Condemn attacks on judiciary, Wyoming lawyers and judges urge delegation: More than 100 members of the state’s legal community, including four retired Supreme Court justices, implored Sens. Barrasso and Lummis and Rep. Hageman to resist “reckless disdain” for the courts.
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.”
Last Prior Edition:
When you are keeping the original barstormers flying.
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.
Use IMF Funds Instead
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.
George Santayana.
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:
Calendar No. 449
117th CONGRESS 2d Session |
To repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and ensure respect for State regulation of marriage, and for other purposes.
Received; read the first time
Read the second time and placed on the calendar
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,
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.”.
Section 7 of title 1, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:
“(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.”.
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?
The Candidates, that is.
Registration to run closed yesterday, May 27, at 5:00. So who is running?
Let's take a look
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
I don't know that this needed to gone to Part VIII, but the last version was long enough that it was hard to edit. So here we are.
April 25, 2022.
Okay, who the heck is running anyway?
All the press is on this race, and it's all concentrated on the Cheney v. Hageman race. Having said that, it's been quiet for a while.
This is no doubt in part because as time moves on, and more and more is known about the January 6, insurrection, the more quiet rank and file Republicans and independents are likely moving towards Cheney. This might be best summed up by op eds from last Sunday's Trib, which we noted here:
April 24, 2022
Fremont County's Sen. Cale Case, a long time Republican conservative, wrote an Op Ed published in the Tribune today going after the State's Central Committee. He urges Republicans who have left the party to get back in and run for office and precinct positions to reclaim the party.
My prediction is that by the end of the day Case will be branded a "Rino".
Harriet Hageman also has an op ed asserting that her role as an attorney with the New Civil Liberties Alliance in a suit opposing Federally mandated cattle ear tags shows she's advocating for Wyoming, as she has this role while, she asserts, Congressman Cheney has been spending time on the January 6 Committee rather than being on the Resources Committee.
Her point that one represents Wyoming more than the other can fairly obviously be debated on an existensial sense.
Put another way, if a long term Republican is asking Republican traditionalist and moderates to "come back", and the primary contender for Cheney's seat is asserting her role with an organization fighting cattle ear tags vs Cheney's role in the January 6 committee as proof of her better concern for Wyoming, it's sort of telling where things are going.
Republicans for the House:
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".
Robin Belinsky: Belinsky is a businesswoman from Sheridan who is billing herself as Wyoming's Marjorie Taylor Greene.
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.
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.
Democrats for the House:
Nobody, yet.
Somebody will show up. . . probably.
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.
This race was heavily contested in 2018 and was the first Wyoming race to really feature the outright split in the GOP. It's where Hageman first emerged as a candidate, although at that time she wasn't anti-Cheney, but then nobody was. Gordon won, of course, but that somehow left those on the far right embittered.
Nonetheless, this seat is now safe for Gordon.
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.
Aaron Nab: Nab is a truck driver from Southeastern Wyoming who views Gordon the same way that Hageman supporters view Cheney.
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.
Nobody. Democrats really have to find somebody, sacrificial running though it will be, or they'll look completely irrelevant in the state.
Ed Buchanan. He's the incumbent.
Kriti Racines. She's the incumbent.
This race featured very recently the problem that Cale Case just noted.
Rather than submit the really qualified candidates for this office, the state's GOP chose to submit three names for the vacant office that fit into a sort of red meat narrative. Of the three, Schroeder was the best pick, which doesn't mean that he's a name that would have gone anywhere in an open race or that would have been submitted in normal times.
This office is likely up for the picking.
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.
April 25, 2022, cont.
Brian Kemp of Georgia has received the NRA's endorsement. That might not be that surprising, but when it's considered that Trump, who the NRA has been a big back of, has endorsed Kemp opponent David Perdue, it is.
Trump has really been gunning for Kemp. The NRA obviously isn't, and it may very well have figured that Perdue is going to lose.
There's been a lot of speculation this election on how much Trump's endorsements will really mean. Here we now have a contest between an NRA endorsement and a Trump one.
