After a brief and painless process, I present for your voting pleasure the finalist entries in our Sound Politics "Pick A New State Slogan" contest. As you know, the state's recently unveiled tourism slogan, "SayWA," simply won't do. Sound Politics readers responding to this post yesterday, answered my call for suggestions. Remarkably, some have a bit less to do with tourism than politics. Ah, well. Deploying my highly developed phraseologistic appreciation skills, I have winnowed the suggestions down to a list of top contenders. They are shown in the extended entry, along with some basic rules. After viewing the rules and choices, please indicate your one pick, by assigned number, using the comment form.
VOTING RULES: 1) you can't vote for your own entry; 2) voting deadline is noon on Monday, March 20; 3) Only one vote per voter. As in King County goverment, sorry to say, our humble efforts at elections integrity will have to be based on the honor system - beyond a certain point. Meaning, specifically, that if you're lame enough to pretend to be two different voters, but are using the same I.P. address both times, you're gonna get nailed. But if you go to the trouble of using different I.P. addresses with your different names, you might slip past me because I'm really not very likely to ask Stefan to use the "WhoIs" I.P. identifier service he pays for, in order to suss out voter fraud here. He's still taking apart the real thing. So just decide what kind of world you want to live in, OK?
VOTING GUIDELINES: In the body of a comment appended to this post, simply list your one pick by number. You will have to decide whether political commentary or actual tourism promotion is your intent. This being a political site, most of the entries lean toward the former. FWIW, I am inclined toward the latter. Never mind that, however.
FINALIST CHOICES - NEW WASHINGTON STATE TOURISM SLOGAN
1) From SP commenter "Disgruntled." "You have to come here to get to Alaska, anyway."
2) From Republican (by default)."WA has it all (and what we don't have we'll take from you when you get here)."
3) From Republican (by default). "WA - Cuba's sister state."
4) From Dan. "Don't visit, just buy our software, jets, and timber."
5) From Burdabee. "Washington - Still doing the Wobblies proud."
6) From roosi trey. "WaTF?"
7) From Jeff B. "Come, visit, vote."
8) From Republican (by default). "WA - Where Lenin still stands."
9) From ERNurse. "WA - Deep in the heart of taxes."
10) From Marc. "Come spawn with us."
11) From Cicero. "Washington State - The gift God wrapped in green."
I choose #1
(I believe that the others are perfectly relevant for this state...but they may be too inviting to the liberal tourists who would visit just because we have a statue of Lenin, higher taxes, a sister state of Cuba,etc....I don't want a flood of liberal tourists here...ACK! )
Posted by: Deborah on March 16, 2006 06:47 PMAnd I am very very thankful that at least Stephan knows how to count votes!
Has to be "WaTF?"
Posted by: Balkstar on March 16, 2006 07:08 PMGo County Choice (and Cascade County-- at least we'll know how to count...)
Posted by: john on March 16, 2006 07:54 PM#8 First Place
#2 Second Place
#9 Third Place
But if must judge my voter intent, let me be clearer....#8
All based on political comentary of course. Please not as a tourist slogan for the reasons Deborah pointed out. My compliments to Larry, Republican (by Default) and ERNurse. All of the ones you came up with were so good.
Posted by: Republican in Exile on March 16, 2006 09:02 PMIs their a write in space so I can sign my name under each race?
Am I a MoveOn.org voter? If I am, that means I'd just fill out the front of the ballot and leave the back blank.
Am I one of the 500 idiots who always writes in Ron Sims name?
Can I fill out my ballot in green ink?
Can I obtain a Chinese language ballot?
With all of that said, I'm voting for #11 because it makes reference to one of the three almost good songs about the Pacific Northwest, Brenda White's "Christmas in the Northwest".
(Surprised there weren't any Perry Como or "Jet City Woman" obscure references though)
Aint it the truth?
Posted by: jim L on March 16, 2006 09:21 PMThe only thing I'd like to point out is that, being a native Washingtonian, I don't WANT anyone else to come here anyway and frankly, I'd like most of the people who have arrived in the last 20 years to just go away!
Posted by: Suzihomemaker on March 16, 2006 09:30 PMAlthough #6 and #9 are awesome also.
Posted by: mikeki on March 16, 2006 09:35 PMBOHICA = Bend over, here it comes again.
Posted by: Richard Anderson on March 16, 2006 10:07 PMJeez, I'm really hurt that I didn't make the final cut . . . but that being the case I vote for 6
Posted by: Steve-O on March 16, 2006 10:44 PMI pick #3.
