Democrats have to ask themselves: When do we get mean?

Wyoming Sen./Dr. John Barrasso is a hyper-partisan ass-kisser.

We see him looming behind Mitch McConnell every time the Senate Majority Leader utters another ridiculous pronouncement. There's Barrasso, nodding and looking somber. Bobble-head Barrasso. This is the same senator that refuses to have public meetings around his state to explain his behavior. The citizenry has conducted congressional town hall meetings around Wyoming. On the stage are chairs with photos of Barrasso, Cheney, Enzi. That's as close as these public servants will come to a face-to-face with the electorate. Some of their peers in other states have been yelled at for their Triumpist policies. Egos have been bruised. Ask Sen. Cory Gardner of Colorado. He's used to fielding softball questions from true believers. Instead he got tough questions. Other people yelled at him for his bad behavior. He retreated back to the safety of the D.C. Beltway.

Wyomingites know how to tell shit from Shinola. You have to be older than me to know that Shinola is a shoe polish popularized by GIs in World War II. Shinola was handy and durable, great for those GI shoes and boots. GIs were adept at coining phrases, especially those that targeted inept officers, the guys sending them out to get killed. Not knowing shit from Shinola was dangerous. Funny, too, a fine play on words.

Wyomingites used to be able to tell shit from Shinola. Not any more. Congressional leaders now blow smoke up our asses and we inhale. That expression comes from cockfighting, where humans used to blow smoke up a rooster's ass to goad him into fighting harder. Cockfighting has fallen out of favor but the phrase remains and comes in handy in the political arena. Trump is a master at blowing smoke up people's asses. It incites his conservative base. Angers his opponents.

What is you can tell shit from Shinola? What if you resent having smoke blown up your ass? You have to find other candidates to vote for.

Try Gary Trauner. I canvassed neighborhoods for Gary when he ran for the U.S. House in 2006 and 2008. Trauner came within 1,000 votes of beating Barbara Cubin the last time she ran. Remember that Cubin's husband was ailing and she spent more time outside the Beltway than within. Even Republicans were irritated at her inattention to her job. Trauner hit the hustings and talked to voters. Lots and lots of voters. Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, Contrarians. People of many stripes voted for him. They crossed over the line between D and R and voted D.

Those were the days. Now we have an impenetrable wall between D and R. Just look at the 2016 election. Three of our best public servants were defeated by a wave of voters who came to vote for Trump the Savior and pushed all of the R buttons. I speak of Floyd Esquibel, Ken Esquibel, and Mary Throne. The Red Wave elected the bad ones and carried off the good ones. And we Democrats didn't work hard enough to get out the vote. Shame on us all.

Gary Trauner runs in 2018 to unseat Sen./Dr. Barrasso. Trauner drew about 50 people to his "listening session" in Cheyenne. Attendees asked great questions, the candidate had convincing answers.  He said he was going to talk to all people. His philosophy seemed to mirror the Dems' 2016 plan of "when they go low, we go high." One questioner challenged this philosophy, wondering if there isn't a time to "get mean." Republicans, notably out-of-state PACs, serve as unregulated attack dogs for Republican candidates and those candidates can disavow any connection with them. Meanwhile, voters minds are being swayed by right-wing paranoia. You know, the stuff you hear on Fox and talk radio. In 2016, these are the people who showed up at the polls in droves. Dems eagerly anticipated election night victory parties. As a volunteer offering rides to the polls, I picked up and delivered exactly one voter to a polling place. His vote, whatever it was, was overwhelmed by the Red Tide.

Will there be a blue wave in 2018 that lifts all boats? Gary Trauner will be in one of those boats. I will help him row, or paddle, or steer, or sail, or whatever else you do in a boat in this godforsaken windswept desert. But I am just one person.

My advice to you: help us roll with the tide. This should be the ideal year for The Dem Blue Wave. But you have to show up. Take a look at Trauner's web site. He says that this campaign is "all about leadership and integrity." Let's prove him right.

