Young skolars for Rick Perry!

This goes back to a 2010 rally in Houston in which Ted Nugent and Sarah Palin were in town to support Rick Perry. Still, it's priceless.  Houston Press photo.

WY Dems wish WI Dems success in recall

Wyoming Democratic Rep. Jim Byrd sends this message:

We should all go to this FB page and post a comment of support for the WI recall effort. Here is the link and BTW tell them you are from Wyoming in your post.

Go to http://www.facebook.com/permalink.phpstory_fbid=10150332526854134&id=629664133#!/media/set/?set=a.10150252932135669.322025.139173095668&type=1¬if_t=like

Real Dems Are Kicking It in WI: See Ya'll Aug 9th: There Is Nothing So Winning As Winning!

Real Democrats beat Fake Democrats in Wisconsin! Another step along the road to getting rid of the Know Nothings (talking about you, Scott Walker!) who have attempted to ruin The Badger State with their Radical Right (and corporate-funded) agenda. From my pals at Daily Kos: Real Dems Are Kicking It in WI: See Ya'll Aug 9th: There Is Nothing So Winning As Winning! For on-the-ground reports from WI progressive bloggers, go to http://www.bluecheddar.net/ or http://democurmudgeon.blogspot.com/. These bloggers are making a difference in the fate of their state.

What happened to our agent of change, our Obama?

2008 seems so long ago...

The first post on this blog to carry the label "Obama" was on Feb. 6, 2008, "March 8 Dem Caucus Could Carry Clout." Read it at http://hummingbirdminds.blogspot.com/2008/02/march-8-democratic-caucus-could-carry.html.

I was late to the Obama cause. In 2004, I was a Kucinich delegate to the Wyoming State Convention. We lost. In 2008, I still was rooting for antiwar champ Kucinich, but switched over to John Edwards and, as Mike-come-lately, joined the Obama ranks as he started picking up steam in the early primaries.

My wife Chris was none too pleased with this. She was a Hilary Clinton fan from the beginning and she never wavered. We had some words over this. She made her calls for Hilary in one room and I made my calls from Barack Obama in another. She went out to the local community college to hear Hilary speak and I traveled over the mountain to see Obama raise the roof at the UW basketball arena. I was an Obama delegate at the Wyoming State Convention in Jackson and she was a Clinton alternate. Obama carried the day. I blogged from the convention and you can read about it here and here. I was an embedded blogger at the Democratic National Convention in Denver. You can read about it here and here.

I can be naive in my beliefs. All of us can. I have been disappointed in times with Pres. Obama but he is the clear-cut rational choice when compared with the kooks on the other side.

But if he abandons Democratic Party principles now, that's it for me. I will not be in his corner in the 2012 elections if he caves to the Republicans on The Big Three: Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. This is the so-called Social Safety Net that we all count on, Dems and Repubs and Indies and Greens and Tea Party and even the unaffiliated and noncommittal. This will spell the end of an America that makes sense.

Life will go on. I will continue my snarky posts and my ongoing feud with Tea Party Slim. But it won't be the same. The fire will have gone out. I will putter in the garden and write the occasional letter to the editor wondering what happened to our champ, our agent of change, our Obama.

1971: Eighteen-year-olds get the vote; 1972: Nixon wins in landslide

Marching for the vote in 1971

In 1971, the U.S. Congress ratified the 26th amendment, lowering the voting age to 18.

I was five months shy of 21. New amendment or no new amendment, I as going to be eligible to vote for president in 1972. My politics were rapidly shifting from conservative to somewhat liberal. I had lost my ROTC scholarship in January but still had my college deferment at U of South Carolina. This was a good thing since my draft number was 128, low enough to go if I ever was 1-A. So my politics were this: convince Pres. Nixon to get out of Vietnam before I had to go there. Or elect someone else who would get us out.

Self-serving? Of course, that's what politics is about. If it hits home, it's important at election time. It's the economy, stupid. Or, it's the war, stupid, especially if you're draft-bait.

One word about the draft as practiced by U.S. Selective Service: unfair. If you don't believe me, read the exhaustive and sometimes dense book on the subject: "Chance and Circumstance: The Draft, the War an the Vietnam Generation." The authors, Lawrence M. Baskir and William A. Strauss, were members of Pres. Gerald Ford's clemency board. The book was out of print in 1990 when I read it on microfiche for a writing project at CSU. I was lucky to find the cover art (see photo).

