And so we enter a primary, and ultimately a general election, that's all about betrayal.
The Republican Central Committee of Wyoming, and the campaign of Harriet Hageman, among others, claims that Liz Cheney betrayed Wyoming, and its values? But that claim is based on the concept that she betrayed one man, Donald Trump. That's not "riding for the brand", it is claimed, which means effectively that the brand is trump.
That concept, loyalty to a man, is an interesting, and a frightening one. It's happened before, and we can even dare say that various American politicians have risen up with in the past who nearly commanded such dedicated followers, but none have ever taken a swipe at democracy itself before. Indeed, extreme loyalty to a person, rather than the ideals of a party, is fairly uncommon in U.S. history.
And in terms of betrayal, the "ride the brand" campaign itself is for a person who was once an opponent of Trump's and a supporter of Cheney's, something that Cheney noted when she accused that candidate, Harriet Hageman, of "tragic opportunism". In effect, Cheney is asserting that Hageman is the betrayer.
And Cheney's point rests on a larger one, that being that loyalty to an ideal, in this case the United States Constitution, to which public servants take an oath, is a larger loyalty, and that a person cannot support an insurrection and be loyal to that. That's correct, but it also takes a mind that's willing to analyze, something which a minority of people actually do.
Beware the person who stabs you and tells the world they’re the one who’s bleeding.
Jill Blakeway
And hence the scary situation we are now in. The Republican Party, locally and nationally, accuses Cheney of betraying a man who betrayed his oath of office, the entire country, and democracy itself.
Betray a friend and you’ll often find you have ruined yourself.
Aesop
How history will judge this is already clear.
February 5, 2022
The Republican National Committee, meeting in Salt Lake City, formally censured Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger for their role in the January 6 Committee, claiming it was persecuting "ordinary citizens". The measure was co sponsored by the head of the Wyoming GOP, Frank Eathorne.
This was referenced yesterday, but it's now an official act.
When Donald Trump was elected, it was predicted here that his impact on the GOP might be so vast, it destroyed it. That prediction now seems to be coming true. Republicans did not stand behind Richard Nixon when he committed a lesser offense. Now the national central committee, even at a time at which Trump's actual popularity is waning, has made loyalty to Trump and turning a blind eye to an attempted coup an official part of its platform.
It's widely predicated that the Republicans will gain in November, by default The party out of power usually gains in an off year election. This may prove, however, to be a bit of a test of that theory, as the GOP nationally has lashed itself to the deck of a Trump ship which may prove to start being a pretty leaky vessel. Locally, it's gone hardcore to the right.
As noted before, a door here is opening to the Democratic Party at the same time, if it can reconstitute itself along the lines which once existed here, rather than along the lines which currently do. Indeed, the last time the Wyoming Republican Party really dominated the state's politics, and it was only briefly, was following the Johnson County War, which the electorate regarded as a shocking attack on average people which was conducted with the backing of the Republican Governor.
The degree to which politics has really descended in this country is fully emblematized by this. Cheney and Kinzinger are participating in an investigation. That investigation is seeking to reveal the truth. They were censured for that. Will the voters censure the GOP?
As a sad aside, Leland Christensen, who was one of the Republicans who split the vote against Cheney in her first primary for the House, has passed away due to COVID 19. He was also receiving treatment for non hodgkins lymphoma. He had been a member of the Wyoming legislature and a former sheriff. If only he, or if only Tim Stubson, had run in that race, one of the two would not be Wyoming's Congressman. While I haven't followed him enough since then to know, if Stubson had one, he'd now be the subject of the same ire directed at Cheney, which is to his credit.
So, whose running right now?
Republicans for the House:
Liz Cheney: Cheney really hasn't been in the House long, but she went from junior Republican to GOP leader remarkably fast. However, she retains a streak of highly conservative independence, and a devotion to democracy, which has caused her to fall from populist favor as she's put the reality of the election ahead of devotion to Donald Trump. That's the only thing the House race is about.
Harrient Hageman. Hageman is a former Cheney supporter and Trump opponent who has switched on both in what Cheney has proclaimed as "tragic opportunism". Her political positions, other than devotion to Trump and a willingness to benefit from the lost election fable, even if not really come out and endorse it, is her only distinguishing present political characteristic.
