There are some headlines you might expect to see during the
next few weeks judging from the make-up of the Wyoming legislature. Headlines such
as “Life-time appointments proposed for legislators who always run unopposed –
savings from unnecessary elections diverted to road construction” and
“Legislature decides to eliminate middleman-Wyoming Mining Association to
replace DEQ and Department of Revenue.”
When our legislature convened, it officially became the most
conservative, single-party, legislative body in the country. Nearly 85% are
Republicans. But, applied to this tribe, the term is a misnomer. Most aren’t
what you may think of as “Republicans.” Most are RINOs.
RINO (Republicans-in-name-only), a slur frequently employed by
rightwing Republicans to insult their more moderate colleagues, also provides
an explanation why so few are what your father and Barry Goldwater might have
recognized as Republicans. Their party splinters into moderate and far-right
conservative Republicans. Others are libertarians and more than a few are Theocrats.
In Goldwater’s day, Republicans believed in smaller
government. They also believed in personal responsibility, social liberty and
freedom of religion. “The conservative
movement,” according to the man they called “Mr. Conservative,” was “founded on
the simple tenet that people have the right to live life as they please as long
as they don't hurt anyone else in the process."
To them, “small government” was smart enough to know that to
everything there is a season. Goldwater Republicans understood there’s a time
for government to act and a time for government to refrain from acting. “I’m a great believer
in the free competitive enterprise system and all that it entails,” Goldwater
said. ”I am an even stronger believer in the right of our people to live in a
clean and pollution-free environment.”
Government should be small, Goldwater thought, but neither
invisible nor irresponsible. If Wyoming’s legislative majority were actually
traditional Republicans, you might expect to see headlines like “Legislators
seek delay in fracking, pending answers about impact on people’s water supply.”
Don’t hold your breath and don’t drink the water in Pavillion.
Most GOP legislators in Wyoming aren’t traditional Republicans.
Many are self-described libertarians. David Boaz, of the libertarian leaning
CATO Institute says, "Libertarianism
is the idea that adults have the right and the responsibility to make important
decisions about their own lives. You could say you learn the essence of
libertarianism -- which is also the essence of civilization -- in
kindergarten: don’t hit other people, don’t take their stuff, keep your
promises.”
If these
legislators are actually libertarians, what headlines might you expect to see?
“Conservatives reject big government efforts to control who
others may marry” and “Wyoming legislators reject proposals to mandate
legislatively-prescribed medical advice to pregnant women.”
Traditional Republicans and libertarians alike believe in
state’s rights and fiscal responsibility. If they are true to their dogma,
you’d expect to see these headlines. “Fiscal conservatives seize opportunity to
save state taxpayers tens-of-millions of dollars under Medicaid expansion” and
“Republican majority rejects with Mead’s proposal to turn healthcare over to
feds - will create a Wyoming-specific health insurance exchange.” But pure
anti-Obama politics may trump dogma.
Theocrats will do the preaching. They are neither
Republicans nor libertarians. They ran as Republicans but only represent God,
or at least their view of God. They want a god-sized government, big enough to
make your personal choices. They didn’t learn as much as libertarians did in
Kindergarten. Theocrats run
for office for only one reason. They believe God has called them to “hit other
people” and “take their stuff,” i.e. civil rights.
They’ll insist on writing their personal religious beliefs
about marriage, education, healthcare, contraception, climate change, etc. into
law. Theocrats don’t believe in state’s rights either. They want to nullify
decisions of legislators from other states if legislators from those states don’t
make the “right” choice.
Theocrats will consume valuable time preaching to the
committees and on the floor. They’ll make a lot of headlines. We’ll see whether
other members of the tribe can prevent them from converting those sermons and headlines
into state law.
