Editorial: Casper Star-Tribune, May 8

What does it mean to be a Republican?

Traditionally, a number of political motivations and ideologies could fit under the definition of Republicanism. Broadly speaking, all share a belief that small government is better.

Some stress social conservatism, while others opt for a moderate or even libertarian stance on social issues. Some are interventionist on the global stage. Other believe the U.S. is best served by a greater inward focus.

In 1967, when he was still governor of California, Ronald Reagan famously said there was room in the big Republican tent for many views. But increasingly in Wyoming, that appears not to be the case.

The Wyoming Republican Party, which dominates our state’s politics, has becoming increasingly uncompromising when it comes to the brand of conservatism it espouses. Gone is Reagan’s “big tent” approach.

In its place is one that demands party members share the same hardline priorities. Deviate from those priorities and you risk exile. Just ask Rep. Liz Cheney or state Sen. Larry Hicks.

Don’t take our word for it. Wyoming Republican Party Chairman Frank Eathorne told Fox News as much earlier this year, explaining that “in Wyoming, we don’t necessarily embrace the idea of big tent.” Or consider what’s happened to the local parties in Wyoming’s two most populous counties: Laramie and Natrona.

Both county-level organizations are, broadly speaking, more traditionally conservative than state party leadership. Both have found themselves in clashes with party leaders. And both have lost much of their representation within the party system.

The result: the state’s most populated places have disproportionately less of a say in Republican priorities. And because of that, those priorities tend to be less reflective of views held by the majority of Wyomingites.

This weekend, Laramie County lost most of its delegates over a minor rule violation. (Natrona County had already lost most of its delegates over a dues paying disagreement.)

Other counties have also violated party rules, but they weren’t punished. It appears that counties that clash with state party leadership are more likely to lose delegates. And that lack of representation affects all of us, regardless of party affiliation.

How? The policies that begin inside the Wyoming GOP often become the priorities at the Wyoming Legislature. And so, if the Wyoming GOP’s stances are more extreme because our state’s most populous communities are excluded, that results in priorities that don’t align with those of the majority of Wyoming’s citizens.

Want proof? Ask yourself: what are the most pressing questions facing Wyoming’s public school system? Take a minute and write them down before finishing this editorial.

Did you write down Senate File 104, a nine-year-old bill concerning the powers of the state superintendent? What about expenditures of an educational group founded by Attorney General Merrick Garland’s son-in-law?

We’re guessing very few of you named either of those. And yet those were two of the three issues that the party’s central committee focused on earlier this year while selecting applicants for the state’s highest educational office.

They didn’t ask how schools should be funded as our economy changes. They didn’t ask how to address the growing number of students suffering from mental illness. Nor did they ask about academic performance or curriculum or teaching standards.

The point is the party’s priorities were not aligned with those of the majority of Wyomingites. And that likely affected who was chosen to oversee our K-12 education system.

So where do we go from here? How do we get back to politics that’s more representative of the views of most Wyomingites? The answer is simple and also difficult: participation.

The people leading Wyoming’s Republican Party, both at the county and state levels, tend to be the ones who showed up the most, the ones who are committed to getting involved in the political process. Which means if you want a legislature that votes in line with the people it represents, you have to get involved: both by attending meetings and by voting.

That’s the simple part. But it’s also the most difficult. Because many of us would rather not spend our nights and weekends at a county-level political meeting.

We’d rather spend our time on any number of other things. But the reality is this: the system won’t change if you don’t take the time to help change it.

And if the system doesn’t change, our political leaders will continue to take up the issues they want addressed, rather than the ones the people do. And as long as that happens, Wyoming’s problems won’t get solved.