Hageman comes from a Wyoming political family of long-standing and is the only real candidate left in the race against Cheney, although others hang on. She's had political ambitions for a while, having previously run for the Governor's office and coming in third behind Foster Freiss, which does show how deep the right wing populist line of thought has become in the party.
Robin Belinsky: Belinsky is a businesswoman from Sheridan who is billing herself as Wyoming's Marjorie Taylor Greene. While apparently still running, she has no chance and has been nearly silent for months.
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. Most recently, however, he's been in the news for the revelation that when he was 18, he got a 14-year-old girl pregnant, and the drama that ultimately followed that. This also revealed that he's originally from Florida, something that was pretty vague before. His popularity has declined, but interestingly he retains some very loyal followers and has been taking shots at Hageman.
Bryan Eugene Keller: He's a resident of Laramie County who has registered, but I don't know anything else about him. We can probably regard him as effectively standing down.
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. He's from Gillette originally and claims to be generally fond of the Cheney and to respect her past role in Congress. It's really difficult to see where Knapp thinks his support is.
Knapp, frankly, would be better off seeking the Democratic nomination and would make an interesting Democratic candidate. While its wild speculation, I almost wonder if he's still in the race because. . .
Democrats for the House:
Nobody, yet, yet again
This may prove to be wise.
The Democrats, as we know, have very little chance of winning this election, but they cannot be completely discounted. Their silence might be an example of party discipline. If they pick one of the few remaining Democratic leaders in the state or. . . . less likely but still possible. . . if they get an old time centrist Republican to cross over (more possible than might be imagined), and if that person registers late after Hageman and Cheney have spent months ripping each other apart, there's a chance.
That chance grows considerably if Hageman is the nominee, as she'll be associated with populist extremism by default.
Who fits in this category? Mary Throne? A cross-over Matt Mead (or his wife)? We don't know yet, but if this occurs, it'll be interesting.
Denton Knapp?
Constitution Party for the House.
Marissa Selvig: Mayor of Pavilion. The party no longer pulls enough votes to be on the primary ballot automatically, so while she will have its nomination, she's effectively a doomed write-in candidate at this point.
Governor's Race.
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. From what little you can tell about him, he's a self-declared "conservative" who is running pretty far to the right of Gordon and who is strongly opposed to the now expired mask mandate.
Aaron Nab: Nab is a truck driver from Southeastern Wyoming. It's wroth noting that this is Hageman's base, and he seems to be riffing off of her campaign, but with none of the political background she has, and out of an assumption that Wyomingites remained enraged about the early 2020 mask mandates.
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.
The Democrats have to run somebody, but so far nobody has shown up. That person is a sacrificial lamb no matter what, but they have to nominate somebody decent for that role, so whomever they otherwise nominate won't taint their House candidate.
Secretary of State
Nobody has filed.
State Auditor
Nobody has filed.
Superintendent of Public Instruction
Nobody has filed, but the recently selected Brian Schroeder is the presumptive nominee.
Schroeder is already a bit under the gun, however, by Republicans who have become disgusted with the extreme right wing bent of the current party. He's been the subject of op eds even though out of the three choices for the position, he was the best qualified. He wasn't the best qualified of the various applicants, however, and its clear that all three of the nominees reflected a hard right Weltanshung that has taken over the party's leadership. We can, therefore, expect him to have competition in the primary and in the general election.
Indeed, this was a safe seat until the elected occupant resigned. Now it is not.
February 13, 2022
Wyoming House member Landon Brown stated, on CNN:
I think what's happened here at this point is we've seen a fringe group that is on the far right of our party, has taken over our party, and they are the ones that are pushing this narrative. They've been working behind the scenes to come out and come against Liz Cheney since day one with her support of this January 6th panel, The Republican Party had the opportunity to stand behind her and they left that, and unfortunately that shows too many people across this country that Trump has hijacked the Republican Party,
He further stated:
President Trump has a maximum of four years more in office, and I stand with Liz Cheney that I will do everything in my power to make sure that's not happening as well, At the end of the day, what he did and the way he handled himself on January 6th, it is clear to everybody that he is unfit for office.
Brown, the next day, posted this on his Twitter feed:
Wow! I stood for my convictions, stated my beliefs, and in return I’ve received the most vile and vicious hateful emails and calls I’ve ever received. Way to show that the Republican Party allows for “legitimate political discourse.” Stay classy.
