Peter Jackson--Son Of Washington Icon

In my childhood, my parents, who were very active in politics, would get a card around Christmas time from Senator Henry "Scoop" Jackson.  It would show his family, including children Anna Marie and Peter.
Peter grew up and like his father, carved a career in politics, not as a candidate, but as an editorial page editor  for the Everett Herald and the online publication, Crosscut.
He had also been a speech writer for Washington governors Gary Locke and Christine Gregoire.
I didn't meet Peter in person, but we became acquainted on Facebook.  I shared my memories of political history with him, including his Dad's speech on the 4th Of July in Walla Walla.  Scoop Jackson had just dropped out of the 1976 presidential race.
We both attended the memorial service for my Cousin Stan's wife Alta, but I was not aware of his presence.  He had left early because he was not feeling well.
In 2016, Jackson revealed that he had pancreatic cancer.  He died last Saturday.

Scoop Jackson Spoke In Walla Walla On July 4th 1976

The most serious run for president by a Washingtonian, up to this point, was in 1976 when Senator Henry "Scoop" Jackson tossed his hat into the ring.  He won the Massachusetts and New York Primaries, but his loss in Pennsylvania knocked him out of the race.  
That very summer, Jackson spoke at Pioneer Park in Walla Walla at the city's 4th Of July celebration.  It was a big find for the small town on the nation's bicentennial.
Jackson's most memorable quote was that his campaign was "a remarkable  bicentennial tour of the United States--until I hit Pennsylvania" the self-deprecating, good natured reference to what may have been the darkest day of his career  drew laughter for the crowd.
I was in the crowd with my family to watch the speech.

My First Precinct Caucus

My parents were deeply involved in Democratic politics in my childhood.  Although neither would run for office, they would take me to picnics and rallies to meet candidates.  One of my favorite places to go was the Strohmaier Ranch, about 20 minutes west of Walla Walla, where party activist Gary Strohmaier would have a huge barbeque. Anyway, I digress.
In 1976, I was finally old enough to vote.  This allowed me to participate in my first precinct caucus. This was, of course a presidential year.  The Republicans would hold their precinct caucus at the luxurious Lonneker estate.  The Democrats held their caucus at Sharpstein School in the teacher's conference room. 
I got mentioned on front page of the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin for being chosen as a Scoop Jackson delegate.  It was kind of ironic, because in 1976, I supported one of his opponents (Carl Maxey) for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate.  Senator Jackson, after all, was a "hawk" on the war in Viet Nam.   By 1976, however, the war was over and many of the hard feelings toward Jackson in the party had heeled.  I supported Jackson because he was from Washington, therefore the home team.  Because of his strong views of defense, his appeal spread beyond party lines.  After all, 4 years earlier, Senator George McGovern was soundly defeated while running on an anti-war platform.
I was able to attend my first county convention, but the party regulars squeezed me out and I did not get to attend the state convention. In later years, I was a delegate many times to the state convention. 

Inslee For President?

In the media, there is talk of Washington governor Jay Inslee making a run for president.  The governor's profile has risen with his and Attorney General Bob Ferguson's successful fight against Trump's travel ban. 
While sometimes Inslee's policies have been questioned even by fellow Democrats, Washington seems to have a thriving economy.
Inslee seems to have a knack of winning elections.  Like Trump in 2016, Inslee was seen by everyone as the underdog against popular Attorney General Rob McKenna in the race to be Washington's governor.  Inslee pulled out the victory. In 1998, he beat a incumbent Rick White to represent Washington's 1st Congressional District in the House of Representatives. 
The last Washington figure to run for president was Senator Henry "Scoop" Jackson in 1976.  Jackson was one of the last "cold warriors" in the Democratic party.  He lost the nomination to Governor Jimmy Carter who would go on to win the White House.  There is no doubt that since then, our state has become a much bigger player on the national stage. 

Politics Can Be Thankless

It seems like going through the last month of a campaign is somewhat akin to walking into torture chamber with the same amount of angry negative commercials playing ad nausea, e-mails from groups you didn't know existed and of course, the ever present robo-dialer on your answering machine.

This story is a little on the lighter side, but it shows how being a political volunteer can be a thankless job where no good deed ever goes unpunished.

Let's back up to my hometown of Walla Walla, back in the 60s as it is today, a very conservative Republican town. It did have a visible Democratic party, seemingly a small coalition of Italian, Southern,Irish, in our case Jewish businessmen, union people and farmers. Not exactly people who were sympathetic to the activists that would come to define the decade. Their hero, who in fact had an appeal that crossed party lines, was the late Washington Junior Senator Scoop Jackson. Jackson was a "straight arrow" representing everything American. He was an established cold warrior and die hard supporter of the Viet Nam War.

In 1970, the Viet Nam protests were growing louder and an African American Spokane attorney named Carl Maxey threw his hat in the ring to challenge Senator Jackson. In the spring, Maxey spoke at Walla Walla's Whitman College campus and was well received. Anti War activism was brewing amongst the students and faculty. Later in the summer, Carl Maxey was scheduled to appear at the Walla Walla County Democratic Picnic.

So the county democratic party has their picnic, it looks like a good year for the area Democrats as sitting Republican Congresswoman Catherine May was facing a very strong opponent in Mike McCormack. There was one problem, Carl Maxey was scheduled to speak. The man picked to Emcee the get-together had no desire to introduce an anti-war activist who was attempting to replace Scoop Jackson, a man whom the Republican party would only send token opposition against. My Dad was the good soldier and volunteered. He has always been loyal to the party and willing to step up in any situation.

So the picnic is taking place in Rooks Park, a very popular place at the time on the East outskirts of town. My Dad is toastmaster and introducing various local candidates who get up to make their speeches. Finally, it is Mr. Maxey's turn. My Dad says something like..."you got to hand it to this man for running against a state Icon." Mr Maxey (an outstanding boxer in school) did not take that well. He gave my Dad a glare that was unmistakable. Then he went on with his speech.