Wyoming’s “Republican” governor just spoke at Harvard about his card-carrying membership in the leftist climate cult. The recently passed ban on crossover voting was nearly undone by a “Republican” Corporations committee. The state’s only four year university hosts a drag show seemingly every month. The fate of Wyoming’s strongest pro-life law is currently in the hands of a liberal judge in Teton County. Does it really feel like we live in the “most conservative” state in America?
Maybe we do, but we aren’t governed by very many conservatives, as exemplified by November’s RINO of the Month: Representative Ember Oakley (HD 55, Fremont). Representative Oakley repeatedly tells the public that she is a conservative, but clearly, she doesn’t know what that word means (and no, the term “conservative” does not mean “Wyoming solutions for Wyoming problems”).
Representative Oakley has earned November’s RINO of the Month award for many reasons, including her assertion on the floor of the Wyoming House earlier this year that protecting the lives of the unborn equates to “giving the middle finger” to the judicial branch. This claim was part of Oakley’s crusade against legislative efforts to protect life from conception, a top priority of any real Republican. She clearly doesn’t share this priority with Wyoming Republicans.
Representative Oakley also shrugs off the typical Republican commitment to lower taxes. During an interim meeting of the Joint Revenue Committee, she falsely claimed that only one or two counties are experiencing increasing property taxes and therefore no statewide reform is needed. Either she doesn’t do her homework, or she’s lying in search of a reason to avoid working toward reducing your tax burden. Both are unacceptable alternatives.
Property taxes rose by more than 10% in fifteen of the state’s twenty three counties, with some counties seeing increases anywhere from 30% to 65% over the past two years. These dollars, collected by the government, are used to wade further into the lives of every Wyomingite. Representative Oakley refuses to fight against the growth of government, which demands more and more of your tax dollars.
If you’d like to ask Representative Oakley why she doesn’t share the top priorities of Wyoming Republicans, she can be reached at (307) 349-0222 or ember.Oakley@wyoleg.gov. Term ends 2025