Former Wyoming Governor Francis E. Warren, and sitting Senator at the time of the Johnson County War, F. E. Warren was a Republican Senator who knew how to cover his ass, whic his why he was able to survive the scandal of Republican support for the invasion of Johnson and Natrona Counties. That scandal took down the GOP in the state for a period of time.
Back at least a decade ago I had a conversation with a high ranking member of the Wyoming Republican Party about some really odd going ons down at Cheyenne. He stated, broken hearted, that Wyoming politicians had been "bought".
That's a pretty broad accusation. What he likely really meant is that right about that time the state started to be flooded by out of state political money, and it often went right into the most radical right wing politicians. Wealthy people moving into the state brought their politics with them, and in a few cases if was radically far right. That gave us, for example, the absurd example of Foster Friess and his goofball Dukes of Hazzard campaign for governor.
It also gave us, however, some people who moved in specifically for political reason. Chuck Gray, the family money backed son of a wealthy Republican, who was born in California and went to school at Wharton, like Trump, moved into the state and ran for office nearly immediately. Living in a district in which the long time occupant of a legislative seat died, he managed to leverage a position at his father's radio station into a legislative seat, and then captured the office of the Secretary of State in spite of having very little connection with the state in which he sits. He's been a constant stream of Trump like invective. His seat was taken over by Jeanette Ward, who was if anything even further to the far right. Ward, from Illinois, came to Wyoming as a "political refugee" and had been here so briefly that she barely qualified for her seat when she ran. Her politics were too far to the right for even that district, which booted her after one embarrassing term in Cheyenne where she espoused far right populist, far right Evangelical, positions.
The state GOP was likewise taken over by far right populists, about whom we hear less now, but who went to war with the traditional GOP. They were largely successful, duping, although I expect only temporarily, a large number of Wyoming voters into believing the sh** sandwiches which Trump and his allies serve up as alleged filet mignon.
That they can be duped is because the state is in economic distress, and regular people don't know what to do about it. Global Warming is real, not some sort of fib, and long term coal and oil are doomed. A large number of workers who relocated form Texas and Oklahoma, and the like, are fairly poorly educated on top of it and are relatively easy to lead by being told that what they want to be true, is true. The agricultural sector, which has deeply ingrained conservative tendencies, is rolling over from a generation that basically stopped its education at high school to one which is now college educated, but in the meantime the older agriculturalist who control the operations deeply want to believe that operations can be run the way they were in the 1970s, and that threats they need to deal with, which include Global Warming and the buying power of the Super Rich, really don't.
Basically, Wyoming's current politics can be explained by people voting for what they want to believe, over reality. Coal and oil are never going way. You'll always be able to get a job in the extractive industries, or as a truck driver, with a high school diploma, or even without one. There are no deep existential problems with the economy here that aren't the result of a conspiracy against us.
It can't be us.
But it can be.
And right now, it is.
A further part of the problem, however, is that the Democratic Party in the state has displayed a level of intellectual denseness that would suck light out of a black hole It's stunning.
It wasn't all that time that Wyoming had a viable Democratic Party that could serious contend for statewide and national seats. That started to change, however, during the Clinton Administration for reasons that are now hard to discern, although the decline of unionized mining jobs in Wyoming are likely part of that problem. Even after that, however, we had a Democratic Governor.
As the Democratic Party in the state declined it took on a lot of the same trend lines that the national Democratic Party did, which has helped explain the rise of Trump. In a state that was both sort of conservative and sort of libertarian, they became goofball left wing as an organization, although not all of their candidates reflected that. Over time, the Democrats never saw a fetus in the womb that they didn't' want to kill, or a brand new perversion that they didn't want to celebrate. A party which at one time was lead by burly miners or grumpy rural lawyers is now lead by a guy who has the appearance of a bow tie wearing nerd.
Recent promo photograph of the Democratic Party. This is a far cry from a party that once put a World War Two Marine Corps Raider in the Governor's office, a World War Two infantryman in Congress and a gruff prosecutor into office. Marine Corps Raider gets votes, and inspires confidence. Bow Tie Wearing Doofus does not. And is that buffalo smiling?
Hypocritical or not, Wyomingites aren't going to vote for a party that they associate with men in tutus and that it's all okay. Men might go into the voting booth with their third wife at home, before they go to see their mistress, but they're going to regard that as contrary to the moral law. Interestingly, if politics returned to the "I don't care what you do, just leave me alone" ethos it once had, they'd be fine with that. Indeed, that's how their living their private lives already.
In fairness, however, the last two chairmen of the Wyoming GOP don't win high marks either. The current one, Bryan Miller, is another of the "I spent my life in the military and hate the government" Republicans. After decades of drawing on the government tit, they claim to know what's wrong in a state where most people don't, or at least not openly.
We may, just might, be at a turning point, however.
We are certainly at a point where Republican office holders ignoring the real views of the state can be exploited.
Dr. John Barrasso. He went from orthopedic surgeon to the Senate, having been appointed by the Legislature. At age 72, he's now the Senate Whip and doesn't appear to have any desire to retire any time soon.
Wyomingites are overwhelmingly opposed to public lands being transferred out of government control. In spite of that, Dr. John Barrasso supported Federal lands being transferred to the states in the 2016 GOP platform. That didn't happen in part because Eric Trump is a hunter. Barrasso darned well knew that Wyomingites didn't support that, but somebody he was listening to did, as he supported it against the wishes of his constituents.
72 year old Barrasso is in that class of politicians who desperately seem to want to hang on to their jobs in spite of their advancing old age. At 72 he ought to be retired, but he hung on and is how the Senate Whip. Once a Republican moderate, he became a Trumpite by necessity. That means he could become a moderate again, and if the political winds shifted, he would.
This issue is one in which he's hearing from hundreds of Wyomingites per day. He's heard from me twice.
He hasn't responded, but he hasn't said what his position is.
If the proposals to transfer public lands advance, he ought to be sent packing.
Cynthia Lummis. Once the State Treasurer, she entered the U.S. House in 2009, but stepped down in 2017 to take care of her dying husband, a very admirable thing to do.
