This could be a mess. In small states, the Republican talent pool is pretty small. In Western states, many good conservatives won’t go to Washington, or if they do, they won’t want to be there long. It would be a shame to end up with a typical senatorial type, i.e., a moderate weakling. But it wouldn’t be surprising. I hope conservative activists in Wyoming are working on this and not letting the suits just do whatever they want. The suits in our party tend not to be very bright. And they tend toward moderates. Make them feel the heat, Wyomingites!
He is? That's not a good sign. I thought I read somewhere else that he was a staunch conservative, but apprently this isn't the case. There's no excuse for having a pro-abort Senator in Wyoming.
>> I don’t know where state Representative Colin Simpson stands on the issues, but his last name would be a great asset for the general election. <<
>> If Simpson is a chip off the old block, Wyoming should keep him in Wyoming, and not subject the rest of the country to another uber-RINO. <<
I agree with fieldmarshaldj, if he's anything like daddy, we should say thanks but no thanks. Of course, there are a few exceptions where politician's kids are significally more conservative or more liberal than their parents.
>> That may leave U.S. Attorney Matt Mead as the choice. <<
By process of elimination, you may be right, but I can't find out a thing about this guy.
>> There’s going to be pressure for him to appoint one to maximize GOP dissension. It’s too bad somebody like ex-Sen. Malcolm Wallop couldn’t serve an interim term and allow us to put up a better candidate in ‘08. <<
Actually, that's not a bad idea. Why couldn't we? I looked up his profile on wikipedia and it sounds like he's still in good health and politically active. We wouldn't want him to stay long term, but couldn't he just agree to serve as "caretaker" Senator until the seat is up in 2008, then gracefully return home?
>> In small states, the Republican talent pool is pretty small. In Western states, many good conservatives won’t go to Washington, or if they do, they won’t want to be there long. It would be a shame to end up with a typical senatorial type, i.e., a moderate weakling. But it wouldn’t be surprising. <<
Wyoming has a tiny population but the state is overwhemingly Republican and they probably hold about 90% of the offices. There are plenty of conservative Republicans to pick from. If they'd try harder, it should be possible to find a well-qualified, conservative individual willing to go to Washington.
>> I hope conservative activists in Wyoming are working on this and not letting the suits just do whatever they want. The suits in our party tend not to be very bright. And they tend toward moderates. Make them feel the heat, Wyomingites! <<
Unfortunately, it's really out of our hands. You should see how many prospects the Illinois central committee had when they needed a replacement for Jack Ryan. They were half a dozen "also rans" who lost the primary, a legendary coach (Dikta), two former Governors, one Governor's wife, the retiring Senator, a couple zillionaire CEOs, 3 or 4 well qualified state senators... lots of conservatives were lobbying hard for them to select Jim Oberweis, the 2nd place finsher in the primary. And who did the state central committee end up selecting as their "finalists"? The final list had two names: Dr. Andrea Barthwell (an unknown uber-RINO with a tainted career that had been accused of sexual harrassment), and Alan Keyes. Oh, and both "finalists" just happened to be black, just like the Dem nominee, Barack Obama.
The only plus side to this is nobody is likely to be as dumb as the Illinois GOP.