Senate: Ye-Haaaa for National Cowboy Day
Sen. Mike Padden, left, talks with Sen. Andy Billig on the Senate floor during the discussion of the National Cowboy Day resolution Thursday.
OLYMPIA -- Ignoring the advice of almost every political consultant worth a darn that an elected official should not wear silly headgear, the Senate donned cowboy hats today as it took up a resolution marking National Cowboy Day.
Plaudits for the Western iconic figure flowed like the Pecos. There was much talk of "mosey-ing" and what may have been one or two bad John Wayne imitations. One Seattle senator even recited the beginning lines from "I'm an Old Cow Hand."
It is also National Cattlemen's Day, so it's possible the free beef and burgers out in the parking lot helped fuel some of this rhetoric.
The resolution passed without a discouraging word.
As the session continued with more mundane topics like fruit and vegetable district funding, licensing Christmas tree growers and banning the sale of tobacco vapor products to minors, the cowboy hats slowly came off and were set on desks.
About 4 p.m., Sen. Mike Baumgartner, R-Spokane, asked for a point of personal privilege in between votes on bills. His hat was still on his head: "I'd just like everybody to look around and see who the last real cowboy is."
