WY-AL: Who Doesn't Love A Parade?

What a great October tradition, the homecoming parade. Having left Jackson a few days earlier, we felt really lucky in Laramie yesterday that the snow hadn't caught up with us. It was a cold, crisp, sunny morning, and everyone was ready for the big game. (Except the Pokes, who ended up losing to Utah, 40-7. Ouch.)

Gary Trauner and the Albany County Dems were fired up, and had the benefit of a very friendly crowd:

Maybe that reception had something to do with the fact that Gary really knows how to work a parade crowd. I couldn't keep up with him, as you can tell from the tail end of that video snippet.

The county Republicans, on the other hand, relied upon their "impersonators."

That's a guy in a very creepy John McCain rubber mask and a Sarah Palin look-alike. Gary's opponent, Cynthia Lummis, was on the float for a while, but disappeared fairly early on. The remaining candidates generally seemed content to ride on the float and wave at folks from above, which pretty much sums up the Republican attitude in Wyoming.

This year, Wyoming has a great choice in Orange to Blue candidate Gary Trauner. Which any of you who've met him know. For those who don't, here's just an idea of how sharp, pragmatic, and engaging he is. We'd been talking about the health care issue, so I asked him to talk to me about it on video.

But more on the substantive stuff in Gary's race tomorrow. It's still the weekend, so instead of heavy-duty politics, how about some parade pictures?

Here's some Trauner family shots. This is his son Aaron, riding along with his grandparents.

Gary and his wife, Terry.

Gov. Dave Freudenthal, hanging out with the northern Colorado Campaign for Change crew, who were trying to poach Wyoming volunteers to go work in Colorado. I had a nice chat with Governor Dave, as he's known here. Note to the CfC team: get your Fort Collins volunteers from Denver and Boulder--Gary and the Wyoming Dems need every boot on the ground there!

Finally, the pre-game warm up--the tailgate party.

It was a good day for Team Trauner. Laramie, a college town, is a friendly place. His reception there was fantastic and gave the whole campaign a real shot of energy to help them get through the next three weeks.

On the Web:
Gary Trauner for Congress
Orange to Blue