If suggested alterations are acceptable, I'd change that to simply "Come to CubWa" ...
Posted by: BananaLand on March 16, 2006 10:57 PMI'm a Christian so #6 is out, and I can't vote for my own, and of course I like mine the best.
So I guess I'll vote #7. Even though he took the handle I wanted. I got stuck with JB, then got disgruntled... and well... now I'm...
Posted by: Republican (by default) on March 16, 2006 11:45 PMOne that just came to mind: "Pay our tax as you relax".
Posted by: Gerald on March 17, 2006 06:45 AMI do like the one that I emailed to Carlson:
(cue Tony Bennett)
"Our heart is 'left' (dunda-dunda-dun)...of San Francisco's"
My vote is number 9, though I liked number 2 really well.
Posted by: roosi trey on March 17, 2006 06:57 AM%*(*&%#$%%*
The canvassing board determines that it's a vote for:
Christine Rossi.
Seriously; being a historical junky---
#5
#11 reminds me of that wretched "Christmas in the Northwest" song that makes me want to claw my ears out every December.
Posted by: Lorraine on March 17, 2006 08:12 AM:)
Thanks!
Greg
Some family from Alpha Centaura visiting Freemount District, Washington State, USA, Planet Earth during the Gay Pride Parade all with their mouths wide open and all with the same "thought bubble" exclaiming WaTF!!!!!
Posted by: Mr. Cynical on March 17, 2006 08:40 AMBut who remembers that, right?
Which suggest another slogan: "Washington -- the only thing shorter than our memory is our sunbreaks."
Posted by: Rey Smith on March 17, 2006 08:40 AMis Gregoire doing in the Governor's Mansion
Posted by: Kevin on March 17, 2006 09:21 AMis Gregoire doing in the Governor's Mansion
Posted by: Kevin on March 17, 2006 09:21 AMSO true!
Posted by: Stohn Nishino on March 17, 2006 09:27 AMso,,,, the ONLY logical choice for me is,,,,,,of course,,,,
#6
and the sign needs to be bright blue(blue state) and flashing
Posted by: RepublicanfromKS on March 17, 2006 09:49 AMWhen you open it up to the public, someone in the entire state of WA surely has a creative slogan that we would all like and that would actually lure turists instead of scaring them away.
Posted by: Jeff B. on March 17, 2006 10:07 AMThis slogan could help create a rise in tourism around voting time. As an extra incentive to visit, King County could offer out of state visitors absentee ballots (limit of five per visitor) for all future elections. Oh wait; they already do that, with no limit on how often one person (living or dead) can vote.
I'm hoping we can get rid of the appropriateness of all the rest. Naive optomist that I am.
Posted by: RBW on March 17, 2006 10:32 AMHow about these late entries?
1) The Well-Endowed State - Kiss a Geoduck!
2) WA - Where Marxism is not just a pipe dream
3) The Ever-fleeced State
4) Bring your Money - Our $Billionaires need handouts, too!
5) Visit the Emerald City - Munchkinland depends on Lollipops! (suckers)
-JP
I'll vote for #9.
Posted by: Gary on March 17, 2006 11:54 AMhey, consider this....
Come for camping? ...don't pay the state park fee's. Stay at a tent city for free. No ID required.
ok, back to work.
Posted by: Bob on March 17, 2006 12:05 PMCome visit, vote WA - where Lenin still stands doing the Wobblies proud deep in the heart of taxes... WA has it all (and what we don't have we'll take from you when you get here)
Posted by: Cheryl on March 17, 2006 12:24 PMwrite in vote: "Washington State: Cha-Ching! SAYWA???"
Posted by: gmt on March 17, 2006 01:20 PMHey, lets start a televised rock-paper-scissors tournament for office, no more of this voting nonsense.
Posted by: Eastern WA Resident on March 17, 2006 01:28 PMJeez, I'm really hurt that I didn't make the final cut . . . but that being the case I vote for 6
(BTW, to keep up appearances, after all I am a King County resident, this is the second time I voted).
Posted by: Steve-O on March 17, 2006 01:52 PMI live at one address, but get my mail at another so in this state I get to vote twice!
Posted by: GS on March 17, 2006 05:22 PMIt would be interesting to see a breakdown of the votes by posters. To see which minds think alike...
Posted by: Organization Man on March 17, 2006 10:30 PM