Cowboy State Politics

Finally, I got to sit down with Rep Pendergraft, Agent 29, and talk about the session.  It's been really hard to schedule time with him. The conversation begins with a discussion of how he views representation.  Some legislators look at their emails and make decisions based on how popular one side or the other is.  Really though, according to Ken, this job is about being able to make the hard decisions. His vote on Sheridan College was one of those.  He originally fought for funding at the college and when that failed, lots of other things got added to the measure. It's a Republic and not a popularity contest.

On the Floor of the house Art Washut accused another member of reading a script that had been given to them.  There are a bunch of people who read from their phones and their computers but Art never says anything about that.   Here's the link to the article I mentioned in the show: https://www.openrangerecord.com/news/999ab213-5dcf-4d39-8a7f-6ae34f2f7fd0 

There are several gun bills moving through the Wyoming Legislature.  Mark Jones, National Director for Gun Owners of America joins me to run through all of them. He joined me on the new Open Range Record program, The Roundup.  It's a full hour of gun talk!

Governor Gordon issued an exec order banning political contributions on state grounds.  The only problem is he really can't do that--he can't even accomplish that inside the Capitol Building itself.  It is a political stunt.  And there's a little problem of him transferring $150,000.00 to his Prosperity and Commerce PAC.  Yes, it's named PAC PAC. A lot of what you're seeing is political theater; most of it is un-tethered from reality.

There was a rally Friday at the Capitol that was billed and permitted as an "Equality Rally."  Really, it was an anti-ICE, anti-law enforcement rally.  Sarah Burlingame of Wyoming Equality submitted the permit.  What transpired was over 100 people--mostly school children screaming, impeding traffic and denigrating law enforcement.

It's Valentine's Day, and I certainly can't let the day pass without giving a present to my favorite group of people, the Redcoats.  Marilyn Connoly, Julie Jarvis, Elisa Campbell, Ken Clouston and others have gone full blown Democrat.  When the final session numbers are done, Democrat Mike Yin will have voted with the Republicans more than this group. AND, Landon Brown thinks he's a Ronald Reagan Republican.  Not kidding, he said that on the CSD Morning Show.  The fun is just beginning for the 2026 Budget Session.

Rep Hageman joined the program this morning.  Today, she has U.S. Atty General Pam Bondi in front of her committee.  Though I haven't really been interested in talking about Epstein, this seemed like a good opportunity to get the scoop on it.  Turns out, there's a very good reason why a lot of those records haven't been released.  Also, I asked Rep Hageman "Why haven't we seen a bunch of people in handcuffs?"  It's a great discussion!  

The legislature kicked off today with the usual pomp and circumstance.  The only remarkable thing about Gordon's speech was what he didn't talk about--climate change.  He probably thought that'd be unpopular so instead he lectured legislators how they should do things his way.  He also promised that he would always defend Wyoming's right to export our resources.   Too bad, the legislature gave him the money to do that in 2019 and he vetoed the bill. Also, you know you've made it when the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court refers to your show in the State of the Judiciary speech.  All I can say is I'm not the one full of misinformation.

Sen Eric Barlow helped found the non-profit 501c(3) Edible Prairie Project.  Its goal is to get locally sourced goods into the hands of needy families.  A laudable goal to be sure.  The problem is that Eric Barlow is a sitting Wyoming Senator, was on the board of EPP and used the non-profit to buy meat from his own sheep! This is exactly the type of insider behavior that voters are sick of.

The Freedom Caucus has been accused of being told how to vote by some shadowy figure in DC.  It's been said that all of their political activities are run out of a clandestine office in our nation's capitol.  None of it is true.   I tracked down the President of the State Freedom Caucus Andy Roth to get to the bottom of all the smears the likes of Sen Ed Cooper, Ogden Driskill, Albert Sommers and others have been spreading.

The Wyoming left is apoplectic about the possibility of their vote buying machine going away.  For years, the Wyoming Business Council has funneled millions of your dollars to dubious projects--often losing millions.  In one case, they lost $20M on a berry farm.  In another, they gave $2M to a cosmetics company that already sold their products at Sephora. Now, Albert Sommers and Gail Symons are claiming the reason we have to keep the WBC is for community infrastructure.  The problem with that argument is we already have another office that handles that.

