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Political Hay
Why Colin Lost
How could the son of the great Alan Simpson have finished a dismal fourth in his own back yard?
Colin Simpson lost his gubernatorial bid in the August 17 Wyoming GOP Primary, placing a distant fourth with 16% of the vote. The contest was a horse race between former U.S. Attorney for Wyoming Matthew Mead and ex-State Auditor Rita Meyer, each polling roughly 29%, with Mead leading by only 700 votes when Meyer conceded. Former State Agricultural Commissioner Ron Micheli placed third with 26%. In an interesting aside, Rita Meyer had been endorsed by Sarah Palin on the latter’s Facebook page. Matt Mead’s win ensures that he will likely be the next governor of Wyoming, as his Democratic opponent, former Teton County Commissioner Leslie Petersen, has as much of a chance for success in this Republican year as farmers growing pineapples in Pinedale.
But why did Colin Simpson finish a dismal fourth? In a previous piece I speculated that the race should have been a battle between Simpson and Micheli, two experienced pols with long statewide legislative records (Simpson served 12 years in the Wyoming House; Micheli 15). But this is an anti-incumbent year, even for Republicans.
I use the phrase “anti-incumbent” not applying to Colin Simpson, but to the sixty-year Simpson political legacy in Wyoming (Simpson’s grandfather Milward served as Wyoming governor and in the U.S. Senate; his father Alan served in the state legislature and in the U.S. Senate). The candidate should have got elected based on his wonky knowledge of Wyoming fiscal matters and its economically dominant energy sector. Instead his political pedigree got in the way, not to mention his father’s public grandstanding. This last may seem paradoxical in that “Big Al” (his nickname in Wyoming), other than participating in Colin’s May kickoff, mostly remained unattached to his son’s campaign.
Alan K. Simpson retired from the U.S. Senate in 1997 after four decades of service to Wyoming in state and national office. He has since involved himself in altruistic projects, promoting civic and charitable causes, and thus remaining in the public eye. Personally outspoken and colorful, Simpson is a frequent guest on television cable shows. He served on President Bush’s “Hamilton Commission-Iraq Study Group” in 2006 that sought remedies for the then moribund prospects of the Iraq War. Now Big Al serves as a co-chair on President Obama’s “Bipartisan Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform” due to submit a report late this year that will advise the president on how to fix the nation’s current economic malaise and increasing deficit and debt.
But Big Al’s latest excursion into freelance public service is not popular in Wyoming. In fact, the president has in the Cowboy State the lowest statewide polling numbers seen nationwide. According to the Casper Star-Tribune, 52% of Wyoming voters think Obama is doing a “poor” job as president. A July Gallup poll gives the president his lowest statewide approval rating in Wyoming at 29%. The much-loved Big Al is perceived by many of his former constituents as cooperating with an expansion of government through increased taxation (such as a possible Value Added Tax) and vague promises of spending cuts, and is thus seen as tarnishing his legacy by his service on Obama’s Deficit Commission. This could not have helped Colin Simpson’s chances.
Colin Simpson was also unprepared for the gubernatorial race due to the fact that he had no experience in campaigning for public office. He won six consecutive two-year terms in the Wyoming House by running unopposed. Despite that command of statewide issues in all those years, there was nary a debate to show his mettle other than the conducting of townhall-type Q and A events with constituents in the 24th Wyoming House District. And in 2007 he entered with high hopes the complicated free-for-all caucus process involving dozens of candidates that eventually chose John Barrasso to fill the recently deceased Craig Thomas’s U.S. Senate seat.
Simpson — like his father — is not a movement conservative, even though Wyoming is a deeply red state. His tenure in the GOP-dominated Wyoming Legislature required a standard kneejerk Republican take on the issues. And like his father the younger Simpson is at best a moderate on cultural issues; on abortion he’s pro-choice, for instance. During the Reagan years while serving as Bob Dole’s Republican Minority Whip, Big Al was known for reaching across the aisle, and was close to many Democrats, including the late Senator Edward Kennedy. But 2010 is not 1985.
Colin Simpson is returning to his Cody law practice. For the first time in over half a century, a Simpson will not hold public office in Wyoming. It’s either the end of an epoch or an interregnum.
About the Author
Bill Croke, formerly of Cody, Wyoming, is a writer in Salmon, Idaho.
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Dai Alanye | 8.26.10 @ 7:08AM
I'm sure Bill Croke is a nice guy and accomplished nature essayist, but how he can write a column of this type without mentioning the initials RINO is beyond my comprehension.
Alan Simpson has been a quasi-lefty and a headache for conservatives ever since he began his political career.
