Inland 360’s 2016 Holiday Coloring Contest will go down in 360 annals as our most detested contest yet. It’s almost on par with the social media outrage that erupted after readers voted Lewiston’s Taco Time the region’s best Mexican food in the first round of The 360s back in 2015.
We commissioned Moscow artist Mark Beauchamp to create a Thanksgiving-themed drawing based on what everyone was talking about this year, the presidential election. His drawing was a take on Norman Rockwell’s famous Thanksgiving painting. Instead of a family seated around a roasted turkey it featured Donald Trump with a feathered mantle as the centerpiece. Bill and Hillary Clinton stand in shock at one end of the table while other political opponents are seated around the edges.
We received several letters and phone calls complaining the cartoon was in bad taste, along with some creative contest entries.
