Doug Camblin

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By Doug Camblin, guest columnist

I Pledge Allegiance, do we really? This is a question we all need to ask ourselves.

Recently our Governor, Mark Gordon took action to continue the State of Emergency he declared at the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, this is one of the requirements to receive Federal dollars.

The comments on social media have reflected a variety of views, some positive a lot negative, not unusual on social media.

What comes to my attention is this misconception of the role our Federal Government plays in our State Government.

There are many it seems that have the opinion we are not just a state but a standalone autonomous government with the constitutional right to control our every move. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The truth is our Federal and State Constitutions are intricately interwoven together. These are documents that tie us together in the strongest contracts that can be written.

I am sure the authors of both not only agonized over but debated on every word and phrasing in these documents. Words matter.

There is a reason for each and every one. The Great State of Wyoming and the United States of America are forever in a Partnership. We are bound together by our Constitutions.

 Across the broad spectrum of thought and political philosophy there are some that promote outlandish conspiracies. 

I will take this opportunity to digress to a personal soap box. Some of these conspiracies in my opinion cross the line of freedom of speech by crying Fire in a crowded theater.

One is that we as a State can succeed from the Union, an idea that the Chairman of the State Republican Party was giving ear to, another is that our former President will be reinstated in August by a Supreme Court decision after Mr. Pillow presents his irrefutable hearsay evidence.

What this type of talk is really promoting is a hostile takeover of our Government, they are promoting a Coup, that would result in a very short-lived Civil War. This idea is not Patriotic nor is it American, it is Anarchy trying to hide behind a Patriotic mask.

There are fringe political organizations promoting these extreme fairy tales as the truth with their followers believing these fabrications.

They begin their meetings with an invocation to the God of All creation to bless their meetings then follow by reciting The Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America. I agree with both actions to open meetings.

I do listen very closely to the invocations where ever they are given to see if I agree with what is being asked of God to bless, is it something I can say Amen to, being translated to Let it Be, or just remain silent and not endorse.

I do not take this action lightly as I am giving my stamp of approval on what is being asked of God. I also take the Pledge very seriously. I have been Pledging my Allegiance to our Flag and Nation since I was in 1st grade at Cactus School in Campbell County, Wyoming, a one room schoolhouse with grades 1 thru 8. 

I am a citizen of the United States and live in the Great State of Wyoming. I love them both equally and agree with both Constitutions.  Whew, now I feel better after getting that off my chest.

I see the State and Federal Constitutions have similarities to the Old and New Testaments, the fact you need them both to understand and validate the Truths held within each one.

I Pledge Allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, One Nation, under God, indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for All.

How we can recite this pledge and dedicate our hearts and minds to these precepts and at the same time see our own government as the enemy is beyond me.

We have a Constitutional Republic set up with Senators and Representatives both in the U.S. Congress, State Legislature, Executive and Judicial branches. We need to support and rely on these institutions to ensure our rights are protected.

These people that we elect, once elected represent all the citizens not just those that voted for them. That is a very difficult job.

The checks and balances of our election system was put in place to make sure our Constitutional Rights are preserved and protected.

I believe it is important to give our support and encouragement to our elected officials so they can better serve us the “electorate”. (the difficulty is practicing what I am preaching concerning the Biden Administration, call it a work in progress).

Governor Mark Gordon is responsible to ALL the citizens of Wyoming. Part of that responsibility is a good healthy relationship with our Federal partners.

Just because he has that relationship some like to ridicule his actions by saying he is doing Wyoming a disservice by receiving assistance, bailout or being propped up from our Federal Partner. That is a misguided perception and completely wrong.

We have a Partnership that allows give and take. It would benefit every citizen to better understand the parameters of our Partnership with the Feds myself included. With that knowledge then maybe, we would not be so easily led into the conspiracy trap.

 I have supported and voted for Governor Mark Gordon from the first time I meet him in 2018 at the Wyoming State Republican Convention in Laramie Wyoming.

I gave my support because I believe he has the best working knowledge of how this State/Federal Partnership works. With His time spent as State Treasurer he gained the intricate knowledge of the funding model of our State.

He is a brilliant man with a compassionate heart for every person in this Great State. He and Jennie have endured the harshest of criticism while conducting themselves with the utmost integrity.

In summation Wyoming accepting Federal program funding as a result of Governor Gordon declaring and maintaining the State of Emergency is just one more example that we have a steady hand at the wheel that knows how to operate in this permanent partnership with our U. S. Government. 

I write this in response to comments on social media and conversations with friends (yes you can remain friends even with differing political views) that ridicule our Government and our Governor.

We either support our Governments both State and National or we don’t. Not a lot of grey area.

I am still working on honoring my pledge and disagreeing with our present administration that does not seem to honor the Pledge of Allegiance or even see’s the need to Stand for OUR National Anthem.

I believe All of our elected officials especially the Republicans need our support to maintain our firm foundations, our Constitutions.

Thank You

Doug Camblin

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Hello Fellow Republicans

It is a wonderful time to be a Republican. Probably the most exciting time in our history. Why, you may ask? Because we have the opportunity to show what we stand for and what we are made of.