In November of 1972, I found myself voting in an historic church on Boston's Beacon Hill. I voted for George McGovern, a U.S. Senator from South Dakota, a World War II combat veteran, and an odd person to be an anti-war firebrand. McGovern lost, the Vietnam War continued until April 1975. More young Americans died and many more Vietnamese. This is one of the roots of my stubborn Democratic Party voting pattern and my antiwar activism.

I am astonished that everyone doesn't vote. I was astonished by this in 1972, although the polls were darn crowded on that cold Boston night -- I was outside waiting in line. But was less impressed when the results came in, with only Massachusetts and D.C. coming in for Sen. McGovern.

Young voters came out big for Obama in 2008 (read Pres. Obama's proclamation celebrating the 26th amendment anniversary here). They disappeared in 2010. What will they do in 2012, with the the future of America hanging in the balance?

It's good to remember an historic event such as the ratification of the 26th amendment. But when it's 100 years old, it may just be an historical oddity.

My Mom was a Democrat even when she voted Republican

I wonder who my mother would vote for in 2012 if she were still alive.

It's Mother's Day today. I've spent 25 of them without my own mother, who died too young at 59.

She worked as a nurse her entire life. She sometimes took time off to have a kid, but then was back to work. She had so many kids (nine), that I wonder if she felt like those mythical women of old, who just delivered their newborns onto the fields and kept on harvesting while breast-feeding the baby and riding herd on the rest of her brood. Jimmy -- put down that rattlesnake! Janie -- keep hoeing those potatoes! 


My mother was made of sturdy stuff. We talked about many things, including politics. But I don't know whom she voted for. I know that she voted. But she kept it to herself. My father did, too, but I knew his politics from our many arguments and/or debates.

It wasn't as clear with my Mom. As both a nurse and a human being, she had deep reservoirs of empathy. Her nine kids turned to her for solace and advice. So did our friends and neighbors. I sometimes wonder if the cancer that killed her so quickly wasn't from a build-up of ingested sorrow.

She had no tolerance for cruelty. Some teasing was inevitable in a large household. But Mom drew the line when teasing wandered over the line into cruelty. She didn't like it in her home or out in the world. She devoted her life to the alleviation of suffering. She suffered along the way, but rarely spoke about her own travails.

No political party has a corner on kindness or cruelty. They are public beasts, focused on accumulating power. They nurture and encourage some, steamroll others.

But the current crop of Republicans possess a rare brand of self-centered cruelty. They seem to have no qualms about enriching the rich and engendering their selfish needs. They also go out of their way to target the powerless, the elderly, women, and "The Other," which includes people of color and non-Christians.

We now know the details of Republican priorities laid out in the Paul Ryan budget passed by the U.S. House. Permanent tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans and even further tax cuts down the road. Cuts to Medicaid, which serve the least among us. Privatizing Medicare for the retired. The end of Social Security. If Mom were alive, she would have turned 85 yesterday. Happy birthday, Mom! She would be receiving Social Security and using Medicare for the inevitable ailments of old age.

In Republican-majority states, we see attacks on unionized public sector workers. This is done in the name of "fiscal responsibility" but really is a war against working people. People like me. People like my mother. Many of these same people are Republicans who've been manipulated into siding with Repubs on social issues. Meanwhile, their taxes pay subsidies to businesses so send their jobs overseas.    

Empathy is a dirty word to these people. We've heard that over and over again from the talking heads at Fox, and from Tea Party types.

Empathy was not a dirty word to my mother. She lived her life by it.

Who would she vote for in 2012?

It's easier to list who she would not vote for. They all have an "R" after their names.

Wyoming Democrats move 2012 county conventions to April 14

News from Bill Luckett, executive director of the Wyoming Democratic Party:

The Wyoming Democratic Party State Central Committee convened today Casper College in the Sharon Nichols Auditorium, to elect state officers finalize the delegate selection plan for 2012 state and national conventions.
 
Central Committee members elected, by acclamation, the following leadership for a two-year term and to lead the party through the 2012 election cycle:
        Chuck Herz of Moose as State Chair
        Jodi Guerin of Laramie as Vice Chair
        Sherry Shelley of Riverton as Secretary
        Leslie Petersen of Wilson as Treasurer  
 
The Central Committee amended the 2012 Delegate Selection Plan to hold County Conventions on April 14, 2012, in every county seat across the state. The selection of this specific date will make Wyoming eligible to earn two bonuses in the size of its delegation: one by virtue of waiting until April to hold its “first-step” events in the presidential selection process, and the other for holding its events on the same date as neighboring states. The Nebraska Democratic Party is currently planning to hold its event on April 14, and the Democratic parties of Kansas and Idaho are also considering whether to schedule their events on the same date, pending votes by their respective state committees.

