During the speeches at this year’s RNC you could hear the louts in the audience chanting “drill baby drill!” at every mention of offshore drilling and ANWR. I came across these photos of a Detroit Electric car in 1919 taking a promotional trip from Seattle to Mount Rainier and they could not be more timely. These electric cars were produced from 1907 through 1939 by the Anderson Electric Car Company and boasted 80 miles between charges (though they’d top out at 20 miles per hour). Maybe this November we’ll elect a president who prioritizes the real national security threat: dependence on foreign oil. And maybe soon we’ll be taking a trip from Seattle to Rainier in our Chevy Volt, faster than 20 miles an hour. Kill free (or close).

Detroit Electric auto on promotional tour through mountains from “Seattle to Mt. Rainier.” Circa 1919. Image courtesy Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

Detroit Electric auto on promotional tour through mountains from “Seattle to Mt. Rainier.” Circa 1919. Image courtesy Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

Detroit Electric auto on promotional tour through mountains from “Seattle to Mt. Rainier.” Man standing in front of auto, which is parked on mountain road. Circa 1919. Image courtesy Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.