OPINION
Editor,
In his enduring “A Time for Choosing” speech, Ronald Reagan said, “[A]nytime you and I question the schemes of the do-gooders, we’re denounced as being against their humanitarian goals. They say we’re always “against” things – we’re never “for” anything. Well, the trouble with our liberal friends is not that they’re ignorant; it’s just that they know so much that isn’t so.”
The conservative majority in the Wyoming legislature has been petulantly labeled by Governor Mark Gordon as “Club No.” The idea, of course, is that the conservative majority is always “against” things – they’re never “for” anything.
We well-remember the 2018 gubernatorial primary, wherein many Democrats were encouraged to switch parties to vote for “Republican” candidate Mark Gordon (some of the party-switching effort was financially backed by now-House District 23 Representative Liz Storer, Democrat, Teton County). This was a solid strategic move for Democrats. After all, why not secure the candidate in that “Republican” race known to make sizable campaign donations to Democrats? Mark Gordon was far and away the most promising prospect for Wyoming Democrats.
So, it’s unsurprising to hear Governor Gordon espousing the same sentiments about small-government Republicans that our liberal friends have trumpeted for decades.
Outside of being pouty, however, the Governor’s label for the conservative majority isn’t entirely wrong. “Club No” is against things – primarily, Club No is against an ever-expanding government. The position that “government is not the solution to our problem; government is our problem” is a classic Republican principle. (Quoting Ronald Reagan, 1981 Inaugural Address).
The conservative majority has been looking at the Wyoming budget through the lens of the appropriate role of government, not how much money we can possibly spend. Conservative Republicans have long stood for limited government and fiscal responsibility, not a bigger-means-better budget mentality. We haven’t seen an authentic Republican mentality toward the budget in Cheyenne prior to this conservative majority in the House, and as a result, we’ve seen our state budget triple in fifteen years.
The conservative majority (Club No) told us who they were when we elected them. They said they believe in the Wyoming Republican Party Platform. Section 11 of the Wyoming Republican Party Platform notably reads,
“Liberty is indivisible from economic freedom. The free-market economy is the economic system most compatible with the requirements of personal freedom and constitutional government. Government’s undue influence in the market, as well as the fiscal irresponsibility of government, results in economic inequity. There exists no fundamental rights to the fruits of another person’s labor.”
As the conservative majority considers funding for Wyoming Business Council, the University of Wyoming, and Wyoming Public Media, please continue to question the appropriate role and size of government. The conservative majority, Club No, is working to say “no” to fiscal irresponsibility, and “yes” to smaller government, as is required by the Wyoming Republican Party Platform.
If you disagree with a large number of the actions taken by the conservative majority, and if you are a registered Republican, my amiable request is that you consider whether your values are, perhaps, more in line with the Wyoming Democratic Party’s Platform. But if you agree that ballooning government is the problem, please vote again in August for the conservative majority – those principled individuals not afraid to say “no.”
Jan Loftus - Johnson County