February 18, 2022
Republcian House Leader endorsed Harriet Hageman over incumbant Liz Cheney in the current Wyoming race.
The extent to which this matters in Wyoming is pretty questionable, but it is extrordinary.
March 2, 2022
Rand Paul is in Wyoming capaigning with Harriet Hageman today at rallies in Cheyenne and Gillette, which I guess puts Paul in the enemies of Cheney camp. Why, exactly, Paul would be allied with either Cheney or Hageman is a bit of a mystery, given that he's really a species of libertarian.
March 8, 2022
Rand Paul did appear at a Cheyenne event with Hageman as noted. They criticized the January 6 committee.
Hageman apparently ended up being asked about Ukraine, which is in interesting in that Cheney has been a consistently strong backer of Ukraine and opponent of Russia that proved to be an early departure point for her from Trump. Hageman's reply was in the nature of Congress needing to be more involved in the effort against Ukraine, which she indicated she supports, but it was a fairly weak response, which it would nearly have to be as she's effectively joining Cheney in her long held position of opposing Russia. This reflects an ongoing problem that much of the GOP in general has right now as blaming the Biden Administsration for what's occured is problematic, given Trump's relationship with Russia.
March 11, 2022
From the current thread on the 2022 Wyoming legislative session:
March 11, 2022
Anthony Bouchard, the far right populist Senator who made a career out of being controversial in some ways, was censured by the Senate and stripped of his commitee assignments for "using intimidating tactics against members of the Senate and members of the public."
The final straw apparently was when Bouchard indicated to some lobbyiest that he had "film" that pertained to them, but he has a long history of being very aggressive in general. The Senate leadership noted that decorum had declined in the legislature in recent years and attributed the decline to Bouchard.
Bouchard announced early in his campaign against Cheney, but received a significanat blow when news broke of his early years in Florida. He nonetheless stayed in and, amazingly in context, retained supporters. Even more amazing, he continued to retain supporters after Harriet Hageman entered the race against Cheney, although his support much decreased.
This is probably a fatal blow to Bouchard and in more ways than one. My prediction is that he won't retain his Senate seat should he choose to run again.
This race in general has gotten really quiet, I'd note. Even the recent Hageman appearance with Rand Paul hasn't really focused much attention on it, in no small part, I suspect, as those in the Hageman camp don't really have very good answers for recent events, Cheney having been proved right on Russia, one of the things her early opponents dissed her on. Loyalty to Trump, which is what the race is really about, is all that's left, but Trump's star has dimmed a bit due to his association, no matter how much people might wish to deny it, with Putin.
March 15, 2022
The Hageman campaign has launched a dummy Cheney website which is as if she's running for House from Virginia.
This is intersting in that it adopts the nativist position that Cheney isn't from here. That was pointed out the very first time she ran, but the majoritiy of Wyomingites, who also aren't from here (I'm from here) apparently weren't bothered by the fact that she, like they, aren't from here. It did bother me at the time.
I don't know if it bothered Hageman but Hageman later was a Cheney supporter in any event. She claimed that Cheney somehow duped her into supporting her, altough how that isn't clear, but Cheney's biography is well known so that her residential history could not have been it. Hageman, of course, is from here.
Her campaign has principally been based, of course, on Cheney, who voted with Trump 90% of the time, being disloyal to Trump. 90% is quite a track records so that can only be based, really, on one thing, Cheney's loyalty to the Constitution and her conscienced vote to impeach Trump. That's a bit problematic for Hageman, however, as if loyalty is the test, Hageman isn't being loyal to Cheney, whom she previously supported. Hageman and Cheney are both lawyers, so neither of them really can claim not to know what the law is here in regard to elections, and Hageman has been careful to never really venture an opinion on Trump's efforts to overturn the election, even while making loyalty to Trump the point of her campaign.
That might be developing into a problem as with recent revelations and the impact of time, hardcore loyalty to Trump, while certainly not gone, seems to be waning at least a bit. And while the new website apparently attacks Cheney for supporting "forever wars", that exposed Hageman on the war in Ukraine. Trump never liked Ukraine and had to be forced into supplying it with arms. He was, moreoever, extremely cozy with Putin. Loyalty to Trump, therefore, puts you on the Putin train as well as the Trump train.
