Wyoming Candidates on the Issues

Still can't decide who to vote for in the next week? One great resource that may help you make a decision is ontheissues.org. They compile voting records and public statements from elected officials and current candidates to give you an easy to read, concise view of their stances on a range of issues. From Wyoming, you can read the positions of most of our current candidates, including Chris Rothfuss, Mike Enzi, John Barrasso, and Nick Carter. Unfortunately, neither Gary Trauner or Cynthia Lummis are represented. On the national level, the Presidential and Vice-Presidential candidates stances are available.

Also, take the 20 question quiz and see where your ideological profile lies.

Chris Rothfuss debates Mike Enzi on PBS

If you weren't able to watch the debate between Chris Rothfuss and Mike Enzi on Sunday night, Wyoming PBS has it up on their website. The sound is a bit lousy, but it's worth a look. Tonight Gary Trauner, Cynthia Lummis and David Herbert debate, followed tomorrow by Nick Carter and John Barrasso. Dr. Rothfuss is a very intelligent man, it's a shame he is up against the dominance of Republican voters in Wyoming. It would be false hope to think Rothfuss will pull this off this election year, Enzi has a healthy +25 lead. The money and support just isn't there this time around. However, Enzi toyed with the idea of retiring, but ultimately ran for his third term. Keep that in mind Chris, and get your six-year game plan ready. And don't forget about the other Senate seat that will be in play in 2012. In the meantime, we'll keep fighting for you, and it will be interesting to see how this plays out next Tuesday.

Final Wyoming Candidates debates on PBS

Here is a great chance to see the candidates debate head to head before making our choices in the voting booth on November 4th. Wyoming PBS is hosting a set of three debates, one for each open seat. The dates are October 26-28, and the lineup is as follows:

U.S. Senate Debate #1 airs Sunday, October 26 at 7:00 PM - Dr. Chris Rothfuss [D] debates incumbant Senator Mike Enzi [R], who is seeking reelection to his third term in the U.S. Senate.

U.S. House Debate airs Monday, October 27 at 7:00 PM - Gary Trauner squares off against Republican nominee Cynthia Lummis for Wyoming’s sole seat in the U.S. House.

U.S. Senate Debate #2 airs Tuesday, October 28 at 7:00 PM - Nick Carter [D] takes on Sen. John Barrasso [R], who was appointed in 2007 to the U.S. Senate.

Right now you have the opportunity to send questions for the candidates.

Over the years, moderator Geoff O'Gara has found some of the best questions for
these debates come from our viewers. So we invite you, our readers and viewers, to send your questions directly to him at gogara@cwc.edu. Questions may be directed to specific candidates, specific races, or to candidates in all three debates.

I'm sending off a couple... I encourage you to do the same, and tune in to watch! It will also be on Wyoming Public Radio if you aren't going to be near a television.

Chris Rothfuss vs. Mike Enzi: The Issues

There is a great collection of clips to watch from the debate between Chris Rothfuss and Mike Enzi that took place on October 5th at Casper College. Here are the youtube.com links:

Rothfuss vs. Enzi: Emission Limits
Rothfuss vs. Enzi: Golden Parachute
Rothfuss vs. Enzi: Gay Rights
Rothfuss vs. Enzi: Abortion
Rothfuss vs. Enzi: Finacial Crisis
Rothfuss vs. Enzi: Hate Crimes
Rothfuss vs. Enzi: Budget and Demand
Rothfuss vs. Enzi: Taxes
Rothfuss vs. Enzi: Experience
Rothfuss vs. Enzi: Earmarks
Rothfuss vs. Enzi: Campaign Finances
Rothfuss vs. Enzi: No Child Left Behind

Meet the Candidates, Part I

This is a brief summary of what I heard from the Wyoming Democratic Candidates for U.S. Senate during the Meet the Candidates forum in Wheatland on Sunday.

"When John Barasso took office and immediately shoved his snout in the trough of special interests, I knew someone had to take him on." stated Nick Carter on what compelled him to run for the office U.S. Senate currently held by Barasso.He commented "People in Wyoming want two things. First, they want someone they can trust will represent the people of Wyoming. Second, they want someone with the courage to stand up to their convictions and vote for what's best for the people and not for what will keep them in office."

Regarding healthcare, Mr. Carter feels that people with catastrophic illnesses including the seriously ill and injured, should be covered without the worry of bankruptcy, noting that 2 million people last year had to claim bankruptcy for medical reasons. He would like to make it so small businesses could afford healthcare, reasoning that with the ability to get healthcare, we would see a blossoming of small business from entrepreneurs that can't afford to go out on their own under current conditions.

