“Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?”
That old punchline comes to mind after last week's epic beat-down of Wyoming's Freedom Caucus in the primary election. It was bloody. It was relentless.
It was enough to blow your hat in the creek.
But, despite the almost total defeat of legislators supporting the Freedom Caucus, let's remember that there were two important victories. Rep. Harriet Hageman won the nomination to move up to the U.S. Senate.
And Secretary of State Chuck Gray survived dogged opposition to just about everything he has done in office, and a last-minute flurry of attack ads, to win the nomination to replace Hageman in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Other than those two victories, and a few rare wins by candidates sympathetic to the Freedom Caucus, the verdict from Wyoming voters was unmistakable: If you were a member of the Freedom Caucus, you were roundly rejected, kicked out of office, and often ridiculed for your venture into public service.
It's sobering to see your beliefs rejected so roundly. But I appreciate what the Freedom Caucus set out to do, and the pretty good results they got.
We keep hearing that affordability is the number one issue for American voters. Under the Freedom Caucus watch we saw a 25-percent property tax cut enacted, with another 25 percent cut available for long-time homeowners.
But, putting those dollars back in your pocket gained the Freedom Caucus little traction with voters. Maybe because many are renters, and don't think they pay property taxes. Or maybe because many homeowners have escrow accounts, and the bank writes the annual property tax check. Whatever the case, little appreciation was shown for real help in affording a place to live.
While the Caucus got special attention for out-of-state campaign contributions, let's not pretend they were alone in getting help from elsewhere. Literally millions in donations were flying around from rich candidates donating to their own campaigns, and from powerful groups with confusing names. You think the teachers weren't a factor in that election? So singling out the Freedom Caucus for out-of-state donations is unfair.
Another factor: Frugality is a tough sell, especially in a state with billions held in reserve. Our reserve funds make us the envy of most other states, so it's natural for some to want to spend ever more on education, the university, highways, aid to small towns – the list is long – instead of salting it away. But the Freedom Caucus was determined to spend conservatively, and that made enemies. Lots of enemies.
Then there's the issue of Republicans voting like Democrats. While there are multiple web sites to monitor the votes your senator or representative casts during legislative sessions, our state seems to have plenty of patience for Republicans who aren't very conservative at all. I suspect a lot of us are just voting for names we recognize, and not doing the homework to find out if our McCoy is voting like a real McCoy, or has strayed over into Hatfield country.
Recall that Republican Sen. Cale Case, who won easily last week, made no secret of asking Democrats to register as Republicans for the primary, to defeat Freedom Caucus Republicans. Looks like many did exactly that.
Charlie Kirk predicted in an appearance here in 2020 that Wyoming will ultimately become a blue state because of lawmakers running as Republicans, but voting like Democrats. By rejecting many of the most staunch conservatives last week, the state seems to be on its way to making Kirk's prediction come true.
That's pretty surprising in a state that voted over 70 percent in three elections for Donald Trump, who is blunt in his plain-spoken conservative beliefs. Despite our demonstrated support for Trump, the claim that we're the bluest red state seems to be borne out by last week's results.
Make no mistake. There was an extended, organized, cynical effort to derail the Freedom Caucus in last week's election, and put the more traditional Spumoni Republicans – who like multiple flavors in their bowl of political ice cream – back in charge.
They succeeded. And in a year when voters everywhere seem to want to “throw the bums out,” the bums Wyoming threw out were, in a word, us.
But, I believe that issues like tax relief, school choice, fairness in sports, running a taut fiscal ship, and not relegating popular bills to die in the Speaker's desk drawer – that those issues remain key, despite last week's Freedom Caucus rejection.
I appreciate the Freedom Caucus's efforts.
And like The Terminator, I hope they'll be back.
Dave Simpson can be contacted at DaveSimpson145@hotmail.com
