Wyoming Almanac of Politics

June 19, 2009

A significant reason why the "supreme leader" of Iran doesn't want a "recount"? For such an event to occur, there had to have been a "count" in the first place. If he were to suggest even random samples for a "recount," the facts would have come out. This "election" will go in history as the most audacious theft in years. Stalin would be envious.

June 18, 2009

Where is the public option in the Senate bill?

Recent reports indicate that the Senate committee developing health care reform has left out a public option--at least, so far. It seems yet another example of the cowardice of Senate Democrats. What do they need to get progressive measures passed--a 100-vote majority?

Without a public option, what would change? Fortunately, the Democrats in the House do include the public option in a plan that actually will make a difference.

Absent a single-payer proposal--the only realistic long-term reform--a public plan would be partial mitigation. Were it not for the House Democrats, we'd be left with a scam to force people to subsidize the rich by being required to buy health insurance from the same crowd that has taken down the economy and with no competition to keep them reasonably honest. The Senate Democrats had better wake up on this. They weren't elected by the insurance lobbyists and, with 60 members, there is absolutely no need to cave in to the Republicans on this issue. If they do, not only will we never get true reform in health care, we'll be back to a Republican majority in the Senate next go-round.

May 28, 2009

World's tallest building and nearby skyline from Jumeira Beach, Dubai

Observations from the Middle East by a Western historian

I just returned to Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, from a few days in Athens, Greece. I've been in the Emirates since mid-May, returning to Laramie in early June. (Is there a better place in the world to spend a summer than 7,200-foot Laramie? Maybe inside the Mall of the Emirates' ski run, but it doesn't have the cool mountain breezes). As a historian of the American West, I continue to see comparisons between this vibrant part of the Middle East and the history of my region of America.

First, some observations about the Emirates. 

Much as changed in the months since I first returned last August after ten years away from this region. Bush was roundly hated in many quarters and America's repudiation was at an extremely low ebb. I noticed a great change in March. Nearly every expat and local I encountered expressed relief that the Bush-Cheney crowd was gone. In ensuing months, despite continuing downward pressures on the economy in the first quarter of this year here, Obama remains popular. There remains concern (call it unease perhaps) among many local business people over the ability of the administration to overcome the economic crises that has had such severe ripple effects in the Emirates. There are hopeful signs. The local stock exchange seems to have stabilized and, once again, there are signs of new construction, not only in Sharjah but in neighboring Dubai. Construction slowed to a near standstill last fall and the Dubai stock exchange fell to record lows before starting to recover earlier this year. Work continues on the Dubai metro system, now scheduled to open later this year.

US-UAE remain linked monetarily. The Emirates government pulled out of a plan to establish a regional currency when the voting members opted to place the financial headquarters in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, rather than in one of the Dubai cities where the majority of all banking activity in the region is conducted. Consequently, the UAE currency, the dirham, is still pegged to the dollar and likely will remain so for the near term. Dubai, less dependent on oil than the neighoring emirate of Abu Dhabi, suffered more seriously from the bank crises than the other emirates.  Dubai's real estate market, especially in the mid range, suffered huge sales declines. There are some signs of recovery although advertised home sale prices suggest that the bottom has not been reached yet.

Abu Dhabi continues buildng a closer connection with France. Recent news includes the ground-breaking for the Louvre Abu Dhabi and a branch of the Sorbonne to be opened in the nation's capital. French President Sarkozy was here for a state visit earlier this week during which both governments announced establishment of France's first military base outside Europe in this new century on the coast in Abu Dhabi. Press statements were unclear about the purpose although Sarkozy was quoted that the 600-man facility would provide support for the UAE as well as assist in possible piracy cases and "environmental situations."

On the other hand, the United States presence in Dubai seems to be strengthening. On the day following press accounts of Abu Dhabi's flirtatons with France, the press ran photos and a news story of the ground-breaking for a new United States consulate along the Creek in Dubai. The structure will be built on prime real estate close to the embassies of Saudi Arabia and Qatar. 

Despite the UAE being a nation, the emirates retain some of the same types of autonomy as American states. If one to make comparisons, Abu Dhabi would more resemble Texas with a conservative social scene and a government solidly based in petroleum. (While Abu Dhabi's recent close affiliations with France wouldn't seem much like Texas, the action suggests the same skepticism of America as Texas Gov. Rick Perry has displayed with his talk of secession.

