It's happening... Barack Obama, President-Elect!

It's 8 p.m. MST and at this point, there is no way for John McCain to win this election. Barack Obama is going to be our next President of the United States of America!

One might notice from the celebration venues that perhaps McCain already knew this. Barack's party in Grant Park in Chicago is huge. McCain's party in Arizona is a small affair, with Hank Williams Jr. providing party music to entertain what must be a depressed audience.

The rest of the votes need to be counted, but this race is over. Congratulations Barack Obama and Joe Biden! You both ran a good race and it was a well deserved win. I'm looking forward to the inauguration on January 20, 2009!

photo by dailykos.com

Lummis leading Trauner at end of October

Polls conducted from Oct 27-29 show Cynthia Lummis having a lead over Gary Trauner, 49 to 45, compared to a previous poll where Trauner led 44-43. It's still close, but it's not the best news for those hoping for Democratic representation in Congress.

So what's going on here? My best guess is that people afraid of a "Democratic majority" are trending toward Lummis, to offset the fact that Barack Obama is likely going to be our next President of the United States. Yesterday I was speaking to one of our Democratic candidates running for office, and we agreed that in 2006 we may have seen a lot of "No More Cubin!" votes going to Gary. Perhaps it is a combination of the two. At any rate, this race is not over, and Gary Trauner is still the best choice for Wyoming to send to Congress. But we need every Democrat, Independent, and tired-of-partisan-politics Republicans to get to the voting booth. This is not a time to stand on the sidelines. Talk to your neighbors, friends and relatives. Ask them to do the same. At this point, with four days to go, it's a ground game. Game on!

Get out the vote Platte County

By the end of the day, it will be "times up" for donating money to your favorite candidate(s). Most of the political hopefuls and diehards will be hitting the streets this weekend, a last push to find those few extra people that haven't quite decided to whom they will cast their ballot. This is the pre-party to the Superbowl of politics, Election Day. And like a diehard sports fan, I feel the need to trumpet the virtues of my team. We have some great players, and I'd like to see some touchdowns on Tuesday. First, Barack Obama is looking good but he needs every vote he can muster. Statewide, our best chance to bring home gold is with Gary Trauner with a U.S. House Seat. Locally, I'm thinking Terry Jones has a decent shot at getting the win in State House District #3.

Enough sports analogies. My point is, if you have a candidate that you want to support, this is the time to do it. Call your candidates and ask what you can do. Get out the vote!

Colorado looks good in blue

I said it a couple of days ago, and it seems it was only a matter of time. CNN now has Colorado shaded in light blue, leaning toward Senator Obama. I knew our neighbors would come through. I think in the end, "Change" is going to win over "Fear", which is exactly how these two campaigns can be summed up. We have been led by the use of fear for too many years now, ever since 9/11/01. Colorado is ready for change, unfortunately Wyoming is bound tight in Republican chains when it comes to presidential politics. Even so, I hope a few more Wyomingites will look past the boundaries of party lines, and vote for change as well.

Nick Carter and John Barrasso debate on PBS

On Tuesday, October 28, the debate between Nick Carter and John Barrasso took place on PBS. The whole debate, as well as the debates from the two previous nights, can be seen on the PBS website.

The discussion included climate change, diverse energy major investment in clean coal, wind energy, global warming, Pinedale and the environment regarding natural gas, public funding for campaigning and elections, the bailout, our policies of when we should go to war, government spending, Wyoming and our wolf policy. In the "question each other" portion, they discussed the inheritance tax, fair tax policies, an AARP questionnaire, showing up for debates, the decision of voting on bills with "pork", and amnesty to illegal aliens. Of course, we had closing statements.

I have to admit, I thought John Barrasso did the better job in this debate. I stated in a previous post that I am in agreement with Barrasso on his choice to vote no on the bailout. But I am still quite opposed to a good majority of Barrasso's stances, including his position on abortion, taxes, prayer in school, and gay rights. He let's his religious views get in the way of his job to represent ALL the people of Wyoming. Separation of church and state, Senator. It's written down for a reason.

Trauner, Lummis and Herbert Debate on PBS

The Trauner, Lummis and Herbert debate, held Monday October 27th, is available on Wyoming PBS. You may click here to watch. Topics of discussion in part one included the economy, healthcare, social security, care for our veterans, climate change and energy. This was a question and answer portion. Part two had the candidates sitting down and asking each other questions. Topics included negative campaigning, Nancy Pelosi and political party allegiances, the current unpopular congress, and pro-life/pro-choice issues. They all finished off with closing arguments.

The video is 27 minutes long and well worth viewing.

