New senator from Wyoming: John Barrasso (R)

Because of the June 4 death of Sen. Craig Thomas (R), Wyoming's governor had to appoint a replacement until a November 2008 special election. As noted here previously, under Wyoming law, even though Gov. Dave Freudenthal is a Democrat, he had to appoint someone from Thomas' party, in this case the Republicans.

So welcome to Sen. John Barrasso. Looks like he's a pretty traditional wingnut (meaning "batshit fundie far-right whacko"):

Barrasso also left no doubt that he will be a conservative voice in Washington.

"I believe in limited government, lower taxes, less spending, traditional family values, local control and a strong national defense," the orthopedic surgeon and state senator from Casper wrote in his application.

He said he has "voted for prayer in schools, against gay marriage and have sponsored legislation to protect the sanctity of life."

Just what we need -- another fundie on Capitol Hill.

Was this really the best Freudenthal could do? After all, he had his choice of three, and he picked Barrasso over Cheyenne attorney Tom Sansonetti and former state Treasurer Cynthia Lummis. What's wrong with them?

Hi, I'm Assistant Attorney General Tom Sansonetti. I'm in charge of the Environment and Natural Resources Division here at the Department of Justice, under the leadership of Attorney General John Ashcroft. Coming to Washington D.C. from the West, some of my fondest memories are of times I have spent recreating outdoors with my family and appreciating the value of our nation's natural resources.

Cynthia [Lummis] was raised on her family ranch in Laramie County. She attended Trinity Lutheran School and Cheyenne public schools before graduating from the University of Wyoming with a bachelors degree in Animal Science in 1976 and a bachelors degree in biology in 1978. In 1979, Cynthia was elected to the Wyoming House of Representatives - the youngest women ever elected to the Wyoming Legislature. She returned to the University of Wyoming for her law degree, which she received in 1985. She clerked at the Wyoming Supreme Court, practiced law in Cheyenne, and served a total of fourteen years in the Wyoming House and Senate, concentrating on natural resource and taxation issues. Cynthia completed her Legislative service in 1994, and chaired Governor-elect Geringer’s transition team. She continued to work in the Governor’s Office for two more years, primarily on natural resource issues. Cynthia also served as the interim Director of the Office of State Lands and Investments.

Not sure why Lummis wasn't selected ... but I guess we should be grateful we didn't get Sansonetti ... who worked in the Justice Department of John Ashcroft.

UPDATE (1:59 pm 6/22/07): According to the article linked above, Barrasso does plan to run in the 2008 special election.

UPDATE (3:16 pm 6/22/07): Commenter bo at Eschaton has a plausible theory on why Gov. Freudenthal picked a batshit fundie rather than a seemingly normal person like Lummis:

The process was, the Republicans selected three candidates, and the Governor (Democrat) got to select one. Defeatability would be a highly desirable characteristic. ;^)

And dirk gently in the comments to this post says basically the same thing, thereby proving yet again that Blast Off! shares with Eschaton the smartest commenters on the intertubes.

Bush crime syndicate: corrupt and ignorant

You have got to be kidding me.

Maybe Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt and his staff are just in denial. Or maybe they don't read the papers, thus missing the sad news that Sen. Craig Thomas (R-Wyo.) died Monday, seven months after he was diagnosed with leukemia.

Whatever the case, Leavitt's office called Thomas's office late Thursday afternoon to request a meeting with the late senator.

[...]

[A Thomas aide], Cameron Hardy, confirmed that the late senator's office "did get a call from HHS staff today to see whether our boss wanted to meet with nominees. HHS was following up with us because they hadn't heard from us since early May. It's been an emotional and tough week for us, so I'm sure that it wasn't taken well. However, it's not every day that a sitting senator passes away either. Thanks."

Jeebus. Is anyone in D.C. paying attention to anything besides The Sopranos finale and Hillary's wardrobe?

Don't get too excited, Democrats

Sen. Craig Thomas (R-Wyo.) has been hospitalized in serious condition. He has been suffering from leukemia that has been resistant to chemotherapy and now is battling an infection as well.

Naturally, Blast Off! wishes the Senator well, and my thoughts are with him and his family, wishing him a speedy recovery. However, since the MSM was foaming at the mouth over Sen. Tim Johnson's (D-S.D.) brain hemorrhage several months ago, it would be irresponsible not to speculate (per Peggy Noonan) about the effect on the Senate should Sen. Thomas be unable to serve for whatever reason.

The typical response from Democrats likely would be positive (again, speaking strictly in the abstract; not taking delight in Sen. Thomas' illness), because the Democratic governor of Wyoming, Dave Freudenthal, would have the authority to appoint a successor. As ESPN's Lee Corso might say, though, Not so fast!

According to Wyoming law, the governor must appoint a successor from the last incumbent's political party:

W.S. 22-18-111(a)(i): If a vacancy occurs in the office of United States senator or in any state office other than the office of justice of the supreme court and the office of district court judge, the governor shall immediately notify in writing the chairman of the state central committee of the political party which the last incumbent represented at the time of his election under W.S. 22-6-120(a)(vii), or at the time of his appointment if not elected to office. The chairman shall call a meeting of the state central committee to be held not later than fifteen (15) days after he receives notice of the vacancy. At the meeting the state central committee shall select and transmit to the governor the names of three (3) persons qualified to fill the vacancy. Within five (5) days after receiving these three (3) names, the governor shall fill the vacancy by temporary appointment of one (1) of the three (3) to hold the office.

So, Gov. Freudenthal would have to appoint a Republican. And so, should Sen. Thomas be unable to serve, we're still stuck putting up with that asshat Joe Lieberman.

But only, FSM willing, until January 2009 ...

UPDATE (9:21 am 6/5/07): Sen. Thomas died last night at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. He was 74. My condolences to his family and friends.

The SCLM two-step

So, let me get this straight: a 59-year-old Democratic senator from a state with a Republican governor has major surgery, and the media mavens are falling all over themselves to discuss how it will affect control of the Senate, etc., etc.

Meanwhile, on the same day, a 70-year-old Republican senator from a state with a Democratic governor has major surgery, and ... crickets.

Look, I know Sen. Johnson's condition, AVM, or arteriovenous malformation, is probably more serious than Sen. Dole's hip replacement surgery. But, optimistically, there's no reason why Sen. Johnson's recovery should take appreciably longer than Sen. Dole's. At the very least, it's irresponsible journalism to assume the worst.

It's common to take several days for someone to wake up after AVM surgery, said Dr. Sean Grady, neurosurgery chairman at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Someone who is awake and alert and talking in the first day or two typically has a shorter recovery — in the range of 4 to 8 weeks, he said. If it takes longer to wake up, it in turn takes more months to recover.

Point is, right now, we just don't know, any more than we know if Sen. Dole might have some post-operative complications from her hip replacement.

In the final analysis, it's just another chapter in the sad, sordid decline of American media - now more right-wing than ever.

UPDATE (4:52 pm 12/14/06): There's also the issue of Sen. Craig Thomas (R-Wyo.), who was diagnosed last month with leukemia. Wyoming's governor is a Democrat. Have we heard much about that? Nope.