There are many Republicans who are really Democrats, pundit Dan Bongino tells us.
But no Democrats who are really Republicans.
Funny how that works.
More and more, you can't tell who these players are, even if you have a score card. You might think you're voting for a staunch Republican, but that rascal is really a Democrat in sheep's clothing, a Democrat in Disguise.
Bongino – a former New York cop, Secret Service agent who protected two presidents, and now a popular radio and podcast host – was talking about Washington politics. But you can sure see evidence of it here in Wyoming, where a guy running for the legislature in Laramie County as a Republican was a Democrat as recently as February.
Another guy running as a Republican in Laramie County served in the legislature 10 years ago as a Democrat. There are similar instances around the state, as candidates have apparently come to the conclusion that in the state that voted almost 70 percent for Donald Trump in 2020, running for office as a Democrat is the kiss of death.
With only seven actual Democrats in the legislature currently, we have a wave of Born Again Republicans, who claim to have seen the light, experiencing a miraculous political party epiphany.
Well, I'm not buying it.
We call these new Republicans who are really Democrats RINOS - Republicans in name only. But according to the book “The Search for Ronald Reagan” by Craig Shirley, they probably should be called Rockefeller Republicans, after liberal Republican Vice President Nelson Rockefeller. Hugely rich, Rockefeller was a prominent liberal Republican from New York.
And the conservative folks we call the Freedom Caucus could be called the Goldwater Republicans of old, after dyed-in-the-wool conservative Sen. Barry Goldwater.
The tug of war between these Rockefeller and Goldwater Republicans is as current as today's headlines, as Goldwater Republican Secretary of State Chuck Gray – in answer to a question posed at a political gathering – said he would not certify a re-election candidacy for Rockefeller Republican Gov. Mark Gordon if he chooses to run for a third term.
In 1992, Wyoming voters passed term limits, but they were declared unconstitutional for legislators and those running for the top state government positions. Except, that is, for governor, which was not addressed in the ruling. So Gray maintains that term limits remain in effect for governors, even though previous court action indicates they would be promptly overturned.
Gray and Gordon have an increasingly testy relationship.
Once again, however, we see an instance in which the voters of Wyoming stated pretty clearly that term limits are a good idea, only to be rejected in the courts. So the folks who maintain that you should be able to vote for incumbent Senator Methuselah as many times as they want, at the same time have no problem blowing off the will of the voters on term limits.
We seem to have a state government that does its best to restrain the basic instincts of its voters, who have thoughts of their own when it comes to abortion, gun-free zones, surgery on youngsters to change their gender, what books should be in school libraries, nutty Diversity-Equity-Inclusion policies at the University of Wyoming, and even something as basic as boys playing girls' sports. (You'll recall that the governor called a bill prohibiting boys playing girls' sports “Draconian,” but he allowed it to become law without his signature.)
A third term as governor for Gordon sounds kind of Draconian, if you ask me.
Meanwhile, Chuck Gray catches a lot of criticism in the media. He even gets criticized for being short.
You have to wonder, however, if this is just another instance of the in crowd that thinks it knows best what's good for the rest of us, trying to rein in the basic instincts of the voters – the many Goldwater Republicans who elected Chuck Gray in the first place.
We'll know a lot more about how this all plays out after the primary election next month. (Be sure to check out the voting records of incumbents, and the stances of newcomers, before you hand them your precious vote.)
Stay tuned, fellow Goldwater Republicans.
Dave Simpson can be reached at: DaveSimpson145@hotmail.com