Appropriations Chairman Rep John Bear, also known as Lex Luthor, joined me for the entire 2 hour live program on Friday.  Anything you want to know about the hot-button budget issues, we probably talked about it. Gubernatorial candidate Brent Bien called in to talk with Rep Bear.  He was conspicuously absent from a Wyofile article about all those running for governor.  This is a great, really long form interview with the guy crafting the finances for the next two years.  It's well worth a listen!

There are a lot of problems at the University of Wyoming; not the least of which is how they've been hiding really destructive courses from the legislature.  After publishing the most recent episode on it, I got what I thought was a random social media message. Turns out, it was from a member of the James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal.  Dr. Jenna Robinson is the president of that organization.  She joined me on the show to talk about what can be done to fix a lot of these programs and the center she leads.

I spoke with Rep Hageman right before she was to cross examine Jack Smith.  We had time to walk through her decision to run for the U.S. Senate and discuss some of the bigger issues happening right now. In previous interviews Harriet has called herself a "free speech absolutist."  So, I wanted to ask her about the the Trump Administration's FCC's decision to 'go after' talk shows that favor liberal guests.  To me, that smacks of the fairness doctrine and 'net neutrality' that conservatives have been fighting against for decades.  Why are we the ones suggesting it now? At length, we discussed some of the issues she planned on asking Jack Smith about.  At the end of the program, you'll find out what happened to him when he sat across from our Representative.

Earlier this week, J.D. Wasserberger of Lusk, WY distributed a deceptively edited video of Rep Ken Pendergraft.  It purports to show the EXACT OPPOSITE of what Ken said in committee.  This is the type of politics that most of us really despise--the politics of personal destruction. Using my sources, I tracked down Mr Wasserberger and called him.  He claimed that it was he who was sent the video and he only forwarded it on.  Whether he made the video or not, it is clear from the phone conversation that he knew it was taken out of context.  When asked about it, he said, "That's just politics." Not exactly, it's the WORST kind of politics.

Governor Gordon claims that the Appropriations Committee took a chainsaw to the budget with no rhyme or reason.  The Cow Pie's headline claimed the JAC "defunded" WYPBS.  But, neither of those things are true.  To cut through the media's bullcrap, I talked with Reps Pendergraft and Haroldson--both of whom are on the legislature's Joint Appropriations Committee.  Shocker, there's a big difference between what the media is telling you and what really happened.

Don't worry if you don't know what Eco-feminism is, just understand that you are paying for it at UW.  The Appropriations Committee called UW for one more discussion on January 9 to discuss some of the course offerings at the school: among those, Eco-feminism, global climate governance and environmental justice. When asked to explain them, President Ed Seidel basically said the programs aren't offered any more but that he believes they are in the best interests of the State. Also, a BIG Announcement about The Open Range Record.

The 1,000th EPISODE of Cowboy State Politics!  Megan Degenfelder sat down with me earlier this week to discuss her recent gubernatorial announcement. It's a wide ranging discussion in which I, once again, did the job the mainstream Wyoming press won't do.  I asked her the hard questions: everything from windmills, to her time in China and why Wyoming school test scores are mediocre.  Nothing was off the table in this very candid interview.

With the legislative session starting in a couple of weeks, you can bet the WEA will swear up and down that we don't spend enough on education.  But school districts have proven that we already do.  Here's a replay of a great episode from this past September.  Don't forget that when we gave raises, they spent that money on other stuff. 

Communists haven't confined themselves to NYC.  There've been some rumblings about Albert Sommers considering a run for Superintendent of Public Instruction.  Bad news.  I thought that since Christine and I are dealing with communists in NY, I'd remind you that their influence absolutely made its way here.

