I finally got to meet Dr. Rothfuss tonight at a candidate forum for state- and national-level legislative races at Sheridan College, and I was pretty jazzed (it may not have showed so much, as I had just gotten back from concrete testing outside Rock Springs, my day started at five this morning). The guy is clearly smart - he earned a BS in international studies and then a master's in chemical engineering at the University of Wyoming, and then a doctorate and another master's from the University of Washington, and more (just read his bio) - but he can relate to people. He's also got a good sense of humor and a grasp of nuance that involves more than tap-dancing and legalizing around the issue at hand. This is definitely a guy that can get the ball rolling on energy issues.
Even better, he's got the mindset that the people of Wyoming - and the country as a whole - need in the Senate. Dr. Rothfuss isn't interested in a political career, or party interests at the expense of success, he wants consensus. Not just a narrow majority, but 70+ vote consensus that serves the interests of all involved. Neither Democrats nor Republicans (nor Libertarians, or Greens, or Constitutionalists, or whatever) have a monopoly on good ideas, and being able to see and admit that is huge to me.
It's worth pointing out that Senator Enzi - the incumbent that Dr. Rothfuss is challenging in this election - was absent from the event (as was Senator Barasso); he sent a letter that didn't really say much of anything in his place. Interestingly enough, his campaigning vehicle was spotted outside Republican Party Headquarters in downtown Sheridan this afternoon/early evening, which leaves me with one question: if he was in town earlier today, why couldn't he make an appearance? I can't even find a campaign website for him, so we know two things: (1) he doesn't have a public campaign schedule I can check and (2) he doesn't seem to be taking this election too seriously. Which is a damn shame, because if he wins it'll be because his name has an "R" after it and too many people in this state will go off that and that alone. Which isn't to say that he's done a bad job, but color me underwhelmed.
I can also move Nick Carter (he's running against Barasso) into the growing list of candidates I'm actually voting for, instead of against their opponent. He's got a position on (or rather, against) blind party loyalty much like Rothfuss and Gary Trauner, who was also in attendance.
Which brings me to the big surprise of the evening - Cynthia Lummis showed up! Of course, it's just as underwhelming to see her talk in person as it is to hear her on the radio or read about her in the paper. When she was spoke, it felt like I was being talked down to by that aunt that everybody has and doesn't really like; when she didn't, she just sat there with either a valium housewife sort of smile or a regal look at her assembled subjects, I'm not quite sure which. She didn't seem to make any effort to listen to Trauner - who was in fine form tonight and had a couple great jabs that I'll get to later - or W. David Herbert (the Libertarian in the race) when they spoke, and she disappeared as soon as the forum was over. Maybe she had another fundraiser to attend?
Oh, and if you missed it and you're in Sheridan, the forum will be broadcast several times on Channel 14 in the near future, so try to catch it.
End ramble,
Regis
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