If you'd like to see my blog posts from Trauner's 2006 and 2008 campaigns, go to the search box on my right sidebar and type in Gary Trauner. There are a bunch of them, and not all are masterpieces. I do like this one. But they do give you some perspective on the temper of the times in 2006-2008. Remember 2008? We elected the country's first African-American president. It was only ten years ago but now it seems as if it happened in an alternate reality.

Denver tries to solve its traffic problems in Trump's alternate universe

Despite what you hear via mainstream media, Denver is a mess. Traffic is backed up everywhere and it's getting worse all of the time, By 2030, motorists can expect to be tied up in traffic 30 percent of the time compared to 20 percent now. Light rail helps some, when it works. The Union Station to DIA train has hit some snags. My wife recently took the A Train to Transylvania Station and loved it. During the 2008 Democratic National Convention, I took the train from Hampden to downtown and never had a problem, despite crowds of rapid-transit-loving Dems.

People keep moving to Denver to smoke pot and ogle the hipsters and attend concerts at Red Rocks. This has to stop.

But it won't.

To remedy the traffic situation, Denver is working on a plan that matches ride-share companies (Uber, Lyft, etc.) with rapid transit schedules. The problem is that there are many people who would use rapid transit if they could get to it. People with transportation needs find themselves moving further out to find affordable rents. The further out you go, the more spread out the bus stops and light rail stations. People with means, it seems, want to live in or near downtown. Developers are building studio apartments and condos like there is no tomorrow, betting on the idea that Millennials will rent anything that is close to a brewpub and coffee shop. So the move is on to the inner-city that their parents and grandparents fled many moons ago. Meanwhile, the inner suburbs are filling up with people of color which leads to the Little Vietnam you find in Westminster and the mercados along East Colfax Avenue in Aurora. The outer suburbs, like those in Louisville and Castle Rock, are filling up with white Republicans and any day expect Trump to drop by and deliver a wheelbarrow filled with cash.

I learned all of this after spending ten days in Denver waiting for my daughter to receive ECT treatments at Centennial Peaks Hospital in Superior, which butts up against Boulder and Louisville. In other words, I know very little and am eminently qualified to be the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development if Know Nothing Ben Carson finds another job, such as Secretary of Silly Walks.

I have been stuck in traffic about half the time I've been in Denver. Today I saw scores of CDOT plows and plows of many municipalities on the streets, which made me thankful for governmental services that soon will be sold to the highest bidder, probably Halliburton. Remember the bang-up jobs they did in Iraq and Afghanistan? Enjoy the snow-free streets while you got 'em, folks.

Remember that Colorado is a blue state and went solidly for Hillary Clinton despite Republican voter suppression, scary fake news stories and the many fundies in Colorado Springs that believed Trump was doing the Lord's work. Perhaps ye recall Matthew 6:24 in the King James Bible:

No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

Mammon, of course, is money, as in the huge Scrooge McDuck-style vault of riches that Donald Trump goes home to every night.

My work is done here for today. Not sure what it was. But that's it.

Four years after: In the afterglow of the 2008 Wyoming caucuses, all things seemed possible

On this day four years ago, I mused about the possibilities that presented themselves to Wyoming Democrats. We were all aglow following record turnouts at county caucuses. None of us expected the eventual presidential candidate to win Wyoming, but we were hopeful that Jackson’s Gary Trauner could clinch the state’s lone U.S. House seat. He had come within 1,000 votes of unseating wildly unpopular Republican Barbara Cubin in 2006. As it turned out, John McCain enjoyed his second-largest vote margin in Wyoming, coming in right behind Oklahoma and just ahead of Idaho and Utah. Trauner was trounced by newcomer Cynthia Lummis, who continues to be a party-line Republican. 

On March 9, 2008, we were slightly optimistic that red Wyoming would morph into a shade of purple.

The message is clear. It takes a well-organized and well-funded campaign to win an election. Democrats in Wyoming have been down so long it looks like up to us. Many had just given up. It took a lot of effort to get them out of their lethargy – but they did come out. Almost 8,700 votes were cast statewide. In the 2004 county conventions, less that 700 votes were cast. The 2008 numbers are 12 times those of 2004. Some of those reflect people who switched parties, a Republican or Independent registering as a Dem and who will probably switch back before November. But most of those voters were either new registrants or newly-motivated Dems or people so fed up with the Republican Party that they switched and won’t go back. I know several of those in Cheyenne.

