YESTERDAY'S PRIMARIES IN WYOMING AND ALASKA

The big news is the career-ending rout of Alaska's much reviled Republicrook Governor Frank Murkowski and I'll get to that in a moment. First I want to talk about Wyoming. About a week ago Howard Dean called to tell me what a big fan he is of the Squirrel Nut Zippers' music-- and you know why that got me excited. But he also asked me to keep an eye out for a terrific candidate he had talked to in Wyoming, Gary Trauner. As I've mention here before, Gary is the Democrat running for Wyoming's at-large congressional seat, currently held by GOP/KKK rubber stamp whacko Babsy Cubin.

Cubin fared rather poorly in yesterday's Republican primary, barely eking out 60% of the vote against an unknown opponent who spent less than $20,000 against all the corporate bribes contributions she has been given to keep her voting for the Bush/Big Business agenda she has so assiduously rubber stamped. She ponied up nearly half a million to beat retired naval officer Bill Winney and he beat her in Laramie County (Cheyenne) and about tied her in Casper, the state's other city. She beat him handily in the backward areas of the state. But don't get too excited.

First of all, Wyoming is one of only two states-- the other being Utah-- where Bush is still viewed favorably by voters. Republicans swamp Democrats in voter registration (63% to 27%) and Bush garnered 69% of the vote in 2000 and even after 4 years of watching him in action Wyoming came back with the same 69% in 2004. The State Senate has 7 Democrats and 23 Republicans and the State House has 14 Democrats and 46 Republicans. The state has elected two Big Business pimps to the U.S. Senate, Craig Thomas and Michael Enzi (who is also one of the stupidest men ever elected to any office anywhere). On the other hand, Wyoming elected a Democrat (albeit a somewhat reactionary one, Dave Freudenthal) to the Governor's Mansion in 2002.

Cubin and Trauner both have a bit over $200,000 on hand right now, although she is expected to get plenty of help from Big Oil and Big Pharma and other corporate interests desperate to hang on to someone who is never, ever, ever shy about selling out the well-being of her constituents in favor of the corporate lust for more and more and more. With the popular Freudenthal on the ballot-- and expected to trounce his Republican opponent-- and with the winds of dissatisfaction with Republican misrule even starting to blow in Wyoming, no one should discount Trauner's ability to capitalize on Cubin's lack of popularity in the state, where even Republicans are unenthusiastic about her and embarrassed by her racism and bizarre antics.

Now the news from Alaska isn't all that great. Former two-term Governor Tony Knowles' best bet to win in November would have been to face the crooked and despised Murkowski. Now Republicans are stupid, but they're not that stupid, and they wisely sent Murkowski into the political oblivion he has earned. He came in 3rd behind John Blinkley and a former small-town mayor, Sarah Palin (who wound up with 51.1% of the vote).