The forever war line might have been dramed up prior to the currenet war, one in which Cheney's position has proven correct. Or it might have been due to her opposition to leaving Afghanistan. That's problematic too, however, as Trump wanted to leave Afghanistan and Biden carried out his wishes. People have tried to blind themsleves to that aspect of that, but it's a fact and as the current war gets worse and worse in regard to Russain conduct, blaming Biden for carrying out a Trump wish isn't all that convenient anymore. If we did that here, Putin would probably be holding a victory parade in Kyiv by now.
So we have the revived "she isn't from here". Hageman is. Freiss, the late darling of some on the right, very much was not. Does a nativist dog hunt?
March 15, 2022
Sentate leaders have asked for a formal investigation into the conduct of Anthony Bouchard.
March 18, 2022
State Auditor Kriti Racines is running for reelection.
Something called the "Protect Freedeom PAC" has endorsed Harriet Hageman and accuses Liz Cheney of being a "RINO". If Cheney's a RINO, of course, Hageman is too, as the only real distinction politically between the two is loyalty to Trump.
March 20, 2022
Lynette Grey Bull, who ran against Cheney two years ago as a Democrat, has been honored for her work in trauma awareness. In addition to her political role in the last election, Grey Bull is an activist for the cause of bringing attention to violence against Native American women.
Casey Hardison has entered the race for the U.S. House as an independent.
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 marijuna delivery.
April 12, 2022
Megan Degenfelder, who has an education background but who has been working in the petroleum industry, announced for Superintendant of Public Education.
She was once employed as the department's Chief Policy Officer.
April 19, 2022
Ed Buchanan has announced that he's running for a second term as Secretary of State.
April 22, 2022.
From a related post:
April 22, 2022, cont:
And also this news, from the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library:
DEFENDING DEMOCRACY AT HOME AND ABROAD
For the first time ever, the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award will honor five individuals — President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, U.S. Representative Liz Cheney, Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, Arizona Representative Russell “Rusty” Bowers, and Wandrea “Shaye” Moss — each for their courage to protect and defend democracy in the United States and abroad.
Regarding Cheney, they state:
Prior to the election in 2020, Representative Liz Cheney was elected by her colleagues to be chair of the House Republican Conference, making her the third-ranking Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives, and the highest-ranking Republican woman in the history of the House. She has been one of the most conservative members within the Republican Conference. After the election, however, when President Trump falsely claimed that the election was stolen, she repeatedly called on the President to respect the rulings of the courts and his oath of office, and to publicly support the peaceful transfer of power. When the President instead rejected the lawful, certified outcome of the election, she broke with most in her party, urged fidelity to the Constitution, and stood her ground with honor and conviction. She stood against the lawlessness and violence of January 6th, and voted to impeach President Trump, concluding: "The President of the United States summoned this mob, assembled the mob, and lit the flame of this attack. Everything that followed was his doing.” Cheney received numerous death threats after casting her vote in favor of impeachment, and yet refused to take the politically expedient course that most of her party embraced. Because she would not remain silent or ignore the events of January 6th, Cheney's congressional colleagues stripped her of her leadership position in the GOP caucus. She now serves as the Vice Chair of the Select Committee investigating the January 6 insurrection, and remains a consistent and courageous voice in defense of democracy.
This should add a really interesting element to this. Being awarded something that is also being conferred upon Ukrainian President Zelenskyy is a pretty signficant message. Nonetheless my predicition is that there will be howling on Facebook, etc., about how awful this is.
Of note, also today:
In the category of, when you are in public, presume somebody is recording something category, audio has been released demonstrating that Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy stated after the insurrection that he was going to recommend to Donald Trump that he resign from the Presidency. McCarthy, through a spokesman, attempted to deny it, but the denials fell flat under the circumstances.
The New York Times, playing the teasing cat, hinted that they have more damaging audio, which probably inspires those like McCarthy who initially wanted the President to step down, to hold their tongues, as they now don't know what the Times has.
Liz Cheney, who can be heard on the tape, has denied being the recording party.
Matt Gaetz has already turned on McCarthy.
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.
And with this entry, we'll close out this edition and go on to Edition VIII.
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