Read the rest of my March 9, 2008, post at http://hummingbirdminds.blogspot.com/2008/03/dems-been-down-so-long-it-looks-like-up.html

Trauner's post-election interview on Wyofile.com

While I was wondering about Gary Trauner’s disappearance after the Nov. 4 election, Wyofile’s Charles Pelkey and Reese Jenniges were actually talking to the Democratic Party’s candidate for the state’s lone U.S. House seat. Gary was as gracious in defeat as he was during the campaign. He kept his cool even when faced with TV and radio ads from the Republican Slime Machine.

The victor in the race, Cheyenne’s Cynthia Lummis, said in a post-election interview that she has some trepidations going to a "Democrat city" (Washington, D.C.) She is thankful that she will have the guiding hand of outgoing Veep Dick Cheney. Sure, but first she has to find him. And the proper terminology is "Democratic city," as in the political party that now is in charge and because you need an adjective to define a noun. As in "Obama’s overwhelming victory" or "the Democratic Party’s huge majorities in the House and Senate." Like that. I’d be happy to send Ms. Lummis a copy of Strunk & White’s "The Elements of Style." There’s even an illustrated version.

What follows are a few Gary Trauner quotes from the 11/6 Wyofile interview. Read the entire article at http://www.wyofile.com/democrat_trauner_defeated.htm

Trauner said that he did "pretty much everything I could do in this race."

"Sometimes, there are just obstacles you can't overcome," he said. "Being a Democrat in Wyoming in this race might have been one of those. We did everything and I think we did incredibly well. I don't have any regrets. I don't have any second thoughts."

Trauner said on Thursday that he hopes that Lummis' tenure in Washington will ultimately result in a benefit for the people of Wyoming."

A lot of people told me that they would support me, but they didn't want to send that support to Nancy Pelosi," he said. "That probably cost me quite a few votes. Of course, now we have a member of Congress who not only lacks seniority, but is in the minority there."

"I hope she exceeds my expectations," he added.

Gary Trauner, where are you?

Wish that Gary Trauner would come out of hiding and say something. He lost, sure, but he waged a fierce and above-board campaign. That's more than I can say about his opponent, Republican Cynthia Lummis. But I will try not to be a sore loser.

The Democrats won the White House and a bigger majority in the U.S. House and Senate. Three Senate seats are still to be decided. Al Franken is in a recount battle with Norm Coleman in Minnesota. Georgia will stage a runoff between chickenhawk Republican Saxby Chambliss and Democratic hopeful Jim Martin. And I'm not sure what's happening in Alaska with Ted "The Convicted Felon" Stevens. Democrat Jeff Merkley, a former Habitat for Humanity leader, was announced as the winner in Oregon.

So Gary, come on out and groove in the good feelings of the many Wyomingites who volunteered and voted for you.

Election Day in Cheyenne, Wyoming

Toddlers 4 Trauner

Gary T in Cheyenne

Vote Republican! Avoid Pelosi Syndrome!

During these final days of the 2008 election, Republicans are pushing ads that portray Wyoming as a reliably conservative state and one that distrusts East Coast Liberals. If you are a born and bred Wyomingite with conservative creds, you are good and trustworthy. If you were born somewhere else -- especially any East Coast state north of Virginia or (worse) California -- and you're a Democrat, you are bad, untrustworthy and probably a Socialist.

The latest Repub ads supporting Cynthia Lummis emphasize these crucial differences and encourage Wyomingites to vote for "real" conservatives whom also are "real Americans" too. A radio ad I heard today in breaks of the Denver Broncos game has some ersatz cowboy narrator (probably an actor!) with a folksy voice. He used all the buzzwords that are supposed to push the right buttons in Wyomingites: "East Coast Liberal" and "out-of-state money" and "unions" and "Nancy Pelosi." When I heard all this, I began to feel a bit sick. So I went to the doctor.

