Running out of time to find your liberal loved one a gift for tomorrow’s big holiday? Washington’s got you covered. Further proving what I’ve privately coined DC’s “political Field of Dreams rule”—build it and it will become zippy resistance-chic—there’s now a bunch of Democratic party-themed valentines available for the lefty bae in your life. Choose cards featuring messages from current and former presidential candidates, including Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Kamala Harris, Sen. Cory Booker, and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to declare your love and adoration. Bonus sweet nothings come from party juggernauts like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Beto O’Rourke.
Hey friends. Here's my collection of Dem Valentines. DM me if you want some and I'll send you a PDF to download and print. Just don't print them at work unless you work at the Koch Foundation or something. pic.twitter.com/gWfQcr7hDe
— Shelley Kim BoSlice (@shell_gasoline) February 13, 2019
These “dem valentines” are not the first politically themed creations by local 26-year-old stand-up comedian Shelley Kim. Two years ago, Kim created GOP-themed “alternative Valentines”—a riff off of White House aide Kellyanne Conway’s “alternative facts” term—and donated the proceeds to help DC’s Oyster-Adams School, a bilingual school in Woodley Park, purchase a new laptop. Kim tells Washingtonian that her favorite of that group was Conway’s, which read: “Roses are red, Bowling Massacres are green, my love for you is real, no need to cite-check or screen.”
What inspired Kim to re-up her project two years later with a shift away from Republicans? “The Democratic blue wave has so many new figures,” Kim explains. “I wanted to do these valentines again for something a little less angry and a little more hopeful.”
Kim was notably moved by freshman lightning rod member Ocasio-Cortez’s media savvy. “She’s not a candidate, but I knew I wanted to do something for AOC,” Kim added. “She’s engaging so many young people in politics. It’s inspiring. And I wanted to create something and spread it through social media, just like she would do.”
Interested parties looking to get stronger, together can download the cards via Dropbox.
Brittany Shepherd covers the societal and cultural scene in political Washington. Before joining Washingtonian as a staff writer in 2018, Brittany was a White House Correspondent for Independent Journal Review. While she has lived in DC for a number of years now, she still yearns for the fresh Long Island bagels of home. Find her on Twitter, often prattling on about Frasier.