70 year old Cynthia Lummis is likewise in the age group that ought to be out of politics. She actually returned to it, however, to take her current Senate seat. Lummis condescendingly stated that all Federal lands didn't need to remain in Federal lands forever, which is intellectually the same as maintaining that all privately held lands don't either, something she'd be in horror about as she comes from a ranching family. She's also shown an ability to tack into the wind, however, as she was once a Trump opponent and now is a Trump backer.
Lummis is making sort of a big deal right now about her cryptocurrency bill which just passed the Senate, and nickname Crypto Queen she's been tagged with. The truth is, however, that the overwhelming majority of Wyomingites don't give a rusty rats ass about this topic and aren't going to remember diddly squat about this bill. It'll soon be a "what?" sort of topic.
The public lands vote, however won't be.
Harriet Hageman. She ran an unsuccessful campaign for Governor against Mark Gordon and then, when Liz Cheney ran into trouble, ran against he rand obtained her seat.
Harriet Hageman is on her first time as Congresswoman, having been able to take advantage of her former friend Liz Cheney's downfall. Hageman is the only one of Wyoming's Washington delegation who probably comes by her public land vote, which was in favor of the Federal sales bill, honestly. Daughter of Jim Hageman, who spent 23 years in the Wyoming House of Representatives, Hageman is from a farming family from Southeastern Wyoming where there is very little public land. Jim Hageman was one of the backers of a proposal to allow for the privatization of wildlife in Wyoming, which almost destroyed the GOP during its go around.
This issue could be a similar one.
Wyomingites should make it.
At the top of this page is a portrait of Francis E. Warren. Warren had been territorial governor, and then the first governor, of the State of Wyoming.
I don't admire him.
But his ability to read the political winds is admirable.
The state Republican Party was complicit in the invasion as so many of those in it were connected with Republican politics. Planned at the Cheyenne Club, people kne what was going on. Republican Governor Amos Barber did and had arranged to activate the National Guard in order to keep it from being deployed to Central Wyoming to stop the invasion.
Barber lost his seat following the event.
The Republicans lost the legislature.
Warren kept his.
There's a lesson there for those currently in office. . . and those who wish to be.
Amos W. Barber. A dentist by profession, like Barrasso is a surgeon by profession, he disgraced himself with his support of the invaders in the Johnson County War and then thereafter by attempting to retain his office after he was defeated for reelection. He became Wyoming Secretary of State immediately after that, as that was his prior office at the time of Warren's elevation to the Senate, and then returned to his dental practice. Oddly, like the current occupant of the Secretary of State's chair, he was a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania.
Frankly, for Wyomingites in general, and more specifically for the users of public lands (hunters, fishermen, outdoor recreationist, ranchers), this ought to be it in regard to political support.
If anyone of our three Congressional reps vote for this, they shouldn't receive our votes after this.
Remember that some things aren’t for sale: Wyoming's congressional delegation should review the "Code of the West" before they sell off our public lands, attorney Ryan Semerad writes.
In reality, capitalism is based on the idol of money. The lure of gain gradually destroys all social bonds. Capitalism devours itself. Little by little, the market destroys the value of work. Man becomes a piece of merchandise. He is no longer his own. The result is a new form of slavery, a system in which a large part of the population is dependent on a little caste.
Remember that some things aren’t for sale: Wyoming's congressional delegation should review the "Code of the West" before they sell off our public lands, attorney Ryan Semerad writes.
Ugh, there's a time when that would have seen like a long time.
And it still should. Would that it would have been only 90 days prior to an election that anyone could even announce.
A full year of watching the clock count down.
A full year of pundits like Robert Reich telling you can't vote for a third party, and must vote for one of the two absurdities that are the current majority parties.
A full year of bizarro weird diction from Donald Trump.
A full year of two really old men compete for the votes of voter less than half their ages.
Nifty.
November 6, 2023
The latest polls show Trump beating Biden in the Fall election.
Simply amazing.
It'll all come down to five states, and about 100,000 voters, who will decide which of the two ancient men will lead the most powerful, if declining, nation on earth.
Both, FWIW, are showing signs of cognitive decline. This has been obvious for a while, but it was mentioned in regard to Trump for the first time on one of the weekend news shows. He's now getting noticeably confused and increasingly erratic.
Regarding cognitive decline, the fact that these are the nation's choices make it appear as the United States itself is suffering from cognitive decline.
While there will be plenty of it "it's not too late" comments, it pretty much is unless the Democrats dump Biden. The electorate doesn't want him, or Trump. And yet the parties insist on offering both of them. At least with the GOP, it's because their base really does want Trump, as frightening as that is. The Democrats do not want Biden.
November 8, 2023
And yet another poll shows Biden slipping further behind, even as the Democrats did well in yesterday's election.
If Biden isn't replaced as the candidate, there will be a second Trump term.
November 9, 2023
Donald Trump, yesterday:
Kim Jong-un leads 1.4 billion people, and there's no doubt about who the boss is, and they want me to say he's not an intelligent man.
Geez Louise, this is wrong in so many ways.
First of all, 1.4 B is the approximate population of China. North Korea has about 24M.
And nobody is saying that Kim Jong-un isn't intelligent, they're saying he's bad.
Trump has a thing for dictators. . .
During the GOP debate, one of the candidates proposed bombing targets in Iran.
cont:
Joe Manchin will not be running for reelection to the Senate in West Virginia.
Manchin was quite conservative, a fact which had given him a power broker role in the Senate. His departure, while not wholly unexpected, does put the GOP within striking distance of taking back the Senate.
November 10, 2023
Jill Stein has opted to lose again as the Green Party's candidate for President.
November 13, 2023
Tim Scott has dropped out of the GOP race.
In terms of serious candidates, that leaves Haley, Christie, DeSantis, and of course, Trump. There are others, but they're already reached the point of now return. The winnowing process is now well-developed.
Overall in the Republican race right now, the following are the serious candidates in terms of still (sort of) being contenders against Trump.
Trump.