Are we the Big Tent party that President Reagan spoke of or are we the party that wants a purity test to prove how Republican we are. Will we be an inclusive party that supports and encourages Republicans to get involved with civic engagement at every level of our political process?

I choose the Big Tent, where every Republicans voice is welcome, where issues can be debated in a civil and respectful  manner, where you have to check your bully weapons at the door and debate every issue on its merits.

Where personal attacks will not be tolerated, where campaigns are based on the positive attributes of the candidate, not the negative fear generating tactic of, the world will come to an end if you vote for the other Republican. Honesty in campaigning is of the utmost importance.

These ideals are lofty goals I know. Goals should be set high enough to stretch us, while at the same time be attainable. These goals are attainable. Only with a party that is unified and singular in our vision.

I am not speaking of being robots that all walk, talk and think alike. I am saying we need to be unified in our vision that the Republican Party and its conservative values are the best way to govern our Great Nation and State. 

The Republican Party to me is an honorable institution that is based on conservative values, fair play in politics, and supporting what is good and honorable for all of society, not just the voting base that you were elected by.

Once elected you represent all of the citizens in the Precinct, City, County, State and Nation you are elected in. You get the grand opportunity to hear the concerns and needs of every citizen or agency in your specific jurisdiction.

Then comes the hard decisions and what makes the jobs so difficult and demanding. You have to make decisions based on your wisdom, experience and moral compass. You make decisions on your conscience  based on constitutional law. All decisions need to have a foundation in the law, for without law we have chaos. 

What we have happening in our Country and State and even locally is a scramble for unity. It seems there is a void in the leadership of our Party. A strong leader that we relied on is no longer there and there is now a struggle to find our balance, similar to a boxer who gets caught with a good punch is dazed and trying to find his balance so he can continue the fight.

We are far from knocked out, We need unity, both feet firmly planted on the foundation of our Party, our Constitution (all of it not just a couple of favorite’s) and trust in our political system, and trust in our elected officials.

We need strong leadership that is honest and fair. We have those leaders today, Our Governor of this Great State, Mark Gordon, Senator John Barrasso, Senator Cynthia Lummis, and Rep. Liz Cheney to name a few. 

When the final count is in and they are in office we need to support them. There is a tactic used by our opposing party to say they are not my President, or whatever position you want to add. Republicans are better than that. We are not sore losers.  When they take office we should not undermine them by silly censures or unfounded attempts at recall.

We have a system of term limits in place called elections. We need to focus on the future and plan on how we can do better to regain a position we lost.

One of my favorite analogies is, “The windshield is bigger than the rearview mirror for a reason”. Look to the future more than you look at the past, it is behind you, there is no redo button.

Unity is essential to achieve the goals of taking back the majority in the U.S, House, U.S. Senate, and Presidency. We cannot allow the gut wrenching spectacle of self annihilation go on any longer.

The vindictive actions of former President Trump have got to stop, they are counterproductive to unity and are down right mean spirited. These are not Republican values. I have read the transcript of President Trump’s speech to CPAC, numerous statements stood out.

First off, I know he uses hyperbole and is prone to exaggeration and that is his style. When he makes statements that he calls facts, such as there has never been a President that the crowd has chanted ” We Love You ” is a troubling statement and in my opinion severe narcissism.

When he called all of the Supreme Court Justices coward’s, all the Judges that heard his cases in over 60 court rooms cowards that are more than hyperbole that is just plain wrong.

In both cases his administration appointed or nominated many of these honorable men to fill those seats. His statement that there were tens of millions of fraudulent votes cast in his favor that were not counted and would have changed the results of the election is more than exaggeration, it is a complete misrepresentation of the facts. These are just a few of the falsehoods that he tried to present as the truth.

When President Trump on January 6, 2021 called V.P. Pence a coward, I lost all respect for President Trump, V.P. Pence had campaigned for him and stood by him at every turn.

For President Trump to turn his back on him because he chose that his oath of office was more sacred than doing Trump’s bidding is reprehensible. He attended the inaugural ceremony, unlike President Trump who left town and refused to attend. So who is the coward?

In the writing of this I am very aware that calling out the former President may not be seen as very unifying. President Trump has vowed to defeat our Honorable Representative at all cost, so in comparison to that divisive behavior this article is nothing. 

I encourage all Republicans to recognize that the policies of theTrump administration were good and beneficial to our country and economy. Trump’s bully type style was not.

That style cost the Republican Party the majority in the House in 2018, The Senate and Presidency in 2020. Those Conservative values and policies are not exclusive to Donald Trump. Those values and policies have been a vital part of the Republican Party long before DT was born.

I will support Republican candidates that would be able to promote these products of Conservatism. Stand up Republicans support civil, respectful campaigns and denounce the negative hate filled candidates that only promote fear and distrust. 

Unity is, promoting our Grand Ole Party and it’s Conservative ideals with decency and respect for others.

Doug Camblin is a rancher, small businessman,precinct man for the Republican Central Committee 7-1 in Campbell County, and one of the founders of the Frontier Republicans.

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