Tom| 8.26.10 @ 7:58AM
He may not have mentioned RINO but Mr. Croke did explictly note Simpon is "at best a moderate on cultural issues"
David Lampo| 8.26.10 @ 1:29PM
And how does "moderate on cultural issues" make on un-Republican or a RINO? It was only in the past few decades that the religious extremists captured the Republican Party. Ironically, Barry Goldwater himself would be labeled a RINO by the mental midgets who routinely use that term.
Anthony A| 8.26.10 @ 3:59PM
The Republican party is pro-life and pro-family, this is not religious extremism, this is mainstream Americanism. When the Republicans abandon those of us who vote on historical, normal American values, they lose our vote. It's a very simple formula-traditional values and small government wins elections, abandoning our values to win plaudits from the leftist media loses elections.
Quartermaster| 8.26.10 @ 5:05PM
Goldwater changed as he aged. He seemed to go to pieces mentally after he retired saying Clinton was a pretty good President. To say Goldwater was a RINO in 1964 would mark a person as insane. To say he was one in 1995 would not be far off.
His replacement, however, isn't just a RINO, he's a Dimocrat in all but name.
Dai Alanye | 8.26.10 @ 7:37PM
He went left rapidly after his remarriage, a not uncommon story. Was always petulantly resentful of Reagan, as well. The later Barry Goldwater was not the man we supported in 1964.
Curly Smith| 8.26.10 @ 7:26AM
The Simpson bio line is incorrect. It should read "Alan K. Simpson retired from the U.S. Senate in 1997 after four decades of service to Simpson cronies, family members, and himself in state and national office." The penultimate paragraph provides a short list of how Alan Simpson consistently worked against the interests of his constituents.
JAWilson| 8.26.10 @ 8:30AM
Young Colin can revert to being a tax payer unlike his father.
russel| 8.26.10 @ 8:39AM
Simpson jr. just wasn't all that likable among us conservatives ; just had that air . And yes , his dad 's gig w/ the socialist regime had a powerful impact . Al dealt a drastic blow to his reputation with this mis-service . I doubt anyone will miss the end of an ' epoch '.
paul| 8.26.10 @ 9:16AM
Big Al is a Big Phoney
Bob| 8.26.10 @ 9:17AM
In 1996, Dad chose not to override Bill's veto of the partial birth abortion ban and that one vote was the clincher. People do have short memories but not on this issue and the voters responded accordingly punishing the son.
Reply In Kind| 8.26.10 @ 9:45AM
The two most nefarious GOP individual senate votes in the 1990's...Alan K's failure to override Clinton's partial birth abortion ban veto and Fred Thompson's vote to acquit Clinton on one count of impeachment. Both politicians tainted by Bill and suffering election debacles; Fred in '08 and the son in '10.
Richard| 8.26.10 @ 12:07PM
As a Wyomingite Republican the decision for governor was tough. It was Mead, Meyer, or Micheli. It was never Simpson-why, because Simpson is not especially conservative and secondly he did not earn his position but got there on his family name. I voted for Mead who did win and who will be a good governor for the state.
loulou| 8.26.10 @ 12:31PM
Big Al is a Big RINO.
Thanks for amnesty (Simpson-Mazzoli), Big Al.
Bob K.| 8.26.10 @ 1:46PM
This is, like it or not, by an large a democracy; although properly speaking it is a democratic republic. The senate has been trying to turn itself into an aristocracy with hereditary overtones and the media has encouraged it by becoming courtiers to them and it looks like the populace is finally getting smarter and tiring of it.
How many champions did Secretariat have as offspring? Some times the talent is passed down; sometimes not. Why take a chance on a horse when it has never been in a graded stakes race before?
Sonja| 8.30.10 @ 10:31PM
. . . properly speaking, I believe it is a CONSTITUTIONAL republic.
CalMark| 8.26.10 @ 1:57PM
The number of offspring "inheriting" a legislative seat held by "Dear Old Dad" is appalling.
As Bob K. so rightly said, we aren't supposed to have a heriditary aristocracy, with "automatic" rights of succession. Kennedy, Bush, Clinton, or Simpson--multi-generational "political families," whatever their affiliation, are damaging to the Republic.
Time for these people to stop feeling entitled and start living under the terrible laws that their little dynasties have helped to craft.
Fairbanks99| 8.26.10 @ 7:44PM
Add to this list of names - Murkowski. Frank appointed his daughter Lisa to her first Senate term when he jumped from Senate to Governor's office. Alaskans are tired of this arrogant RINO family. Hence Sarah Palin. And now Joe Miller.