Doug Burgum
Chris Christie
Ron DeSantis
Nikki Haley
Asa Hutchinson
Of the above, Hutchinson should drop out, as his campaign is gaining no traction and is essentially the same as Christie's. Burgum should drop out as well as his campiagn has generated little interest, mostly due to his own waffling on Trump.
GOP candidates still around that nobody is paying any attention to are:
Scott Alan Ayers
Ryan Binkley
Robert S. Carney
John Anthony Castro
Peter Jedick
Perry Johnson
Perry Johnson
Donald Kjornes
Mary Maxwell
Glenn McPeters
Glenn J. McPeters
Scott Peterson Merrell
Darius L. Mitchell
Vivek Ramaswamy
Sam Sloan
David Stuckenberg
Rachel Swift
Of these, only Ramaswamy is newsworthy, but most due to his being noisy and somewhat of a gadfly. So, in terms of real candidates, what the GOP actually has is:
Trump.
Doug Burgum
Chris Christie
Ron DeSantis
Nikki Haley
Asa Hutchinson
Vivek Ramaswamy
On the Democratic side, there are actually just about as many people running, but really only Biden and Dean Phillips are serious candidates. . . so far.
While it'll put me outside the mainstream, I very strongly suspect that Joe Manchin and Joe Biden have had a conversation about Biden dropping out, and Manchin stepping in.
Manchin is in his early 70s, which is still old, but younger than Trump. He's also a bonafide centrist. Liberal Democrats would hate this development, centrist Democrats, independents and traditional Republicans would welcome it. It would be a smart move. Right now, I'm predicting, as radical as it is, that Biden will drop out this month, followed by Manchin announcing a run.
In other news, Californian Republican House member McCarthy is indicating he may not run for reelection.
November 14, 2023
Apparently a retired lawyer has filed a 14th Amendment challenge to Trump, and oddly Cynthia Lummis who doesn't run again until 2026, in court. Secretary Gray sent out a press release on the matter.
Secretary Gray Condemns Attempt to Remove Donald Trump and Cynthia Lummis from Future Ballots in Wyoming
CHEYENNE, WY – In response to a recent filing in Wyoming District Court seeking to remove Donald Trump and Cynthia Lummis (whose term ends in 2026) from future ballots in Wyoming, Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray announced his plans to vigorously defend against the filing (Newcomb v. Chuck Gray).
“The attempt to remove Donald Trump and Cynthia Lummis from the ballot is outrageously wrong and repugnant to our electoral process,” Secretary Gray said in a statement. “I am preparing a vigorous defense to stop these blatant, radical attempts to interfere with Wyoming’s elections. The weaponization of the Fourteenth Amendment to remove political opponents from the ballot undermines the sanctity of the Constitution. We are preparing to file a motion to dismiss to block this attempt at election interference. And we are committed to protecting the integrity of our elections and ensuring that the people of Wyoming can choose who to elect for themselves.”
November 15, 2023
A Michigan Court has rejected a 14th Amendment claim against Trump. It will be appealed.
November 17, 2023
Rep. Hageman went after Tim Newcomb's lawsuit regarding Trump being disqualified from being on the ballot for insurrection.
This isn't really surprising, Hageman is in political debt to Trump, but it's interesting in that she partially attacks the effort as unconstitutional and for using the legal system. Attempting to use the legal system is exactly what Trump attempted in order to try to retain office, and Trumpites have continually taken refuge in that fact.
I've posted about this elsewhere, when I was really miffed about it, but Wyoming's Cynthia Lummis has introduced a bill in the Senate to raise mandatory airline pilot retirement ages up to age 67.
Lummis is 68.
Let's note the trend here. Lummis is 68. Wyoming's John Barasso is 70. Wyoming's Congressman Harriet Hageman, at age 60, could nearly be regarded as youthful.
Joe Biden is 80. Donald Trump is 77. Chuck Schumer is 72. Mitch McConnell is 81.
This is, quite frankly, absurd.
The United States is, without a doubt, a gerontocracy.
Okay, what's that have to do with airlines?
We repeatedly here there's a pilot shortage. What is obviously necessary to, in regard to the shortage, is to recruit younger pilots into the field. That requires opportunity and a decent wage.
Vesting the good paying jobs in the elderly is not the way to achieve that. Indeed, depressing the mandatory retirement age would be.
I suspect this bill will not pass, but the problem it notes is frankly severe.
Why is nothing getting done in this country? And why are young people so disgruntled by work that old people complain about how disgruntled they are.
In large measure, this country and society is completely dominated by the elderly.
Now, this smacks of ageism, and it is. But there does come a time when one generation needs to back off and hand the reins to another. The Baby Boomer generation is past that time, and it refused to yield.
It's absolutely insane that the two top contenders for the highest elected office in the nation is between two ancient men. Seriously? Can people whose world views were formed in the 60s really be expected to lead on any current crisis? We've never expected such old people to rule in times of trouble before.
Franklin Roosevelt, who was regarded as old going into his fourth and fatally final term, was 63 years old when he died.
Woodrow Wilson, who lead the country through the Great War, was 67 when he died in 1924. He outlived his great rival, Theodore Roosevelt, by several years. TR died when he was 60, just as he'd always expected to.
Abraham Lincoln was 56 years old, serving in his second term, when he was assassinated. I note that because in the greatest crisis in the country's history, we had a President in his 50s. . . not his 70s or 80s.
And its not just the Oval Office. As noted above, the levers of Congress' machinery are held by the ancient, in many instances. Wyoming just turned its Congressional seat over to a "freshman" who is now a freshman at age 60.
Lawyers at age 60, as she is, ought to be looking towards how things are going to be handled in the next decade as they inevitably face decline. That doesn't mean taking up a leadereship role in teh country.
And people aren't really choosing these antiquarian figures. They have no choice. It's much like this meme from the Simpson's that is so well know, it's traveled the globe:
And you do, as they have the money, even if they ironically don't have the members.
We repeatedly hear that Wyoming is the most "Red State" (meaning Communist, of course, oh wait ... not that means the most conservative as red is the color of socialism. . . oh wait, that's not right, blue is the international color of the far right so that means. . . oh never mind). Even here, however, party registration breaks out in this fashion:
Sure, that means that "independents" are about 9% of the figure for Republicans, but we all know that at least a quarter of the GOP is made up of registrants who have gone there due to the Simpsonian monster. If you want a voice, you have to vote in the GOP primary.
