72 sLAde goRton: A hALf centuRy in poLitics
Gorton had been curiously quiet for three days of bitter floor debate.
He knew victory was at hand—and that he was a lightning rod. After
the unhappy Democrats had finally talked themselves out, he addressed
the House. They had been on a long and winding road for two years,
Gorton said, and the process had produced some “weird and wonderful
shapes.” But perhaps the people had been better served than if one party
had been able to dictate the outcome. As for charges of a sell-out, “I can
only say of Senator Greive that he has been devoted to a solution of this
problem for at least three years; that he has spent more hours on it than
anyone else in either house, myself included; that I never noticed that
he was anxious to do in his own party, but as a matter of fact I hope I
never have to deal with anyone who is tougher in working for his own
party It’s hard to see how a district that ‘saves our senators’ doesn’t...
also ‘save our representatives.’...
“I do commend this bill to you and we say to all of you that if you can’t
feel joyful, you can feel triumphant... in one respect and one respect
Governor Evans signs the hard-fought redistricting bill in 1965. From left,
Jack Dootson, Tom Copeland, John Ryder, R.R. “Bob” Greive (bow-tie),
Howard McCurdy, Bob Bailey, Lud Kramer, Hayes Elder, Gorton, Dean Foster,
William “Big Daddy” Day, Mary Ellen McCaffree, Jack Rogers, Don Moos,
Marshall Neill and Chuck Moriarity. Washington State Archives