the Dog?
Yes? You in the back, you have a question?
[At this point a little wiseguy in the back who is wearing a pointy hat with a bell on the tip asks in a high, nasal voice, "Just how many different series of comix are there with the title Morty the Dog"? And here Steven gives the little guy a dirty look and raises his arm in an overly mock punching stance]
This particular series, which had a two-issue run, was jointly published by MU Press and Starhead Comix in Seattle in the summer of 1989.
By 1989 Morty the Dog had appeared in many of Michael Dowers' Starhead publications for at least half a decade, but the MU Press venue was a new audience with a different set of interests. As it turned out, Edd Vick's publishing venture quickly cultivated a readership with an interest in Furry Culture.
Morty the Dog volume 1 is often cited in Furry chronologies by virtue of the fact it was the very first comic published by MU Press. Even today it remains listed in the "MU Furry" category of their catalog. But Morty is not a Furry.
Although prior to 1989 I had been trading and corresponding with amazing cartoonists like Steve Gallacci (Albedo) and Marc Schirmeister (Rowrbrazzle), I never considered Morty to be part of the Furry genre. My art was not as disciplined as the average Furry comic. And I sensed a general attraction to Japanese comic art and Fantasy writing in general in the Furry community-- genres that are OK, but I didn't want to imitate them.
Anyway, considering all the great artists who can be considered Furry, I should be flattered to be included as even a footnote in Furry histories and chronologies. But in truth, if this comic had been published just by Starhead alone, it wouldn't be included in the annals of Furrydom. It gets mentioned only by association with MU Press.
I had known Edd Vick for awhile before this thing was published, but I didn't know some of the other people in his MU crew. An incident that still makes me chuckle today was when one young man preparing the book for publication called me up to ask about something. I inquired exactly what stories they were reprinting and he responded by describing in a flat monotone narrative where Morty gets his spine pulled out by a shark and then coconuts fall on his head, etc.
Yes, I said reprinting. The whole comic is a reprinted. Sources are Cranium Frenzy # 5, Cooper Point Journal 10/30/86, Natural Functions, Big Picture Picture Book, Cartoon Loonacy # 3, and Morty Prima Facie.
Jeff Nicholson (Ultra Klutz) wrote the nice intro. Not long before this book saw print, he had stayed with us here in McCleary and I accompanied him to a comic convention in Seattle. Jeff is one of the most natural comedians in person of any cartoonist I've met, a superb storyteller with a wide range of great voices. We later produced a jam that was incredibly fun to create.
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