Aspen’s incendiary emeritus is fired up again : Hyperbolic Hunter S. Thompson is back in form, whipping up opposition to expansion of the resort’s airport.

After 25 years of self-imposed electoral exile, Hunter S. Thompson is again dropping matches into the petrol of Aspen politics.

Fueled by twin November ballot proposals to upgrade the Aspen airport for larger aircraft--and by what he sees as the general degradation of his prized valley by “absentee landlord scum and greed-heads”--the father of gonzo journalism is back pillorying the Establishment.

In a rare public appearance late last month, Thompson headlined the “Great Vote Hunt ‘95” (a play on his 1979 book, “The Great Shark Hunt”). The voter registration rally quickly became part Mardi Gras, part coffeehouse stand-up routine and part political lynching of the pro-airport forces.

“We will beat them like gongs, sending them running like stupid rats across the frozen tundra,” Thompson said to loving whistles and hoots. Clearly, the crowd of several hundred that crammed into a local saloon received what they came for: classic Thompson. “We don’t have the power; we don’t have the money. But we do have the ballot, by God,” he said. “We’re here for a public beating, and for a change it isn’t us.”

Flanked on stage by the Aspen mayor, the Pitkin County sheriff and two young political activists, the 56-year-old Thompson held court as he puffed on his signature long-tailed cigarette holder, sipped from two tumblers of whiskey and suspiciously eyed the crowd from behind his trademark aviator sunglasses.

The airport election has become a referendum on continued growth in this small ski town racked by explosive development, forcing backers to consider removing the ballot questions.

Thompson won’t let them off that easily. “They chose the turf. . . . This is our time to say no to their pig planes. They’ll be more respectful once we slap them around a bit,” he said, warming up to the circus atmosphere of the rally.

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“He hasn’t been like this in a while,” said Toni Whaley, a longtime friend of Thompson and a veteran Aspen political strategist. Whaley said Thompson told her he wanted to defeat the airport expansion and “decided on a voter registration rally. He said that’s how any successful campaign starts--at the grass-roots level, especially in a small community where every vote counts.” But, she reminded, don’t be fooled by his drug-crazed, outlaw journalist image. “Hunter knows hard-core politics. He knows what he’s talking about.”

Thompson “does not get behind anything unless he’s deeply committed,” Whaley added, noting that his presentation at the rally “was fairly focused, which isn’t always the case” and showed his newly inspired dedication to “reclaiming the town’s sense of community.”

That’s not an easy task. Aspen remains a small alpine resort only on a map. Local cash registers will ring up an estimated $322 million in retail sales this year, this with a permanent Aspen population of about 5,000. But that number can swell to 25,000 on a sunny January ski day. These visitors are served by the third-busiest airport in Colorado, the fourth-largest cab company in the state and a road at the western entrance to town that racks up an average daily count of 22,600 vehicles.

The local hardware store closed a few years back, was subdivided and now houses chic designer boutiques that are more indigenous to Rodeo Drive than the Rocky Mountains. Around the corner and up a flight of stairs in a historic Victorian building is a two-floor condominium that can rent for up to $7,000 a night during the holiday high season. Downstairs is a private nightclub that Diana Ross frequents. Even Spago is sniffing around for space.

“There has been a battle going on for 25 years between the Aspen that wants to be fatter and glitzier and bigger and the Aspen that wants to be a community where people stop and talk to each other on the sidewalks,” said Mayor John Bennett.

He applauded “the return of the good doctor’s righteous indignation, just like the old days,” but he warned against “the name-calling. The us-versus-them mentality that doesn’t really gets us far in the long term.” However, the mayor acknowledged: “Hunter is always going to be Hunter.”

That is one reason that Torre (“That’s my whole name. Want to see my voter registration card?”) showed up at the rally. With a black beret pushed low on his head, the 26-year-old San Francisco transplant, who teaches snowboarding, signed up to vote “because it was so easy.”

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Not as easy is the task of winning approval for the airport improvements now that Thompson’s charisma has weighed in. Aspen businessman Steve Degouveia accused Thompson of “hiding behind the issue of trying to save the soul of Aspen,” when “he just doesn’t want bigger planes flying over his house.” Thompson has “already made his money. He can sit back with the rock stars and Hollywood types and fight growth,” Degouveia said. “I need people to visit here.”

Thompson’s political profile extends beyond his rally appearance. He recently won election to his first public office, a seat on the executive board of the Woody Creek Caucus, a politically rambunctious neighborhood association that brings together an odd assortment of residents, including Thompson, actor Don Johnson, musician Don Henley and Bob Maynard, president of the Aspen Skiing Co.

“Politics, by God, is a dangerous kind of fun,” Thompson said. “You won’t always win, but you’ll have fun sending the swine running.”