After approving the amendments, the Wyoming Democratic State Central Committee today voted to formally adopt and submit the plan to the DNC's Rules and Bylaws Committee for approval.  Under the plan Wyoming will elect 19 delegates and 2 alternates to the 2012 Democratic National Convention. In addition, the state should be eligible for four bonus delegates, pending the formal approval of the plan by the DNC.
 
The Wyoming Democratic Party Central Committee is composed of the Chairs, Vice Chairs, State Committeemen, and Committeewomen from each county, State Chair and Vice Chair, State Secretary and Treasurer, National Committeeman and Committeewoman, Legislative Representatives selected by the House Caucus and Senate Caucus, and the Young Democrats Chair, Vice Chair, State Committeeman, and State Committeewoman.  

Laramie County Democrats meet March 28 to elect officers w/update

The next meeting of the Laramie County Democratic Party will be next Monday, March 28, at 7 p.m. at the IBEW Union Hall in Cheyenne. Items on the agenda include election of new officers and an update from local Democratic legislators who weathered the bizarre 2011 session of the Wyoming Legislature.

To vote in officer elections, you must be a precinct committeeman or woman. How does that happen? You have to sign up. How do you do that? Not sure, but will find out and let you know.

Meanwhile, get info at Laramie County Democrats.

UPDATE: In a comment to this post, Ken McCauley point outs the ease of voting in Monday's officer elections at the meeting of the Laramie County Democrats. Check it out.

Wyoming Democrats planning county caucuses and state convention for 2012

Seems like just yesterday when we were planning for Denver...

From the Wyoming county caucuses on April 7, 2012, to the Democratic State Convention in Laramie on May 26, 2012, to the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., from Sept. 3-7, 2012, it's a full year for progressives in Wyoming.

Get info here for the state and national conventions

This page will tell you everything you need to know to participate in the 2012 state or national conventions, including the current draft of Wyoming's 2012 Delegate Selection Plan (available March 21), the document that will guide our process for selecting delegates to the Democratic National Convention. It also includes information for presidential candidates.

Get involved and learn more

Tea Party Slim limits vacations to red states

Tea Party Slim was packing his RV. I stopped to chat.

“I thought you’d be headed south before now,” I said.

Slim smiled. “There was a Wyoming election to win in November, and then with Christmas and all… Well, we got a late start.”

“Headed to Arizona again?”

Slim smiled. “Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and maybe a few of the southern states.”

“They’ve been having some troubles down in Arizona.”

“In Tucson,” Slim said, “but we never go to Tucson. Mesa and Phoenix, mostly. We have friends in Lake Havasu City.” Slim paused as he hauled bags into the RV. “We like the red parts of the red states.”

“Tucson too blue, I suppose,” I said. “But it was pretty red a few weeks ago.”

Slim looked at me. “Now don’t go blaming the actions of a lone nut on any of us.”

“Any of whom?”

“Conservatives. Republicans.”

“Tea Party members?”

“You liberals like to blame us, don’t you? Hate speech is what it is, hatred toward white Christian conservatives. I see it every day. But are we a protected minority? ” He looked thoughtful as he plucked boxes and bags from the sidewalk and hauled them into the RV.

“New Mexico is a blue state, at least it was in the 2008 election. Went for Obama.”

He stopped and stared. “They have a new Republican governor. And the majority of the Congressional delegation is Republican.”

“Look at your map, Slim. New Mexico is blue. How are you going to get from Arizona to Texas without going through New Mexico.”

Slim looked thoughtful.  “We’ll loop up through Colorado.”

“Colorado’s blue.”

Slim again looked thoughtful.  I hoped this wasn’t becoming a habit.

“You could always take a shortcut through Mexico.”

“And get my head cut off by drug gangs? No thanks. We’ll just take the long way around. We have plenty of time, and plenty of money for gas. We’ll burn lots and lots of carbon products.” He grinned. “Hundreds of gallons, maybe thousands. Greenhouse gases by the tons.”

He was trying to get my goat. But I wasn’t going to fall for it.

“Hope you’re not going to Florida.”

“Blue state?”

I nodded.

“Even with its new Tea Party governor who wants to get rid of all those free-loading state employees?”