Governor Gordon asked Chuck Gray if "he wanted to step outside."  Everyone knows what that question means.  Everyone, that is, except Amy Edmonds, the governor's spokeswoman.  According to her, Gordon just wanted to go have a conversation.  Uh huh.  The real question is WHY did Gordon say that?  No, not the conversation that led up to it, but why was that the last option that Gordon have?  He got caught, plain and simple. And in other news, President Trump pre-endorsed (I guess that's a thing now) Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder for Governor.

The Supreme Court doesn't use dictionaries.  If they did, the abortion decision yesterday would have been very different.  Instead, they ruled that an act that results in death 100% of the time is, somehow, healthcare--a word that isn't defined in Wyoming statute.  But, studies convincingly show that abortion is pretty harmful and in some cases deadly to the mother as well. Speaker of the House Chip Neiman joined me to discuss the ruling and what his priorities are for the upcoming session.

Already there's a ton of people running for office.  For Governor, there's 4 and there'll probably be more.  We conservatives can't seem to get in a room and decide who's the best candidate.  Wyoming's political history is lots of people run for an office and then the liberal Redcoat gets elected--that's been the last 16 years...or more. To even consider running for office there's 4 things you have to have first: name recognition, cash, hard work and a fourth one which is definitely the most important. On Friday, Rebecca Bextel and I announced The Open Range Record--an entirely new media platform.  The website is up and running and soon we will have our mobile app. This week is bound the be full of campaign announcements.  Get ready, it's going to be a busy one! 

The U.S. carried out a military strike in Venezuela to capture the country's communist dictator.  From all indications, the operation was a complete success.  But there's lots of questions that need to be asked and answered about the President's actions. Should we have captured Maduro?  The answer to that one is an unequivocal "YES!"  But should we have conducted airstrikes to do it?  Also, the President said a couple of things that gave me pause.  Namely, that we are going to be running the country for a while.  How long are we going to do that?  And, should that even be something to get involved in? All good questions, and they deserve an answer.

Secretary of State and now candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives, Chuck Gray joins the program for his first interview since his announcement.  Also joining the program is my friend Josh Jennings.  He's the author of two books: (not kidding) Timmy the Tapeworm, and Space Tractor and Other Science Fiction Stories.  He is also a writer for the Glenn Beck Program.  It's a thoroughly entertaining show!    

Billboards have been popping up in several places attacking Honor Wyoming.  They purport to be paid for by an organization called, "Frontier Stand."  They do have a website, but it doesn't tell you anything about them.  Pretty much its a bunch of Redcoat, liberal republican drivel. Generally, leftists accuse Republicans of what they are doing.  In this case, the billboard accuses Honor Wyoming of not being transparent or accountable.  Pretty rich coming from a group that has almost absolutely nothing online about them.  However, there is a little nugget in their website data.  The website was registered by a Utah company that has some pretty spooky ties.

Christmas really was unseasonably warm--62 at Cowboy State Politics Headquarters.  The Cow Pie reports that the Santa Day temperatures broke records across the state.  But really, there have been other end of year heat waves.  Some of them date back to over 70 years. A piece in the Pravda on the Platte questions whether it is moral or not to arrest and deport illegal aliens; because, you know, they're just trying to make a better life here.

Merry Christmas!  Christine joins me to tell you a simple and reverent story about one simple man on Christmas Even.  We hope that you and your family have an amazing Christmas!

Rep Harriet Hageman has announced that she is running for the United States Senate.  Many in Wyoming were waiting on her decision before committing to their own races.   Rebecca Bextel joins the program to talk about Harriet's run and all of the politics surrounding it. Plus, some obligatory Christmas stories!!  

All types of government like to play Santa with your tax dollars.  Politicians give your money to organizations that you didn't vote for and no one asked if you wanted to.  You might call it the Santa Scheme.  They try to skirt the Wyoming Constitutional provision prohibiting hand outs through what they call, "Service Contracts."  But it's always for some allegedly benevolent purpose.  If it's such a great cause, why don't elected officials write the check themselves? Another way they pull this gag is they say, "We found some money in our budget."  As if any of them really don't know what's in there in the first place.  Here's how it works, at budget time, they tell you they have to have your cash.  Then, they don't spend it as intended only later to claim that it was "found." But if they don't spend it for what they told you, do they really need it in the first place?  Nope!

