Dear editor:
Last week, Sen. Cynthia Lummis announced she is not seeking re-election. In the space of a heartbeat, President Trump's hand-picked foil to one of his enemies, Rep. Liz Cheney, declares she is seeking Sen. Lummis's seat.
Wyoming should pause and reflect for accepting this would-be coronation.
Rep. Harriet Hageman should be required to earn our votes. And she should earn our votes by telling us what she wants to do with all that power she seeks.
In the past 18 months, Rep. Hageman has been a staunch defender of the GOP's public-land disposal scheme.
She has repeatedly supported the Utah-based notion that the people must sell off their public lands to the highest bidder. That the Constitution requires us to divest from our communal crown jewels.
Be wary of the upcoming flip-flop or silence on public lands from candidate Hageman. Her position is anti-Wyoming. And anti-common person.
Her position only advances a giveaway agenda to the already-haves. Wyoming should be very skeptical of the idea that a future Sen. Hageman will protect our public-lands heritage and legacy for generations to come.
The giveaway will come dressed in words like "affordable housing" and "equal footing."
It will be heralded by percentages and fear-inspiring images of distant DC bureaucrats controlling our oil-and-gas-and-coal-centric economy.
But we should all ask: who are the distant DC-based bureaucrats these days? Is not Rep. Hageman among them?
Next, Wyoming should be wary of the company Rep. Hageman keeps.
The first endorsers out of the gate are the powers that be. Not the people. Not hunters. Not sportsmen. Not your local bartender or barber. Not your local police officers. Not the firefighters. Not the teachers. Not the garbage collectors. No.
The people celebrating this putative king-making exercise are . . . other elected officials. Including our chief elections officer. What good are elections if they are preordained by the powerful?
So, for the next 10 1/2 months, be careful who you vote for Wyoming.
Demand answers to tough questions of candidate Hageman and all the other powerful people seeking more power.
Don't take deflection, silence, or the changing of horses without a fight. Hold power to account.
Don't vote for any candidate who does not commit to protecting and preserving our public lands. Remember that some things are not for sale.
And, as always, vote like it matters. Because it does.
Sincerely,
Ryan Semerad, Casper