On the other hand, Dubai could be compared to a combination of New York (financial capital), California (innovation and less reactively conservative) and Nevada (the grandest hotels and over-the-top architectural projects). Like New York, California, and Nevada, the banking and housing crises hit Dubai with greater force than the other emirates. Nonetheless, as the world economy improves, Dubai will spring back more readily and, wisely, won't be tied as rigidly to the "natural resource curse" that its larger neighbor will continue to have to deal with as oil prices continue to fluctuate and alternative energy gains new market share worldwide.  

January 25, 2009

National Press Doesn't Want to Shake Their Stereotypical View of Wyoming as a State Full of Uninformed Morons 

Do we really deserve this?  Just because now, after a dozen years of using Wyoming only as his "undisclosed location," Dick Cheney waxes eloquent about his supposed love for Wyoming during a fast trip away from his multi-million-dollar home in McLean, Virignia?  Just because there seems to be a recent oversupply of self-serving, greedy newcomers who claim to speak for their adopted state by repeating stupid statements they hear on national talk radio?  

The national media continue to dredge up ignorant stereotypes from Wyoming who confirm their twisted view that, somehow, Wyomingites are all stupid cowboys who have swallowed the Bush/Cheney line over the years and still support the Rush Limbaugh defeatists in the country. Clearly, none of those being interviewed represent the real Wyoming. In fact, I wonder how long some of them have been away from Oklahoma or Texas? 

Speaking as a native (and third-generation Wyomingite), I can point to a very different "Wyoming way" than what these ignorant jerks are espousing for CNN and others in the media crowd who cling to their stereotypes. 

Take health care reform, for instance. How many of them know that cowboys on the open range in Wyoming in the 1880s joined together to form a health care cooperative, complete with a monthly "membership fee," a doctor and a fully equipped hospital --years before it was done anywhere else? 

As for banking regulation, how many of them remember that during the first four years of the 1920s, almost 100 banks in Wyoming failed because the state had no regulation and no rules for bank operations (no capital requirements, no reporting, no interest regulation)?  That situation was changed quickly and Wyoming's bank examiner was in place when the New Deal passed the federal banking laws with the support of Wyoming's members of Congress.

And how many of them remember that the discredited losers in the Johnson County War were the state "elites" at the time who dragged in a group of Texas gunmen who augment their ill-fated effort to kill small ranchers and allies in 1892?  (Actually, they might have learned the wrong lesson from the incident, given that the losers were able to obfuscate the facts within a couple of years and regain their political power). 

It sounds like the same campaign is starting up here now--and the media and their stereotypical view of Wyoming enables them by interviewing the most ignorant, uninformed newcomer to the state and asseting he/she speaks for all of us. Pathetic. 

January 16, 2009

Wealthy, Stupid, Uninformed--or All Three?

While listening to public radio Friday morning, I was surprised to learn that, apparently, there are more multi-millionaire retired ranchers drinking coffee at Laramie McDonald's than anyone would expect. When asked by Addie Goss of Wyoming Public Raido about the policies of the incoming Obama administration, a self-identified retired rancher who had voted for McCain said he was afraid Obama would keep the estate tax. Given that the current level affects only those leaving estates, after deductions, in excess of $2 million, I wonder why the man was drinking coffee at McDonald's in Laramie in the middle of winter?  Evidently, there are some very rich people hiding around town that I didn't know about or else there are more ignorant people who have swallowed the Republican rhetoric in Wyoming than elsewhere. 

 January 6, 2009

Oil Prices Begin To Rise as Gaza Crisis Deepens

When the economy began its downturn, oil prices moved with it, dropping to close to $30 per barrel from a mid-summer high of $147 on the futures market. Now, tensions in the Middle East continue to rise due to the Israeli invasion of Gaza. With no end of hostilities in sight, we can expect the price to go back into the $60 range by Groundhog Day.

How these rapid fluctuations will affect Wyoming's economy, the housing market and the state's budget, is to early to say. In Dubai, where I am visiting right now, news reports say that real estate developers are changing sales tactics. The latest targeted customers here are "end-users," not the "speculators" that bid prices up to unrealistic levels during the third quarter of last year. 

