{"id":5105,"date":"2023-09-09T11:32:09","date_gmt":"2023-09-09T18:32:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/?p=5105"},"modified":"2023-09-09T11:32:09","modified_gmt":"2023-09-09T18:32:09","slug":"natrona-republicans-call-out-anonymous-wyorino-com-owner-to-debate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/2023\/09\/09\/natrona-republicans-call-out-anonymous-wyorino-com-owner-to-debate\/","title":{"rendered":"Natrona Republicans Call Out Anonymous WyoRINO.com Owner To Debate"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It looks like Natrona County Republicans have their panties in a bunch over a light being shined on their RINO ways. It’s funny that they try to slam the site owner like he might be linked to Soros when Soros is all about the RINOs. And it’s not rocket science, politicians are scored based on if their votes align with the Republican Party platform that allows for a 20% divergence. If your voting record diverges by more than 20% you get labeled a RINO, and rightly so. And it’s a task to maintain the site and look over voting records, so limiting the scoring to a set list of bills is more than fair as you still have the 20% wiggle room. All that to say, I’m not thinking too highly of the Natrona Republican Party and I thank the person(s) behind WyoRINO.com for their service to conservatives in Wyoming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/cowboystatedaily.com\/2023\/09\/08\/natrona-republicans-call-out-anonymous-wyorino-com-owner-to-debate\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n

<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n

By Leo Wolfson<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joe MacGuire doesn\u2019t have much expectation those behind WyoRINO.com will show up at next week\u2019s Natrona County Republican Party debate even though they are the guests of honor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Natrona County GOP has invited the owner of the anonymous conservative political ranking website to a debate Thursday with Rod Miller, a Wyoming political observer. While Miller is a regular columnist for Cowboy State Daily, CSD is not affiliated with the Natrona County GOP or with the debate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Miller also doesn\u2019t expect anyone representing WyoRINO.com to show up, but hopes they do, and said it would compare to revealing the identity of a masked singer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEither way, even if they don\u2019t show up they\u2019ll get their asses roasted as cowards,\u201d Miller said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WyoRINO.com has been around since at least late 2019 and is based on the label \u201cRepublican in name only,\u201d a pejorative used to describe some Republicans that others believe don\u2019t effectively follow the party\u2019s platform. More specifically, the website says it exists \u201cto expose liberal Wyoming Republicans who violate our Wyoming Republican values.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Natrona County Republican Party is hosting the debate \u201cto highlight the absurdity and have fun at the expense of a website that anonymously rates and labels Wyoming legislators who hold differing views.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The identity of whoever runs the website has never been revealed, a point MacGuire described as \u201cthe height of cowardice\u201d in an August press release. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhere it does matter is in the realm of political courage,\u201d Miller said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MacGuire also believes the owner of the website is breaking state law by not reporting its activities as \u201celectioneering.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under state law, all money spent in relation to campaign efforts must be reported with the Secretary of State\u2019s office. MacGuire said WyoRINO has put up billboards around Cheyenne in the past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhether all the money is coming from D.C. or Midwest, Wyoming, it\u2019s important the public knows where the information is coming from,\u201d MacGuire said. \u201cIt\u2019s important for the people of Wyoming to know, is WyoRINO funded by some outside George Soros-like group?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Getting The Word Out<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

MacGuire said his party sent messages to the website, every county Republican Party in the state and the state GOP informing them of the event and inviting whoever is behind the website to show up at the event. He said he hasn\u2019t received any response, an indication WyoRINO will continue to remain anonymous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve done all we can do at this point to get them to show up,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If they do show up, they\u2019ll get to explain to the public why they\u2019ve remained anonymous for so long and debate Miller about the merits of the website. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The website has gained considerable favor in populist conservative circles around the state in recent years and its data has been referred to during various political debates such as a candidate forum held in Park County in 2022. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Miller said to some extent it hardly matters who runs the website, as he believes it only caters to a very narrow audience and isn\u2019t swaying anyone\u2019s votes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s part of the dignity battalions of the Freedom Caucus force that is a very narrow wedge of politics in Wyoming,\u201d Miller said. \u201cOutside that narrow wedge of right-wing politics in Wyoming, no one pays attention to them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Several legislators who have been targeted by the site also will attend and speak at the event next week, but MacGuire wouldn\u2019t say who they will be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019d hate to subject them to a week of attacks and have those individuals pounded on social media and targeted,\u201d he said. \u201cThere are people who can be pretty ruthless.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Screenshot
Screenshot from WyoRINO.com (Cowboy State Daily Staff)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What Do They Do?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

WyoRINO.com<\/a> ranks Wyoming\u2019s Republican state lawmakers based on their votes on 10 selected bills from each legislative session. Those who don\u2019t vote in line with what the owner considers the party\u2019s platform are given a failing grade for that vote. Those who receive a score lower than 70% on the 10 bills are considered a \u201cRINO.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aside from the anonymous identity of the website, one of the other main criticisms made about WyoRINO is the small sample of bills it uses to determine its scoring. During the legislative session, hundreds of votes are taken on hundreds of bills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The website also features a \u201cRINO of the month\u201d where more detail and explanation is given on a legislator\u2019s votes from the personal perspective of the writer. This month\u2019s honoree is state Rep. Ryan Berger, R-Evanston. Some of the previously featured lawmakers include Gov. Mark Gordon, Sen. Cale Case, R-Lander, Senate President Ogden Driskill, R-Devils Tower, and MacGuire himself when he was a state legislator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even though the website ranks lawmakers based on their votes during the legislative session, the writer focuses entirely on Berger\u2019s votes from the current interim session, which is limited to draft committee bills many months away from being considered by the Legislature as a whole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still A Good Time<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

MacGuire said Thursday\u2019s event at the Ramkota Hotel will still be enjoyable even if the owner of the website doesn\u2019t show up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe need to stop being so angry and need to be happy for what we have,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It also serves as a fundraising function for the Natrona County GOP. The Natrona GOP has been at odds with the leadership of the Wyoming Republican Party in recent years, the majority of which is made up by the populist wing of the Republican Party that generally supports the conclusions that WyoRINO and other similar conservative ranking websites come to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Natrona GOP owes more than $39,000 in dues to the state GOP but has been refusing to pay the party over disagreements about the way it is run.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It looks like Natrona County Republicans have their panties in a bunch over a light being shined on their RINO ways. It’s funny that they try to slam the site owner like he might be linked to Soros when Soros is all about the RINOs. And it’s not rocket science, politicians are scored based on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5105","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-world"],"blocksy_meta":[],"featured_image_src":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"Jason","author_link":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/author\/jturning\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5105","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5105"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5105\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5106,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5105\/revisions\/5106"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5105"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5105"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5105"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}