There was a fascinating comment left recently on our blog post The Empire Strikes Back. It is reposted here:
“It's rather hard to ignore that Sen. Driskill tends toward the moderate, rather than the conservative, according to the scorecard. With all of the hullabaloo about the radical republicans polarizing the legislature, this kind of thing makes me think it isn't the conservatives that are the problem. If you don't agree with the "moderates", they will give you the axe. Not very moderate. Might as well go with the leaders who are more inclined to support the citizenry than the government.”
The author of the above is being generous categorizing Jabba the Hutt as a “moderate.” His voting record may lean that direction, but he’s solidly Democrat in his behavior.
Let’s look at the recent proposal to create a joint ethics committee of the House and Senate. Jabba the Hutt immediately appointed Dan Zwonitzer to the committee. We’d like to think he was joking, but he was deadly serious. You remember Dan Zwonitzer, don’t you? This is the legislator who:
Moved out of his house into a new house which was in another legislative district.
Didn’t notify the legislature or anyone that he no longer lived in his district, which is a violation of Wyoming Statute.
Was the Chairman of the committee to Redistrict the legislative districts in Wyoming.
Added a sliver to his old legislative district to encompass his new residence in another legislative district.
Was given a pass on the ethics complaint even though he resided in the wrong district for over a year in violation of statute...and lied about it.
Then there is Jabba the Hutt’s recent temper tantrum regarding Senator Dave Kinskey. In violation of Senate Rules, Boss Driskill tells Senator Kinskey he is removing him as Chair of the Joint Appropriations Committee and replacing him with one of the most leftist members of the Senate, Tara Nethercott.
No, we don’t think Ogden Driskill is anything close to a “moderate,” but we think he may cross-dress as Nancy Pelosi when no one is looking.
Fortunately, there is a solution. The Wyoming Democratic Party is looking to grow their ranks! In a reprinted article from the Pravda on the Platte, The Sheridan Press mentioned this on page two in the May 2nd issue. There is a home for the blue-dot republicans waiting with open arms. Leave your guns home, board the train cars and come on down! Work will set you free!
We would be remiss if we didn’t take a shot at our new favorite political reporter, Maya Shimizu Harris of the Casper Red Star. Harkening back to our blog posts Journalistic Malfeasance and Twist & Shout, Ms. Maya manages to sneak in influence modifiers regarding the Republican Party. Hmm, and we thought this was an article about the Big-Tent of the Rodney King Democrats? Here is what she wrote:
“But over the years, as hard-line factions of the Republican Party like the Tea Party sympathizers in the 2010s and now the Wyoming Freedom Caucus swelled in power, Wyoming Democrats have been slowly squeezed out of representation.” [emphasis added]
We’ve never met Ms. Shimizu Harris, but we assume she is young and a product of progressive higher education. Which is why she has zero knowledge of actual history. Let’s talk TEA Party. The TEA Party scared the hell out of the left and the left did everything in their power to kill it. Why did it scare them? Because it was grassroots and organic. As much as they claim to champion “the people,” the left hates it when the people actually show initiative, independence, and responsibility. Remember Nancy Pelosi and Astroturf? That’s how the Left rolls. And just how is the Wyoming Freedom Caucus equal to the TEA Party? It isn’t. This is only a continued attempt to smear the legislators aligned with the Freedom Caucus.
Do you even understand why there is a Wyoming Freedom Caucus? Eight years ago, there were only a handful of conservative Republicans in the Wyoming Legislature. They were snubbed, abused, and ignored by the crony establishment blue-dot republicans (such as Ogden Driskill and Steve Harshman). So they united and enlisted the help of the Freedom Caucus to support their cause. Each election there were a few more conservative Republicans elected, and now they are up to 26, which is still significantly less than a majority. But, like the TEA Party movement, this scares the hell out of the blue-dot republicans as they see their grip on absolute power weakening. Are those 26 patriotic legislators actual members of the national Freedom Caucus? No. A few of them are, but most are not because they don’t want to be beholden to a group other than their constituents. This is the grassroots in action. Pretty scary, right?