The Obama administration needs to target America's "end-users" who bought their homes to live in. Handled properly, the targeted recovery funds won't be lining speculators' pockets, saving them from their own follies. The speculators who plunged in for quick profits ought to be allowed to sink--regardless of continent and irrespective of their numbers.  They had no intent to share the gains; they shouldn't expect making us share their losses. Too bad we didn't let the same market forces take care of the big greedy banks. So far, they've shown no inclination to loosen up the credit markets. They haven't been nearly so reticent about paying out huge salaries to executives.

January 2, 2009

New Year Optimism in Dubai

Since nearly everything that the Bush/Cheney administration tried was either wrong-headed in approach or incompetently executed, most here feel confident that things will get better after January 20. Bush goes out with the nation finally seeing the folly of handing over government to individuals who have nothing but contempt for government's role in helping its citizens. The US isn't center-right. That is true only in parts of the South, where the Republican Party has its only support. It won't be long before voters in Wyoming (the "Equality State") see the foolishness of supporting a regional party with roots now in the ant-government, racist-inspired slogans of Helms, Limbaugh and Rove.

Entrance to the headquarters of Sharjah's Poetry Society in Sharjah's Heritage Area. Phil Roberts photo.

The new Intercontinental Hotel in Dubai, next to Festival City Mall. Dubai, although impacted by the global slowdown, continues to thrive as a tourist destination and shopping destination.  Phil Roberts photo.

December 31, 2008

New Year's Eve Events in Dubai Canceled

Not that it impacts us (we don't go anywhere on New Year's Eve), but the Sheik of Dubai declared yesterday that no New Year's Eve events would be held this year out of solidarity with the people of Gaza. Regardless, we're here hoping that the next 19 days of the Bush administration will pass quickly and without causing further damage to the USA--as well as to the rest of the world.  Happy New Year, from the Emirates!

A game of cricket in the square of "Old Town" in the Heritage District of Sharjah, UAE. Phil Roberts photo.

December 30, 2008

Sharjah: UAE Cultural Center

In the beautiful weather of the Gulf, it is difficult at times to keep to the task of research and writing. During one break, I visited the Sharjah Cultural Center in the downtown area of the this city, just a few miles from the glitz of Dubai. The 1820 fort has been restored and other structures demonstrate what life was like before oil and international trade transformed this corner of the world. I even had a chance to stop for a cola in a cafe in the Souq.

December 23, 2008

Researching at American University in Sharjah

While snow and wind keep temperatures near zero back in Wyoming, I'm researching in the collections of American University in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. The new campus has spectacular architecture, beautiful fountains, and picturesque views of flowers and palm trees.At times, it seems hard, with temperature outside in the mid-70s, to sit inside, squinting at archives, but someone has to do it....

AUS main entrance, looking toward Administration Building, December 23, 2008. Phil Roberts photo.

December 20, 2008

Even in Dubai, Economic Worries and Hope for '09

The temperature is in the mid-70s, the desert is blooming after recent rains, and Gulf News contains more pages than ever. Oil, once key to economic success of the Emirates, now contributes less than seven percent of the GNP for Dubai. Gasoline prices charged by national companies haven't moved with oil price declines--they were low even when oil hit $140 per barrel. Yet, even in Dubai, the world symbol of consumerism, the great economic times seem to be fading. 

When I was here for several weeks in August, there was no sign of trouble. Just four months ago, boosters seemed smug about the 14 percent economic growth rate. After all, Dubai could point to the world's tallest building, under construction near downtown Dubai, the prodigious traffic jams, and construction of entire housing developments--in the desert and on newly-constructed islands in the Gulf. Prices on everything from real estate to luxury cars seemed incapable of decline. Dubai seemed immune from bank troubles developing on the other side of the globe.

It turned out that even here in Dubai, the credit crunch arrived, with ensuing job cuts and real estate declines.

In this morning's news, an expatriate Australian was quoted about being made "redundant" after job cuts in the financial services industry here. Another article warned that similar job cuts are coming in construction and real estate, much of it tied to the worldwide credit crisis. Another item mentioned that Abu Dhabi's sovereign account has invested at least $400 million with Madoff's hedge fund.

