Cowboy State Daily
Column: That Big Red Wave Sure Would Have Helped Wyoming
Published
2 years agoon
By
News Release
Elections have consequences. Especially on a national level.
It’s taken a few days to digest the consequences of the big mid-term national elections Tuesday.
Here in Wyoming, our general election was a faint imitation of our amazing primary last August. That primary drew record numbers of voters and saw international press interest as it was viewed as a Liz Cheney versus Donald Trump battle. Liz was trounced by national record numbers in that race by Harriet Hageman, who cruised to general election victory Tuesday. Harriet is now our representative and I predict she will do very well for us in Washington, D. C.
Tuesday night in Wyoming could be described as a big yawner. There were a few upsets but none were seismic. Rep. Chad Banks (D-Rock Springs) was the last Democrat to be elected from Sweetwater County and lost his legislative seat.
In the big picture, our red state got redder. A whole lot of folks were glad State Sen. Ogden Driskill (R-Devils Tower) was reelected despite a few bumps in the road.
To get a big turnout in Wyoming, you need these huge primary election races like the Cheney-Hageman (Trump) race. The biggest recent one prior to that was the 2018 primary, which featured three Republican candidates spending over $2 million each in their quest for governor.
One of those was Mark Gordon who won in 2018 and cruised to a second term Tuesday night. He can only hope his next four years will not include drama like a COVID pandemic, oil dropping at $0 barrel, and a crashing economy.
The outlook over the next four years looks much better. Most everybody in Wyoming has been pleasantly surprised by recent projections that we are awash with cash. Plus, we have boatloads of money left over from the pandemic federal spending.
Next year’s legislative session will be fun to watch as fiscal conservatives will want to stash that money into savings while the few moderates who are left will try to pay for more social programs, like Medicare expansion.
Former U. S. Sen. Al Simpson always famously said, “in Wyoming, everything is political, except politics – which is personal.”
His comment correctly anticipated this past election season. Wyoming used to be somewhat above the nastiness that you would see across the country. Not anymore.
Twenty years ago, when I was involved in a statewide Republican race, it seemed there were two litmus tests you needed to pass if you wanted to be successful as a statewide GOP politician.
The first was guns. You better be pro-hunting and you needed to be a member of the National Rifle Association (NRA).
The second was abortion. You better be pro-life.
These two are still in effect but other things are coming into play these days.
There appears to be a difference between pro-gun and really, really pro-gun. WyGo (Wyoming Gun Owners) displaced NRA and now there is another gun organization (Gun Owners of America) that is not quite so extreme. Either way, this could be a minefield for a candidate in today’s world.
Back in 2002, the state Republican Committee was a huge factor.
Today that central committee is somewhat more conservative than many of our state’s elected officials. And the committee is not shy about pushing different candidates than the incumbents. We saw this across the state this year.
On the national level, we had such high hopes going into Tuesday.
Even liberal CNN predicted a big night for Republicans, calling for a Red Wave. But it ended up being a red ripple.
As I write this, there is a possibility that the GOP might still end up with modest control of the U. S. House. This is important because it could provide some sanity returning to the national spending spree and the silly policies of President Joe Biden’s White House.
The House will be dominated by Republicans, which brings up the sad fact that Wyoming lost a golden opportunity for increased clout when Rep. Liz Cheney decided to vote to impeach President Trump. That decision 18 months ago cost her and the state of Wyoming unbelievable opportunities. These are lost gifts to our state, which will not be duplicated in a lifetime.
She was already the third-ranked Republican and possibly could have been in line to be speaker of the house. Alas, all that potential is now gone.
Another big takeaway from Tuesday is the clear emergence of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis becoming the rising face of the national Republican Party.
He is a natural leader without all the drama and baggage that tags along with former President Donald Trump, who leads just about everything nationally for the GOP these days. DeSantis had the best line during his victory speech: “Florida is where woke goes to die.” Well said.
Thomas Jones
November 14, 2022 at 8:43 am
Cheney a lost gift? LOL! She proudly joined pelosis illegal inquisition and stymied the victims of her witch hunt from defending themselves. Recording, then editing these witness testimonies is something you would find in a third world dictatorship, bill. Perhaps she should have gotten pelosi on the stand and grilled her on what she knew about the security of the US capitol on J6, and why the FBI was withholding many hours of CCTV footage. I never voted for the carpetbagging war monger that shills for the military industrial complex, and isnt even a WY citizen. I am curious though, since she was endorsing democrats, why she didnt endorse Lynnette Greybull for house? Buh buy Liz, and good riddance!
kermit krokker
November 14, 2022 at 8:43 am
Sounds like you are still backing the crook trump and not appreciating the courage of liz
Harriett Oleson
November 14, 2022 at 9:10 am
AMEN KERMIT. Wyoming finally gets a honest supporter of the Constitution {Liz} and we go for the great Donny traitor’s stooges. Think a lot of Wyomingites can’t see the truth through the sagebrush. VERY SAD!!! PS… What Red Wave?????
