Some Democrats nationally are calling for a “schism,” or split, because of a growing socialist movement in the party.
Wyoming Democrats told Cowboy State Daily on Tuesday that there’s no similar call within the Cowboy State’s blue party.
They gave different reasons as to why - ranging from their party's low numbers, to Wyoming's unique culture, to the need for pragmatism in the state and the West.
“No (we’re not divorcing). There’s like three of us,” said former Wyoming Attorney General Pat Crank, who served under Democratic Gov. Dave Freudenthal and is a moderate Democrat himself.
“It’s hard to fight when there’s only three of you. It’s such a non-factor,” he said.
But First, The Divorce …
Former President Bill Clinton’s campaign strategist James Carville last week lamented the intense media attention on the New York Democratic primary election where, as The Associated Press put it, “New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s slate of fiery progressives swept establishment-backed Democrats.”
Carville in a video interview said, “The idea — the idea that we must neglect … all the huge, phenomenal success we’ve had and declare that the party is now under the control of a Democratic Socialist of New York City is insane.”
The Mamdani wing of the party is too extreme for Carville, he indicated.
“Not only are they not Democrats, they wish Democrats poorly,” said Carville. “Let’s negotiate the terms of a schism here.”
He said he’s “enthusiastic” about questioning the policies of Israeli leadership, but isn’t comfortable being in a party that denies the Israeli state’s right to exist.
Conservative USA Today columnist Nicole Russell called the Mamdani victories a “warning” for the nation.
The Wall Street Journal editorial board voiced surprise at how readily Democratic congressional leaders are welcoming the far-left candidates who still have a general election ahead of them.
What Kinda Tent Y'all In?
The Wyoming Democratic Party is a big collaborative tent, the party’s communications Mandy Weaver said in a Tuesday phone interview.
New York is “far removed from the things that happen in our state, and as Wyoming Democrats, we’ve always been very different from a lot of the other states,” said Weaver. “Because we are so small, and we have a very close-knit group.”
Disagreements surface, said Weaver, and “we hammer them out.”
She couldn’t imagine anyone calling for a divorce of the Wyoming Democratic Party, she added. She pointed to the state party’s platform, which she said comprises “Wyoming values” and nothing extreme.
Weaver called Wyoming’s Democratic elected officials “very solution oriented.”
State Rep. Ken Chestek, D-Laramie, echoed those notions in his own Tuesday interview. He also said he and the Democrats he knows “respect the cowboy way and the code of the West.”
Chestek said he also believes the term “socialism” has been weaponized, and he voiced a desire for more nuanced discussions of public benefits.
Sen. Chris Rothfuss, also of Laramie, is one of two Democrats in the state Legislature’s 31-member upper chamber.
He said that because Democratic policy-makers prefer to focus on people and their specific needs, the party’s policy goals in Wyoming are bound to be distinct from elsewhere.
“Wyoming is not New York City, so what the people need in New York City is going to be very different from what the people need in the state of Wyoming,” he said, adding with a chuckle, “Our people want access to public lands. I don’t know that that’s necessarily a top issue in New York City, as an example.”
Whether Purists Are Good For Everyone Else
Foraying into some analysis, Rothfuss said the Democratic Party nationally is searching for identity and leadership.
The lack of identity “leads to challenges for identifying that leadership,” said Rothfuss.
Each major party contains factions of purists, he said, “And they have a philosophy, and they think everyone should have that philosophy.”
On the one hand, said Rothfuss, purism pushes the party toward a “small tent” mindset. On the other hand, watching the purity faction in play helps the left pinpoint its aspirations and how well they might function in real life.
“And that’s also, unfortunately, where all the advocacy is. And I say unfortunately because I don’t think it’s health that we don’t have anyone advocating for moderation,” said Rothfuss. “There’s no passion for moderation.”
Nope
Crank voiced a darker view of the purist, or what he called the “extreme” faction in the Democratic Party, saying extremism divides and alienates people.
As an example, “The far left says fracking is bad, we should all ban fracking,” said Crank. “That’s (Sen.) Bernie Sanders’ position. That’s ridiculous.”
People can address potential environmental problems with the practice, he said, “but that’s very effective to produce oil and gas. We need to do that in Wyoming.”
Crank pointed to other extreme stances, such as some pro-choice groups’ support of partial-birth abortions, and some extreme left-versus-right clashes on whether people should have guns at all.
“Those rabid positions drive people apart, lead to conflict in our society and, I think, give us shitty candidates,” said Crank.
While Wyoming Democrats aren’t filing for divorce, the Republicans are about to do so, said Crank.
He referenced a Monday story by Cowboy State Daily in which a new political action committee, Common Sense Republicans for Wyoming, has declared political war on the populist-leaning Republican faction the Wyoming Freedom Caucus.
The notion that extremism divides people, while collaboration and pragmatism unite people, manifests through Wyoming’s Republican divide, said Crank.
“There’s a divorce going on. They just haven’t filed the paperwork quite yet,” he added.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