Look back at our blog post on Those Pesky Ratings Sites and check out the chart. That scattered group of red dots is this supposed “hard-line” Wyoming Freedom Caucus. If they are so hard-line, why are the votes all over the place? Compare that to the Democrats-in-Waiting that journalists, such as Ms. Shimizu Harris are so fond, they are that little bloc of blue dots. As they claimed in Nuremberg, “we were just following orders!”
Just like the TEA Party scared the Left, the growing numbers aligned with the Wyoming Freedom Caucus scares them too. In a rare bout of honesty, the Left has formed the “Wyoming Caucus.” As explained by Blue-Dot Barry Crago, the intent of this caucus is “Wyoming solutions for Wyoming problems.” Our buddy Barry then explains that this caucus:
“…was not formed in opposition to any particular organization, but instead is about creating a forum to discuss legislation together.”
This is confusing. Isn’t the state legislature a forum to discuss legislation together? Isn’t there a Republican Caucus already? Fortunately, we have the intrepid reporter from the Buffalo Bulletin, Peder Schaefer, to help us understand. Even though Blue-Dot Barry claims his new caucus was not in response to the Freedom Caucus, Peder Peder didn’t quite get the message by stating:
“In recent years, the Freedom Caucus has grown increasingly powerful in Cheyenne, as the far-right bloc votes in lockstep.”
Dear pumpkin eater, please refer to the little chart once again in Those Pesky Ratings Sites. You may notice that the “far-right” as you modify them, does NOT vote in lockstep. Your comrades, on the other hand, well, they’re a different story.
Blue-Dot Barry continues to mock his opening statement by telling us the Republican Caucus “hardly ever meets anymore, necessitating the formation of a new group.” Ever wonder why government growth and spending is such an issue? The Blue-Dots just form and fund a new department, while keeping the old department they no longer like operational.
Here’s a real-world hint: you already have a caucus, just make it work. But Barry’s closing statement tells us why that is not possible:
“This allows us to have open, frank discussions about the issues.”
Well, there you go. This is all about preserving the Crony Establishment Echo Chamber. The Blue-Dots hate dissent of any kind. They hate that about 1/3 of the Legislature doesn’t follow their lead. If you disagree with them, they’ll remove you from your committee chair position. On the other hand, if you agree with them, you can move out of your district and retain your seat, you can say really bad words and disparage fellow legislators and not even have to apologize, and you can post on social media that people you don’t like should be killed.
And since we promised you a bushel full, our last Blue-Dot Barry item is his recent award as Legislator of the Year from the Wyoming Business Council. Way to go, Barry! This sure sounds impressive. The Wyoming Business Council is after all, the State-Funded Economic Development Agency. Barry had some great company for nominees this year: Albert Sommers, Dan Zwonitzer, Affie Ellis, and Fred Baldwin. Notice anything about the nominees? They are all serious blue-dot republicans. Here are their 2023 WyoRino scores:
Affie Ellis – 63%
Fred Baldwin – 40%
Barry Crago – 20%
Albert Sommers – 10%
Dan Zwonitzer – 0%
The Wyoming Business Council must have learned how to calculate the median in graduate business school. Woohoo! We’re actually shocked, shocked they didn’t give the award to the “Most Ethical Representative,” Dan Zwonitzer. So what do all these people have in common aside from lying to you about their Republican bonafides? Our guess is that they are very willing to give your taxpayer money to “acceptable” private businesses and cut deals to pick winners and losers as only the government. But that’s just a guess.
You do realize there is only one way to fix this, right? You should get involved in your Precinct. You must vote during the primary. You must keep the blue-dots from getting reelected. You must do everything in your power to fight these people who lie, twist words, commit unethical acts, and coverup irregularities. They may be the nicest people you’ve ever met, but that’s just a front to get elected and remain in power. Look behind the curtain. Connect the dots like we did in this blog post. Once you look at the connections and the big picture, you’ll understand.
It’s all about the grassroots.