We talked a couple of weeks ago about a funny story out of Wyoming, where far-right media personality Liz Cheney is running an uphill Senate fight, and where an errant fishing license has become quite a headache.
U.S. Senate candidate Elizabeth Lynne Cheney posted a $220 bond in Ninth Circuit Court in Teton County on Monday on a charge of making a false statement to procure a fishing license.A citation/complaint ticket in the court file states that Cheney "fail[ed] to meet residency requirements as required," according to the ticket signed by Wyoming Game and Fish Jackson Supervisor Tim Fuchs.... Cheney signed the ticket twice, once saying she promised to appear in circuit court at 1:30 p.m. Aug. 27 or would forfeit her bond.
I'd love to hear the in-state debate as to whether Cheney is a flight risk.
This is, to be sure, a fairly silly controversy, but it's nevertheless a reminder as to why Cheney is very likely to lose. To briefly recap, Cheney moved from the DC area to Wyoming in May 2012, and quickly applied for a fishing license. Residents are supposed to live in the state for at least a year before qualifying, and Cheney reportedly told a clerk she'd lived in Wyoming for 10 years, which was only off by 10 years.
Why would she go to the trouble? Because as Salon explained, "Wyomingites do not trifle with fishing. According to census data, nearly 40 percent of Wyoming residents are anglers, who spend a cumulative 5.3 million days a year fishing. Fishing expenditures are worth almost $465 million to the state's economy, with much of that coming from tourists.... The state's tourism website uses words like 'ultimate fishing and fly fishing destination' and fishing 'mecca.'"
In other words, if you're a carpetbagger who's eager to pretend you're a local, you'd go out of your way to get a Wyoming fishing license as quickly as possible -- perhaps even taking a shortcut or two.
Liz Brimmer, a Republican strategist in Wyoming, added, "It's a serious misstep. Allegedly poaching in a state where being a resident sportsman is, by law, an earned privilege. Wyoming people will take this very seriously."