Charles Martel| 8.26.10 @ 3:09PM
Alan Simpson has always occupied a place in my mind next to that of Bob Dole, both of them easily derided as accommodating "tax collectors for the welfare state", but what finally secured his downfall in my estimation was his cameo appearance as himself in the 1993 movie "Dave".
For those of you who have not seen the movie, it was effectively a cartoon written by Democrats for Democrats. A Republican president (Kevin Kline) -- as hard hearted as their distorted imagining of Ronald Reagan -- has a massive stroke while, um, vigorously engaged with a comely member of his staff (an early Laura Linney role) and is replaced with a look-alike small- and part-time entertainer (Kline again, of course) by the menacing and Machiavellian Al-Haig-like chief of staff (Frank Langella). The entertainer comes to get the upper hand in the relationship, fires the chief of staff, who can do nothing to stop him without admitting the ruse and going straight to the Federal pen, and implements a national jobs program, as unconstitutional here as it was under FDR, that he has long dreamt of in his day-job running a temp agency. Various real-life pols appear in cameos to applaud (Paul Tsongas, Tom Harkin) or denounce (Alan Simpson) the proposal, the former as good guys, the latter as chumps.
And there you have it, as we see again in Obama's service, the tax collector for the welfare state: Alan Simpson, chump.
+++
Redstateboy| 8.26.10 @ 4:46PM
I think we're all just get'n fed-up with this "Entitlement" mentality is all.. Weather you think you're "Entitled" to Welfare or "Entitled" to Elected office simply because it runs in the Family. Take Al Gore (Please!) His Father was a US Senator for TN. forever.. So Al ran (As a Conservative Dem!!) thank goodness the fruit didn't fall far from the tree for Sons to be considered.
Blue Spruce| 8.27.10 @ 2:01AM
Al Simpson has been a quasi-lefty? Seriously? Whatever the commenter is smoking, I'll have some, thank you. Al is what used to be a mainstream Republican -- a moderate, as we would have said a few years ago -- way too far right for the liberals (and there are a few here in Wyoming) but now a "lefty" according to the tea party fringe. I'm not nuts about him myself, but he is no liberal. Colin lost for two reasons, that I can see: one, he didn't drink the Tea Party Kool-Aid Tea"; and second, lots of people, Republicans, that is, just didn't want a Simpson dynasty in Wyoming. They perceived that Colin didn't want to govern the state as much as he wanted to be SEEN to govern the state. So the system worked, as far as it goes. Our eight-year Democratic Governor with the 80 percent approval rating (from all citizens, across both parties) will be succeeded by Matt Mead, one of the few non-ideologue smart Republicans in the country. And those of you who don't live in Wyoming can sleep well tonight and tend your own screwed-up political gardens in the morning.
ravenbran| 8.27.10 @ 2:19PM
Must protest slur on Secretariat. He has produced many winners, to expect them to be as great as he was is unrealistic. He is most known as a broodmare sire, but his winning offspring are pretty impressive, too. His major stakes winning offspring include 1986 Horse of the Year Lady's Secret, 1988 Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes winner Risen Star, and the 1990 Melbourne Cup winner Kingston Rule, who still holds the race record. He also sired General Assembly, who won the 1979 Travers Stakes at Saratoga while setting a still-standing race record of 2:00 flat. A Secretariat mare, Weekend Surprise, produced 1992 Horse of the Year and successful sire A.P. Indy, who was sired by Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew. The Secretariat/Seattle Slew "nick" has been very successful. A.P. Indy is the sire of 2007 Belmont Stakes winner Rags to Riches, the first filly to win at Belmont since 1905. Other Secretariat daughters have produced the stallions Storm Cat and Gone West.
Elmer Fudd| 8.28.10 @ 6:41AM
Shhhhh! ...Be vewy qwiet. I'm hunting WINOs.
HighPlainsDrifter| 8.31.10 @ 11:30AM
Lack of a good campaign, a true disconnect with the voters, and NOT living up to the Simpson legacy. The residents of WY are pretty savvy politically and not as deep a red those (self-appointed) astute observers would to have you believe.
We also like to think for ourselves, what a concept.
tim| 9.1.10 @ 6:13AM
Put my support for Al Simpson high on the chart. He has taken an interest in a vexing and very dangerous issue...our looming and huge National Debt.
One of the problems for "true believers" is confronting facts. There are various estimates of the debt that piled up during the "conservative" GW Bush administration, but it's in the trillions, folks. That is not a political leaning, it's not a RINO, it's not liberal, conservative or socialist...it's debt. Calling names at this point is a lot like re-arranging the deck chairs and potted plants on the Titanic.
So Keep It Simple, Sam (Uncle)...let's get the debt load under control. We really don't have other options at this point.