Wyoming suicide rate more than doubles as stingy state refuses to expand Medicaid

Today's intersection should come as no surprise as Wyoming Democrats register en masse in the Earth hater party to vote for Liz Cheney in that state's Republican primary. In Park County, for instance the rate is four times higher than at the same point ahead of the 2018 midterm primary election. 

The apparent futility of the move reflects Wyoming's suicide rate as it climbs to over twice the national average and the highest in the United States.

At nearly 60,000 residents, Casper is Wyoming’s second largest city. Casper Police Chief Keith McPheeters told ABC News that his officers respond to suicide calls twice as often as they do for shoplifting. They've secured $2.1 million to expand the suicide hotline to a 24-hour service, most of it federal money from the American Rescue Plan Act that Gov. Mark Gordon appropriated, but with the state legislature refusing to expand Medicaid, federal funding will soon run out. [Wyoming struggles for answers amid growing suicide rate]

The Biden administration is anxious to reward Representative Cheney for her efforts to bring the Trump Organization to justice even as Herr Trump has endorsed a criminal for Wyoming secretary of state and Republican establishment veteran Harriet Hageman for the seat Cheney holds. 

Teton County, home to Jackson Hole leans blue in most elections but Cheney is down some twenty percent in statewide polling and only enjoys thirteen percent among Earth haters nationwide.

K.O. Strohbehn lives in Jackson, a liberal, wealthy tourism community at the gateway to Grand Teton National Park, and she recently switched her party affiliation to vote for Cheney. “She’s one of the few that is living up to her oath of office,” Shtrohbehn said. Statewide, the number of registered Democrats has dropped 13 percent – nearly 7,000 people – since January, while Republic[an] registrations have risen by more than 11,000. [Liz Cheney is appealing to Wyoming Democrats. Will it make a difference?]

Gillette is a scary place. It's where ecocide is encouraged and mercury from coal burning power plants is released into South Dakota's watersheds and beyond. The Campbell County Hospital in Gillette has written off millions in noncollectable debt and the county has already recorded fifteen suicides so far this year with five months yet to go. 

Election day is drawing near. And this campaign is nearing its end. Right now, it looks like a dead heat to me with Hageman seemingly losing momentum because of voter apathy. And I see Cheney quietly gaining ground, thanks to crossover voting. [The Whole World is Watching Wyoming Politics]

It should also come as no surprise to anyone that the Republican South Dakota governor has endorsed the Republican Wyoming governor for re-election.

In 2018 the Rapid City Journal blamed the South Dakota Republican Party for spikes in suicides and depression as a Sanford Health executive also cited poor access to medical care as a reason for premature deaths. South Dakota is ranked 6th highest in the nation for suicides reporting more than 22 self-administered terminations per 100,000 people or an increase of 59% since 1999 and the 11th highest increase in any state. 

So, like South Dakota and because of the race hatred projected at American Indians Wyoming is another red state that would prefer to die of cancers and suicides rather than expand Medicaid.

Learn more at the Casper Star Tribune.