When Rebecca “Checkgate Becky” Bextel jumped the Republican ship to run for governor on the Constitution Party ticket, pearls were clutched throughout the Wyoming political world.
When she stated that her candidacy was an “insurance policy” against Republican nominee Eric Barlow being our next governor, I started to reach for my throat, as well.
But before I got fingerprints on my own pearls, I started thinking that Checkgate Becky’s GOP apostasy might be a good thing all around.
It might solve several thorny political problems that have plagued the Big Empty in one swell foop. Bear with me here.
I think that a good schism is just what the Wyoming Republican Party needs.
For the past several years, the leadership of the Wyoming GOP has had a helluva time keeping the peace inside their “big tent.”
The emergence of the Wyoming Freedom Caucus has pulled the party quite a ways to the right, and party leadership has gone along for the ride.
That abrupt political mood swing has left the more traditional and less hair-on-fire Republicans shunted off to the margins of the tent, to be called RINOs by party leadership.
But, given the bloodbath administered to the Freedom Caucus during the primary, the political strength of the moderate wing of the GOP was grossly underestimated by the zealots in the Central Committee.
And, when the GOP endorsed a gubernatorial candidate for the first time, Brent Bien came in last in primary voting. The populist political calculus of the current GOP leadership clearly didn’t work this time.
So erstwhile GOP bigwig and donor, Checkgate Becky, bails out of the tent and runs for governor with the Constitution Party, and the GOP apparatus – at least the hard right faction of it – seems to be lining up to support her.
Thus, they are redefining the term “RINO” into something more palatable to them.
Cases in point include the Sheridan County GOP posting, and then removing, a message of support for Bextel on the party Facebook page, and sightings of GOP officers putting up her signs in the Lower West Side of Wyoming.
I predict that we’ll see more of that at election day approaches.
And the captive so-called “media” arm of the Freedom Caucus – a name which shall not pass my lips – that has heretofore been the cheerleader for the right wing of the GOP, is now doing the splits and waving pom-poms for Checkgate Becky.
But then, her financial support of that political outlet has nothing to do with that, has it?
The Constitution Party’s adoption of Bextel as their pin-up girl will not result in her election, and I’ve found nobody among her supporters that is willing to wager good American money otherwise.
But it raises the profile of a party that has, in the past, been identified with the feckless campaigns of Rex Rammell.
Checkgate Becky may bring enough votes from disaffected populist Republicaans and defeated Freedom Caucus candidates and their ilk to establish the Constitution Party as a major party under Wyoming statutes.
A faction within the Wyoming GOP appears to be bending over backwards to make that happen. And they may get it done as revenge for the Freedom Caucus’ Tuesday Night Massacre.
She’ll need to grab ten percent of the vote to accomplish that, and I think she’ll be in that ballpark.
The downside, if that happens, will be that state and county government will have to conduct future primary elections for the Constitution Party, with all the associated costs.
The upside is that major party status for the Constitution Party will give the Freedom Caucus and their camp followers a new home, a refuge from the moderate Republican ideology of Goldwater and Reagan, and Hansen and Hathaway.
A schism like that won’t bleed off enough membership to reduce the political power of the Wyoming Republican Party, but ridding itself of its goofballs will improve the party, and return it to representing the real grassroots of Wyoming. That will be a good thing!
As an aside, since Checkgate Becky publicly claimed that she has more balls that Governor Gordon, the Constitution Party can proclaim its inclusivity by running the first transgender candidate for governor in Wyoming history.
Rod Miller can be reached at: RodsMillerWyo@yahoo.com