Nonetheless, even here in the Gulf States, there is an underlying sense of optimism about what the new Obama administration will bring. En route to Sharjah by taxi from Dubai International Airport, the driver told me, apologetically, that the government in his native Syria was "no good." He hesitated briefly and added, "Like yours is...but, in your case, Obama will make it good."

With a month to go and signs of a deepening depression, the stakes are high for America, Dubai and the world. Can Obama restore economic confidence, root out corruption and excess, and bring prosperity back? Like most Americans, many in Dubai are hopeful as we all wait out another 30 days to inauguration. 

November 30, 2008

Wyoming's Vote Percentage for Obama Higher Than For Any Democrat Since LBJ

While John McCain won Wyoming's three electoral votes, Wyoming Democrats can gain some satisfaction that Barack Obama performed better than any Democratic candidate for President since Lyndon Johnson in 1964.  Clearly, the level of support for Obama in Wyoming far surpassed any support Bill Clinton enjoyed in the state. As Wyomingites began feeling the same economic pinches as the rest of America now is encountering, I would expect Obama's support to increase in the state. Wyoming, as a prosperous energy island, probably won't be resistent to the economic downtown, now that oil prices are slipping to $50 per barrel. If energy prices continue downward, will Wyoming voters continue to endorse Bush administration policies?  I doubt it. By January 20, many more Wyomingites may be glad to see a new President taking the reins.

October 19, 2008

Will Wyoming Ever Be a "Battleground" State? 

I spoke to a group in Rawlins earlier this week about the history of the electoral college and Wyoming's electoral history. I asserted that the electoral college system forces presidential candidates to pay attention even to the smallest states. The power of each vote in those small states is greater than one in a more populous state. One person in the audience asked, "If that is true, why don't Presidential candidates visit Wyoming? We haven't had a campaign stop by either candidate this year (except for Obama right before the caucus)." She was right. As long as Wyoming is "in the tank" for one party, neither candidate will bother. "Don't expect Wyoming to host any Presidential campaign visits for a while," I concluded.

However, the excitement engendered by Obama's appearnace in Laramie on the eve of the caucus last March suggests that Wyoming could become a player in national politics. The continuing presence of Obama staff in the state and the active work being done in many counties for his campaign hints that such a time might be sooner than most people think. 

But for that to happen, Obama will have to win and the national Democratic Party will have to continue Howard Dean's 50-state strategy. An Obama loss would eliminate Democrats in Wyoming for another generation or more, particularly if the Clintonites were to regain control of what would be left of the state party. We'd be back to the old Clinton losing strategy of dissing Wyoming year after year. (During the Clinton presidency, Wyoming's Democrats were at their lowest ebb in the state's history).

I attended a party one night earlier in the month where a locally prominent Clinton Democrat was asserting that Obama was going to lose--because of racism apparently. She had supported Hillary Clinton in the caucuses. My sense was that she was intending to vote against Obama in order for Hillary's stock in the party to rise somehow for four years from now. In order to mask what she assumed would be a Hillary-supporter exodus, she'd have to assert a reason for it. Fortunately, she is the only person I've encountered expressing such a view. There may be others in the party, but once Obama wins the Presidency, I hope she and her ilk will find a home in the "Hillary party," made up of Geraldine Ferraro and a couple of dozen bitter old woman or whatever that small rump group numbers by then. 

Beyond the obvious reasons why Obama needs to win this year--the economy, health care, war in Iraq--an Obama Presidency would help Democrats here. Wyoming would stand a chance at becoming a two-party state once again. 

October 19, 2008

General Election Observations:

Trauner to Win; Obama to Finish Strong in Wyoming 

Two weeks and two days before the general election and the race for Wyoming's lone seat in the U. S. House of Representatives remains a dead heat. Democrat Gary Trauner has run an energetic, well-organized campaign that has provided Wyomingites with sound alternatives to the normal Republican rhetoric floating around out there from his Republican opponent, Cheyenne resident Cynthia Loomis. While Trauner talks about making the economy work for everyone, Loomis stubbornly insists that Social Security ought to be privatized--despite what would have happened to the value of the system over the past two weeks had such a course been taken. Earlier, she claimed "transplants from the East" shouldn't be representing Wyoming. Republican Sen. John Barrasso fits that category far more obviously than Gary Trauner!  What was Loomis saying about one of her fellow Republicans? Trauner ought to win this one by several percentage points.

