THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume XIII, Issue # 33, February 2, 2011
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
WYOMING RINO REPUBLICANS UNDERMINE
CONSERVATIVE MOMENTUM
By Christopher G. Adamo
CONSERVATIVES, LIBERALS, & "MODERATE" REPUBLICANS: RINO REPUBLICANS CONSPIRE WITH LIBERAL
DEMOCRATS TO DILUTE & NEGATE THE IMPACT OF 2010 CONSERVATIVE ELECTION VICTORIES ON U.S. NATIONAL PUBLIC
POLICY -- "POLITICS AS USUAL" MEMBERS OF BOTH MAJOR POLITICAL PARTIES MANEUVERING TO BLUNT THE
CONSERVATIVE MESSAGE OF AMERICAN VOTERS IN THE ELECTIONS OF 2010 -- WHAT CONSERVATIVES MUST DO:
LOUDLY RISE UP & VOICE THEIR CONCERNS, DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY FROM THOSE HOLDING PUBLIC OFFICE, & EXACT
A POLITICAL PRICE FROM OFFICEHOLDERS WHO WOULD REMAIN INDIFFERENT TO CONSERVATIVE CONCERNS
FULL STORY:
The year 2010 will likely be remembered in the coming decades as the year when Americans turned back from the brink
and reasserted their devotion to the traditional values and principles that have produced the most powerful, most
prosperous, and, until recently, the freest nation on earth. The elections of last November were a thunderous refutation
of the arrogant Liberal elitists in Washington and an irrefutable declaration from the people of the heartland that they
are not ready to relinquish their national inheritance to the counterculture and the political Left.
Earlier last year, several stunning primary upsets, epitomized by the ouster of U.S. Senator Bob Bennett, a Utah Republican
“moderate,” set the stage for the Conservative ascendancy that is beginning to register shockwaves among the
“business as usual” members of both major political parties. Unfortunately, in the midst of such triumph, a disturbing
confluence of circumstances in Wyoming curtailed the possibility that the waves of national restoration might be
likewise enjoyed in the Cowboy State.
Benefiting from a four-way Republican gubernatorial primary race that was fairly evenly split, candidate Matt Mead was
able to garner significant support from Democratic Party Liberal crossover voters who took advantage of a major
deficiency in Wyoming election law, which allowed them to change party affiliation on Election Day. Reports of entire
state offices in Cheyenne, the capital, engaging in such behavior were rampant, as well as exasperated statements from
election judges who had to contend with the massive volume of resulting paperwork, while being forced to watch
helplessly as the electoral process was hideously perverted.
As a result, Mead won the split primary, with barely twenty seven percent of the vote, and went on to claim Wyoming’s
governorship on November 2. And, despite offering the standard Conservative and traditional GOP platitudes to which
Republican “moderates” typically resort in the closing days of the election cycle, in barely three months since his win
he has in many ways already validated the worst fears of his Conservative critics.
It is virtually impossible to refute the evidence that his predecessor, Democratic Governor Dave Freudenthal, was
instrumental in securing Mead’s election. Freudenthal, a skilled political operative, has mastered the art of speaking on
the Right while governing to the Left. On more than one occasion, he has loudly criticized the Liberal excesses of his
own party, even refusing to attend the 2004 Democratic National Convention, in which Massachusetts U.S. Senator John
Kerry was nominated to run against then President George W. Bush.
Yet, Freudenthal’s charade was not entirely airtight. Clearly, it was a safe bet that the hapless Kerry was no major threat
to the incumbent Bush. In those predictable circumstances, Freudenthal had little to lose by failing to sufficiently
sanction his party’s candidate. In 2008, however, he recognized the energy of Barack Obama’s drive for the White
House, and was quick to get on that bandwagon, thoroughly dispelling any doubts as to his true Liberal loyalties.
So, Wyoming voters had ample evidence to alert them of what mischief was afoot when Freudenthal refused to promote
Democratic Gubernatorial candidate Leslie Peterson, thus backing Mead by default. The legacy of the Wyoming political
“insiders” club would necessitate that Freudenthal’s Liberalism and government-bloating ambitions be maintained. And
Mead was just the man to do it.
True to form, among Mead’s first acts as Governor-elect was to appoint Democrat Greg Phillips, a former two-term State
Senator, as Wyoming Attorney General, a move which did not portend well for those who hoped to join the
anti-Obamacare lawsuits sweeping the nation. Yet more was shortly to come.
From the early days of the 2011 Wyoming State Legislature, Mead began sending signals that the “Conservatism” of his
campaign was merely cosmetic and soon to be jettisoned. Now secure in the Governor’s office, he is clearly angling
towards the “middle,” by waffling and backtracking from Conservative positions which he felt compelled to take in front
of the cameras in 2010.
It is hardly imaginable that a true Republican would have any problem denouncing Obamacare, either from a political or a
moral standpoint. Yet Mead was a definite latecomer to the notion that Wyoming ought to resist the imposition of
medical socialism. His belated participation in the effort was half-hearted at best.
Likewise, in regards to grassroots efforts to protect the institution of traditional marriage, his duplicity has rivaled
anything from those double-speaking Beltway insiders. This year’s legislative session has witnessed a bold grassroots
effort to institute a constitutional amendment that would preserve the time-honored definition of marriage in Wyoming as
it has been upheld in virtually every other state. Facing the prospect of having to sign or veto the measure, Mead is now
desperately looking for “wiggle room.”
In a January 28 news conference, he asserted a personal belief that marriage should be between one man and one woman.
This he immediately followed with an admonition to be “very careful and pragmatic about how we approach this,”
followed by a caveat suggesting that neglecting to sufficiently straddle the fence might somehow “limit access to our
court system,” presumably by same-sex “couples.”
Across the nation, 2010 proved to be the year in which principled and unapologetic devotion to the American ideal swept
the political landscape. And, among the citizens of Wyoming, this was no less the case. Yet, it is clear that, just as
Heartland America must confront the “ruling class” inside the Beltway, Wyomingites will need to project their concerns
and convictions forward and upward into their state’s political system. Truly courageous and Conservative officeholders
will need vigorous grassroots support, while imposters must be shown the door.
Unless the citizens of Wyoming loudly rise up and voice their concerns, demand accountability from those in office and
exact a political price from any who would remain indifferent to them, they will see all of their sweat and toil of the last
two years diluted and eventually neutralized.
LINKS TO RELATED TOPICS:
American Politics, Political Competition, & the Control of
Public Policy: Elections, Political Parties, Political Factions,
Ideologies, Special Interest Groups, & Political Corruption
The American Political System:
Politics & Government in the U.S.A.
The American Political & Cultural Left:
Liberals, Statists, Socialists, Marxists, & Other Leftists:
The Democratic Party, Academia, & the Mainstream Media
Liberalism Versus Conservatism in American Politics
-------------------------
POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY & POLITICAL IDEOLOGIES:
COMPETING SYSTEMS OF POLITICAL THOUGHT
Conservatism
Traditional Conservatism: Questions & Answers
Conservatism: Attitudes, Types, & Present Status
Constitutional Conservatism: American & British
Liberalism
Classical Liberalism: Intellectual Foundations
Classical Liberalism: Conservative Liberalism
Manchester Liberalism & Social Darwinism
Modern Social "Liberalism": Statist "Liberalism"
Radical & Totalitarian Ideologies
Radicalism, Utopianism, & Totalitarianism
Christopher G. Adamo is a resident of southeastern Wyoming. He has been involved in politics at the local and state
level for many years, and is a contributing columnist at the new print publication Liberty Ink Journal. His contact
information and article archives can be found at www.chrisadamo.com
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THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
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Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
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