Anyone remember the time Jimmy Carters son stopped by the Comet in September of 1976 for a mock debate?
Anyone remember the time Jimmy Carter's son stopped by the Comet in 1976? Charles Tansley

Unlike the $2,500 to $50,000 it would cost to get yourself into a room packed with sweaty Hillary Clinton funders, it only costs $200 to get into Saturday's meet-and-greet with Bernie at the Comet. Click on that "$200" if you want to go.

As Brendan pointed out earlier, the Comet isn't exactly where you expect political events to take place. Especially not presidential political events.

But presidential political events at the Comet are not unprecedented.

According to a small item in September of 1976 in the Free Lance-Star, a Virginia newspaper, Jimmy Carter's son Chip showed up to a "mock debate" at the Comet while his dad was running for president. (Scroll left on that news item to see a photo of Chip at the Comet.) The Comet was the only bar on Capitol Hill back then, and they only served beer and wine, but the "mock debate" included some "mock tequila drinking," which prompted the Washington State Liquor Board to spring into action (because of course it did).

According to the Ellensburg Daily Record one day later:

The State Liquor Control Board was investigating a possible violation of liquor laws following a spoof debate at a wine-and-beer-only tavern. One of the debaters was Chip Carter, son of Jimmy Carter.

Wow, liquor control board, you haven't changed at all, have you? It is something to know that you've been wasting everyone's time with ridiculous investigations for years. As Joel Connelly points out, the Comet has changed a little over the years. "Bernie Sanders would have had an unforgettable, stomach-turning bathroom experience" at the old Comet, Connelly writes. (What's wrong, Joel? You didn't like that old stall divider that was mostly entirely a gaping gloryhole? C'mon. That was great.)

Anyway. What is unprecedented is an actual aspiring presidential candidate doing an event at the Comet, so this ought to be historic. If you wanna meet Bernie at the Comet, here's where you get your ticket. Doors are at 4 p.m., event starts at 5 p.m. He's also going to appear at this Westlake Center rally earlier in the day on Saturday, and right after the Comet he's headed to UW's Hec Edmundson Pavilion for an event from 6 to 8 p.m.