And that means you have to accept that at the end of the day, the people you are voting in, with the odd exception of Chuck Gray, who is another topic, are going to be old.
And it's not just in politics. Business is often, but not exclusively, dominated by the old. In something, I personally follow, although not everyone does, the leadership of the Catholic Church, the Bishops, is elderly and heavily influenced by Priests who came of age in a liberal era, and therefore are in conflict with younger more conservative ones.
The law is dominated by the elderly as well. Look at any Supreme Court, for the most part. Wyoming just took a failed run at raising the judicial retirement age up from the current age 70, which is pretty old. It failed, but it had the backing of the Chief Justice of the state. And this is the second time this has been tried in recent years.
For a variety of reason, for most of American history, people tended to step into their work in a major way in their 20s. They were often very fully established by their 30s. Doing that now is difficult in the extreme, thanks to people over 60.
People look back on certain generations that never had a voice. "Lost Generations". Nearly everyone in the shadow of the Baby Boom Generation fits into that category to some extent, some more than others.
Be that as it may, we're not going to solve long term budget problems, energy problems, border problems, and the like, looking to people who look out and see the world through 1973 lenses.
Lummis believes funding for supporting Ukraine should come from the International Monetary Fund Special Drawing Rights, to which the United States is part of, “not from hardworking American families.”
Lummis said the U.S. could use its IMF Special Drawing Rights to provide important weapons and humanitarian support to Ukraine through a long-term, no interest loan.
She has consistently opposed providing financial support to Ukraine since the start of the war.
“I have promoted that source of funding until I’m blue in the face, to no avail,” Lummis said. “I continue to support America’s resolve to defend Ukrainian self-governance, but without asking hardworking taxpayers to foot the bill, especially at a time when American families’ budgets are stretched due to record high inflation.”
From the Cowboy State Daily.
In other words, she supports knowing what will not come about, knowing that would come about would be a Ukrainian defeat, and expanded Russia, and a boosted Putin.
Maybe Red really is the appropriate color for the modern GOP.
We have to give some credit to Lummis here. This comment is nicely camouflaged with fiscal responsibility. It implies, "I'm all for Ukraine, but the fiscally responsible way to aid Ukraine is. . ." That's the sort of position that's likely to cut a little slack with the hard right isolationist populist, while also not seeming to suggest we let the Russian army roll up to the English Channel.
But that's basically what it really means, or more accurately that we turn a blind eye while Putin reassembles Imperial Russia, which is basically what he's attempting to do.
It would serve us well to remember the history of that, however. In 1917 the Romanovs fell. A democratic Russia briefly emerged, and Finland, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, Ukraine, and Transcaucasia states declared their independence. The Soviets deposed the government, war resulted, and the Soviet Union ultimately attacked all of those regions or co-opted them politically.
We struggled against that anti-democratic assembly for years.
Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.
There's been a lot of news about the Senate passing a "same sex marriage bill", and on Wyoming Senator Lummis voting in favor of the bill, thereby aligning her vote with that of Congressman Liz Cheney.
Did the Senate actually pass a bill expressly protecting same-sex marriage?
Well, not really.
Here's the statute:
Shown Here: Placed on Calendar Senate (07/21/2022)
Calendar No. 449
117th CONGRESS 2d Session
H. R. 8404
To repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and ensure respect for State regulation of marriage, and for other purposes.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 20, 2022
Received; read the first time
July 21, 2022
Read the second time and placed on the calendar
AN ACT
To repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and ensure respect for State regulation of marriage, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1.SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the “Respect for Marriage Act”.
SEC. 2. REPEAL OF SECTION ADDED TO TITLE 28, UNITED STATES CODE, BY SECTION 2 OF THE DEFENSE OF MARRIAGE ACT.
Section 1738C of title 28, United States Code, is repealed.
SEC. 3. FULL FAITH AND CREDIT GIVEN TO MARRIAGE EQUALITY.
Chapter 115 of title 28, United States Code, as amended by this Act, is further amended by inserting after section 1738B the following:
Ҥ 1738C.Certain acts, records, and proceedings and the effect thereof
“(a) In General.—No person acting under color of State law may deny—
“(1) full faith and credit to any public act, record, or judicial proceeding of any other State pertaining to a marriage between 2 individuals, on the basis of the sex, race, ethnicity, or national origin of those individuals; or
“(2) a right or claim arising from such a marriage on the basis that such marriage would not be recognized under the law of that State on the basis of the sex, race, ethnicity, or national origin of those individuals.
“(b) Enforcement By Attorney General.—The Attorney General may bring a civil action in the appropriate United States district court against any person who violates subsection (a) for declaratory and injunctive relief.
“(c) Private Right Of Action.—Any person who is harmed by a violation of subsection (a) may bring a civil action in the appropriate United States district court against the person who violated such subsection for declaratory and injunctive relief.
“(d) State Defined.—In this section, the term ‘State’ has the meaning given such term under section 7 of title 1.”.
SEC. 4. MARRIAGE RECOGNITION.
Section 7 of title 1, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:
Ҥ 7.Marriage
“(a) For the purposes of any Federal law, rule, or regulation in which marital status is a factor, an individual shall be considered married if that individual’s marriage is valid in the State where the marriage was entered into or, in the case of a marriage entered into outside any State, if the marriage is valid in the place where entered into and the marriage could have been entered into in a State.
“(b) In this section, the term ‘State’ means a State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any other territory or possession of the United States.
“(c) For purposes of subsection (a), in determining whether a marriage is valid in a State or the place where entered into, if outside of any State, only the law of the jurisdiction applicable at the time the marriage was entered into may be considered.”.
SEC. 5. SEVERABILITY.
If any provision of this Act, or any amendment made by this Act, or the application of such provision to any person, entity, government, or circumstance, is held to be unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act, or any amendment made thereby, or the application of such provision to all other persons, entities, governments, or circumstances, shall not be affected thereby.