Thomas Jones
November 15, 2022 at 9:34 am
Explain in detail what is constitutional about the J6 committee. The US house has a judiciary committee with actual subpoena capability that could have done the same job. The J6 committee is just a soviet show trial. Perhaps your obsession with orange man bad has clouded your thinking.
Thomas Jones
November 15, 2022 at 9:47 am
I didnt speak. I like my personal freedoms and God given civil rights, something your party along with the biden repubs want to chip away at (remember bidens office of anti disinformation and misinformation, i.e. the ministry of truth?). I will vote for the politician that will protect that, and if they cross that line, Im done with them. If liz had courage she would physically live in WY, and meet with her constituents on a regular basis. Unfortunately she chose to be just another coward that lives in VA. Im glad I never voted for her.
Rob Davidson
November 14, 2022 at 8:54 am
Not once in 2022 State campaigns did I hear from the Constitutional Conservatives how we are going protect our community drinking water like in Baggs or Alpine. Nor arresting the decline in maternity beds in Rawlins. Or how deconstruction of Feds would pan out for our highways or public lands? The Wyoming GOP now having sidelined their bogey man with Cheney gone, is going to turn on itself, rural counties versus the world and Wyoming withers in the meantime. Anyone ever check out Rep-elect Hageman’ website. It was just a shell of nothingness, reflecting the bitter emptiness of the Wyoming GOP.
Mark Steingass
November 14, 2022 at 8:55 am
…appears Mr. Sniffin is jumping on the Desantis bandwagon…Sniffin’s last sentence in this article shows just how ignorant he and Governor Desantis really are…George Floyd never “woke” up after his arrest by former officer Derek Chauvin…
edward capp
November 14, 2022 at 2:43 pm
Fentanyl overdose is funny that way. Among other side effects, “Slow or difficulty breathing” is a guarantee. Did Officer Chauvin’s actions contribute to his death? Probably. But his CHOICE to overdose on drugs and resist arrest were the main factors.
dennis west
November 14, 2022 at 3:54 pm
Ah, good one. Alternative facts from the trolls. If only reality could swing your way. Join Mr Sniffen and troll Tommy – up is down and down is up. And Ms. Cheney shows no character, integrity or honesty!
mark steingass
November 15, 2022 at 7:22 am
reply to Edward Capp…you are offering an argument that was already presented in court to an impartial jury who convicted former officer Chauvin to life in prison…
edward capp
November 15, 2022 at 9:48 am
I applaud your faith in our court system. Me? I’m not convinced. Intimidation and under table money can persuade court decisions to go in a direction of choice. Do I believe all court proceedings are corrupt? No. But a high-profile case such as this definitely has some corruption behind the scenes to push an agenda. Dig a little deeper into the FACTS, and use some common sense when forming an opinion. Don’t follow what you are told, independent thought is a powerful thing.
mark steingass
November 16, 2022 at 11:33 am
…Reply to Ed Capp…common sense tells me that since former officer Chauvin was convicted in two separate court trials in both state and federal court your theory of “corruption” indicates to me you are the one lacking common sense…dig a little deeper into those facts if you have time…give that a little “independent thought” of your own…
Thomas Jones
November 15, 2022 at 9:57 am
Your talking about a trial that if it had gone the other way, Minneapolis would have gone up in flames. Im sure that the persecutors, judge, mayor, city council and the defense were well aware of that. Dont get me wrong, chauvin had a history of incompetence and abuse. Something the Mayor, city council, and police chief knew all about, but never did a thing about it. Why?
John Winger
November 14, 2022 at 11:50 am
Liz Cheney’s pronouns:
DONE/GONE
Worst concession speech EVER. Took ZERO responsibility for her crushing loss.
Na Na Na Na Hey Hey, ey, GOODBYE!
Mark Steingass
November 15, 2022 at 12:46 pm
reply to ed capp and tom jones…you guys don’t get it…it’s not about “fentanyl”…it’s not about a “high profile case” it’s about the last sentence of this article which is…”DeSantis had the best line during his victory speech: “Florida is where woke goes to die.” Well said…..my point is that “woke” is social injustice…racism…many individuals within the GOP are trying to rewrite the meaning of “woke” by using a broad brush to “color” their own far right views of liberals in the democratic party…Sniffins’ and Desantis’ remarks about “woke” is indicative of why there was not a “red wave” in the midterms…because the republican party has moved so far to the right many American voters are having difficulty identifying with the GOP’s views as indicated by the midterm vote counts (including republican commenters in this media forum)…this issue of “woke” politics as described in the last sentence of this article is not a matter of liberalism…it has become a broad “paint brush” attempt by the far right which has alienated many voters…if Desantis’ interpretation of “woke” were true then Abraham Lincoln (who ended slavery) and many other Americans who fought for racial equality and justice would have been considered a detriment to society…