Concerning energy, Mr. Carter commented that we do not have an energy policy, it's a patchwork of plans, noting that two years ago we thought that ethanol "would deliver us from evil". He would like to see a comprehensive plan to free us from oil in 10-15 years, using clean coal, solar, wind. John Barasso, he said, takes hundreds of thousands of dollars from big oil. He won't vote for wind energy tax credits. He stated that we need to get rid of special interests.

Mr. Carter stated the current financial condition is because Washington has been "Paid to look the other way" from Wall Street. He wants people to know that "Wyoming can't be bought".

Speaking next was Dr. Chris Rothfuss, who is running against Mike Enzi. He noted that when Enzi took office in 1997, the economy was strong, but there were some problems that needed to be addressed, including the foreseen social security problem, our energy reliance issue, and the state of healthcare. In twelve years, Enzi has provided no real solutions. From 2005-2007 Enzi was the chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pension committee, which Chris stated made him "The most powerful person in the nation" regarding healthcare. He states Enzi had the opportunity to address healthcare, but says that who benefits the most from Enzi's "10 Point Plan" is the healthcare industry to the tune of 200 billion dollars.

Further noting Enzi's influence from the healthcare industry, he stated that Enzi has received a quarter million from the healthcare industry, while Wyomingites contributions have only totaled $50,000, five times less. He stated Enzi has received another $150,000 from pharmaceuticals. He chided the statement Enzi made that negotiating prices for Medicare Plan B "would not save any money", stating that Enzi is being paid to say that.

Dr. Rothfuss further spoke about the deregulation of the financial industry, noting that the banking regulation legislation from 1933 was removed in 1999, which was a catalyst for the problems we now face. He said "Nobody calls it corruption because EVERYONE is drinking from the trough". The solution? Send people to congress who are above it, referring to himself, Nick Carter and Gary Trauner as "The Untouchables".

In the Q&A session, topics discussed included if Mike Enzi's daughter was receiving money for consulting him(yes, a lot), the candidates stances on the 2nd amendment (both candidates are very much for protecting it as well as ALL our rights), how to rein in Washington lobbyists (federal financing of elections) coal fired power generation and the environment (proper regulation with cap and trade, reduce CO2 emissions produced and change over time to emission-free energy sources, both feel global warming is real), and a nationwide high speed rail system (both for it).

Part II will be a run down of the Wyoming State House and Senate candidates for Platte County, and our County Commissioner incumbent candidate, Joe Reichardt.

Platte County Democrats hold forum

It was a good afternoon in Wheatland as the Platte County Democrats hosted a Meet the Candidates event at the First State Bank Conference Center. I will update with information on what the candidates talked about by tomorrow. I'm grateful to the candidates for taking the time to talk to us, I am very pleased with our Democratic Party choices. Below are a few photos of the event. More soon...

3 Democrats, 0 Republicans attend forum

Associated Press - October 10, 2008 10:25 AM ET

LARAMIE, Wyo. (AP) - 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. Republican Cynthia Lummis sent her daughter to talk for her.

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.

I'm glad our Democratic candidates are making the rounds across the state to meet people face to face. If you are going to be for the people, you should get to know the people. I am looking forward to hearing from them in Wheatland on Sunday, and hope to see them also on Tuesday. In reading their stances on the issues (see links for websites on sidebar), I feel confident in giving each of our three candidates my vote on election day.

Source: Laramie Daily Boomerang, http://www.laramieboomerang.com/

Donate to our Wyoming Democratic candidates

Have you supported our local candidates? It's a real easy thing to do online. Actblue.com is a one stop spot to donate to our Democratic Party candidates, including Gary Trauner, Chris Rothfuss, Nick Carter, and Terry Jones. We have a little over a month until the general election. If you can, chip in a few dollars and show your support. I promise you will get a warm fuzzy feeling inside when you do!

Wyoming Polls thus far

We have some poll numbers conducted from Sept 22-24th, and Gary Trauner is once again in a dead heat against a Republican opponent. The rest of the Democratic hopefuls are polling in the mid-thirties percentile. These numbers are pre-presidential debate, but with only 3% stating themselves as undecided, it is unlikely Obama will make any headway here in the Equality State. Colorado is most certainly a battleground state and it will be interesting to watch the results from our neighbor.

Poll results, asking who you would vote for if the election was held today:
Trauner 42% Lummis 42% Undecided 16%
Carter 34% Barasso 58% Undecided 8%
Rothfuss 35% Enzi 59% Undecided 6%
Obama 36% McCain 57% Other 4% Undecided 3%

Other stats are available in this brief from DailyKOS.

Platte County Democrats Meet the Candidates

MARK YOUR CALENDARS! Sunday October 12th is your chance to meet the candidates! Take the time to come meet the candidates running for legislature, including Gary Trauner, Nick Carter, Chris Rothfuss, Terry Jones, Joe Reichardt, and others.
When: Sun, Oct 12, 2pm – 4pm
Where: First State Bank Conference Center, Wheatland, WY