Doctor: Sorry, Mr. Shay, but I'm afraid you have a case of Pelosi Syndrome.

Me: Not Pelosi!

Dr.: I'm afraid so.

Me: What's the diagnosis, Doc? Give it to me straight!

Dr.: First it's the arms and legs, and then the torso. Last to go is the head.

Me: Tumors? Lesions? Cankers? Boils?

Dr.: Worse. Your body turns blue. Hordes of Wyoming Republicans see that you're a Democrat and they set upon you like a pack of ravening wolves. You don't stand a chance.

Me: I'll stay at home.

Dr.: They'll find you.

Me: I'll hide in the mountains.

Dr.: They'll find you no matter where you try to hide.

Me: I'm done for.

Dr.: True, unless....

Me: What, Doc? Give it to me straight!

Dr.: Well, you could fall into line and vote Republican. This is a conservative state, don't you know? It's futile to resist. Vote Lummis. Vote Enzi. Vote Barrasso. Vote McCain. Vote Palin.

Me: Is this my only hope?

Dr.: I'm afraid so.

Me: Any side effects?

Dr.: There's one. First it's the arms and legs. And then the torso. The last to go is the head.

Me: What do you mean, Doc? Give it to me straight!

Dr.: It's called Palinitis. Your body turns red.

Me: But I'll be O.K. as long as I stay in Wyoming?

Dr.: True, but next time you go to a blue state, those Democrats will come at you like a ravening pack of slightly miffed bunny rabbits.

Me: Doesn't sound dangerous.

Dr.: It's death by a thousand little nibbles.

Me: I'll stay home. Who needs blue states anyway? Who needs Colorado or New Mexico or California or New York or Pennsylvania or Massachusetts or Washington or Hawaii or Florida or Virginia or Maryland or North Carolina or....

Dr.: Exactly. If you stay in Wyoming and vote the Republican Party line, you'll live forever.

Me: And what a full life that will be!

THE END

An ominous set of signs -- or coincidence?

So there I was, me and my clipboard and door hangers for Gary Trauner. I was trying to get my bearings in Cheyenne's Precinct 1-1. A shadow began to fall over me, an ominous shadow, fraught with meaning. I turned to look up. Hovering over me were a pair of street signs that sent chills down my spine. I was at the corner of Gop(p) and Lummis. GOP for Grand Old Party and Lummis for Cynthia, Gary's opponent in Wyoming's U.S. House race. Weird. Were these signs a sign? Or just some odd coincidence? We shall find out on election day. Meanwhile, I moved on, knocking on doors for Gary.

LarCoDems gather for election results

The Laramie County Democratic Party will gather at the historic Cheyenne Plains Hotel Round-Up Room on November 4, 7 p.m., to view the incoming results of local, state, and national elections. Members of the media are welcome to attend this gathering for research and reporting purposes. Refreshments and snacks will be provided.

Laramie County Democratic Party Chairman Mike Bell says: “We are looking forward to a fun and relaxing evening, celebrating all of the hard work that our Democratic candidates and volunteers completed in support of the Wyoming Democratic Party and our platform.”

LarCoDem member Mike Shay says this: "We are looking forward to cheering wildly when the presidential race results come pouring in."

For further information, contact Mike Bell at 307-631-7641.

I have it on good authority that Mike Bell has ordered two cakes for the event. Cake and Fat Tire Amber Ale go great together.

If you're looking for up-to-date results on election night, go to Dave Lerner's Wyoming Network. In 2006, the AP beat Wyoming Network by only a few minutes. Go to www.wyomingnetwork.com.

Voted early -- by just a few days

I was 39th in line at the Laramie County office building downtown during my lunch break. Thirty-eight other fine citizens casting their votes in advance. I knew two of them -- a local teacher and a friend of a friend. Both in their thirties. The teacher was set to vote for Barack Obama and Gary Trauner. At least I think she was since she voted in the Democratic caucuses in March and I've talked to her about the election since. The guy in the black cowboy hat was voting Republican. How do I know this? The guys in the black hats are always Repubs, right?

