Monday, August 16, 2010

Petersen on the Dem side, ABM (anybody but Micheli) on the Repub side

The Wyoming primaries are tomorrow.

I glanced at the sample ballots on the Laramie County Clerk's web site. I'm in precinct 2-7 and a Democrat so, naturally, my ballot is less crowded than the one to be used by my Republican brethren and sistren. There are many names on the Dem gubernatorial slate. Only two serious candidates -- Leslie Petersen and Pete Gosar. When I say serious I mean that they have a serious chance of winning. The others, they are seriously running for governor but don't have a snowball's chance. I like Pete Gosar -- he's thoughtful and has said some interesting things on the campaign trail. But I'm voting for Petersen. She has the best chance in this tough year for Democrats.

My House district (8) has a race between Ken McCauley and Bernie Phelan. Bernie Phelan has the name recognition but has done very little campaigning. Ken's been all over his district several times and on Saturday, assembled a motley crew of local Dems and other ne'er-do-wells for a lit drop. I covered my neighborhood in record time with no rabid dogs or rampaging Tea Party types hot on my tail. Returned to HQ just in time to have brunch, which is the way it should be.  I call this one for McCauley.

I'm voting for Mike Massie for superintendent of public instruction. He's the only one on the Dem slate and he'd be great at it. I don't see much of a choice on the Repub side. McBride is the incumbent but he doesn't seem to have much vision for the state. Cindy Hill shows promise, but Trent Blankenship? He's already had the job and failed so miserably that we sent him packing to Palin Land. Massie is the man for this job.

On NPR this afternoon, Laramie County Clerk Debbye Lathrop said that some 2,500 people had voted absentee at the City and County Building, with another 700-some coming in via the mail. The Secretary of State's office opined that we could see a record turnout for a primary election.

Some of that is no doubt due to the full slate of good governor candidates on the Republican side. I would vote for Matt Mead. I heard him on the radio today saying that Wyoming needs to do a better job with technology, both creating jobs and upgrading our infrastructure. Rita Meyer, who spends most of her TV time boasting of her military credentials, said that Wyoming needs to focus on what it does now but do it better -- the extractive industries. I'm not sure if I got this quote right, but she said something like "trona is glass, oil is gas." So she wants more drilling and digging and to hell with alternative fuels and the future. This scares me.

One of the other Repubs, Colin Simpson, touts those old Wyoming values, which also means more of the same. He comes from a moderate family -- The Simpsons! -- and has a record of supporting the arts. According to our local paper, Simpson has run a lackluster campaign and just doesn't seem to want the job very much. But that name recognition could prove to be very important.

Last and certainly least we have Ron Micheli, the right-winger (and Tea Party fave) from Uinta County. Yes, he's a Mormon and comes from Mormon Country. He will get the Mormon vote, the Tea Party vote, maybe even the Evangelical Christian vote. Although, as you probably remember from Mitt Romney's unsuccessful prez bid in 2008, Mormons and Christian Evangelicals aren't always on the same side. Republicans all, but ask some born agains and they will tell you that Mormons are cultists and not real Christians. Not my view, but I'm a liberal pinko Cafeteria Catholic. I have no soul.

I hope the Repubs slug it out tomorrow. Micheli would be terrible for the state. He wants to cut state government by 30-40 percent and put true believers at the head of state agencies. You can just imagine what he means by true believers. He actually didn't say "true believers," but just people who thinks about things the way he does. Gubment-haters. Obama haters. Let's have an immigration law just like Arizona's. His people are "Let's take Wyoming back to the Stone Age" types. "Wyoming is what America was." A bumper sticker mentality.

Repubs never take my advice. If I was giving it (especially if they were state workers) I'd say ABM -- Anybody but Micheli.

2 comments:

lazarus et al said...

I'm with you Mike, right down the line.

Leslie Petersen could beat the other side in the general...more easily if it's Micheli, but she has the stuff to stand against any of them. Beyond that, she'd make an excellent governor for the state. "Common Sense, Common Ground, Civility" is more than just talk with her--she means it, and she can do it. She posted her NRA answers on her website--THAT'S transparency that I don't think I've ever seen in a candidate before. (And I like her answers--she didn't just tick off checkmarks to get a good grade, instead, she clarified what she meant with actual Words--egad!)
I started off doing her website, and the more I found out, the more I liked, so I've already voted for her and I'm calling up people to day to tell them why.
Your endorsement is much appreciated--Hummingbird Minds is a fave around here :)

Unknown said...

Michael, thank you so much for your endorsement. We really appreciate it!
Leslie Petersen