Passed the House of Representatives July 19, 2022.
Attest:
Well jeepers Yeoman, you may be thinking, there's no mention of same-sex marriage or homosexuality in there at all.
That's right, there isn't.
So what's up with those claims?
Well, those who have read the Dobbs decision know that Justice Thomas made a comment to the effect that Dobbs implicitly suggests that other areas where the Supreme Court has legislated on the topic of marriage may be just as invalid as when it did on abortion in Roe v. Wade. To some extent, at least in the case of Obergefell, he's correct. I'd submit that this does nothing to the holding in Loving v. Virginia, on interracial marriage, but some people fear that Loving will now fall as well. It is clear that if Thomas had his way, Obergefell would be reversed.
But if it were reversed, that would mean that a Dobbs like result would occur. States would be free to allow for same gender unions if they wanted to, and some would, and some would not.
All this statute does is apply full faith and credit to the topic, to achieve the same result that the Wyoming Supreme Court did when same gender unions were not a thing in Wyoming. If contracted elsewhere, the Wyoming Supreme Court held, full faith and credit would cause them to be valid here.
This statute achieves the same result.
Does that mean that this legislatively secures same sex unions across the nation?
Well, not directly, but maybe indirectly. After all, if you can cross state lines to contract the union, you can still get there.
Years ago, that wasn't actually quite as clear, but it has been, except in the case of homosexual legal unions, for many decades. At least in Wyoming, it became clear that this was also the case before Dobbs.
Lummis might point out, I suppose, that the statute also does the same thing for interracial marriages, but those aren't under any lingering threat anywhere.
Or at least it can be argued that this is the case, and that seems to be the case to me. I.e., I don't think Dobbs endangers interracial marriages in any fashion. Others, including a speaker at the Wyoming Bar Convention, apparently, maintain otherwise, which is right about the point that Harriet Hageman walked out of the convention room and into the hall, although she didn't silence herself, apparently.
Well, not everyone was happy with this in the state. The state GOP sent out this email:
Dear Wyoming Republicans and County Leaders,
Yesterday’s vote on the “Respect for Marriage Act” sadly saw our own Senator Lummis vote aye. This act threatens religious liberties and is opposed to the Wyoming Republican Party Platform which was ADOPTED UNANIMOUSLY at the May 2022 Republican State Convention by more than 400 delegates from across the state.
Well, this is interesting.
Lummis came back into D.C. in the 2020 election, during which she cozied up to the far right. Prior to her running there was serious speculation that Liz Cheney was going to run for the same office, and in fact Lummis' early announcement may have been timed to jump the gun on Cheney and get in position first. If that was her goal, it was a smart one, as Cheney ultimately decided to run again for the House, which she did, getting around 75% of the Wyoming GOP vote. But there did seem to be some bad blood between the two, and frankly I can't quite blame Cheney for being upset, if she was, about losing, probably permanently, the chance to be in the Senate.
As soon as Lummis rolled back into town, she joined the Trumpsters in her vote to question the election, and seemed to be getting on the Ted Cruz Party Car. I frankly wondered if she saw Cruz as the heir apparently to Trump, and Cruz seemed to view himself that way, throwing out candy to the far right with his position on the 2020 election.
Then came 2022. If Lummis really held bad blood towards Cheney, she got her revenge as the inside baseball is that she's the one who told Il Duce that he ought to bestow knighthood upon Harriet Hageman, which he did. Lummis later publicly endorsed Hageman, an extraordinary thing for a Senator to do against an incumbent of her own party.
Then came the 2022 election and the only red wave was the hemorrhaging of GOP hopes for the election. In spite of his helping the GOP to turn in a really bad performance in 2022, and losing in 2020, and helping the GOP to lose both the House and the Senate in 2018, and being the President only due to the lunacy of the electoral college in 2016, Il Duce announced his renewed March On Rome last week.
But even before that, like a bloodhound sniffing the trail of a distant fugitive, Lummis sniffing the political winds endorsed Ron DeSantis as the head of the GOP.
And now she's joined Cheney in a vote which is contrary to the state GOP's platform, an act which in recent years has resulted in declarations of expulsion for improper thought.
Lummis has proven to be pretty savvy. She gave the State Bar the middle finger salute in 2020, and she's basically giving the GOP Central Committee the middle finger salute right now.
In the meantime, if a Republican columnist and sort of gadfly is correct, the hypocrisy problem that we've pointed out of the Illiberal Democrats in the GOP may have exhibited itself. He came out with a column that goes after the Wyoming GOP with both barrels. Indeed, with both barrels and all six cylinders. It's really brutal.
I'm not going to repeat what he wrote there, as he's claiming real inside baseball knowledge that I certainly don't have and which is pretty personal. But what it does point out is the really hypocritical nature of the Illiberal Democracy positions taken by the GOP, or at least Wyoming's GOP, at the present time.
I'm a social conservative, and I think Obergefell was wrongly decided. I think Justice Thomas was right on that in Dobbs, and I think that Senator Barrasso's no vote on this bill was correct.
But I also think that in order to understand why you are or against something, you need to have that grounded in the existential and metaphysical. And that's a really uncomfortable thing, particularly in the area of sex and marriage.
I don't expect everyone who olds the traditional views to be saints, far from it. But I do expect people to be intellectually honest.
Indeed, that's why two French figures are so interesting in my point of view. One I can unfortunately not recall by name. He was a parish pastor who had numerous affairs with women of his parish, but when asked to renounced his faith during the French Revolution, he went to this death rather than do so, noting publically that he was "a bad Priest", not a non-believer.
Another example was Charles Péguy, the tortured French poet who had been a non-believer who came round to being a devoutly believing, but non practicing, Catholic, as he felt himself so burdened by his sins that he mistakenly could not overcome them.
Both of these examples are not to be followed. Péguy should have gone to Confession and fully practiced. But their intellectual honesty when it mattered is what really counts here.
Does Lummis have any? While I disagree with Cheney's vote too, I know that she does. She's paying for it now. And what about the Wyoming GOP? Having cited to traditional values, will those who have not exhibited them in their personal lives now stop proclaiming themselves as the moral standard-bearers and retrace their steps to where they departed from the narrow path, or do they regard themselves as somehow personally exempt?
