Wyoming Governor Dave Freudenthal appointed Republican State Senator John Barrasso to the vacant Senate seat once held by Craig Thomas who passed away earlier this month. He beat out two other candidates chosen by the state's Republican Party, former party state chairman and U.S. Department of Justice official Tom Sansonetti and former State Treasurer Cynthia Lummis. By state law, if a senator dies or some other event happens to him where he can no longer hold the seat, the party who last held the seat must send three names to the governor, who will then select one from the three. After making his choice, Freudenthal said, “There are many factors that went into this decision, and it was the sum of these factors that led me to this choice. While I don’t intend to indulge the speculation on why I made this decision, I will say that I hope I made the right choice.” His appointment is effective as of today.
I do not know a lot about Senator Barrasso, but I am hopeful that he will be a reliable conservative in Washington. I am concerned about his statements on "women's choice" in regards to abortion, but he is against federal funding of the ghastly act. He says he is in support of fair trade. He opposes "homosexual rights". He has also reportedly voted in favor of school prayer. The National Rifle Association also has shown support of him by giving him an "A" rating. “I believe in limited government, lower taxes, less spending, traditional family values, local control and a strong national defense,” is what he wrote on his written application to replace Senator Thomas.
Congratulations to the new Senator from Wyoming, and I look forward to watching to see if he is the reliable conservative in the same form as Senators Jim Inhofe and Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, Jim DeMint of South Carolina, Jim Bunning of Kentucky, and Jeff Sessions of Alabama.
New West article on today's appointment
Casper Star-Tribune
Los Angeles Times
CQPolitics.com
Washington Post
The full account from Senator Barrasso's first press conference as a U.S. Senator
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