The Abraham Lincoln Song

If Abraham Lincoln was alive today

He'd be a liberal Democrat.

He stood for civil rights

And Big Government.

What do you think of that?

Theodore and Jennie Hoss

Printed: T.R. Williams, Centralia, Wash.

I have been told this is a photo of my great-grandparents, Theodore and Jennie (Reeves) Hoss, on their wedding day, Feb. 20, 1890.

Theodore Jacob Hoss was born in Wisconsin in 1863. Part of his childhood was spent in Nebraska. The Hoss family arrived in Washington Territory in the mid-1870s.

Theodore and Jennie were a power couple. She "became the leader in every group she joined," according to one family member. The Red Cross and the GAR were two groups where she was active, and she was indeed the State Chair of the GAR for a year.

He was a progressive Democrat who was a frequent candidate in a conservative Republican county. Occasionally he'd get elected to a city or county office. His runs for the legislature were not successful.

How radical was he? As the Democratic nominee for US Congress in 1918 he stood for equal wages for equal work for men and women. That was pretty radical.

But he was also a successful businessman and had a role in starting Centralia's first electric utility and streetcar line. Theodore died in 1947.

Theodore and Jennie are buried in Centralia's Pioneer Cemetery

Buttons - Presidential Campaign - 2012

Obama 2012

barackobama.com

On the curl: OFA9997

My old friend Rex and I worked together as McGovern volunteers in 1972. Forty years later he came to a family election watch and handed out a bunch of Obama buttons.

Update, 11-8-12: I think "Up There" George McGovern was just issued his angel wings. America is coming home.

George McGovern, 1922-2012

 

Come Home America

In many elections I hear voters say they have to choose between the lesser of evils. But in 1972 it was clearly a choice between Good and Evil. And America re-elected Evil in a landslide. Two years later it was hard to find anyone who admitted to voting for Nixon.

There was a bit of graffiti someone wrote on the restroom wall of McGovern HQ in Oly. I'll share it here, and as off-color as it was, it does sum up how us young volunteers felt about Dick Nixon: "Don't change Dicks in the middle of a screw, vote for Nixon in '72!"

When I balance the choices I made in my life, I count the experience of being a volunteer for McGovern in '72 as something I will never regret. I also supported him in my caucus when he ran in 1984 against Ron the Con. And I don't regret that either. Several issues considered radical in the 1970s-1980s are now embraced by many Republicans. So our side eventually won. George was a pioneer and a winner on the right side of history.  But being a pioneer has a big price.

To quote McGovern, "You know, sometimes, when they say you're ahead of your time, it's just a polite way of saying you have a real bad sense of timing." 

He also said something to the effect: "I wanted to run for President in worst way-- and I did!" 

My fave was when his wife, Eleanor, came to Seattle and proclaimed the Nixon administration the "most corrupt in recent history." There was a big uproar. A few days later George arrived and apologized. He said Eleanor should have left out the word "recent."

McGovern was on the winning wide of history, at least on social issues and foreign policy. In this area obstructionist conservatives will always lose and progressives will always win. Economics has more of a universal pendulum.

Goodbye Sen. McGovern. And thank you for being a voice of reason on a national stage filled with haters shouting out messages of greed and fear. You were an inept politician, but you were a decent man. It was a miracle you were ever nominated. But working for you was the cleanest political experience I have ever had in my life, and I frequently revisit the idealism of that year if I need to recharge to keep up the Good Fight. Of course we all evolve, but at my core I still think of myself as a McGovernite. And a whole generation of us were inspired by your campaign. You were a WWII vet who worked hard to end war. I salute you for your service and your vision.

Come Home America

Phone photo 1975

Only one of these will still be laughing after Election Day

Phone photo 1974

Democrat Donkey and Republican Elephant salt shakers

The legacy of cartooning on the political system

Phone photo 1973

DEM - GOP salt shakers

I never understood why the Republicans are called the "Grand Old Party," or GOP. They certainly are NOT "Grand," the Democrats are far older as a party, and there is one wing of the Republicans that always seems to be afraid someone, somewhere, is having fun and whatever fun thing that person is doing must be stopped. Hardly what I would call a party.