Watch this Gary Trauner and Dave Freudenthal Ad

With seven days to go, the Trauner for Congress campaign has put up this video on youtube.com. Please watch and if you can, donate a few bucks so this commercial can make the television airwaves this week. Let's help elect Gary Trauner to represent the people of Wyoming! And don't forget to vote!

Cynthia Lummis donates her pocket change

Cynthia Lummis gave her campaign $100,000 of her own money on Saturday to pay the campaign's bills, including television ad production, press expenses and phone banks.

Ummm, I don't know about y'all, but I certainly don't have a bank account with that kind of money laying around. Must be rough. I'm sure if she were elected she'd be the voice of the common man, looking out for the middle class, right? I don't think so.

Source: http://www.localnews8.com/Global/story.asp?S=9246283&nav=menu554_2_2

Déjà vu, Freudenthal endorses Gary Trauner

Yesterday Governor Dave Freudenthal endorsed Gary Trauner in his bid for our one Wyoming seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Like the race two years ago, the endorsement has come fairly late in the game. In fact, this whole race is a déjà vu to the congressional race in 2006.

First, Gary promised to run a clean campaign and he has, just like when he ran against our soon-to-be ex-representative Barbara Cubin. Some say it cost him the seat last time around, but it is a testament to his integrity.

Secondly, the Republican National Committee has begun a mailing blitz attempting to label Gary Trauner as an extreme liberal who doesn't share the interests of Wyoming citizens. The same thing happened two years ago, when they saw that Trauner was a contender. But it's malarkey. How "extremely liberal" can a guy with an A- rating from the NRA be? Gary defines himself as an independent thinker, and will not vote simply for party politics.

Thirdly, as mentioned already, Governor Dave has waited until the final throes of the race to give the nod to Gary. I know he is picky about his endorsements, but really, why couldn't he support Mr. Trauner earlier on? Gary is the same person, with the same viewpoints and positions, as he was two years ago. I do applaud the fact that our Governor criticized Cynthia Lummis for taking credit for the budget surplus. His support is appreciated, but I was hopeful, with his popularity in the state, that he would have been behind Gary throughout the election cycle.

Lastly, as in '06, this race is too close to call. With Republicans outnumbering Democratic voters two to one in Wyoming, getting any Democratic candidate to Congress is a uphill climb. People need to look at the candidates character, read their stances on the issues, and vote. Gary Trauner would be a great representative for our state. Look what we got from Cubin over the last two years...straight voting along party lines, when she bothered to show up. Gary deserves the opportunity to show what he can do for Wyoming. He deserves my vote and yours.

Full Endorsement Transcript

Colin Powell is voting for Obama

This should be a real boost for the Obama camp. On Meet the Press this morning, Gen. Powell gave his endorsment of Barack Obama, and more importantly, made some statements that needed to be made. He questioned McCain's judgement on several issues, including his negative campain tactics and his pick of Sarah Palin. "Now that we have had a chance to watch her for some seven weeks, I don't believe she's ready to be president of the United States, which is the job of the vice president." he said. Thank you for that, sir.

After the interview on Meet the Press, Gen. Powell told reporters "I think that Senator Obama brings a fresh set of eyes, fresh set of ideas to the table. I think that Senator McCain, as gifted as he is, is essentially going to execute the Republican agenda, the orthodoxy of the Republican agenda with a new face and a maverick approach to it, and he'd be quite good at it, but i think we need more than that. I think we need a generational change. I think Senator Obama has captured the feelings of the young people of America and is reaching out in a more diverse, inclusive way across our society."

Please watch the video. It's a very honest and candid look at the big picture of this campaign, and how the extreme right agenda coming from the Republican party is not right for this country at this time. Thank you, General Colin Powell, for speaking the truth. You, sir, are the one putting Country First!

Meet the Candidates, Part II

Terry Jones spoke next at the forum. He is the only person running for either a state house or senate seat that is from Platte County. He would represent House District #3. He has worked forty-two years for the railroad, has been in Wheatland for 16 years. For two decades he has been with the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen Union, serving as Chairman for many of those years. He is endorsed by Wyoming Public Employee Association, NRA, AFL-CIO, Wyoming Education Association. His campaign issues discussed included property taxes, noting that Platte County may see their taxes increased the way others around us have, and would like to do something proactively before that happens. He discussed workman's comp, stating that currently your employer can absolutely stop workman's comp. He also discussed not letting land swaps happen and conserving our public lands. He noted areas where Democratic issues have succeeded in our state, including government transparency, the Hathaway scholarship, and the sales tax on food.

