Passing the baton

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

By Joseph Schloss

I attended the Wyoming Republican Central Committee meeting on Saturday in Casper, a politically informative meeting with State Chairman Fred Parady at the helm.

It started with perfunctory business, but tension grew rapidly as we awaited the morning speakers. U.S. Sen. Mike Enzi spoke first. Then came our newest U.S. Senator, John Barrasso who, with great excitement, announced that he and long time sweetheart and fiancée, Bobbi Brown, had set a wedding date – Jan. 1, 2008. Smiles and applause from well wishers filled the room, but it seemed clear that the real attention, what everyone was waiting for, was the final speaker of the morning: U.S. Representative Barbara Cubin. 

The Casper Star Tribune’s morning headline practically screamed, “Cubin won’t run again; Congresswoman plans announcement today in Casper.” It was obvious there had been a leak. Information like this is never released to the media in advance. The question on everyone’s mind this late fall morning was, is the information correct? The audience was on pins and needles awaiting the outcome.

The press and news media had arrived in droves to cover the much-anticipated speech. Finally, Rep. Cubin, broken foot in a cast, hobbled on crutches to the podium. She seemed small of stature as she took her place, but she totally captivated everyone in the room.

There were no side conversations, no distractions – all eyes and ears were focused on the Congresswoman.

Rep. Cubin initially spoke about the political pundits in Washington, D.C., who have painted a dire picture for Republicans in the presidential election of 2008. She pointed out how often they have been wrong in the past. She pointed out that they had predicted a John Kerry landslide in 2004, and were wrong. She said that the pundits had predicted a Democrat takeover of the House of Representatives in every election since 1996, and were wrong.

They predicted that the Republican Party could never win a majority in the House of Representatives in 1994, and were wrong. These same pundits were positive that President George H. W. Bush was too weak and unpopular to ever get elected president, and were wrong. Finally, the Washington pundits believed that President Ronald Reagan would cause World War III and would destroy our economy while doing it, and they were definitely wrong.

Rep. Cubin spoke in glowing terms about the future of America and the Republican Party. She spoke about Democrats spending so much time voting to surrender to Al-Qaeda and investigating the president that they had no time for America. She pointed out that even Nancy Pelosi recently told the nation that she disapproved of the very Congress that she leads. “If the Speaker of the House says her party is doing a bad job, how can you argue with that?”

In a final jab at the press, and particularly the Casper Star News, Rep. Cubin announced that she would run again – just as soon as the cast comes off her foot. You could have heard a pin drop. Her timing was perfect. The audience erupted with cheers and laughter. Of course, later in the speech she announced that she would not stand for reelection in 2008 and that her 14 years of service in Congress would come to an end in January 2009.

As the crowd swelled around her to wish her well, I could not help but think about all that she had accomplished in those 14 years. In 1994, she became the first woman to be elected to federal office from Wyoming. Rep. Cubin, is only the second official to win seven Wyoming statewide elections. She introduced the law that repays Wyoming over $435 million owed under the Abandoned Mine Land program. An additional $1.6 billion will be paid by the government to Wyoming over the next 15 years. She sponsored and supported countless acts of legislation that have benefited the people of this state, and she is a true patriot who has travelled to Iraq to see first-hand the damage created and cultivated by the jihadists.

Representative Cubin, God speed and best wishes for a wonderful retirement.
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