Like most things in Wyoming, state government operates best when we all act in good faith. That means listening to people when they show up to testify, respecting the process, and treating staff, colleagues, and constituents with decency.
It’s not complicated. It’s just the Wyoming way.
We know we have challenges in state government that’s why we need serious leadership to meet those challenges.
But instead of rolling up their sleeves and doing the work of governing, proposing policy, debating bills, and crafting solutions, some lawmakers would rather distract.
The loudest among them call themselves the Freedom Caucus.
They shout about “waste, fraud, and abuse” from the House and Senate floor or on social media, but they don’t want to discuss their own record.
Maybe that’s because they know where the real waste, fraud, and abuse are coming from.
Waste
Whether undercutting industry, decrying the process producing good policy, or trying to preempt local government, the Freedom Caucus wastes your time and your dollars.
They waste time on unnecessary bills, duplicate and contradict federal laws. They waste resources by increasing maternity deserts and, with it, maternal mortality, while threatening to collapse our remaining hospitals.
They waste your time and money – and destroy good policy – when they vote to kill bills that have been worked through committees.
Just this week, Rep. John Bear tried to waste the time and resources of the Capital Finance committee. Thankfully, the chair wasn’t willing to waste taxpayer dollars, and she gave him his due and then dutifully got the meeting back on track.
Fraud
Brazenly – and sometimes gleefully – they like to make up their own studies and facts. A caucus member recently testified before a committee, forcing a senator to inquire, “Where are you getting your information? Because it is wrong.”
The Freedom Caucus member insisted that her “facts” were accurate because they were “on a paper in my bag.”
Open up any paper in the state or any online news site, and there you’ll find them, trying to convince you of things that just aren’t true.
Abuse
The Freedom Caucus will abuse anyone who says anything against them, advances policy they don’t agree with, or speaks the truth.
When healthcare providers come to testify and bring facts, based on gold standard scientific research, the Freedom Caucus subjects them to threats and abuse.
When clerks offer suggestions about how policy prescriptions can help voters instead of locking them out, the Freedom Caucus tells its followers to monitor or sue them.
This ongoing abuse – especially of other public servants – stokes the threat of violence and pushes thoughtful people out of public life.
This kind of behavior doesn’t belong in Cheyenne — or anywhere else in public life. It drives good people out of service and stokes a dangerous climate of intimidation.
Wyoming doesn’t need more shouting. It needs results.
Our Constitution enshrines local control, limited government, and individual rights, including the freedom to speak freely without fear.
The Freedom Caucus has twisted that legacy to serve its own ends while accusing others of the very things it’s doing.
So here’s the truth: waste, fraud, and abuse are real — but not where they’re pointing.
It’s time to pay attention. To ask hard questions. To demand better.
And it’s time to take our state back from the ones tearing it down.
Mike Gierau
Minority Floor Leader, Wyoming Senate