This polling place has been averaging 700 voters per day all week. An election volunteer told me that yesterday's count was 778. That's darn good in this county with 37,500-some registered voters. I was hoping that there were other Obama voters in line with me. Not entirely hopeful, but hope springs eternal in the heart of WyoDems.

My wait was just 30 minutes. A lot shorter time than some people waited in Florida and Colorado today. Tomorrow's another day...to vote. Get out there and do your duty for democracy.

Gary T. and Gov Dave -- together at last!

Lummis will be a no-show for Wednesday's town hall meeting at UW

Cynthia Lummis will be sending a cardboard cut-out of herself to the congressional town hall meeting Wednesday, Oct. 29, at 4 p.m. in the University of Wyoming College of Arts and Sciences auditorium.

Actually, she'll be sending a representative from her campaign. Matched up against the stand-in will be the actual Democratic candidate for Wyoming's lone U.S. House seat, Gary Trauner. Also attending will be Libertarian W. David Herbert.

Wonder what's so important to keep Cynthia from this appearance at her alma mater (earned both bachelor's and juris doctor degrees at UW) and the state's only four-year university?

Pokes Vote, the Laramie Chamber of Commerce and the UW Office of Student Leadership and Civic Engagement host the free public event. According to a press release, "Pokes Vote has helped more than 600 UW students register to vote for the first time or make changes to their registration."

FMI: (307) 399-3350.

See 3 Dems and 1 Repub on LCCC TV

LarCoDems' member Mary Lou Marcum sends this info:

Please help get the word out. The three Democratic Congressional candidates and Rick Kaysen will be appearing on LCCC Ch. 11 next week, from Oct 27 on. David Marcum, LCCC Political Science instructor will be interviewing them.

The schedule is as follows:
Gary Trauner & Chris Rothfoss: Monday at 9 a.m., Tuesday at 2 p.m., Wednesday at 8 p.m., Thursday at 3 p.m., and Friday/Saturday/Sunday at 10 a.m.
Nick Carter & Rick Kaysen: Monday at 2 p.m., Tuesday at 7 p.m., Wednesday at 3 p.m., Thursday at 11 a.m., and Friday/Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m.

These are not debates but Q&A interviews. Should be interesting. Wish we could get the info to non-Democrats as well. The Republican candidates and Democratic condidate for mayor Jayne Mockler didn't respond to the invitation to appear on the shows.

Gov Dave endorses Gary Trauner

Wyoming's Democratic Governor, Dave Freudenthal, endorsed Gary Trauner today for Wyoming's lone U.S. House seat. As he noted in his remarks at a noon press conference, he doesn't do many endorsements. In fact, some of us Dems have been a bit upset that his endorsement didn't come earlier. But, better late than never. In Sunday's Casper Star-Tribune poll, Trauner led Republican Cynthia Lummis 44-43 in this squaker of a race. Gov Dave's endorsement may help. The Gov is wildly popular, his approval rating in this Republican-heavy state hovering around the 81 percent mark. During the summer, he was the second-most popular Western governor, ranked just behind Sarah Palin of Alaska. But her numbers have taken a hit since emerging into the national spotlight.

I won't quote all of the governor's remarks about Trauner. You can get a transcript and an audio at http://www.traunerforcongress.com.

Here are a few choice paragraphs:

It's the same thing in another of the ads that his opponent [Lummis] runs that talks about during her tenure, she developed $5 billion in state money. Well, the truth is, anyone can take credit for that. I can take credit for that, the Legislature can take credit for that. The real reason that that money exists is the way that this economy has been over the last five or six years. I make a persuasive argument that it all happened because I was elected Governor. Because about the time I was elected, if you remember, that's about the time that prices went up.

I think we need to be realistic about what it is that we say to the public in terms of these races. The fact of the matter is that as politicians, we shouldn't believe our own press releases. The reason that this state is prosperous, and the reason that we have the money that's available, is not by virtue of somebody who was in office, whether they were Governor or Treasurer, but by virtue of the fortuitous circumstances of the nature of this state's economy.

