Jackson Hole Underground

Capt. Bob Morris, one of the most prominent Republicans in Jackson Hole, has changed his party registration and plans to vote at the Teton County Democratic Convention on March 8, supporting Barack Obama for president.

Morris, 75, a longtime GOP committeeman and candidate, registered as a Democrat last week for the first time in 36 years.

The change marks a reversal for Morris, who has spent nearly four decades in Jackson Hole trying to get young people to vote in Republican primaries.

“Obama has the power to see ourselves as others see us,” he says.

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Last night’s meeting with the Forest Service was an IMAX-caliber theater of the absurd. Citizens eviscerated the agency’s proposal to move its Bridger-Teton headquarters from downtown Jackson and sell up to $50 million worth of public land. All 14 people who spoke denounced the plan.

Some of the sharpest words came from Hank Phibbs, representing the county and city government. Phibbs said the Forest Service is “engaged in a shadow dance,” having already made a decision and holding a public meeting for show.

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“Jackson Hole, do you have soul?” Grace Potter warbled to a sold-out Mangy Moose.

With that, the 24-year-old rocker from Vermont launched into a cover of the Band of Gypsies tune “Who Knows.” The song is by Hendrix, but Potter — long-legged in her black miniskirt and tall leather boots — became the female incarnation of Robert Plant, wailing and writhing and even twirling the microphone over her head. She paused to tell those chatting at the back of the bar, “Shut the fuck up.”

It wasn’t until about halfway through her show Wednesday that Jackson Hole got to peer into Potter’s soul. And we found out why everyone’s talking about this band.

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If you can brave the blizzard raging outside to drive to Jackson Hole High School this evening, the Forest Service will be on the marquee as it tries to explain why the agency’s headquarters should be moved to Lincoln or Sublette counties.

Maybe Regional Forester Harv Forsgren always wanted to have his name in lights.

When we last left off with this boondoggle, the Forest Service, led by Forsgren in Ogden, Utah, claimed that it was considering selling part of its 16-acre site on North Cache Drive — prime real estate at the entrance to town — because of the high cost of housing employees in Jackson.

“Let’s put the myths to rest” wrote Forsgren in an op-ed in the News&Guide, fending off questions about the agency’s motivation.

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Yes, we can.

Here’s how: Wyoming has 18 delegates — twice as many as Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands, which each have nine. Montana has 24.

Wyoming’s delegates will be decided by county conventions on Saturday, March 8. Anyone can vote as long as they are registered as Democrats by Friday, Feb. 22.

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