Spies in Wyoming -- it has to be the ludicrous plot of a poorly-written novel, right?
No dear reader, it isn’t. Proving truth to be stranger than fiction, the New York Times broke news last week that a spy ring had operated in Wyoming and focused on gathering information about political operations in the state. These spies mostly focused on Wyoming Democrats, the Wyoming Investor Network and Better Wyoming, a left-leaning group seeking to change the conservative narrative in Wyoming’s politics, as well as moderate Republicans. The Times also reports they attempted to gather information about political operations in Colorado and Arizona.
The Times’ reporting points to the ring being built by Eric Prince, founder of private military company Blackwater, with funding provided by Susan Gore, a Wyoming transplant who founded the Wyoming Liberty Group and an heiress to the Gore-Tex fortune.
Gore has long funded highly conservative candidates throughout Wyoming. According to data from the Wyoming Secretary of State’s campaign finance webpage, Gore personally donated $38,450 to 28 Republicans seeking election to the Wyoming Legislature during the 2020 election. Her contributions include $1,500 to Rep. Mark Baker, who won election to House District 60 in Green River, as well as Anthony Bouchard and Chuck Gray, both of whom seek to replace Liz Cheney in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2022.
We find these acts to be repulsive because they don’t mesh with the respectful and friendly nature of Wyoming’s residents. These acts most certainly don’t match with the ideals found in the Code of the West, especially when it comes to remembering that some things aren’t for sale and to know when to draw the line. We may disagree with one another, but Wyoming’s residents want what’s best for the state in the end, regardless of political position. We don’t think Wyoming’s people and the interests of the state are what people like Gore and Prince have in mind when they involve themselves in Wyoming politics. We’re certain they involve greed and using the state’s sparse population to buy an outsized megaphone in promoting their views.
With Gore specifically, this is a woman who attempted to adopt her 65-year-old ex-husband in a bid to get a larger piece of her family inheritance.
Gore’s politics don’t concern themselves with the state’s miners or families of ranchers. They don’t promote anything to support the state’s blue and white-collar workers. Gore’s political interests are solely informed from lounging upon the cushions of wealth her father’s ingenuity bought her.
It’s time Wyoming conservatives dump Gore and her ilk. We call upon candidates to turn their backs on the money Gore offers because we should not condone the use of espionage techniques on our friends and neighbors. After all, we should know where to draw the line.
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