In 1934, the author Sinclair Lewis ran for Governor of California on a platform that included EPIC - End Poverty In California. The election took place at the height of the Great Depression, when California was suffering high levels of poverty. Lewis proposed Socialist-like reforms, including California issuing its own money.

When EPIC became a popular idea, Lewis's opponents (centered around the staid Republican candidate Frank Merriam) created devastating attack ads and Lewis lost the election. His opponents, who included both conservative newspapers and much of Hollywood, created items like this "Sincliar Dollar," which twists EPIC to stand for Endure Poverty in California, and gives Sinclair's name as "Utopian Sincliar."

This is an amazing piece of political history, from a campaign some dubbed "the campaign of the century."