Buttons - Presidential Campaign - 2008

Obama/Biden, www.barackobama.com

On the curl: 29625 c2008, Tigereye Design 800-844-3729

Another button my Mom found and donated to the visual parade.

Buttons - Presidential Campaign - 1984

Mondale Ferraro

On the curl: G.H. Stamp Works, Aberdeen, Wash.

My Mom dug this out last week and contributed to the visual cause

Buttons - Union - 1989

Booth Buster, 3%

Washington State Governor Booth Gardner, a Democrat, angered his political base when he failed to make good on his promise to raise state worker salaries even though the public coffers has an unexpected windfall. This button suddenly surfaced and was handed to me by member of a labor union.

This button was playing off the popularity of both of the Ghostbusters movies. The original was released in 1984 (the year Gardner was elected), and Ghostbusters II was currently out when this anti-Gardner image was made.

Bumper Stickers - State Campaign - 1960-1964

We're for Rosellini, Democrat

A bumper sticker for Washington State Gov. Al Rosellini's 1960 or 1964 re-election campaigns. This was given to me by my old friend Rex Munger a few years ago.

Buttons - State Campaign - 1988

Re-Elect Bob Basich, State Representative, Democrat

Washington State House Rep Basich served the 19th District (Grays Harbor area) in the 1980s and 1990s. I am pretty sure I picked up this button in 1988.

Under the curl: G.H. Stamp Works, Aberdeen, Wash.

Buttons - State Campaign - 1988

Democrat Dan Grimm State Treasurer

A button for the first of Dan Grimm's two terms as Washington State Treasurer

Buttons - State Campaign - 1972

Don Bonker, Secretary of State

Bonker tried and failed twice for the Washington State Office of Secretary of State. First in 1972, when I picked up this button, and again in 2000.

Buttons - State Campaign - 1972

Jim McDermott is known today as the long time Congressman from Seattle and is the most outspoken liberal in the Washington State delegation in that Other Washington. Since 1988 he was won elections by ridiculously huge margins (over 80% in 2010 for example). But it wasn't always so. Long ago he made two unsuccessful bids for Governor. In 1972 he failed to win the Democratic primary and in 1980 he lost the general election.

I might be wrong, but I think I picked up this button in his 1972 bid, when he was a little known member of the Washington State House of Representatives. And in 1972, when he was trying to win name recognition, it seems strange to have a button with no words on it. Maybe it was this sort of marketing that lost him the primary.

Buttons - State Campaign - 1972

Dore, Attorney General, Try Him You'll Like Him

Fred Dore, a Democrat, borrowed a popular television advertising phrase used by Alka-Seltzer at the time, "Try it, you'll like it." But he still lost the 1972 election for Washington State Attorney General.

Buttons - State Campaign - 1968

O'Brien

Robert S. O'Brien, a Democrat, served as Washington State Treasurer for 100 years. I picked up this button in 1968. This specimen has a couple beautiful qualities. First, the image itself  projects luck. Secondly, since the button merely has his surname, O'Brien could use this same image for several election cycles.

Comic art fans will be interested to know O'Brien's Republican opponent in 1968 was Eddie Alexander, the same guy who owned the print shop with the very rude workers who printed Delayed Stress Syndrome Funnies.

Buttons - State Campaign - 1968

Governor John O'Connell, Democrat

In 1968 three term Washington State Attorney General John J. O'Connell made an attempt to unseat incumbent Gov. Dan Evans. I like the way the designer of this button used the now outdated voter lever in place of an apostrophe.

Although Dan Evans enjoyed the nickname "Straight Arrow" in his 12 years as Governor of Washington State, I must say I recall all three of his gubernatorial campaigns, 1964-1972, as being quite nasty. In fact, in his last campaign he employed serial killer Ted Bundy.

Buttons - State Campaign - 1974

 

Brown for Governor

I picked up this button in Santa Barbara in the summer of 1974, when Jerry Brown was running for the office of Governor of California

Buttons - State Campaign - 1930s

Martin For Governor

Clarence Martin, a Democrat, served as Washington State Governor from 1933-1941. His political base was in Cheney, near Spokane. He was the last Governor here arriving to office directly from Eastern Washington.

This button is quite small, about the same size as a nickel.