Nate Champion is squirming in his grave right now, his trigger finger twitching. Another gang of outsiders is invading Wyoming to take her over.
Y’all remember the story of the Johnson County War. The powers-that-be in our young state hired a band of out-of-state mercenaries to invade Wyoming and eliminate threats to their control of the Cowboy State.
There’s a sacred statue in front of the Johnson County courthouse of Nate Champion, who single-handedly held off the invaders at the cost of his own life.
That conflict was a defining moment in our shared history. It helped mold us into who we are as citizens today – a bunch of contrary, independent cowgirls and cowboys who refuse to be pushed around by outsiders.
Fast forward to today, when the Wyoming Freedom Caucus is importing out-of-state mercenaries to come to Wyoming to run for political office. Some of ‘em are even from effing Colorado, and wear CSU hoodies!
The rawhide tough skin of the Big Empty has always cringed when foreign hands have tried to impose their will on us. Today should be no different.
These Freedom Caucus imports all claim that they are coming to Wyoming to make this a better place. That they want to help us. But, think about that.
If they are coming here to make things better, then why weren’t they able to make things better in the places they came from? Did they lack the balls to stand up for their beliefs? Were they thwarted because they didn’t have enough guns?
Why put up with our wind and cold and isolation just so they can throw their weight around? Weren’t they strong enough to do that at home?
And, if they were that weak there, then why the hell would we want them here?
Ed Abbey once said, in reference to refugees storming across the U.S. border because life sucked in their own countries that our policy should be to meet each immigrant at the border, give them a machine gun and a weeks worth of food and tell them to go back home and start their own goddam revolution.
That should be Wyoming’s response to those who come here because the Cowboy State is “the last best place.” Instead of handing them the reins to power here, we should tell them to go back home and change things in their own back yard. Enough’s enough.
Wyoming has always been pretty tough on folks who can’t carry their own weight, no matter where they were born.
My message to the Wyoming Freedom Caucus is, if you can’t find good homegrown candidates and you need to import out-of-state ringers to run for the offices you covet, Wyoming sees you. Weakness like that is hard to hide.
And my message to my friends and neighbors who call this unforgiving place home is this: We’re fixin’ to get invaded again, and we’d all better saddle up. Just like those hired Texas gunmen in “92 (1892. I mean) the bigwigs in the Freedom Caucus are bringing in strangers to put us in our place.
I’m pissed, and I hope you are too.
And my message to Nate Champion is, “Rest easy, Pard. We’ll take care o’ this one.”
Rod Miller can be reached at: rodsmillerwyo@yahoo.com