“There are so many Democrats in the southern part of the state," I said. "Retired Yankees, and lots of swarthy immigrants from the Caribbean and South America.”

“There’s always Alabama.”

“Too humid. Even in the winter."

Slim disappeared into the RV. He came back with a map of the western U.S. He unfolded it against the side of the RV. We both stared at it.

"You have to go through Utah to get to Arizona," I said. "Utah's reliably red."

Slim nodded. "Good solid conservatives in Utah."

"But you see the problem about getting to Texas from Arizona." I pointed to the big blue block that's New Mexico. "Lots of Hispanics. They were there first."

"You're forgetting about the Native Americans?"

"Don't get all politically correct on me now, Slim."

"But they were there first. Not the Mexicans. Besides, we like the casinos."

"You'll have to skip all those New Mexico casinos, Slim. The winnings all go to Democrats."

Slim stared. "The hell you say."

"It's the truth. Most Indians -- Native Americans -- vote for Democrats."

"I'll just go to Vegas."

"Nevada went blue in 2008."

Slim folded his map. "Time to get moving," he said.

"Enjoy your trip," I said. "If you change your mind about Arizona, I hear northern Idaho is very nice this time of year. And red? It's almost as red as Wyoming."

Blizzards can be hazardous for mayors

A blizzard sweeps through southeastern Wyoming. Not much snow but lots of wind and cold. A piker compared to other big snowstorms from my 32 years on the High Plains.

Blizzards arrive at inopportune times. New York City is having a tough time cleaning up after the recent Christmas blizzard of 2010. Mayor Bloomberg has been apologizing for the city’s response. No announcement yet on his resignation, or that of his public works department. The New Jersey governor has been vacationing at Disney World for the past week. He's keeping in touch by phone, said a spokesman. Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell railed about "wusses" or "wussies" who couldn't make it to a snowy stadium Sunday for the Philadelphia Eagles and Minnesota Vikings match-up. The game was postponed until Tuesday.

I recall the 1982 Christmas Eve blizzard in Denver. Two-plus feet of snow in 24 hours. I was a freelancer working from home back then. Chris was at work. She rode the bus downtown that snowy Christmas Eve morning. Her bank was open, as were many other businesses. By noon, most were closing so their employees had a chance to get home. Chris caught a bus which got stuck in a drift after traveling a few blocks. Luckily, a coworker happened by and gave her a ride. It took them about an hour to drive the two miles to our apartment. We spent most of the evening watching local TV reports about "The Blizzard of the Century."

Christmas Day, I rose early and helped people shovel out of their houses and apartments. My wife slept in. No point – getting anywhere was impossible. My car was snowbound for a week. City plows attempted to clear one lane in each direction on the main streets. Side streets were left to the tried-and-true solar melting method.

We lived between City Park and Colfax Ave. I needed to turn in an article downtown. No e-mails or faxes. So I went to Colfax to catch a bus. A mountain of snow clogged the street’s center line and traffic was backed up going and coming. I started to walk. Each time the No. 15 bus caught up with me, I contemplated jumping on. But I kept moving and the bus did not. I delivered my story and got home by dark. The streets were still clogged. Buses still crawled Colfax.

I finally dug out my car in time for a New Year's Eve party at my sister Eileen's apartment. Main streets were clear but side streets had snow ruts as deep as the historic wagon ruts on the Oregon Trail. I made it to the party (Chris was sick) and we all had wonderful blizzard tales to tell over mass quantities of beer.

Denver Mayor Bill McNichols did lose the next election in May 1983 because of his inept handling of the blizzard. This also happened once in Chicago, if I remember correctly. Maybe it’s happened elsewhere. Epic snowstorms provide headaches for politicians but many useful and entertaining stories for the rest of us.

Election Day 2010 Cheyenne

Mike and Mike in the morning -- electioneering for House District 8 candidate Ken McCauley. Lots of waves, honks and thumps-ups at the corner of Dell Range and Yellowstone. Hot chocolate helped too.

Join David Wendt and his "Lummis Left Us Behind Tour"

Last-minute pitch from Democrat David Wendt for Wyoming's lone Congressional seat:

Candidate for Congress David Wendt concluded his “Lummis Left Us Behind Tour” on Sunday in Green River. Wendt addressed a number of issues on the tour, including Lummis’ record of voting against student loan reform, against the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and of failing to fully support our Veterans.
In Green River, Wendt spoke on those issues, and called special attention to the Wyoming Range. Lummis voted “NO” on a bill that protects the Wyoming Range from oil and gas drilling.