Senator Cynthia Lummis has announced she isn't going to seek re-election.  That opens up a lot more possibilities for the 2026 election.  With another congressional seat potentially up for grabs, Harriet, Gray, Degenfelder, Biteman, Gordon and others have some decisions to make. One of the things we haven't really talked about is what the 2026 ballot might look like.  Most of it hinges on what Rep Hageman decides to do.  Secretary Gray and others have said they won't run for the same seat as our Representative.  But that's only one seat--there's plenty more to run for.

Sheridan County Commissioner used public money to lobby for higher taxes.  After being called on it--in the nicest way possible--he ran to the media and attacked his constituent.  He accused him of VILIFYING AND ATTACKING him.  Unless you're trying to get voted out of office, that's no way to treat someone who pays your salary.  But it's the typical elitism we see from many elected officials. In this episode, I put all of the audio together that clearly shows what happened and what Nick Siddle claims to have happened.  The two are very different.

Everyone is using the word, affordability--even people on Fox News.  Yet, no one explains or defines what it actually means.  What does it mean for something to be affordable?  Is anything affordable?  The answer to those questions is no.   It's another Democrat ploy, just like "climate change."  Affordability can be made to mean anything.  Really though it's just an attempt to convince you to agree with them.  They say stuff like, 'your checkbook doesn't lie,' and other tropes.  The truth is though that prices are down on a lot of the things we buy all the time.

Rudyard Kipling wrote a poem called, "The Gods of the Copybook Headings."  It's all about propaganda.  Most of what we hear about our so-called education system is exactly that.  We are all told that we have to continue to pay high property taxes to pay for "our high quality education system."  That's what Grady Hutcherson from the WEA called it.  But is it really?  Do our test scores really justify the hundreds of millions that we throw at Wyoming education? The short answer is not even close.  But you don't understand the reality of it until you look at the national NAEP scores as Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder told the Appropriations Committee to do. If we aren't paying to educate our students, what are we paying for exactly?  I reality of where we are at will shock you.

Wyoming is not immune to the government handouts.  One big portion of that is what we call "farm subsidies"--getting paid to farm nothing.  This drives up prices but it also makes it very difficult for young people to get into the agriculture business. Rep Hageman joins me for our monthly discussion to discuss these subsidies and the ballooning problem of fraud in our healthcare system.  And, yes, I did ask her if she's running for governor.

The governor appears to be changing his tune when it comes to climate change.  But is he?  For his entire administration he has made one outrageous statement after another.  While in Appropriations last Monday, he appeared to be singing a different song.  The moment almost went unnoticed--almost I said.  Instead of an "All of the Above" approach to energy, it's now, "The Best of All of the Above."  As if adding a few words changes anything.

The Appropriations Committee meeting on Thursday was the perfect example of everything that's wrong with the Wyoming and frankly all state Government--appointed officials who believe in central planning.  That is, ignoring the free market that has created this amazing country we live in. Josh Dorrell from the Wyoming Business Council told the members of Appropriations that it's his job to create an economic system.  He actually said that!  The committee rightly peppered him with questions demanding he explain himself.

Replay of Cowboy State Politics Live from December 4

In the Season 6 premier, the Wyoming Business Council sent out an email asking people to attend a watch party to "mobilize." Why does a state agency need to build support for "collective action." Last time I checked, state agencies don't campaign for public support. There's a ton a problems with their email, including, perhaps Wyoming Statutes.

Even the Wyoming Tribune Eagle has to admit that charitable organizations really don't need government.  And, it's not the government's job anyway.  IT'S OUR JOB.  So-called government charity is only making big government even bigger. The government shutdown is a perfect example.  Private organizations shined, helping those in need across the whole state.  Nationwide, Americans raise over half-a-trillion every year for benevolent purposes.  Are you telling me we can't handle the needs of the poor with that amount of cash?  We can, and the WTE admits it.

