It seems that when Washington Democrats are not pushing a state income tax, they are championing some other equally ridiculous cause. Indeed, a ridiculous cause is exactly what Democrats decided to concern themselves with last week, via an email to supporters—though, in their slight defense, they were following President Obama’s lead.
Washington Democrats’ email asked recipients for their input on whether or not Mount Rainier should be renamed to “reflect our state’s Native American heritage.” The email reads,
“Mount Rainier’s name has a bit of a storied history: Like many features in Washington, it was named by George Vancouver in honor of one of his friends, a British naval officer who fought against the Americans during the Revolutionary War and who never even visited the Northwest!
“As this debate continues, we want to know where Democrats like you stand. Take our poll today and let us know: Is it time to consider restoring Mount Rainier’s original name?”
Democrats have evidently been debating this topic since 2010. It was during Washington Democrats’ 2010 convention that the party passed a motion to rename Mount Rainier.
What would be the new name of Mount Rainier? Well, no one can be sure because the peak has quite a lot of different native names. The apparent frontrunner, “Tahoma,” is one of several.
The real problem with the ridiculous debate is its disingenuous nature—it’s just political pandering meant to appease a certain base of voters. You see, if Democrats were serious about renaming iconic Washington places, they would start by changing Seattle to its native name, Duwamps.
