WYO Republicans won it all (almost); now what?

Jesus said, “To whom much is given, much is expected.”

After last Tuesday, Wyoming Republicans hold the governorship and the top education policymaking job. Republicans fill 90% of the seats in the legislature including all committee chairs and leadership positions. Voters entrusted the GOP with all of the state’s political firepower.

Much has been given to Wyoming’s Republican Party. What should you expect in return?

The campaign smoke is clearing. Those you elected are going to work. The new governor assembles a cabinet and a budget, the state superintendent of public instruction prepares to guide legislators through the school funding jungle, and legislators start prefiling bills for the 2019 session.

In the wake of Tuesday’s election, here are five things to look for.

First, how much time will elected officials devote to hot-button, cultural issues? Will legislators use their political power to impose their personal religious beliefs on the rest of us? The Supreme Court appears to have the fifth vote necessary to repeal Roe v. Wade. Will our legislators enact laws designed to challenge of Roe in the high court?

Watch to see whether one of the most conservative legislatures to be seated in Wyoming uses its clout to redefine religious freedom to include the right to discriminate against those excluded from God’s love under their views of the Divine. 

Second, will they, at long last, use that political power to pass a healthcare plan for the state? Wyoming has one of the highest rates of uninsured working families in the nation. Will the GOP allow it to worsen or come up with a strategy to improve the lives of these constituents?

It was recently revealed that online campaigns such as GoFundMe.com have become, in the absence of health insurance, one of the largest sources of “insurance” to meet medical costs for uninsured folks. In the electronic age, these online campaigns have largely replaced the begging boxes next to the cash register in local convenience stores.

Most candidates for state political offices were clear about what they opposed as a solution, e.g. Medicaid expansion; not so much about what they would support. Voters have every reason to ask, “What now?”

Third, how will elected officials respond to the growing support for the reform of Wyoming’s marijuana laws?

With each new poll, more Wyoming voters say they support marijuana reforms. A survey conducted by the Wyoming Survey and Analysis Center disclosed that 49% of Wyoming voters believe adults should be legally able to possess marijuana. An eye-catching 86% support medical uses for marijuana. Seven of ten are convinced that possession of small amounts of the drug should not lead to jail time.

Will our legislators continue ignoring those numbers? Will they disregard the fact that Wyoming is fast becoming one of the few remaining states refusing to reform its unpopular marijuana laws? How about the revenue. Will our lawmakers shrug off the fact that Colorado realizes millions in taxes and fees from having legalized the drug? Most of that went to Colorado schools. That is a lot of money to leave on the table especially when so many Wyoming residents favor legalization and education is in need.

Fourth, now that the state’s revenue forecast has improved, will legislators restore cuts made to education and programs for the middle class and poor? Voters were assured these cuts were not matters of political philosophy but were necessary only because of budgetary restraints. Now that has changed.

Finally, will legislators exercise discipline and avoid saying things or introducing bills that land Wyoming in the national spotlight in embarrassing ways? It seems to be a part of the ritual. Every year, a handful of legislators cannot resist the urge to use the legislative pulpit to say something, usually about gays, that gets negative national attention.

Can they go 40 days without giving in to that Redneck urge?

Wyoming voters decided on a one-party government, putting enormous responsibility on the Republicans who were elected. Wyoming has a right to high expectations.