The Wyoming Freedom Caucus waited less than a day after the primary election to make one thing clear.
“THE WYFC IS NOT GOING ANYWHERE.”
The caucus published that statement after Wyoming Republican voters took it from a solid House majority to a small minority and defeated most of its legislative leadership.
They aren’t gone yet. Some defeated members still hold leadership positions, committee chairs and legislative authority through the end of the year.
Friday gave Wyoming an early look at what that might mean.
There’s a term from behavioral science called an extinction burst. When a behavior that once worked suddenly stops, the first response is sometimes more of the same. More intensity. More persistence. New attempts at the same result.
I’m using the term as an analogy, not a psychological diagnosis. The question is whether a group that suddenly lost political power will press harder on the levers it still controls before those levers disappear.
Friday’s joint meeting of the Minerals and Appropriations committees fits that framework well.
The day before, Joint Minerals had completed its work on Consensus Block Grant funding for local governments. The proposal matters. If you live in a Wyoming city, town or county, this is the funding behind your water systems, sewer systems, streets and other basic infrastructure.
The bill was on the agenda. Minerals debated it and voted to sponsor it.
Senate Appropriations Chairman Tim Salazar had announced, also Thursday, that Appropriations wouldn’t vote on these bills until its October meeting.
Senator Tara Nethercott asked the obvious question: What was Minerals supposed to accomplish?
Representative John Bear, chairman of House Appropriations and a Freedom Caucus leader who lost his primary, acknowledged that Minerals had already acted. He called the vote “maybe a little premature” and said the point now was just to talk and give input on the Appropriations version.
Premature?
It was the final scheduled interim meeting for Minerals. Sponsoring the bill was on the agenda, and the committee had done the work and voted.
Bear’s own explanation gave it away. There was no remaining joint action to take.
But here’s what should worry you if you value conservative institutions.
Nethercott argued that Wyoming’s legislative process has worked for generations. Committees do the work assigned to them. Bills with appropriations later receive the appropriate financial review.
Bear responded that if Friday’s meeting departed from “150 years of tradition,” it was “a good deviation.”
Here’s the thing. Conservatism has always included respect for institutions, established process, restraint in exercising power and skepticism toward tossing aside systems because they become inconvenient.
You don’t get to claim exclusive ownership of conservative principles, then dismiss the process when the process doesn’t serve your purpose.
Senator Mike Gierau, a Democrat on Appropriations, made the same point without joining the larger political fight. He said legislators are taught to trust the process. He noted Appropriations had already decided not to vote that day, then moved to adjourn.
The responses grew sharper.
Representative Scott Heiner, another defeated Freedom Caucus leader, said those leaving were creating divisiveness and walking away from an opportunity to serve Wyoming.
Then Speaker Chip Neiman took the argument to Facebook.
“Today, the Senate walked out on Wyoming cities, towns and counties.”
That statement is misleading.
Members of Senate Minerals had spent the interim working on the issue; testimony, debate, drafting the legislation. The day before, they’d voted to sponsor it.
They didn’t walk out on local governments. They walked out of an unusual sequel meeting; one where the committee with jurisdiction had already acted and no sponsorship vote was scheduled.
Bear also defended Friday’s meeting as a way to keep discussions public, not “behind the scenes.” But Minerals had already held public testimony, debate and a vote. Leaving didn’t stop Appropriations from continuing its own public discussion.
The Freedom Caucus told Wyoming after the election that it wasn’t going anywhere.
For now, that’s true.
Defeated leaders still hold committee authority and access to the machinery of the Legislature. Friday's events suggest we should pay close attention to how they use it.
Watch the remaining interim meetings. Ask whether committees are completing assigned work or reopening matters after the normal process already produced a result.
Watch for alternate routes, unusual procedural arrangements and sudden claims of urgency.
And watch the social media afterward.
When someone says legislators walked out on Wyoming, check what they had already done.
When someone says established procedure stands in the way, check whether the procedure had already worked.
And when a self-described conservative leader dismisses 150 years of legislative tradition as something worth deviating from, pay attention.
That may tell you more than the label ever did.
Gail Symons can be reached at GailSymons@mac.com