Registration to run closed yesterday, May 27, at 5:00. So who is running?
Let's take a look
House of Representatives
The race that everyone has their eyes on, of course, because of Liz Cheney's principled stand on the insurrection. That angered those who feel that she should have been more loyal to Donald Trump than the Constitution, and created an opportunistic effort by her fellow Republicans to replace her, aided by a national party that has remained freakishly in the former President's grip. . . so far.
Republicans for the House:
This race will likely decide who will occupy this seat, with it going pretty obviously to either Cheney or Hageman.
Liz Cheney. The embattled incumbent.
Harrient Hageman. Hageman, former Cheney supporter and Trump opponent who has switched on both in what Cheney has proclaimed as "tragic opportunism". By and large Hageman's and Cheney's politics, to the extent that we can tell what Hageman's are, are identical, but for loyalty to Trump.
Robyn Belinsky: Belinsky is a businesswoman from Sheridan who is billing herself as Wyoming's Marjorie Taylor Greene. Why she's still running at this point is really a mystery as she has no chance whatsoever and what few hard right populist diehards who won't adopt Hageman are left will vote for Bouchard.
Anthony Bouchard: Bouchard is a member of the legislature from Goshen County who has been in a lot of local political spats and who is a far right firebrand in the legislature and who is still running in spite of having no hope of getting past the primary. He will still draw some votes, however, from those who are very much in this camp and have been his acolytes all along.
Bryan Eugene Keller: He's a resident of Laramie County who has registered, but I don't know anything else about him.
Denton Knapp: Knapp is a retired U.S. Army Colonel and a current Brig. Gen. in the California National Guard who is still, surprisingly, running. His campaign at this point borders on being delusional. He must be hoping that Hageman and Cheney will destroy each other, and then the electorate in the GOP will go for a moderate. In other words, this campaign is delusional.
I can't predict this race anymore. At one time I thought for certain that it would go to Cheney, but to my surprise the Trump loyalty thing matters to a lot more people than I would have guessed for reasons that tend to escape me, save for a fair number of people have really bought into hard corp populist thought. The ironic thing is that Cheney's top opponent isn't a populist, something that must be driving Bouchard nuts.
Democrats for the House:
At long last, perhaps waiting for the Republicans to destroy each other before registering, some Democratic contenders have appeared. They are:
Lynette GreyBull: GreyBull was the Democratic contender last time and, in spite of her defeat, did better against Cheney that probably would have been expected. If Hageman is the contender, she'll do even better yet.
GreyBull, depending on who the Republicans choose in their primary, and how much they destroy themselves in the process, may actually have a chance.
Meghan R. Jensen: Jensen is a young candidate from Rock Springs. So far that's about all that I can say about her.
Steve Helling: Helling is a long time lawyer in Casper and who also practiced in Colorado. He's well known as a lawyer.
My prediction in this race is that GreyBull will win the Democratic primary again, to face off against whomever the Republicans chose.
Independent
Casey Hardison. This is a gadfly campaign as it is based on drug legalization. Indeed, he has a case on appeal to the Wyoming Supreme Court right now for felony marijuana delivery.
It seems like we get these campaigns every election now.
Governor's Race.
This seat is now safe for Gordon, although former President D. Trump took a verbal swing at him the other day when being interviewed by KTWO radio.
Republicans for the Governor's Office.
Mark Gordon: Gordon is the incumbent. He's going to get the nomination, and he's going to win the General Election.
Harold Bjork. Who Bjork isn't really clear, but he's started a Facebook and internet campaign for Governor.
Brent Bien:
Rex Rammell: Rammell is a perennial and unelectable candidate who ran last time and will again. His views can be characterized as being on the fringe right/libertarian side.
Democrats for the Governor's Office.
Rex Wilde: Wilde previously ran for the Senate as a Democrat and has no chance.
Theresa Livingston: Livingston previously ran for the State Senate and stands no chance.
Secretary of State
This race took an unexpected late turn when the current Secretary of State Buchanan, who had announced he was running, pulled out after putting in, for a second time, for an open seat on the bench. Since his withdrawal, a host of Republicans have now filed for the office.
Republicans for Secretary of State.
As noted, Buchanan's withdrawal has opened up the contest for Secretary of State.
Dan Dockstader. He's a longstanding member of the Legislature who stands a good chance due to that service.
Tara Nethercott: Also a member of the Legislature. Nethercott has not been in the legislature long, but she was the subject of misogynistic attacks last session, which she weathered well. She also stands a good chance.
Chuck Gray: Also a member of the legislature who has been frequently in the news due to his far right populist positions. Gray clearly has his sights set on higher office and probably views this as a stepping stone. His earlier attempt to replace Cheney drew little support.
Mark Armstrong: Former candidate for the U.S. Senate. His run for Senate drew very little support and his run for Secretary of State will fail.
Democrats for Secretary of State
Pathetically, none.
State Auditor
Kriti Racines. She's the incumbent and the only one running. She's effectively won the race at this point, absent something bizarre occuring.
Superintendent of Public Instruction
Republicans for Superintendent of Public Instruction.
This race is also newsworthy as the incumbent, Brian Schroeder, is generally regarded as the least bad of the three names that were submitted to Governor Gordon when the prior occupant stood down.
Brian Schroeder. Schroeder is the presumptive nominee.
Megan Degenfelder. She has an education background but who has been working in the petroleum industry, announced for Superintendent of Public Education.
She was once employed as the department's Chief Policy Officer.
Thomas Kelly: Kelly was one of the three finalists who was not chosen for this office by Governor Gordon.
Jennifer Zerba: Zerba announced late. She's from Casper and is an education professional, which is all I know about her.
Robert J. White. White is from Rock Springs, which is all I know about him.
Democrats for Superintendent of Public Instruction.
Sergio Maldonado: Maldonado is a longtime figure in Fremont County politics and is, I believe, also an enrolled member of one of the Wind River tribes.
Other interesting races
We'd often stop our tracking of races here, but there are some interesting races going on around the state, simply because these are interesting times politically.