Oct. 21 press conference: Firefighters endorse Democrat Gary Trauner

Molly Simmons at Trauner for Congress sent this announcement:

Gary Trauner, Democratic candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives, will join Wyoming fire fighters at a press conference tomorrow, October 21 at 11:30 a.m. at the Headquarters Station of the Cheyenne Fire Department. After both Trauner and local firefighter Jon Narva speak, they will be available for questions. Remote call in number is 712-451-6100, pass code 721718#.

O.K. you Cynthia Lummis staffers. I list this call-in number and pass code with the hope that you will not use it for nefarious deeds. Do I have your promise on this? Cross your heart and hope to spit?

FMI: Molly Simmons, 307-315-1006, Molly@TraunerforCongress.com

To donate to Gary Trauner, go to www.TraunerforCongress.com

Trauner & Lummis still tied (with Trauner showing a tiny lead)

Kos of Daily Kos reported polling data today that shows Wyoming Democrat Gary Trauner with a tiny lead over Republican Cynthia Lummis in the U.S. House race. This is a Daily Kos poll, so you Repubs can take it with several grains of salt. But the numbers by Research 2000 in a poll Oct. 14-16 of likely voters (margin of error 4.5%) shows Trauner with 44 percent and Lummis with 43 percent. Polling results on 9/22-24 showed a 42-42 tie. So, more voters are moving out of the undecided column and into the ranks of the decided.

Here are comments by Kos:

All of this is noise within the margin of error. Like the last time we polled Wyoming, the fate of this election seems to rest on the hands of Republicans, who sport a surprisingly high 21 percent undecided. And it's just this race that generates this kind of uncertainty. In the two Senate races and the presidential, all GOP blowouts, Republicans are quite decided on their vote (results for those races are in the crosstabs below the fold). Yet there's something about the House races that has them on the fence, seriously considering splitting their ticket.

Wyoming voters aren't adverse to ticket splitting, as the state's Democratic governor would attest. With no other high-profile Democrat on the ticket (like the governor's race in 2006), hopefully Trauner can be the recipient of that trend this year. The congressional term is only two years. They can always revisit their decision in two years.

So, if you'd like to make those numbers climb in the Trauner column, donate on the web at Trauner for Congress or ActBlue

Land o' Goshen! You don't vote?

I'm not the most efficient phone canvasser in the world. I'm easily distracted -- you can tell by my blog title -- and I'm always in search of a good story so I don't mind a long conversation.

Yesterday I was at Gary Trauner's sprawling offices in downtown Cheyenne. It's a big place with distinctive wallpaper: "Trauner for Congress" signs. The place has been buzzing the past few months as Gary strives to be Wyoming's first Democratic member of the U.S. House since the legendary Tino Roncalio from Rock Springs. Gary has drawn scores of volunteers and staffers to his cause, some from as far away as Oregon and Wisconsin. Most of us are Wyomingites, though, just volunteering our time to walk neighborhoods or to call potential voters on the phone.

Yesterday we were calling Goshen County. It's northeast of Cheyenne, a long rectangle like most of our 23 counties. Torrington, site of Eastern Wyoming College and the new prison, is the biggest town in Goshen. I believe that the town also has an ethanol distillery (have to check that out). Nearby is one of my favorite places, Fort Laramie National Historic Site. Other towns in Goshen include Yoder, Jay Em, Hawk Springs, Veteran, Lingle and LaGrange.

I called all over the county. Talked to a woman in Torrington who was undecided, said she still was making up her mind. She liked the idea that Gary was not a tax-and-spend Liberal. She said she'd vote for Gary if he was a veteran, as she believes that all people running for public office should be military veterans. Not a new idea. In Robert Heinlein's "Starship Troopers," you had to join the military and fight interstellar "Bugs" to be a citizen. (Historical note: The move, "Starship Troopers," was filmed in Wyoming. Coincidence? I think not.) I talked to this woman for awhile and finally asked if she was at least leaning toward voting for Gary and she said no, that she still was deciding. Very coy, this one.

