"Wild and Scenic" Snake could be a bipartisan effort

Some updates on my June 4 post about the differences between the Wyoming GOP platform and the Wyoming Dem platform....

The WYO GOP platform opposes "Wild and Scenic River" designation for the Snake. During its convention in Jackson May 23-24, the Wyoming Democrats did indeed approve a plank supporting this designation. While some may see this as a case of WyoDems being bewitched by the hoodoo of Jackson Hole tree-huggers and whitewater lovers, it's bigger than that. One of the Snake's champions was the state's late great conservative icon, Sen. Craig Thomas, who hardly ever hugged a tree. Said the Casper Star-Tribune in a June 3 editorial, "Wyo. GOP shows it's at odds with leaders:"

This stance [by the WYO GOP] ignores the fact that the late Republican Sen. Craig Thomas championed a bill to declare 387 miles of the Snake River system as wild and scenic. The bill, introduced by Thomas' successor, Sen. John Barrasso, and supported by GOP Sen. Mike Enzi of Wyoming, is even named the Craig Thomas Snake Headwaters Legacy Act of 2008.

One of the major non-Wyoming opponents of this bill is Idaho Sen. Larry Craig, a member in good standing of the Flat Earth Society. He contends that a W&S Snake will cause Idaho to lose water rights, a claim that has been debunked almost as often as Sen. Craig has been in the headlines the past few years.

In D.C.: A nay, a no-show, and a yay

Poor legislation makes for odd bedfellows.

Wyoming Republican Senator Mike Enzi cast his vote against the Iraq War funding bill. He was joined by two other Republicans and Democratic Party presidential candidates Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama. Enzi called the bill "poor legislating" because it it included "funding for pet programs in a must-pass military spending bill... It's a violation of what the American people sent us here to do."

According to our local paper, the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle, Enzi liked the parts of the bill that supported drought relief and rural schools, but objected to parts "that carved out packages for certain unions and airlines, undid some of the pensions legislation he helped pass last year, and changed some small business provisions in minimum wage legislation he had supported."

Sen. Craig Thomas didn't vote on the bill because he's undergoing another round of chemotherapy for cancer. His office said he would have voted against the bill for the "billions in spending unrelated to military spending," according to the Casper Star-Tribune's Washington, D.C., bureau.

As usual, Rep. Barbara Cubin uttered the most vitriolic statement: "For over 100 days, the safety of our men and women in uniform, who are bravely leading the efforts to defeat terror on a global scale, has been held hostage to Washington Democrats who would just as soon see our troops lay down their weapons and retreat."

In other words, "why do Democrats hate our troops?" Repeat it often enough and it becomes gospel among the knuckleheads -- or so Cubin must think.

The three-person Wyoming Congressional delegation split on this one. A nay, a no-show, and a yay. Unusual for a group that has pretty much marched in lockstep with Bush these past six years.