Republican Party (United States) an article in the "Cincinnati Commercial", the term was modified to "grand old party". The first use of the abbreviation is dated 1884. The traditional mascot of the party is the elephant. A political cartoon by Thomas Nast, published in "Harper's Weekly" on November 7, 1874, is considered the first important use of the symbol. An alternate symbol of the Republican Party in states such as Indiana, New York and Ohio is the bald eagle as opposed to the Democratic rooster or the Democratic five-pointed star. In Kentucky, the log cabin is a symbol of the Republican Party (not related
Political positions of the Republican Party party advocate for non-interventionism. Libertarian Republicans call for less government spending on defense, but paleoconservatives usually are pro-strong national defense, and therefore sometimes are in favor of more defense spending. The 1992 Republican Party platform adopted support for continuing to exclude homosexuals from the military as a matter of good order and discipline. The support for the exclusion of homosexuals from military service would remain in the Republican Party platform until the 2012 Republican Party platform, which removed that language from it. A May 2012 United Technologies/National Journal Congressional Connection Poll found that only 41% of Republicans supported restoring the