Dem U.S. Senate candidate unveils campaign logo: The guillotine as 'a symbol of the work we have to do'

The donkey has long been the symbol of the Democratic Party since President Andrew Jackson embraced his detractors labeling him "a jackass" in 1828, but a Democratic Senate candidate in Maine may have a rebrand in mind.

Bre Kidman unveiled a new campaign logo last week: a guillitone, the execution apparatus commonly associated with the French Revolution that was used for the beheadings of King Louis XVI and his wife, Queen Marie Antoinette. But fear not, Kidman, who hopes to challenge Republican Sen. Susan Collins in November, says using an image of the deadly device in campaign materials is not meant to be taken literally.

"We're not going to start a guillotine in Monument Square (in Portland) and start beheading people," Kidman clarified to the Portland Press-Herald. "It's a symbol of the work we have to do to overcome flaws in our system – flaws that have become deeply evident in the last few weeks."

'Reign of Terror'

The self-described democratic socialist, who identifies as non-binary, added that printing the French Reign of Terror execution device on campaign t-shirts is meant to symbolize ongoing class struggles that may inevitably lead to a violent overthrow of the federal government.

"A guillotine t-shirt reminds others about it in hopes that we'll all be motivated to address the very serious problems with our government before a similarly violent uprising becomes inevitable," said Kidman, who recently endorsed Sen. Bernie Sanders for president, on Twitter.

The Maine Democrat unveiled the campaign merchandise shortly after the Senate acquitted President Donald Trump in his impeachment trial.

"More details on how to get your GuilloTee tomorrow! In the meantime, remember: there is not going to be a more convenient revolution," Kidman added.

In a separate tweet, Kidman clarified the intent is only to symbolically behead Republicans and money in politics.

"The guillotine is for the plutocratic & kleptocratic norms that have undermined our democratic process. We have to develop ways to subvert the stranglehold of wealth on our government," Kidman said.

Bernie Bros, Guillotines and Gulags

As TheBlaze's Aaron Coleman reported last month, Kidman's use of the guillotine as a campaign symbol is not the first time that democratic socialists invoke violent imagery. In an undercover video taken by Project Veritas, a campaign staffer named Kyle Jurek argued that if Sanders were to win in November, Trump voters will be subject to "reeducation" in Soviet-style gulags.

"In Nazi Germany after the fall of the Nazi party there was a sh*t ton of the populace that was f**king Nazi-fied. Germany had to spend billions of dollars to reeducate their people to not be Nazis. We're probably going to have to do the same f**king thing here," Jurek said.

"That's kind of what Bernie's whole free education for everybody...because we're going to have to teach you to not be a f**king Nazi," he added. "There's a reason Josef Stalin had gulags. And actually, gulags were a lot better than what the CIA has told us that they were. Like, people were actually paid a living wage in gulags, they had conjugal visits in gulags. Gulags were actually meant for, like, reeducation."

I was gonna wait until tomorrow to show off these beauties, but Trump got acquitted and I feel like folks could use something to look forward to. So.

Get ready for Merch-You-Can’t-Buy! You shouldn’t buy elections, so you can’t buy our locally silk screened, upcycled merch. pic.twitter.com/B0A4HSvDIw

— bre🏳️‍🌈kidman🇺🇸for🦞Maine🌹(D) (@BeeKay4ME) February 5, 2020