If it quacks like a duck, it's usually a duck.  That's the argument an op-ed in the Sheridan Mess attempts to make.  Many in the Wyoming media have been making the same one--that if you vote conservatively you must be a member of the Freedom Caucus and somehow that's bad.  There's so many logical fallacies with that claim; not the least of which is why is that a bad thing. The author's claims lead you to believe he must be a card carrying Democrat.  Is he a Democrat or is he just another cross-over voter?   

People never learn, in socialism, there's no turkey, there's no gravy and no stores to buy those things at anyway.   Most of us have no idea what really happened in the Plymouth Colony.  We're told that Thanksgiving Day was the pilgrims giving thanks to the Indians for saving their lives.  That's not even close to the truth.

According to the Wyoming Business Council, the free market is working against us.  This is an amazing perspective coming from the state agency who's goal is to increase business. Of course, my answer is that the free market is not the problem, it's government intervention and playing around in private business. While Josh Dorrell, the head of the WBC, and I have very different perspectives on business, this interview is one of the clearest examples of the two competing forces in our economy--government and private enterprise.  Dorrell thinks that government needs to be involved and I know that that's the problem.  This is a fascinating discussion. Joining the program is former Rep Mark Jennings.  

Never before heard audio from INSIDE a Wyoming County Commissioners meeting!  It very clearly tells you which legislators are working for you and which ones are working for lobbying organizations. The Revenue Committee met last week and discussed a bill that would eliminate property taxes and replace them with an increased sales tax.  Of course, the usual suspects, the WCCA objected to it because it would decrease the amount of your money they could spend.   During the discussion Sen Case moved to table the bill.  Why?  Because in his own words, he's in favor of new taxes.  In the past he has said that he's even in favor of an income tax.  But the EXCLUSIVE audio I have paints a very different picture as to why he wanted to table the bill.  I'd say it's unbelievable, but coming from him it's totally something he would say.

Governor Gordon claims that the role of government is to provide those services that individuals can't provide for themselves.  There's no end to this line of thinking.  It ends up with government giving your money to so-called non-profits; and it ends with budgets that are twice as big as a few years ago. His budget is littered with a whole bunch of things he claims are 'essential."  Most of them are handouts and have nothing to do with the proper role of government. The City of Sheridan Clerk claims that voters approved for local government to give their money away to private organizations.  Funny, the original ballot measure doesn't say anything about that!!

Secretary of State Chuck Gray joins the program to talk about Gordon removing public notice money for the 50% tax reduction ballot initiative.  Is the legislature black-listing emails from constituents?  Slithers and Dennis claim that legislators can go dig them out of the junk or quarantine file.  But who does this???  That and lots more!

The governor and his pals are claiming that the proposed budget is conservative--it's anything but that.  According to his own math, to do the same thing as last year, it will cost almost a billion dollars less.  Gordon wants to add another $1.9 Billion to it.  Just a reminder, there's only 586,000 people in Wyoming.  That's $19,000 for every man woman and child in the state.  If that weren't shocking enough, in four short years, Wyoming's budget has doubled.  It really is legalized theft.  

Margaret Byfield and Rep Hageman were the keynote speakers at WYGOP meeting held in Torrington over the weekend.  The topic of conversation was private property rights--something that we too often told isn't a concern in our state.  Harriet briefly discusses the Maude case in South Dakota and a couple in Wyoming.

Not that long ago, Josh Dorrell President of the Wyoming Business Council joined me in the studio.  There are a ton of projects that they are involved in across Wyoming--all of which involve your tax dollars.  There's lots of questions we should be asking: is that the proper roll of government; do these projects actually make money; do Wyoming Citizens even want to be involved in these projects?  We got to some of those.   You see their logo all over the place in our state.  This is a great discussion with the guy behind them.

Replay of Cowboy State Politics Live November 13

The Democrats started the so called government shutdown.  Despite what they claimed, none of it was about subsidies for Obamacare.  That's clear now that the Senate has passed a continuing resolution.  Though, the continuing resolution only funds the government through January 30.  We may very well have another shutdown in a couple of months. Rep Harriet Hageman joins me to discuss the shutdown and to give her take on what actually happened.  Also, because I couldn't resist, I asked her opinion of Mamdani's election in NY.