My state Senator, Ogden Driskill, has spent a lot of air and keyboard time attacking the Wyoming Freedom Caucus. His style of political spin may work in the swamp, but the people of Wyoming deserve the truth.
Sen. Driskill accuses me and my fellow conservatives in the Wyoming House of Representatives of wanting to hurt Wyoming’s future.
An open advocate for carbon capture pipelines, wind projects, and gambling, Driskill’s idea of “economic development” boils down to chasing any shiny new revenue stream — no matter the cost to Wyoming families.
According to Driskill, the government’s number one priority should be to raise as much revenue as possible.
Know of a harmful behavior or substance? Might as well open the floodgates so we can tax it.
Got a Biden-era wind project to ensure California continues their rolling brownouts - all from the faraway comfort of our state trust lands? Sign the lease and wire the money.
In reality, the government’s real priority is simple: to protect and preserve the rights of the people - the rights that were given to them by God. Governing is so much more than chasing dollars, and human beings are so much more than cogs in the state’s revenue machine.
Wyoming should be championing real solutions, not government subsidized intermittent energy gravy trains and addictive behaviors.
With President Trump in the Oval Office, we should be taking full advantage of the administration's dedication to unleashing Wyoming energy.
Coal, oil, and natural gas have powered America for generations.
Why would we turn our back on these industries now in favor of making new revenue streams out of gambling – something that can ruin families – and green energy – something that can’t exist without federal subsidies that are rightly going away?
I refuse to trade our state’s future for short-term cash grabs dressed up as “economic development.”
Our duty is to protect the people, their rights, and their livelihoods — not to treat them as revenue sources for the next big scheme.
The last time I checked, legislators work for the people. The government doesn’t exist to enact policies and the nconvince the folks at home it’s for the best.
We listen first, then work to their end. Not the other way around.
Surely, this column will draw a response. When it does, I ask that we operate using facts.
Instead of accusing the Freedom Caucus of passing bad bills, Driskill should begin by acknowledging that he voted for them himself.
Instead of name-dropping President Trump in the debate over storing nuclear waste in Wyoming, Driskill should explain why he thinks Wyoming should continue chasing green scams like carbon capture while the Trump Administration is rightly doing away with that nonsense.
Chip Neiman, Speaker of the House
Wyoming House of Representatives
