The Buzz: Lummis, Trauner trade licks; Sporting Club

Wednesday, October 01, 2008

By Ben Cannon

Jackson Hole, Wyo.-The failure of lawmakers to pass a bailout plan of the U.S. economy, with no clear rescue in sight as of midday Tuesday, has devolved into a highly politicized and partisan fandango, with virtually any politician vying for a job in Washington taking the opportunity to posture to an indignant, and anxious, constituency.

Here in Wyoming, Gary Trauner and Cynthia Lummis, battling over the state’s lone House seat, have used the current economic kerfuffle to criticize an underperforming system of Washington lawmakers.

Trauner said he opposed the failed $700 billion bailout bill, and on Monday, he attributed its defeat to a flawed plan, opposed by many lawmakers for not limiting CEO salaries or the “golden parachutes” that have become national symbols of Wall Street excess. He also criticized the plan for a lack of “independent oversight.”
Adam Ruff, Trauner’s campaign manager, said Trauner joined other dissenting Democrats who opposed the bailout plan, calling it a flawed piece of hastily cobbled legislation.

“That plan shouldn’t have come to the floor in the first place,” Ruff said.
Trauner, who last week held a press conference on the financial meltdown, took the opportunity to criticize what he said was his opponent’s silence during the crisis.
“The best I can tell, the closest Cynthia Lummis has come to addressing the bailout is proposing to privatize Social Security,” Trauner said in a press release, alluding to Lummis’ recent statements that she favors transitioning toward the privatization of Social Security.

Campaigning in Sublette County on Monday, Lummis, a Republican of Cheyenne, also said she would have voted against the bailout plan, explaining the package did not provide enough taxpayer protection and would raise the national debt ceiling by $1.3 trillion. Like her opponent, Lummis favored restricting Wall Street salaries, a position espoused by many members of congress whose seats are up for grabs in November.

Responding to Trauner’s criticism through a campaign statement, Lummis said, “Perhaps my opponent should spend time talking about solutions that protect the average working American, instead of taking shots at me. Our country’s financial security is at stake and his partisanship isn’t productive or appropriate.”
Both candidates called for lawmakers in Washington to put aside partisanship and focus on passing a bailout plan.

During Trauner’s press conference last week, the Jackson Democrat said taxpayers should get a stake in troubled private entities in exchange for buying up bad assets. Trauner called for more regulation of Wall Street.
A call to the Lummis campaign for further comment was not immediately returned Tuesday.

Meanwhile, one of Jackson Hole’s own economically embattled investment’s, Snake River Sporting Club, commented on its dire financial situation for the first time this week.

On Tuesday, the golfing club and community - which faces upwards of $1.85 million in lien claims and an estimated $12 million in infrastructural costs to avert foreclosure on letters of credit - blamed slow sales and a national lending crisis.

“As we have faced the devastating downturn in the national economy,” an unattributed statement said, “the primary lender is no longer able to provide additional financing … [W]e expended tireless efforts to identify new sources of capital, and we investigated extensive options for restructuring but to no avail.”
The statement said the development continues to work to address its financial obligations.
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The Buzz: Lummis, Trauner trade licks; Sporting Club | Planet JH News Article: General News

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