Wyoming Vote Tracker

On Saturday, March 15, I made up one-fourth of a group of Park County Republicans that “crashed” the Big Horn County GOP Lincoln Day Dinner in Lovell, Wyoming. The event was not as large or elegant as the dinner held in Cody a month prior, but it was still nice to get to socialize with some Republicans from the rival county. Following is a recollection of what happened.

I have to admit, I don’t recall Lovell ever being a destination for me. I’ve traveled through it, but I can’t recall traveling to it, so this was a new experience altogether.

When we walked in the door, I was not surprised to see my fan there. That’s right, I totally expected it. Now, I have to admit that I had some hopes of someone being there from Emblem that would admit to being one of my faithful readers, maybe even one willing to host a wedding ceremony September of next year for myself and an as of yet unknown bride (sorry, Platte County; Aug. 8 seems to be too rapidly approaching), but I had no such luck. However, the best thing about seeing my latest known fan, was not only the fact that she recognized me (I was in more of a Western formal attire than the last time we met, so I wondered…), but also that I had doubtlessly recognized her, too (unlike our first time meeting in Cody). I also got to meet a new member of the Lummis campaign, Ryan Ford. He seems to be a nice man that will no doubt serve the campaign well.

I have to stop and brag on my fan for a moment. She is so kind. When you’re a fan of  someone/thing, you tend to talk about who or what you’re a fan of. Case in point: I would be merely observing a conversation, maybe insert a couple of cents here or there, but for the most part, I was learning what Big Horn County Republicans were like and such. But, if someone inquired who I was (i.e. my name), if she, my fan, was there, she would let them know “He’s a blogger” and how I was (unknowingly) communicating to her about Wyoming politics.

I also found out this fan has been lurking for some time, as she was reading my thoughts when she was back in New York (without me knowing) all because I was in Wyoming talking about Wyoming politics. As I sit here and type this, the thought just struck me that, until recently, there were two Wyomingites in New York following my bloging. Now how cool is that? And that concludes this Fan In The Spotlight moment.

As I was saying, I mingled about for a while, keeping an eye on the entry for people that might not recognize me, but that I would. I had a certain anticipation for the arrival of Pete Simpson. I’ve only heard him quote Charles Dickens as Ebeneezer Scrooge, and I figured by his last name, he must be fairly conservative. The fact that he was the keynote speaker at this event seemed to underscore my supposition, seeing as the chairman of the Big Horn County GOP is pretty conservative in his own right.

When Mr. Simpson did arrive, I was amazed at the difference between seeing him as Scrooge and seeing him as himself. The “reformed Scrooge” at the end of the classic Dickens Christmas tale was much more of a natural role for him; lively, upbeat, friendly, and outgoing. When I got talk with him a little, I knew that his speech was to be one that I would enjoy.

State Representatives Quarberg and Harvey were both present, as well as former State Representative Becket Hinkley, a speculated candidate for U.S. House. Republican House candidates and campaigns that were present were Bill Winney (for himself), State Rep. Dan Zwonitzer (for himself), Jennie Gordon and Bill Novotny (for Mark Gordon), and Annaliese Wiederspahn and Ryan Ford (for Cynthia Lummis).

The dinner didn’t start right on time, probably because they were waiting for the M.C., Secretary of State Max Maxfield, to arrive. At any rate, the dinner did start, M.C. or no M.C. A buffet style dinner of salad, veggies, and choice of roast beef, ham, or both, was served, and there was also a number of assorted brownies and cookies for dessert. For this Baptist blogger, with the exception of the veggies, it was wonderful!

The meal was delicious, and the M.C. did arrive, just in time to make some comments and introduce the keynote speaker. Just prior to this, I was looking over the program and saw that State Auditor Rita Meyer was supposed to be there. I then looked to my left, and who should I see sitting, what was at that time, next to me, Rita Meyer! It was a  delight to meet her. I’ve now met three of the five elected State officials, and two of those meetings have been very pleasant experiences. You can read about the one that wasn’t so pleasant here.

Pete Simpson delivered an excellent speech on a project he had his students do. Their task was to take problem areas and propose solutions. He found it amazing that the solutions they offered were rooted in and reflected Republicainsm. It was a truly excellent speech and report.

State Auditor Rita Meyer addressed the crowd next. She didn’t endorse any one candidate, but she did say she’ll be watching for the candidates to identify themselves as Republicans.

Each of the candidates/campaigns was permitted time to speak. Again, it’s tough to judge a candidate on a few minutes of solo stage time. The little you learn from it without an exchange of ideas amongst the candidates together sharing the stage leaves you with the impression that any one of them could do well. Probably the two that stuck out the most to me were Bill Winney tackling the concept of hope as a Republican ideal and Annaliese, on her mother’s behalf, talking about the experiences as State Treasurer and now going to countries to teach them about how to have a secure financial investment. It should also be noted that Cynthia Lummis’ letter mentioned the concept of hope, and not in the Barack Obama style either.

The event was a wonderful experience. I was pleased to be there. You can view pictures of the event on Flickr (and I even got some pictures up from last month’s dinner in Cody too).

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