For the first time since senators were elected by popular vote, Wyomingites get to elect two in the same election this fall. Republican incumbent Mike Enzi looks pretty safe against little-known Laramie resident Chris Rothfuss.  John Barrasso, appointed to fill out the remaining months of the first two years of Sen. Craig Thomas' term after the senator's untimely death a year ago, is less secure. Gillette resident Nick Carter, who appeared with Barack Obama at the pre-caucus rally in Laramie last March, has campaigned statewide. Time will tell whether he can neutralize the huge Republican registration margin in his home county. Campbell County, according to statistics kept by the Secrtary of State's office, showed the greatest increase in party registration for Republicans in the past year of any county in the state.  (Democratic registration is up everywhere, but most significantly in Teton and Albany counties). If Campbell County Republicans cross over to vote for a "favorite son," Carter will make a race of it.

USA Today ran a story on Thrusday about Wyoming politics. The writer concluded that McCain would have an easy victory in the state, after interviewing mostly oilfield workers in Natrona County. Polling would seem to confirm this view, but from conversatons with long-time Republicans, I'm convinced that the margin will be far closer than anyone thinks. As I told the USA Today reporter, Wyomingites don't support candidates with a "religious right" agenda. I called them "Al Simpson Republicans" who are moved by mainstream conservatism and not religious zealotry.  The "new" McCain sold out to the religious right in order to gain the nomination this year. The move lowered his stock in Wyoming, with the unfortunate Palin choice making it even worse. I won't predict an Obama win in Wyoming, but don't be surprised if the McCain margin in Wyoming is the lowest of any Republican in many decades.

September 12, 2008

 Wyoming's Worst Governor Was Never Chosen to Run for Vice President 

Many historians rate Nels Smith, governor from 1939-1943, as the worst governor in state history. Some of the reasons for this rating? For one, Smith once was asked by friends to take action against two game wardens who had the audacity to enforce the game laws--against them. Smith called the Game and Fish director and demanded the men be fired. When the director refused, Smith fired him. (The Game and Fish Department became a semi-autonomous agency soon after, shielding directors from such arbitrary decisions). Smith also tried to fire the president of the University of Wyoming and, when told that only the trustees could do that, used as a litmus test for appointment to the trustees whether or not the candidate would fire the UW president.

Smith wasn't shy about seeking federal government aid to drought-stricken cattle ranchers, even though he disdained federal funds for the waning New Deal programs. Such "pork projects," however, he opposed as wasteful government spending. Historian T. A. Larson concluded that Smith's primary problem was that he thought he could run the state like he ran his ranch. 

But, at least, it is said that Smith "looked like a governor." He looked great on a horse--like the ideal image of a "cowboy governor." Just folks, essentially. In some respects, not unlike an Alaska governor who eats moose stew.

But after watching Smith's performance for four years, voters didn't reward it. He ran for reelection and lost.  Wyomingites almost universally condemned the actions for what they were..

How times have changed! Nowadays, he might have been tapped to be John McCain's running mate. After all, truth, competence, integrity, apparently aren't as relevant now as they were in Smith's day. From what we've been seeing on TV the past couple of weeks, all that counts nowadays is image.

And one other difference between now and then, Smith and Palin. Smith, whatever his faults, was not a liar. 

August 11, 2008

"Exotic" for Visiting Hawaii?  Only for a Washington Pundit....

Evidently, if you visit anywhere west of Missouri (or north of Washington, D. C.), you must be going somewhere "foreign."  So says Cokie Roberts this morning on her NPR commentary, expressing mock concern about Obama's visit this week to Hawaii. She finally admitted that Hawaii "is a state."  Gee. Some admission that is.

Meanwhile, a piece by Thrush of Politico this morning pressed the old Clinton line that a Democrat can win this year, but not Obama who is "showing weakness." What are the Clintons and their pundit-allies up to?  A theft at the convention at this stage will doom the Clintons to electoral infamy for all time so it can't be that.  It only seems to confirm what we've known all along== that they prefer a McCain win so they can get back in power in four years. With four more years of McBush, what makes them think they'll be anything left? And what makes them think they'd get any support from Democrats (under the age of 80) if they do pull such a stunt? 

