Thus pink could describe a "lighter form of communism", purportedly promoted by supporters and believers of socialism who were not themselves actual or "card carrying" communists.
In the 1920s, for example, a Wall Street Journal editorial described supporters of the Progressive politician Robert La Follette as "visionaries, ne'er do wells, parlor pinks, reds, hyphenates [Americans with divided allegiance], soft handed agriculturalists and working men who have never seen a shovel.
Many politicians, like Richard Nixon, exploited the fear of communism by referring to their opponents as "pinkos".
The word was predominantly used in the United States, where opposition to Communism grew strong among the population, especially during the McCarthy era.
In his two presidential campaigns, Alabama governor George Wallace often railed at what he called "the left-wing pinko press" and "pseudo-pinko-intellectuals.