Later, I talked to a gregarious woman in her sixties who admitted that she had never voted. At first, I thought she was pulling my leg. "Never voted?" She laughed and said it was true. I was flabbergasted and flummoxed. I don't think I've ever actually met any who's never voted. Her husband votes. I suggested she go along with him next time, as you can register at the polls in Wyoming. No, she wasn't going to start now. She like her life and not voting, she said, hadn't affected it much. "Just think how much better it would be if you voted," I said. She laughed again. You never know, I said, you could vote on Nov. 4 and win the lottery the next day. She laughed again, said she didn't play the lottery. I tried about everything in the book to get her out to the polls. "We don't care who you vote for -- you just have to get out and vote." That's only partially true. I wouldn't be calling if we didn't care who she voted for.

In the end, she admitted that she was too busy with her family and work and crocheting that she didn't have time for anything else. She sells her crochet work in Chugwater (Platte County -- another rectangle) and at her home gallery east of Chug in Goshen County. "So you're an artist?" She said that she might be, that she really likes crocheting. I should have asked her if she would crochet a "Trauner for Congress" wall hanging or doily (I know an artist who crochets earrings) but I didn't think of that until later. She did sound very proud of her work. I said I'd drop by her studio next time I was on the road between Chug and Hawk Springs. "You do that," she said. "Please go vote," I said. She thought not.

When you hold a forum for voters, you actually expect the candidates to show up

I read about this in Saturday's Casper Star-Tribune. I just read it again and realized how strange it was that no Republican candidates showed up at the big Homecoming weekend Voters Forum in Laramie. Here's the story:

It was Democrats three, Republicans zero at the League of Women Voters Forum in Laramie.

All three Democratic candidates running for Congress attended Thursday night's forum at the Albany Public Library. But all three Republican candidates sent other people to speak in their place.

Democratic House candidate Gary Trauner drove from Teton County to attend [approx. 380 miles one way]. Republican Cynthia Lummis sent her daughter to talk for her [approx. 45 miles].

Democratic Senate candidate Chris Rothfuss lives in Laramie, so he didn't have far to travel. His opponent, Republican Sen. Mike Enzi, sent a campaign representative in his place.

Republican Sen. John Barrasso also sent a campaign staffer, while Democratic challenger Nick Carter showed up in person.

Gosh, the Democrats must care more -- or maybe they treat this election more seriously than their opponents. McJoan goes into detail on the event in a Daily Kos post at http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/10/13/105245/56/368/629149. This photo of Republican candidate surrogates accompanied her story --

They look nice enough. And they came with notes and everything. But voters came to see the actual candidates, not campus Young Republicans.

Here's Gary Trauner, the actual Democratic candidate for Wyoming's lone U.S. House seat, speaking on the issues at the forum --

Gary Trauner appearances this week

Here's a partial list of the coming week's personal appearances by Gary Trauner, Democratic candidate for Wyoming's lone U.S. House seat:

Laramie Congressional Forum, Sunday, 10/12/2008, 6-8:30 p.m. Contact 307.660.0614 for location and additional information.

A Candidates' Forum will be held on Tuesday, 10/14/2008, 7-9 p.m. in the 4-H Building at the Platte Co. Fairgrounds in Wheatland. Participants are asked to bring questions with them, or ideas of questions. Written and pre-screened questions only will be submitted and asked by the moderator, Joe Fabian. Each candidate will have a short introduction. National, state, county, local and special district candidates have been invited, Democrats Gary Trauner and Chris Rothfuss among them. No mention of Trauner's Republican opponent Cynthia Lummis or Rothfuss's opponent Mike Enzi. (Thanks to Wheaterville for the listing).

"Door to Door in Casper" on Wednesday, 10/15/2008, 3:30 p.m. Take some personal time from work, pick up the kids from school, and meet and greet voters in Casper with Gary. Call 307-265-4022 for more information. We're also going door-to-door for Gary in Cheyenne on Wednesday at 4 p.m. If you're interested in volunteering, leave a comment below or send an e-mail (see my profile at right).

Sheridan Chamber of Commerce Forum, 3059 Coffeen Avenue, Thursday, 10/16/2008, 7-9 p.m. Come and support Gary as he debates the other congressional candidates. Contact 307.673.4762 for more information.

Look for appearances by Gary Trauner in a neighborhood near you!