August 10, 2008 

Note to CNN Commentators: Georgia Crisis Not Simulation to Test Candidates' Leadership 

CNN's commentators on the Russian invasion of Georgia this morning made some comments that were laughable were it not such a serious situation. With serious faces, they seemed to contend that the crisis is a simulation of some sort about how each of the current presidential candidates might react in a crisis someday. What about the guy with the more than seven years of experience who happens to be President at this moment? All I saw was Bush smiling with Putin at the opening ceremonies of the Olympics and, as the crisis deepened, playing volleyball with a group of girls on a Beijing beach somewhere. Shouldn't CNN pundits assess the response of the actual serving President before making wild assertions about how this is a "test of leadership" for each of the candidates for the office? 

August 2, 2008

Shortages of Labor and Equipment, Not Places to Drill

The problem with oil production in America does not lie in a shortage of leases--either on land or off-shore. Thousands of leases have not even been explored yet. Oil field equipment is at a premium and skilled workers in the field are difficult to find. Both of these problems can not be solved by opening up new places for drilling.

The major oil companies have a long history of locking up possible oil lands with long-term leases. It is a means of keeping possible supply for the future in the ground while, at the same time, keeping competitors from capitalizing on the resource. We all remember the bribe-induced leasing of the Naval Petroleum Reserves that became the Teapot Dome scandal in the 1920s.

During the 1920s and 1930s, Shoshone and Arapaho on the Wind River reservation in Wyoming had to sue repeatedly to force oil companies to drill at Maverick Springs after they discovered that the Bureau of Indian Affairs had agreed to a lease without a timely production clause. Similar badly-drawn federal oil leases in recent years led to huge losses in federal royalty payments. It didn't lower the price, of course. What was saved from not paying federal royalties simply went into more company profits.

Political candidates would be wise to learn where the bottlenecks in domestic production exist (in equipment and labor) and read up on the history of oil leasing before agreeing to "compromises" on offshore drilling. Given the lack of public knowledge and the media's inability or unwillingness to explain it, the problem is too easy to demagogue as we're seeing John McCain and his spokesmen doing.

July 4, 2008

Back from the History of Wyoming June Tour 

For the first time in several years, I took a systematic tour across a big chunk of Wyoming during June. (I've been everywhere in Wyoming in recent years, but one destination at a time mostly). This time, it was on a tour bus with 36 other people in a very well-planned "History of Wyoming" tour of the state expertly organized by the UW Outreach School. I was the history guide.

The itinerary for the seven-day trip included stops of many significant historic sites, but even for that length of time, many places and a big piece of Wyoming (the southwest quarter) had to be left off.

Biggest surprise? The lush green grass across the Powder River Basin, the Big Horn Basin and even along the eastern border. While Casper-Shoshoni didn't look a lot like Ireland, there were parts of northern Niobrara County and Johnson County that did (and not through one's sunglasses either). The last time I remember it as green was in the middle 1970s.

The weather wasn't entirely kind to our tour. On June 13, when we were about to depart Cody for Mammoth Hot Springs in the Park, we were told that both passes in the Park were closed by snow--eights inches, according to one report. We had to settle for a quiet day at Old Faithful and, unfortunately, skip the history of old Fort Yellowstone on the site of Mammoth.

I was surprised that most of my fellow travelers were UW alumni, some from as far away as Oklahoma and Minnesota. Consequently, it was no wonder that, at any given site, one of the travelers would have specific insider knowledge that she/he would share with the rest of us. At every destination, we met or renewed acquaintance with many people, demonstrating once again Wyoming's one degree of separation. Why would anyone be surprised that the flagger on the highway construction project on Togwotee Pass was one of my students? Or that the museum director at Meeteetse's nicely organized Charles Belden museum was the mother of my former debate partner in high school?  Nearly everyone else had similar spontaneous meetings with old friends along the way.

One regret is that we didn't get to see everything on the schedule. I made some miscalculations about how long we'd stay at each historic site, thus having to leave off the last site or two on the planned itinerary on a couple of days. No matter how often I travel my state, I'm always learning more about it.  Maybe, if the interest exists, we can do it again next June.

