Progressives, look to GOP's moderate middle

BY D. REED ECKHARDT 

It’s never too early to start thinking about next year’s election for U.S. senator from Wyoming. 

Or at least it’s not too early for those of us who would like to see a moderate, rationale-thinking leader in the seat instead of all the right-wing fire-breathers

who will, no doubt, try to step into the breach left by the recently announced resignation of U.S. Sen. Mike Enzi.

            Wyoming doesn’t need another self-aggrandizing politician like U.S. Sen. John Barrasso, who has risen in Republican leadership by kowtowing 

Is Matt Mead the best progressives can expect in the Senate?

to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and President Donald Trump. Despite his new-found power position, Barrasso has done nothing for Wyoming except to try to rob the poorer people of this state of their health care.

            Yet there are plenty of people just like him standing in line. 

U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney has earned attention in recent days by assaulting the U.S. Justice Department as a home of traitors and spies. Good Lord, perhaps there are those in this state who support such naked ambition and party propaganda, but this state deserves better representation. Cheney will have to decide rather to hold her minority leadership post in the House or try to join the GOP majority in the Senate.

            Another recognizable name being kicked around is former U.S. Rep. Cynthia Lummis, whose vacancy Cheney filled in 2016. Ms. Lummis was part of the Tea Party Caucus when it formed in 2010 and was always ready let loose vocal blasts at then-President Barack Obama. The former state treasurer certainly knows how to play to the same conservative base as Cheney, so having them both in the race would be a boon to more moderate Republicans since those two would split the vote.

            The only person who actually has expressed interest so far is Foster Friess, who came in second to now-Gov. Mark Gordon in last year’s Republican primary. The multi-millionaire political donor from Jackson tried to buy the governor’s seat, but the people of Wyoming were having none of it. You might recall the crocodile tears he cried about this state’s longstanding tradition of allowing party crossovers in primaries. Friess claimed that cost him the race. As if.

            Regardless, Friess also comes from the hard right with evangelical Christian colorings as well. Again, as many as those like him in the race, the merrier.

            Other names are being bandied about, and a list is steadily growing on Wikipedia as their supporters toss their names into the ring on the 2020 Wyoming U.S. Senate Election page. Included on the list so far are: Affie Ellis,state senator from Cheyenne; David Dodson, who ran against incumbent Barrasso for the U.S. Senate in 2018; Tyler Lindholm,state representative from Sundance; and Tara Nethercott,state senator from Cheyenne. None of them would be competitive against the others mentioned above.

            So where do Wyoming’s Democrats and moderate Republicans turn?

            First must come an honest assessment: There is no Democrat in Wyoming who can win this race.Not even the popular Gov. Dave Freudenthal could compete in this state, which has become rabidly pro-Trump. The moderate middle that twice put him into office no longer exists, and voter registration numbers simply don’t support a Democratic win. Please note Gordon beat Democrat Mary Throne 136,412-55,965.

            So what are progressives to do? 

I would argue that what is needed is a more moderate Republican who can at least think rather than simply react on partisan terms. To be honest, there are not many of them, but that may be a plus: While the firebreathers are coming out in force and beating each other up, it is possible that a coalition of moderate Republicans and crossover Democrats (won’t Freiss love about that) could push their candidate through.

            For example, how about former Gov. Matt Mead? Yes, fellow progressives, Mead never will carry your banner. But can you name another Republican who would go to the barricades for Medicaid expansion as did the former governor? Yes, he was Johnny Come Lately to the cause, but he did finally come around. And he certainly didn’t spend him time trying to shove Jesus Christ and anti-abortion fervor down the throats of the people of this state. 

Those Democrats who oppose this idea might want to consider that they are likely to get a Cheney or a Lummis or a Freiss. And that may not play so well for Wyoming if the White House changes hands. The firebreathers are in charge now nationally, but it may not always be that way. And as Wyoming’s carbon-based economy continues its downward slide, the state is going need all the help it can get from the nation’s capital.

From this vantage point, the only way to provide sanity in the U.S. Senate from Wyoming is for a whole herd of super-conservatives to jump into the race and for those of us who are other minded to find a candidate, yes, a Republican candidate, to rally around.

You don’t like Mead, fine. But if you are betting a Democrat can win the race, then you are chasing after fool’s gold. And you’ll be hurting the Cowboy State in the process. 

D. Reed Eckhardt is the former executive editor of the Wyoming Tribune Eagle.