Nearly ever race in the state is overshadowed, by some degree, by the split in the GOP between arch populists, who have largely bought into the Trump "election stolen" myth, and traditionalist, who have not. Ironically, the one candidate out there who is an establishment candidate for whom this figures the most is Harriet Hageman, who was a right wing establishment figure whose migrated to the Trump camp to take on a person she formally supported, that being Liz Cheney. In that migration she reflects what could be regarded as the cynical choice some other well established national figures, like Ted Cruz, have made, or indeed even local ones, like Cynthia Lummis. And as already noted, Lummis apparently figures in Trump's endorsement of Hageman, which might reflect ongoing animosity between Lummis and Cheney over Cheney's late decision in 2020 to run again for the House as it appeared for a while that she would run for the Senate.
Anyhow, around the state, we see the following interesting races.
House District 57
Abandoned now by Chuck Gray, now features two Republicans running for the office and one Democrat. The Republicans are:
Republicans
Jeanette Ward: Ward has lived in Wyoming for less than a year and was apparently recruited to his race by Gray. Gray is not a Wyoming native either, but Ward is most recently from Chicago, where she was a controversial school board member. It would appear that she was recruited by Gray due to holding similar views to Gray.
Thomas Myler: Myler is the marketing coordinator for Casper College and is on the School Board of Natrona County School District No. 1.
Democrats
Robert Johnson.
Natrona County Assessor
This race has been of much local interest as property matters have made the sitting assessor controversial.
Matt Keating: Incumbent
Tammy Saulsbury: Saulsbury formerly worked in the Assessor's office and ran against Keating last time. She's back to try again.
Tim Haid: Haid is a new entry that I don't know anything about.
May 30, 2022
This past Saturday, Donald Trump appeared at a rally in Casper in support of Harriet Hageman. He delivered a predictable speech there, according to press reports.
Perhaps the most notable thing about the rally was that it was opened by Frank Eathorne, head of the Wyoming GOP, which means that the party's head is openly taking a position in favor of one primary candidate against all the others. This is clearly improper.
Hageman spoke and according to press retirements gave a speech about Wyomingites being "fed up" with various things. Paradoxically, one of those things was high gas prices, which Wyoming's energy sector depends on. Consumers are tired of that, but oddly people in the state seem to feel that they should have a vibrant oil and gas economy and low prices simultaneously, which is impossible.
High fertilizer prices for farmers was another thing that Wyomingites were reportedly fed up with, according to Hageman, but most Wyomingites know nothing about that whatsoever. That would in part be due to a lack of regulation in agricultural land ownership contrary to some states like Iowa, which would require a distributist economic platform in this area that neither the Republicans or the Democrats are likely to endorse.
Hageman had a gaff in her speech which might symbolize the Freudian slip:
I am that person who will represent you, your fallacies
What this is really about, in some ways, was ironically summarized by Trump, when he said:
The entire Republican Party is united behind Harriet, she is endorsed by practically everyone, and most importantly, perhaps, she’s endorsed by me.
Trump's endorsement more important than the party's?
No doubt, to many, that's true.
Of interest, contrary to expectations and fears, the event was hardly noticed in Casper outside of the Ford Center itself.
June 3, 2022
The Cheney campaign released its first television commercial.
June 4, 2022
The news has now broken that Bob Ide, who is running for a seat in the state Senate now occupied by State Senator Drew Perkins, was at the Capitol with Frank Eathorne on January 6. That doesn't mean that he was in eyesight of the riot like Eathorne was, but that topic is now being debated with a group maintaining that he was.
Ide takes the position that Wyoming should claim Federal lands within Wyoming, something the state disclaimed permanently at the time of statehood, and is otherwise in the far right.
Dr. Oz won his primary in Pennsylvania, which presumably means that the Democrat has an excellent chance of prevailing.
June 7, 2022
In a real contrast to a lot of what we've seen on the political scene this year, Liz Cheney received the endorsement of Northern Arapaho Business Council member Lee Spoonhunter and Lynette Grey Bull, a resident of the Reservation who is running for the Democratic nomination for a second time, was extremely gracious about it, praising Mr. Spoonhunter in the process.
June 13, 2022
So, as a result of the January 6 Commission, we now know that Hageman campaign advisor Bill Stephien did not support the "election stolen" myth when he was Trump's last advisor, and pretty clearly didn't think the election was stolen. Indeed, his testimony was damning in regard to Trump.
Which raises two questions.
How does he reconcile his current work for Hageman with his conscience, in that light, and secondly, how does Hageman feel about having an advisor who was on "Team Normal", as he put it, as he wouldn't endorse the fantasy?
Hageman has stated that she thinks there's "honest questions" about what happened in the November 2020 election. Stephien pretty clearly doesn't. His testimony stated today that; “I didn’t believe that what was happening was honest or professional”.
Stephien was to have testified live, but his wife went into labor. From a Wyoming prospective, you have to wonder what have occurred if he did. Hageman has "honest questions", Stephien felt the whole stolen election scene wasn't "honest".
Frankly, I very much doubt that Hageman has any doubts whatsoever about who won the 2020 election, but took that position as it's the only thing that really distinguishes her from Cheney, politically. The distinction is growing huge, however, ethically, given how clear it is that the stolen election story is a dog that doesn't hunt, and her own campaign manager doesn't believe it.
June 15, 2022
The Club For Growth has endorsed Harriet Hageman. The PAC could be regarded as an economic libertarian oriented organization, particularly focused on reducing taxes. The organization has apparently been unhappy with Cheney since well prior to the current election, but it's tapping into Trumpism in advertisements it intends to run in Wyoming.
June 16, 2022
While it took a few days, problems for Hageman have now developed in that her campaign manager, Bill Stephien, clearly never thought the Trump election was stolen and she's on record claiming she doesn't know who won the election.
In the Tribune today, a spokesman for Stephien made it clear that he stands by his views. A Hageman spokesman came out and claimed that she stands by her "doesn't know" position. Some in her camp are accusing Cheney of calling Stephien as a witness purposely to embarrass Hageman, the irony of that being that it concedes that she should be embarrassed.