 WYOMING ALMANAC REVIEW:

POLITICS IN WYOMING HISTORY 

When Wyoming Almost Repealed Women Suffrage

The first Territorial Legislature in 1869 passed the suffrage bill, giving women the right to vote for the first time anywhere in America. But it almost didn’t stay that way. Two years later, the second legislature nearly repealed the law. In fact, repeal failed by just one vote.

William Bright, the South Pass City Democrat who introduced the suffrage bill in 1869, didn’t run for re-election, but Ben Sheeks, his South Pass City colleague who opposed the suffrage bill in 1869, did win another term.  Sheeks was the only incumbent House member in the second legislature.      

Just as soon as the second legislature convened, newly elected Uinta County House member C. E. Castle said he intended to get the suffrage law repealed.

Why did the 2^nd legislature try to repeal women suffrage?  Castle did not state a reason, but historian Dr. T. A. Larson claimed it was because of alcohol.  Many men believed that women voters favored “Sunday closing” of saloons, a very unpopular move in the hard-drinking railroad towns in southern Wyoming.

Gov. John A. Campbell, the man who made history on Dec. 10, 1869, by signing the suffrage act into law, urged legislators not to repeal the law. “…women have voted in the territory, served on juries, and held office,” Campbell pointed out. “It is simple justice to say that the women entering, for the first time in the history of the country, upon these new and untried duties, have conducted themselves in every respect with as much tact, sound judgment, and good sense, as men.

Nonetheless, Castle introduced the repeal. The next day repeal passed the House by a vote of nine to three with one member absent and not voting. When the bill went to the Council, it passed there by a narrower vote of 5-4. It looked like Wyoming’s two-year experiment with women suffrage would be coming to an end.

But Gov. Campbell had other ideas. He vetoed the repeal attempt, returning the bill to the House. Both houses needed two-thirds votes to override and House Speaker Ben Sheets immediately sought to override the veto. On Dec. 9, just a day short of two years since Wyoming had become the first place to give women equal rights, nine legislators voted to override the governor’s veto--voting to repeal women suffrage.  Just two voted “no” while two others were absent and not voting. The House had mustered the necessary two-thirds vote. The veto override went to the Council.

There, on the 32^nd day of the session, the five Council members seeking to repeal suffrage voted to override the governor’s veto. The four who had voted against the bill when it first came before the Council again voted to keep women suffrage.   The override effort failed, falling just one vote short of the necessary two-thirds.

The opponents of women suffrage had taken their best shot and narrowly lost—by one vote. The four supporters of suffrage in the Council held firm and Campbell’s veto kept women suffrage part of the territory’s laws.

In 1873, Campbell told the legislators in his joint message: “. “Two years more of observation of the practical working of the system have only served to deepen my conviction that what we, in this Territory, have done, has been well done, and that our system of impartial suffrage is an unqualified success.”

From that day on, no serious effort was ever mounted to repeal the suffrage law, granting women the vote and equal political rights. Wyoming entered the Union on July 10, 1890, and embedded in its Constitution was the suffrage bill in the form of Article 6, Section 1, guaranteeing equal political rights for all.

First Woman to Vote in America Lived in Laramie  

In coming weeks, we will highlight 52 brief biographies of little-known historical figures from Wyoming history.  This weekly series will be based on original research done in the collections of the American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming, and the Wyoming State Archives collections in Cheyenne.  Political commentaries will continue, but these historical features will be interspersed with those entries on current events and opinions.

Louisa Swain was the first woman to vote in a general election in the United States. She voted on Sept. 6, 1870, in Laramie.

Born Louisa Gardner in Norfolk, Va., in 1801, she was the daughter of a sea captain who was lost at sea while she was a child. She and her mother moved to Charleston, S. C., where her mother died. Orphaned, Louisa went to Baltimore to live with an uncle, Ephraim Gardner. While in Baltimore, she met and, in 1821, married Stephen Swain who operated a chair factory. When their fourth child was six weeks old, Stephen Swain sold the chair factory and the family moved, first to Zanesville, Ohio, and later to Indiana. Soon after their son Alfred and his young family moved to the new town of Laramie, Wyoming, in 1869, the Swains joined them.

