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Note: I'm not making any claims here, I'm simply asking for the story behind the logo change.

Here is the current logo of the US Republican Party:

enter image description here

The stars used to point upwards, like this:

enter image description here

This may seem like an insignificant thing, and I suppose it might be. But why would they change it? This seems strange for a party that has so many religious members and voters, including Christian fundamentalists and evangelists, who might take such symbolism seriously.

The stars have the shape of a pentagram.

The shape of a pentagram pointing down is commonly used as a symbol of Satanism.

Here are some quotes from Wikipedia.

Let us keep the figure of the Five-pointed Star always upright, with the topmost triangle pointing to heaven, for it is the seat of wisdom, and if the figure is reversed, perversion and evil will be the result.

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A reversed pentagram, with two points projecting upwards, is a symbol of evil and attracts sinister forces because it overturns the proper order of things and demonstrates the triumph of matter over spirit. It is the goat of lust attacking the heavens with its horns, a sign execrated by initiates.

So, given the GOP's large Christian voter base, it seems strange to play around with such a symbol.

Why did this change happen? Was it just a random thing? Has there been any debate about it? When did it happen? Who initiated the change?

The Democratic Party's logo also features such stars, but they're still pointing upwards. The same is true for the US Flag, the US emblem, the flag of the European Union and countless other such emblems.

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Such stars being upside down seems to be highly unusual?

I prefer answers with sources.

Edit: Looking at their social media and website these days, it looks like the stars have flipped back up. So I guess the question is now why they were flipped for years.

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  • 1
    I could be wrong but isn't a 5 ray star not the same as pentagram? (which is same star shape, but NOT filled in)
    – user4012
    Jun 1, 2016 at 13:15
  • 1
    @user4012 I'm not sure either. But if I was the GOP I would probably have played it safe and kept them pointing up.
    – Fiksdal
    Jun 1, 2016 at 13:19
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    The websites you linked claim that the logo was changed in 2000, or around 2000. However, a 2004 GOP conference shows the stars pointing upward and a 1984 pin shows the stars pointing downward, so I'm not sure if your claim is true.
    – A. Darwin
    Jun 1, 2016 at 14:26
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    @A.Darwin I included those links as an example of religious people taking offense at the logo, not as a source for any claim. If you can document that the logo has historically mostly pointed downward, that would be a good answer.
    – Fiksdal
    Jun 1, 2016 at 14:34
  • 4
    They aren't upside-down, they are rotated 36 degrees.
    – J Doe
    Dec 23, 2016 at 0:04

1 Answer 1

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The history of the GOP logo is rather confusing.

First of all, it is true that the current GOP logo features three stars pointing downward, but the RNC logo - which is completely different - contains three stars pointing upward. Moreover, the Republican Party of Minnesota uses both versions in the same page.

Previous versions of the logo feature both versions.

For example, a 1972 Nixon button uses the downward-pointing stars:

Nixon button. Note the GOP logo with the stars pointing downward

while a photo from a 2004 Republican dinner in San Diego, CA clearly shows the logo with the stars pointing upward.

2004. Note the stars pointing upward

Downward-pointing stars can also be seen on this 1984 Reagan pin sold on Ebay.

I haven't been able to find other relevant images so far, but I think that the claim that G.W. Bush turned the stars upside down can be safely rejected.

I also believe that the correct GOP logo features three stars pointing downward, but I'm not sure why different States use different versions.

It is thus likely (but not certain) that the correct logo has always been the same at least since the 70's, and that there have been printing mistakes in some occasions.

If this is not the case, I haven't found so far any official explanation for such a frequent change in the GOP logo, and a definitive history of the logo cannot be written.

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