April 28, 2022
An anticipated action by the Republican Central Committee to strip Laramie County, the state's most populous county, and one which is opposed to the far right direction of the Central Committee, for rules violations at their county convention has led that country to request that a rules' violation by Sublette, Albany and Crook also be addressed.
This highlights the ongoing civil war inside the state's GOP. A better indicator, although one that is little noted, is that far right GOP legislators now caucus in something called "The Freedom Caucus" rather than with the Republicans, meaning it's actually now operating as two parties in the legislature.
April 29, 2022
Wyoming's voter ID law has been challenged by a lawsuit filed by former Democratic legislature Charles Pelkey.
May 10, 2022
Incumbent State Treasurer Curt Meir has announced for a bid for a second term.
The State GOP reduced Laramie County's delegation to a handful due to a minor rules violation. A counterproposal to sanction other counties for minor rules violations, filed in retaliation, failed. As a result of the strike against Laramie County, its delegation walked out of the ongoing state convention.
Natrona County's delegation has already been reduced for failure to pay dues.
The net result is that the far right wing of the GOP has decapitated its opposition by depriving the most populous counties with the largest delegations from participating in the party.
Long serving Republican Senator Cale Case, who recently wrote an article in the Tribune asking for departing members of the GOP to come back and reclaim their position in the party, faces a censure complaint in his county organization for acting "contrary to the will of the party and the Wyoming Republican Party platform".
These last two items are serious indications that the party is seeking to eliminate all dissent within it, including dissent which, ironically, comes from someone like the highly conservative Case.
May 11, 2022
Fremont County's GOP censured long serving and highly conservative Republican Senator Cale Case.
There is a move to unseat the head of the Laramie County GOP following the loss of most of its delegates.
May 16, 2022
The new legislative district maps are out. Here they are:
Some have changed, so it's best to check. FWIW, in Eastern Natrona County, including areas of Casper, and western Converse County, it's particularly important to check.
May 27 is the final date for candidates to register to run.
May 17, 2022
It seems that getting attacked by the Republican Party has freed Liz Cheney to say things that we normally wouldn't have expected, to wit:
The House GOP leadership has enabled white nationalism, white supremacy, and anti-semitism. History has taught us that what begins with words ends in far worse. leaders must renounce and reject these views and those who hold them.
Only those in bold are actually registered right now. All are Republicans. Gordon will win the primary so all of the other candidats are quixotic to some degree.
Mark Gordon: Gordon is the incumbent. He's going to get the nomination, and he's going to win the General Election.
Brent Bien. Yet another retired career military officer returned and running for office, something we've been seeing a lot of in recent years.
Harold Bjork. Who Bjork isn't really clear, but he's started a Facebook and internet campaign for Governor.
Aaron Nab: Nab is a truck driver from Southeastern Wyoming who views Gordon the same way that Hageman supporters view Cheney.
James Scott Quick: Owner of an oilfield service company in Douglas, which is about all that is obvious about him so far.
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.
Treasurer's Race
Again, only Republicans so far.
Curt Meier. He's the incumbent.
Bill Gallup: I don't know who he is, but he's running.
This race is heating up.
Republican candidates.
Brian Schroeder. Appointed incumbent.
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: One of the three finalist for this position, and hence one of the controversial ones. He's from the far right and won't go anywhere.
Democratic Candidates
Sergio A. Maldonado, Sr. Long time Fremont County political figure and, I believe, an enrolled member of one of the Wind River tribes.
Something ought to be said about primary races coming in elsewhere, which in my view have been badly analyzed by the press. Frankly, at least up until yesterday, Trump's picks have not done that well. Yes, J. D. Vance one in his primary, but the author with populist roots may have anyway. Up until yesterday Trump endorsements have not, in fact, been the deciding factor in races.
Yesterday they weren't really either, maybe. Trump endorsed the winning candidate in the GOP Governor's race, but last week, when it was obvious he was going to win.
Having said that, the PA Senate race is too close to call, with Mehmet Oz neck and neck with David McCormick. There was some thought that a third candidate would pull ahead.