On Sept. 6, 1870, Louisa Swain rose early, put on her apron, shawl and bonnet, and walked downtown with a tin pail in order to purchase yeast from a merchant. She walked by the polling place and concluded she would vote while she was there. The polling place had not yet officially opened, but election officials asked her to come in and cast her ballot. She was described by a Laramie newspaper as "a gentle white-haired housewife, Quakerish in appearance." (Laramie Daily Sentinel, September 7, 1870). She was 69 years old when she cast the first ballot by any woman in the United States in a general election.

Soon after the election, Stephen and Louisa Swain left Laramie and returned to Maryland to live near a daughter. Stephen died Oct. 6, 1872, in Maryland. Louisa died Jan. 25, 1880, in Lutherville, Maryland. Her body was buried in the Friends Burying Ground, Harford Road, Lutherville. A statue in her honor, by sculptor John Baker, was dedicated in front of the Women's History House, Laramie, Wyoming, in 2005.

 Dec. 26, 2007

New Coal Gasification Project Will Force School Board to Reopen High School/Junior High in Medicine Bow 

The new coal gasification project announced earlier this month ought to bring many people back to the towns of eastern Carbon County--to places emptied during the last bust of the 1980s, In at least one case, Medicine Bow, the town declined even further because of poor decisions by school officials. In coming months, new residents will need houses to live in, stores to patronize, and schools to educate their children. Recipients of such growth likely will include Hanna and Rock River, but in the center nearest the project site is Medicine Bow.

Fortunately, the Medicine Bow school building, closed as a high school and junior high arbitrarily back in 1998 by the absentee-controlled Carbon County School District #2 board, remains standing.  In coming months, the school board may have a chance to reconsider that poorly made plan and reopen the Medicine Bow High School and junior high. Fortunately for quality education, this board is not made up of the same members as the one that so callously destroyed Medicine Bow by arbitrarily closing the school back in '98.

It isn't too late to correct the bad mistake. The board ought to plan now to reopen the school in time to meet the projected educational needs. Such a move will give the town another chance at growth, but more important, provide the opportunity for children of workers on the coal gasification plant to be educated close to home. Today's education theorists now believe smaller schools are better than mega-schools.  Combine that pedagogical truth with the much higher costs of fuel--both for workers who may decide to live far away if there is no school or school buses, needed to transport students to distant schools, and the decision ought to be clear. With any luck, the new board will take action now. Reopening Medicine Bow's schools will be a win for everyone all the way around.

Who We Are

Wyoming Politics: An Almanac Blog of Current Events, History and Opinion  The opinions expressed here are the views of Phil Roberts and do not represent the views of his university, his family, or any political party, interest group or candidate.

For in-depth information about Wyoming history, check Phil's University webpage: http://uwacadweb.uwyo.edu/ROBERTSHISTORY/

Books by Phil Roberts

Readings in Wyoming History, edited by Phil Roberts, is a book consisting of essays by numerous historians covering various aspects of Wyoming history. It is primarily designed as a book for instruction in Wyoming history. The 5th revised edition will be available soon.

A Penny for the Governor, A Dollar for Uncle Sam: Taxation History of Washington. (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2002). The book tells the story of why Washington is one of just seven states not having an income tax and how politics has influenced tax policy in that Northwest state since the Civil War. 

Wyoming Almanac, soon to be released in its sixth revised edition, is a book of facts about the Equality State/Cowboy State. It has no connection to this site except that Phil Roberts is a co-editor of the book, along with his two brothers, David L. Roberts and Steven L. Roberts.

David is assistant professor of journalism at Missouri Valley College and former publisher/editor of the Medicine Bow Post, a prize-winning weekly newspaper he founded in 1977 in Medicine Bow, Wyoming. Steven L. Roberts works for the U. S. Postal Service in Denver. He formerly taught high school and coached in Wyoming high schools. 

Wyoming Politics: An Almanac Blog of Current Events, History and Opinion is a website featuring comment and opinion about everything involving Wyoming. Some pages contain factual data, history, or feature stories about the state. Primarily, however, this site presents observations and analysis of Wyoming politics, mostly from a historical perspective, written by a long-term observer of that subject.