In the Q&A session, the current district map was discussed. Terry feels Platte County with a population of 8,000 people qualifies to have it's own district, noting that they will redistrict this county after the next census. He would like to be the voice of Platte County when this issue comes up. He was questioned about what issues face our children in Platte County. Terry felt strongly about education, starting with Head Start funding. He was asked about ideas to bring jobs into the county. Terry was hopeful that with good labor unavailable in Casper, that businesses may look to Platte County for their labor force, and he would like to provide the Wyoming Business Council with more funding to help promote business in Wyoming. He also stated that part of the problem is employers in the county not wanting to pay a salary beyond a certain level, $1200-1500/month. Questions about the nursing home situation were discussed briefly, and were deferred to our county commissioner candidate, Joe Reichardt.

Jason Wright, running for State Senate District #2, spoke next. He works in the IT department at the hospital in Douglas. He'd like to inject some new ideas into the legislature. He would like to push Wyoming into a leadership role on some important issues. He feels Wyoming, having the unique situation of having a small population and a budget surplus, would be able to adopt the first single payer healthcare system in the nation. He also is an advocate of preventative healthcare. He envisions if Wyoming had a single payer healthcare system, there would be a rush of businesses coming to the state for the advantage of not have to pay for health insurance costs to their employees. It would take the burden of healthcare costs and put it on society, and would allow them to be more competitive from this state.

Mr. Wright discussed was the idea of having having curbside recycling in Wyoming, and other forms of transportation to get around the state. In the Q&A, there was quite a bit of talk about using the rail system for traveling, also a state bus system and again a high speed rail, which would follow the current highway system. Jason Wright will be competing against Jim Anderson(R) on November 4th.

Russell Johnson of Veteran, WY is running for State House District #5, a position currently held by Matt Teeters(R) from Lingle, WY. He spoke about his two big issues, taxes and alternative energy. He believes taxes are a little misshapen where farmers, ranchers and some businesses are taxed on personal property. He proposes a state tax starting with over-the-median income, involving only the elite wealthy. For alternative energy, Wind and solar power are on his list of priorities. He is on a committee to start up a wind power district in his local area.

Joe Reichardt, one of three county commissioners for Platte County, spoke last. The county has many current issue, he said, but the situation with the nursing home is what is currently on people's minds. He wanted to make clear that Hospital District Board is responsible for the negotiations with Banner Health. He felt that Banner has been trying to get out of the nursing home business for awhile now, but feels that they signed a contract, and should take the profit and loss together. He stated that there were currently three possible outcomes. 1. Banner stays to run the hospital, and the nursing home closes. 2. Banner stays to run the hospital and nursing home, and they come up with an arrangement that would be acceptable for both sides for this to happen. 3. Another firm would take over and run both the hospital and nursing home. There was a lot of discussion regarding the nursing home, and Mr. Reichardt encouraged people to attend the meeting being held at the Cole Building in Wheatland at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, October 14th.

Our Party Chairman, Don Kneeburg, did a great job giving everyone the opportunity to speak while keeping within the time frames allotted. This forum was a great opportunity to learn a little more about these candidates.

There will be another opportunity tomorrow, October 14th, to pose questions and to hear more from these candidates and others at the 4-H building (Platte County Fairgrounds) from 7-9 p.m. Please attend and bring your questions in written form.

Somebody fire McCain's DJ

Well, it has happened again. It seems the Foo Fighters aren't too keen on the McCain campaign using their song "My Hero" at their pep rallies.

"It's frustrating and infuriating that someone who claims to speak for the American people would repeatedly show such little respect for creativity and intellectual property," the band said in a statement. "The saddest thing about this is that 'My Hero' was written as a celebration of the common man and his extraordinary potential. To have it appropriated without our knowledge and used in a manner that perverts the original sentiment of the lyric just tarnishes the song."

McCain has already been slammed a few times during the campaign for using music by Jackson Browne, Heart, and John Mellencamp. McCain's camp says they have acquired the necessary license to play the Foo Fighters tune, but would you really want to when the artist outspokenly dislikes you?

I thought John McCain stated earlier this year that he liked ABBA and Linda Ronstadt. What's the matter Senator, are Dancing Queen and Blue Bayou not on your playlist anymore?

Source: Reuters

McCain/Palin attempt to be on same page

This ticket scares me more and more every day. Palin is asked a question from a voter, she gives an answer. But oops, it doesn't match what McCain's views are. So, we go on CBS and state that this was "Gotcha Journalism". What?! How should that have been handled then? Should Palin have said "That's a good question, Mr. Voter. Let me call John and see how I should answer this, and I'll get back to you."

Don't give us the line that it was crowded and loud and she didn't fully hear the question. C'mon, we're smarter that that. This can't be the ticket America wants in the White House. It just can't be.