June 18, 2022
The Natrona County GOP is apparently sick of things, based upon recent comments coming out of its higher levels. Sidelined by the State committee, along with Laramie County, the second most populous county in the state is beginning to fight back. It'll be interesting to see if Laramie County, the most populous state, joins them.
It's no secret to observers that Laramie County and Natrona County are far less Trump Territory than the rest of the state. Cheney signs are up everywhere in Natrona County, even though the county's Ford Center recently hosted the Trump loyalist.
News broke yesterday that the county GOP may seek to remove the state head, Frank Eathorne.
The draft, and it's only a draft, of a resolution they may consider next week reads as follows.
A resolution of
the Natrona County Republican Party State Central Committee calling for the
immediate resignation of Frank Eathorne as Chairman of the Wyoming Republican
Party.
Whereas
it is the stated goal of the Wyoming
Republican Party to represent the values and vision of Republicans all over the
State and to support Republican candidates to win and retain political office
in Wyoming,
Whereas
the current Chairman, Frank Eathorne has consistently failed to represent the
values of the vast majority of Wyomingites and during his tenure has divided
the Party and failed in his duty to support all elected Republicans,
Whereas
it has come to light that Frank Eathorne consistently violated the sacred vow
of marriage, engaging in indiscretions while on the job and in his personal
life,
Whereas
Frank Eathorne, while intoxicated allegedly threatened a woman while her 2-year
old daughter was in the adjoining room - later dismissing his behavior as
“gentleman-like”. Eathorne then allowed
the City of Worland to pay for the legal settlement even though he espouses
personal responsibility and condemns government support of any kind,
Whereas
Frank Eathorne later accepted over $100,000.00 in Government subsidies for his
ranching operation and untold Federal mineral royalties and trespass fees while
denouncing anyone else that may need support from the government,
Whereas
Frank Eathorne has openly advocated for Wyoming to secede from the Union,
Whereas
Frank Eathorne is a member of the “Oath Keepers” – an openly extremist group
calling for a revolutionary war in the United States and partially responsible
for the January 6th riot,
Whereas
Frank Eathorne, during his tenure, has overseen the divide of the Party, the
elimination of Natrona County delegates and the last minute unseating of
Laramie County delegates while turning a blind eye to the transgressions of other
Counties.
Whereas
Frank Eathorne has repeatedly lied to the people of Wyoming as well as members
of this Central Committee. When asked
about his involvement in the January 6th, 2021 insurrection, he
repeatedly said that he went to the rally, walked down the street and retired
to his hotel before any violence or destruction of property started. Not only was he a member of the “mob”, he has
done nothing to condemn the insurrection – an attempt to overthrow the
election.
For
these reasons, we, the members of the Natrona County Republican Party call for
the immediate resignation of Frank Eathorne as Chairman of the Wyoming
Republican Party and his replacement by the normal action of the bylaws of the
State Central Committee.
The draft is as blistering critique of Eathorne, who has presided over a massive lurch to the far right of the Republican Party in Wyoming and whose has overseen the party's silencing of its largest county organizations and who has made the local party completely complicit in the effort to toss out incumbent Liz Cheney.
The fact that it was leaked suggests that some in the upper elements of the county party are trying to sideline it before it gets to a vote, probably by mustering howls of far right opposition to it. There are some far right politicians in the GOP in the county itself, so this rise of the traditional party is not without opposition, no doubt.
Should the resolution pass, it will be a brave thing for the county committee to do. Still, it's time that some in the GOP show that they're not in the stolen election myth camp and aren't participating in the destruction of democratic principals inside of the party itself.
On the current race, it's interesting to note that a lot of the hard right "stolen election" rhetoric has suddenly gone silent. The January 6 committee hearings seem to be having an impact, most notably in the Hageman camp whose race is based solely on loyalty to Trump and therefore ipso facto to the concept that he didn't do anything wrong on January 6. It's now clear that he acted either at least immorally on January 6, and perhaps seditiously. Indeed, most likely seditiously. And Hageman's own campaign advisor isn't having the story that the election was stolen, in contrast to Hageman, who claims not to know who won the election.
If the election wasn't stolen, and it wasn't, and if Trump acted seditiously, which it appears he did, Hageman actually has nothing to run on. Her views don't vary from Cheney's at all on anything else.
Indeed, it'll be interesting to see if this makes long shot Democratic candidate Lynette Grey Bull viable, assuming she secures the Democratic nomination, which seems likely. Grey Bull would lose again against Cheney, which she no doubt knows, but she has a chance against Hageman.
In 2020 Cheney took 68.56% of the vote in the general election, meaning of course that the people who now claim she's really a Democrat are just being silly. Grey Bull took 24.58%. Libertarian Richard Brubaker, who made it clear that he was really a Republican, took 3.75%. Constitution Party candidate Jeff Haggit, with the Constitution Party being a far right party, took 2.92%. If Hageman wins, it's certain that many middle of the road Republicans will reassess voting for their party in the fall. Grey Bull was a long ways from victory in 2020, but the GOP wasn't the mess then that it is now.
June 22, 2022
The Natrona County GOP Central Committee passed the resolution noted above, 48 to 35.
June 23, 2022
Wyoming's appointed Superintendent of Public Education Brian Schroeder is urging the state to cut its ties with Federal funding for school lunches based on a Federal directive requiring states to include discrimination based on gender orientation and identity as matters requiring investigation.
June 24, 2022
In a move that's likely to prove to be a mistake, the Cheney campaign is specifically advertising on how Democrats can switch to Republicans in order to vote for her in the primary.
This will reinforce the otherwise absurd claim that she's a "RINO". Moreover, there are so few registered Democrats in Wyoming, the race would have to be neck and neck, with upset fence sitting Republicans switching over to Hageman or perhaps one of the other candidates on their own.
This would suggest that Cheney knows she's on the downside in the race right now, but that she figures she's pretty close to Hageman, and that the risk is worth it.
June 27, 2022
A debate of House candidates will occur this Thursday on PBS.
Out of safety concerns, its closed to the public and other media.
