posted on Mar, 26 2016 @ 05:44 PM
originally posted by: BuzzyWigs
a reply to: schuyler
The Soviet of Washington has less than 100 delegates that will be allocated based on the caucuses.
What?
That's a silly label - the "Soviet" of Washington?
You have something against education and environmental awareness and personal liberty?
Dude, as much as I respect you as a retired librarian, I have trouble with that statement.
Sanders does not resemble "soviet" policies.
You didn't get the joke.
In the 1930's Washington State was a hot bed of Communist and union activity, especially compared to the rest of the country. The Wooblies (Industrial
Workers of the World) were prominent. There were riots on the docks and the University of Washington was considered highly suspicious. During the
McCarthy Hearings several of my professors were targeted by the House Committee on Un-American Activities. Some of them lost their jobs over the whole
affair, though my particular professors managed to get through it. At the time the then obscure Postmaser General, said,
There are forty-seven states in the Union and the Soviet of Washington.
(See note below)
His quote became famous and it illustrates the fact that Washington State has been quite liberal for some time, which was (cough) my point, though
apparently too obscure for some. That Sanders is popular in this state is no surprise to anyone who lives here and is familiar with the ultra-liberal
politics of the I-5 corridor, which includes ultra-liberal Seattle.
How you got from your complete misunderstanding of my statement somehow to the "fact" that I have something against "education and environmental
awareness and personal liberty" is anathema to me. It doesn't follow logically at all. I suggest you rethink it.
Note: This quote may be apocryphal. A Washington State historian, Walt Crowley (ex-editor of the counter culture mag called "The Helix" and a
contemporary of mine) once gave a lecture entitled, ironically,
Welcome
to the Soviet of Washington, in which he claims Farley said he never uttered the phrase. But this does illustrate I'm not the only one who is
aware of the phrase tied to Washington State.