The Senator Who Switched Sides: A 1916 Campaign Clash
Democratic candidate George Turner launches a scathing public attack against Senator Miles Poindexter’s political flip-flopping on trade and tariffs.
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Judge George Turner, the Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate, delivered a keynote address at a mass meeting in Seattle, framing the upcoming election as a test of character and consistency. Turner leveled sharp criticism at his opponent, Senator Miles Poindexter, focusing on Poindexter's dramatic reversal regarding the Underwood Tariff Law. Turner contrasted Poindexter's past support for the law—which aimed to reduce tariffs on goods like wool, cotton, and steel to benefit Western consumers—with his current embrace of the Republican platform that sought to restore high protectionist rates. Turner accused Poindexter of political opportunism, arguing that the Senator had abandoned his previous progressive convictions to seek safety within the Republican party once he realized the winds of power had shifted. Turner concluded that while Poindexter may be an expert at 'psychological politics'—seeking shelter before the storm—it was not the stuff of true statesmanship.
“Senator Poindexter may be trusted to scan the clouds and to get well under cover before the rain begins to fall. And when he gets under cover he is liable to claim the roof that shelters him.”
This 1916 debate over the 'Underwood Tariff' and its impact on the cost of living mirrors contemporary anxieties about trade policy and inflation. Just as Turner critiqued Poindexter for moving to where the political power lay, modern voters continue to grapple with candidates who pivot their core economic stances based on the electoral climate.
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