What one of my favorite authors Upton Sinclair discovered about Socialism when he ran for governor

[NNN0LHI]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upton_Sinclair

Upton Sinclair

In the 1920s the Sinclairs moved to Monrovia, California, near Los Angeles, where Upton founded the state's chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Wanting to pursue politics, he twice ran unsuccessfully for Congress on the Socialist ticket: in 1920 for the House of Representatives and in 1922 for the Senate. During this period, Sinclair was also active in radical politics in Los Angeles. For instance, in 1923, to support the challenged free speech rights of Industrial Workers of the World, Sinclair spoke at a rally in San Pedro, California, in a neighborhood now known as Liberty Hill. He began to read from the Bill of Rights and was promptly arrested, along with hundreds of others, by the LAPD. The arresting officer proclaimed that "we'll have none of that Constitution stuff." snip

In 1934 Sinclair ran in the California gubernatorial election as a Democrat. Gaining 879,000 votes made this his most successful run for office, but Frank F. Merriam defeated him by a sizable margin. Sinclair's platform, known as the End Poverty in California movement (EPIC), galvanized the support of the Democratic Party, and Sinclair gained its nomination.

Of his gubernatorial bid, Sinclair remarked in 1951:

"The American People will take Socialism, but they won't take the label. I certainly proved it in the case of EPIC. Running on the Socialist ticket I got 60,000 votes, and running on the slogan to 'End Poverty in California' I got 879,000. I think we simply have to recognize the fact that our enemies have succeeded in spreading the Big Lie. There is no use attacking it by a front attack, it is much better to out-flank them."

[meegbear]

1. If you're interested in Sinclair's run for governor ...

you should check out "Campaign of the Century"; the full title is "The Campaign of the Century: Upton Sinclair's Race for Governor of California and the Birth of Media Politics".

Excellent book and it's amazing how the things they did back then are still being done today. Corporations, banks, the movie industry all lined up against him and, ala Citizen's United and the Kochs, did an attack campaign that was over the top.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Campaign-Century-Sinclairs-California/dp/0679748547

[frylock]

2. thanks for the recommendation..

will download to my kindle when i get home tonight.