Guest Posts on County 10 are provided by contributors and the opinions, thoughts, and comments within are their own and may not necessarily reflect those of County 10.
Parades are interesting things, especially Fourth of July parades occurring in even-numbered years. You don’t see many politicians on the parade route in the odd-numbered years, but when it comes to the evens, well…the primary election, the only one that matters in Red Wyoming, is just over a month away.
Last Saturday in Lander was no exception. There were some inspiring, motivational entries, and the Lander Pipe Band was incredible, as usual. It’s no surprise they start each parade with the moving sound of bagpipes coming around the corner by the Dairy Land.
Saturday, they set the tone early and were magnificent.
The Lander Valley High School Classes celebrating their 50th, 40th, 30th, etc., class reunions are always fun. It’s great to see a few of yesterday’s kids once more.
Two of the four candidates for the Republican nomination for U.S. House of Representatives were there Saturday. Reid Rasner and Frank Chapman marched the entire route. That’s a credit to them.
Their opponents, Steve Freiss and Little Chucky Gray, didn’t bother, though Gray had a car festooned with campaign signs.
This year’s political parade entries were a disappointment, almost as much as the disappointing choices we face next month in the election booth.
The four candidates running for Wyoming’s lone House seat remind me of days gone by as an early 20-something.
You’ve chased a girl for an entire semester, or maybe two, trying to get her to go out with you. Then, unexpectedly, she calls and says, “How about tonight?”
If you’re like most young bachelors, laundry is one of the last things you consider. As you hastily tell her you’ll pick her up at eight, or whichever time she chooses (who is kidding who?), you scramble through your dirty laundry, searching for your cleanest dirty shirt.
That’s the situation we face in the U.S. House race. None of them are stellar. In the case of Gray and Rasner, they’re laughable.
Freiss emerges as the cleanest “dirty shirt,” but he, too, is no box of chocolates.
As Gray’s entry in the parade rolled by, someone in the crowd shouted, “Go back to California.” The gal driving his car yelled back, “He lives in Wyoming.” Nice try, Chuckie. Like so many other wannabe politicians, they come to Wyoming because their national backers see us as backward, uneducated, and easy to manipulate.
I give the voters of Wyoming a lot more credit than that.
Rasner looked confused with just a hint of uncertainty, or maybe a little paranoia, as he walked Lander’s Main Street. No one said a word, no one cheered, no one booed, no one interacted with Rasner at all.
Maybe it’s those videos of him carrying a rifle like a living Elmer Fudd, or maybe it’s his constant spaghetti approach to campaigning. Rasner throws every far-right talking point against the wall like so much undercooked pasta, hoping desperately that something will stick. Nothing has yet, and he’s spent millions, though I do laugh every time his “China Chuck” video plays as he slams Chuck Gray.
There is no descending into mud-slinging with republican rivals today; they start in the slime and just dig deeper.
Speaking of deeper, how much brighter can MAGA Degenfelder’s lipstick get? She hasn’t been elected yet, and she is already transforming into full ‘Mar-a-Lago Face’ in front of our eyes. She’s been campaigning for a long time, four years to be exact.
She didn’t have time for the children of Wyoming as the Superintendent of Public Instruction with the constant campaigning, but now she claims to be the answer to all problems, especially the bogus ones the far-right dreams up.
I’m not sure the state’s highest public-school official should brag about the endorsement of a man who is mentioned at least 38,000 times in the Epstein Files, but MAGA eats up whatever Trump is dishing out, and it might be enough for her to become governor in this crowded field.
Frank Chapman is portraying himself as a hard-working, rough-and-tumble rancher. Please. He’s a lawyer from Ohio who bought a dude ranch in Jackson Hole.
He pledges to fight the federal government. With the far-right fringe of the GOP controlling the House, the Senate, the Supreme Court, and the White House, does that mean Frank will fight them?
If it were true, he’d have overwhelming support immediately. Sadly, it’s not; it’s just right-wing rhetoric that he thinks will garner him votes.
One thing I’m thankful for is the efforts of Lloyd Larson, Cale Case, and Ivan Posey. Lloyd looked right at home driving a tractor pulling his campaign float. Cale was just at ease on his bicycle, riding the length of Main Street. More power to these fine men.
When it comes to fine men, we should all be thankful for the slate of candidates we have running for Fremont County Sheriff.
The County Sheriff is one of the oldest and most respected offices across the United States. This year, Mike Hutchison, Eric Murphy, and John Zerga are all contenders for sheriff (along with Ross H. Giles). They’re all fine men, and any one of them will do an outstanding job for the people of the county.
We all have friends in law enforcement. There is no consensus on which man is best for the job. Some say John, some Eric, and still others Mike.
Good luck to all three. No matter the winner, we, as the people of Fremont County, will have a winner working for us.
There was an excellent, very informative float last Saturday. The Wyoming Free Dumb Caucus finally reared its ugly head in public.
They made it easy for everyone to see who their candidates are and to make a mental note not to give any of them a single vote.
The Free Dumb folks are backing Brent Bien for governor, Harriet (sell every acre of public land) Hageman for U.S. Senate, and Rachel Rodriguez-Williams for Secretary of State.
Let’s stop at Rachel Rodriguez-Williams for a moment. She legally changed her name to Rachel Williams before the declaration period for public office expired. Why? You can ask her, but don’t expect a straight answer. There is something about a Hispanic surname that doesn’t sit with Free Dumb voters. Who knows why?
She claims it was to make her name easier for voters to remember. OK, then, why not Rachel Rodriguez? That has a nice “R” role to it, and alliterations are always easier to remember.
Scott Smith gets the nod from the modern version of the “Know Nothings” for state treasurer, and Tom Kelly for superintendent of public instruction. That’s another laugh, if the Free Dumb clan had their way, there would be no public schools.
To no one’s surprise, they support Chuckie Gray. The snappy, Corral West shirt and seat moved all the way forward on the Chevy pickup, poster boy for the extreme right. Chuck sent our voting information to the feds without question, something that was refused by dozens of other states. Through his very questionable management of the Secretary of State’s office, observers note that he has exposed Wyoming to financial and future economic loss. But he’ll do better if he gets to Washington.
Sure, he will.
It’s amazing the thoughts that a wonderful Fourth of July parade in beautiful downtown Lander can generate.
Keep these politicians in your sight until August 18.