Who are DINOs?
This is a movement meant to unite, not divide, so DINOs come from all walks of life.
We use plural language like “we" to illustrate the reality that these ideas are not the lone product of a single person. We want to represent clearly and up-front that this is meant to be a movement of many against the startling national trend towards the elevation of “one person” to solve all the problems.
One person — no matter how smart, wealthy, or well-connected — cannot fix everything that has gone wrong. We all need help, at least some of the time.
Currently, the main link between DINOs — and even people thinking about becoming DINOs — is a belief that the partisan electoral system we have is not working. While we are yet to launch a formal “membership” or anything like that, our individual supporters include: ranchers, business owners, mechanics, plumbers, industrial laundry operators, college students, food industry workers, healthcare professionals, pilots, veterans, miners, roughnecks, and many others from all walks of Wyoming life.
This is truly a movement for ALL of Wyoming.
Meet our Founder – Gabriel Green
The DINO movement was started by Gabriel Green, a born and raised Wyomingite.
He grew up in a working family that never seemed to have much money, but he had other privileges, such as: parents that stayed together and sacrificed constantly to provide for his education, two little brothers that are and always will be his best friends, and a deep connection to positive influences in places like church where folks like a loving deacon offered to serve as a private tutor in topics like American History.
See, Gabriel was born on the 4th of July, 1996, in Casper, Wyoming. He often jokes that sharing a birthday with our nation pretty much locked him into the path of patriotism that he's pursued. Of course, being a total nerd, Gabriel likes to point out that the first official declaration of independence was actually not the great document we celebrate on his birthday, but rather the Halifax Resolves signed in April of ‘76. That’s probably just because his ancestors were involved, having arrived in North Carolina in 1750 just in time to whip some redcoats!
Gabriel has spent his entire life loving these United States, appreciating the founding ideals of our nation, and studying the depth of global history that culminated in our great experiment in self-governance. He's similarly grown in his love for Wyoming the more he's learned our history. Being the first generation in his family to be born here, he takes pride in establishing roots that he hopes will have an impact long after he's passed on.
Being a precocious child, he bounced around Natrona County elementary and middle schools, but found his groove at Kelly Walsh High School. He'd eventually represent the Trojans in Speech & Debate, winning the state Lincoln-Douglas title in 2014, before representing Wyoming at the national tournament where he became the highest ranked Lincoln-Douglas debater in state history. His trophy ceremony is forever marred by the photographic evidence of a highly questionable choice to get frosted tips.
Now, Gabriel is bad at a lot of things, despite sometimes coming across as a bit of a know-it-all. Anyone who’s ever seen him try to change a tire, or do anything else related to cars, knows that he’s lacking in some basic skills. Don’t get us started on watching him fail miserably – while having lots of fun regardless – at catching fish.
But, when it comes to building, maintaining, and restoring republics, he has a wisdom beyond his years, and a lot of insights that are foundational to DINO principles.
Not only has Gabriel grown up focused on understanding our nation and its values, but he has direct experience in the “belly of the beast” of our political system. He’s seen the good, the bad, and the ugly of our national propaganda industry, our nation’s capital, and one of the most divided swing states during the most recent election (Arizona).
He attended a very liberal school in DC (American University) on a full ride scholarship provided by the conservative Daniels Fund, where he was often the first person folks had ever met from Wyoming. Gabriel worked for a conservative/libertarian nonprofit (the State Policy Network) for over five years and interned for them in college before that. Gabriel has been to 49 states, where he’s met multiple governors, legislators, judges, and everyday folks just trying to get by and not thinking about the world of politics. He's even spent time with many members of the current Wyoming House of Representatives, outside of session, learning how they use parliamentary procedure to govern more...swiftly.
Gabriel’s greatest gift is his ability to recognize commonalities between people who think of themselves on “opposite” sides.
None of his beliefs and opinions came about on their own. They are an amalgam; an attempt to help his fellow Americans, and especially his fellow Wyomingites, to get along. He believes that very few of the things any of us holds dear is actually incommensurable with the values of other people. And he worries that by believing we can't reconcile our values, we actually risk all of them.
His goal is to help everyone realize that we’re all on the same team.
By insisting on the protection of all Wyomingites’ Personal Freedom, ensuring Fiscal Responsibility by those who govern us, and putting in some good ol’ fashioned Hard Work, he believes we can achieve that goal.
So, is it just Gabriel?
No, but he’s certainly driving the initial effort to spread the word about this movement. And, admittedly, he is writing most of the content and paying most of the up-front costs like hosting fees for this website. In exchange we let him post things like his theological musings and rants against the robots.
Gabriel has received some voluntary assistance from members of his personal network around the nation, and from several residents of Wyoming who are equally fed up.
A special thanks is deserved by Tres, a Casper designer that has been instrumental in elevating the name and values of DINO. Tres is also the photographer of the highest quality Wyoming landscape pictures on the website, as distinct from those taken by Gabriel who is notoriously aesthetically stunted.
Gabriel has also received a LOT of advice from folks who are curious about the DINO movement, and eager to see how it performs before they can commit fully and publicly to offering their support.
Make no mistake. This movement is about more than Gabriel Green.
That’s a huge reason he (who authored this piece too) prefers to write in “we” language rather than “I” language wherever possible on the website. He is also contributing first person pieces to the blog as our chief content creator, though soon that should start seeing other people’s pieces and opinions trickling in.
If this is another movement of one man — rallying unquestioningly loyal sycophants around a cult of personality — then this movement cannot possibly accomplish its purpose of empowering Wyoming through greater political choice.
But, right now, Gabriel is doing the heavy lifting, and the leg work necessary to take this from a “neat idea” to something folks can act upon and actively support.
So, what's the plan?
If this turns into a bunch of Gabriel clones, rather than a means of empowering leaders to offer their own vision, it will be considered a failure.
Eventually, our hope is to have multiple candidates we can endorse for office. We plan for a stronger member system that allows folks to host events and community building efforts under the shared brand of DINO, and gives them space to contribute their own content too. A difficulty in accomplishing this is maintaining some level of brand cohesion and shared values, without resorting to the “one size fits all” approach of the current major parties.
We want DINOs to be free thinkers, not conformists.
The goal, in essence, is for the folks who currently feel like "something has to change," but who aren't sure how to start, to find a place where they can channel their passion towards making a difference.
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