Here are his prepared remarks:

“Hello, thank you all for joining me today. I have had the great honor, over the past seven months, of traveling the state of Wyoming as a candidate for the United States House of Representatives. I am currently on the last leg of my final campaign road trip and I am very excited to bring the ‘Lummis Left Us Behind Tour’ to Sweetwater County. It’s always a pleasure to visit with the hard-working people here in this wonderful part of the state.

“I believed, when I began this campaign, that it was my duty to step up and run. I believed then and believe now that Wyoming does not have the representation that it deserves. Too many have been left behind by my opponent, Rep. Cynthia Lummis.

"In Laramie, I spoke with students left behind when my opponent sided with Wall Street on a bill on student loan reform. I met with veterans in Cheyenne and spoke about small businesses in Casper and discussed the fact that my opponent, in her first vote in Congress, opposed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which provides protection to women, who too often do not receive the same pay as their male colleagues when they perform the same job.

“But it isn’t simply this group or that group that has been left behind. Wyoming has been left behind. There is no better example than the Wyoming Range – just a short distance from where we stand right now. Opening the beautiful Wyoming Range to oil and gas drilling is absolutely wrong – and it’s not a partisan issue.

“Protecting the Wyoming Range was a signature issue of the late Republican Senator Craig Thomas. It is an issue that has won support from Senators Barrasso and Enzi. This is an issue that the citizens of Wyoming, from all political beliefs, can unite around. My opponent chose another route.

"It is time that we take some Wyoming values to Washington. We can solve the difficult issues facing this country, but we need to restore civility and a sense that we’re in this together. That’s the Wyoming way and I intend to bring Wyoming’s citizen-legislator style of governance with me to Washington. My opponent and her Tea Party colleagues are committed to a politics of division. That approach is wrong and fails to uphold our great Wyoming traditions.

"Because here in Wyoming, we roll up our sleeves, work together and solve problems. We believe that people should get a fair chance, that students should have opportunities to pursue world-class educations, that we must support our small businesses instead of special interests. We believe that women have a right to equal pay for equal work and that we must support our nation’s Veterans. We cherish our great land and believe we must maintain it for future generations.

"Wyoming has been left behind by Cynthia Lummis, but if voters elect me, I’ll go to Congress and take Wyoming with me.”

Wendt’s “Lummis Left Us Behind Tour” made stops in Laramie, Cheyenne, Casper and Green River.

David Wendt, a Democrat, has more than 30 years of bipartisan public policy experience working with Democrats, Republicans and Independents on issues of international security.

For more information on David Wendt, please visit http://www.wendtforwyoming.com/ or call the campaign headquarters at 307-734-3913.

You can still volunteer for Wyoming Democrats

From Linda Stowers, Laranmie County Democrats:

We still have much todo tomorrow, Monday and Tuesday. We are asking for volunteers to do some phone calls tomorrow and Monday. If you can make any calls for the Get out the Vote campaign, please stop by the headquarters at 408 W. 23rd St. in Cheyenne tomorrow (Monday) between 12-2:30 p.m. I will be at the office to give you some calls. These will be Democrat calls to remind people to vote.

In addition, if you don't have anything to do on Monday we are going to do some walking for Mike Massie. Please come to the headquarters office anytime you have free on Monday to receive some walking areas. Thanks for your help.

You can't stomp on 75,000 fired-up Democrats

Slightly-doctored photo of me at the 2008 Democratic National Convention wrap-up at Mile High Stadium/Invesco Field in Denver. We were unstompable on this night. And so we shall remain. Go to http://www.moveon.org/ to add your "Don't Stomp on Me (Us)" photo to the mix. And while you're at it -- VOTE!

Right-Wingers Using Public Employees as 21st-Century Welfare Queens

From Alternet on those damn gubment employees welfare queens: Right-Wingers Using Public Employees as 21st-Century Welfare Queens

Democrats plan phone bank for Oct. 25

Dem press release:

The Laramie County Democrats regular monthly meeting scheduled for Monday, October 25, will not be held. Instead of the meeting we would request members walk for their preferred candidate or join us at the headquarters at 408 W. 23rd Street in Cheyenne to phone bank.

We will conduct a phone bank Monday-Thursday from 6-8 October 25th through October 28th and again on November 1st. The phone banking will be to Get Out The Vote.

Thank you in advance for your support in this mid-term election. Vote Democrat!!

Linda Stowers, chair of Laramie County Democrats