Why on earth anyone would vote for Dr. Oz simply defies description.
Well, maybe it is explicable. Oz is described as MAGA, McCormick as More MAGA, and the third candidate was Ultra MAGA.
Still, the thought the race would develop with Oz as the least MAGA candidate and a credible contender is a scary thought, as Oz is . . .well OZ.
Idaho's Governor Brad Little easily beat far right Janice McGeachin, who is is lt. governor. McGeachen was Trump endorsed, but you'll probalby see little press about her going down in flames.
CPAC starts its convention this week in Hungary.
May 19, 2022
Yesterday controversial right wing House member Chuck Gray, who had filed to be reelected to his Casper seat, announced for Secretary of State, leaving his Natrona County Republican spot open and, unusually anymore, only a Democratic contender presently running for that office.
Gray is a far right politician who had announced early that he was running against Cheney. That campaign never took off. He obviously aspired to higher office, so now he's taking a run at Secretary of State, but he almost certainly has in the back of his mind, or maybe the forefront, running for higher office yet once the opportunity presents itself, which it likely will after Governor Gordon serves out his next term.
Gray has not been universally popular in the legislature and was the center of a story in which he was insulted in an open mike moment last session. He became involved in the erroneous Arizona ballot problem episode after the last Presidential election.
Donald Trump urged Mehmet Oz to declare victory before the votes were done being counted in the PA Senatorial primary race.
May 20, 2022
WyoFile, the online newspaper, has just published a long article on the head of the Wyoming GOP. It's intersting reading, which will be guaranteed to offend at least some of his followers. The article is here:
After numerous attempts to speak with her to help her understand the grave evil she is perpetrating, the scandal she is causing, and the danger to her own soul she is risking, I have determined that the point has come in which I must make a public declaration that she is not to be admitted to Holy Communion unless and until she publicly repudiate her support for abortion “rights” and confess and receive absolution for her cooperation in this evil in the sacrament of Penance. I have accordingly sent her a Notification to this effect, which I have now made public.
We bring that up as it now seems relatively clear that Trump's endorsement of Hageman may have been due to Lummis.
In an interview with KTWO Radio, the former President stated:
I had some good people. I really did have some good people, but I just felt that [Hageman] was very good and your wonderful senator up there ... who’s a tremendous person by the way, was very strong on her, wanted her very badly
Barasso's office denied that they had any role in picking a contender for the seat. Lummis' office did not, but they darned nearly confirmed obliquely. Lummis has called Hageman "an inspired choice".
Lummis was inspired in the 2020 race to switch her tune on Trump, going from somebody who had stated she was going to hold her nose and vote from Trump to backing the Ted Cruz effort to question the election. Here it appears that whatever occurred in 2020 between her and Cheney may not have been forgotten.
Or at least it could be interpreted that way. Given as the only notable difference between Cheney and Hageman on at least domestic issues (foreign policy issues haven't entered the race in any fashion yet) is support for Trump, Lummis may have well felt that Hageman was an establishment Republican who was willing to go along with Trump for political reasons, which might very well be said of Lummis too, rather than a real radical like Bouchard or Gray, who were contenders at the time.
A Democrat has now filed for the Governor's race, the same being Theresa Livingston. She's apparently from Worland, has run for the State Senate from there, and has no chance whatsoever.
May 26, cont.
Liz Cheney officially filed for reelection, releasing this video at the same time.
Also, the Trump rally released information that a collection of Trump suppoerters and accolytes will appear at the Hageman rally in Casper this Saturday, including Florida Congressman Gaetz and Colorado Congressman Boebert. Frank Eathorne, head of the Wyoming GOP will also speak, although a party head is not really an appropriate speaker in a contest between two Republicans. Reps. Kevin McCarthy of California, Elise Stefanik of New York and Ohio's Jim Jordan will appear in a special video address, making it plain where they stand in regard to the Republican internicene dispute.
Interestingly, Trump's star has been waning as some of his primary choices in other states have been losing.
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