Gary Trauner Can Beat Cubin

From the Wyoming Democratic Party web site: "Wyoming's U.S. House race is trending toward a Gary Trauner victory on Nov. 7, according to national experts. Two of the country's foremost political prognosticators have changed their official ratings of the race to reflect the increasing likelihood that Gary Trauner will take Wyoming's only House seat from Barbara Cubin....The Cook Political Report, an independent, nonpartisan, highly respected political analyst, has changed its rating of Wyoming's congressional race from 'likely Republican' to 'lean Republican.' Robert Novak, another one of the nation's most revered political analysts, has upgraded the race from 'likely Republican retention' to 'leans Republican.' "

The latest anti-Trauner smear ads on TV portray Trauner as (gasp!) a New Yorker. The Republican Party paid for the ads, although we know they have Cubin's endorsement, whether she says it or not. No ads yet from the Dems about Cubin's California roots. Nor are we likely to see any. Whe the negative ads appear, they will show Cubin as the do-nothing Bush toady that she is, voting the Bush line more than 90 percent of the time.

By the way, more than 60 percent of Wyomingites were born outside the state. That includes me, my wife Chris, my son Kevin, Trauner, Cubin, Dick Cheney, James Baker, Wyoming Poet Laureate David Romtvedt, and approximately 300,000 others. Natives include Gov. Dave Freudenthal (D), former U.S. Sen. Al Simpson (R), rabble-rousing attorney and author Gerry Spence, Olympic werestling champ Rulon Gardner, and my teen daughter Annie.

The last time I checked, there were nothing in the state constitution that requires me to love my native daughter more than my non-native son. Place of origin should make no difference if you care for your community and work to make it better.