As the 2023 General Session of Wyoming’s State Legislature begins its work in Cheyenne, civility looks to be on the ascent.
At the end of the session’s opening day, after Gov. …
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As the 2023 General Session of Wyoming’s State Legislature begins its work in Cheyenne, civility looks to be on the ascent.
At the end of the session’s opening day, after Gov. Mark Gordon spoke of the common Western Wyoming qualities we can use to continue guiding our state in the right direction, two members of the Senate talked, together, about civility.
Senate President Ogden Driskill and our own freshman Sen. Dan Laursen spoke to the Powell Tribune about working together and being civil to one another. Driskill said he still expected to disagree with Laursen, a stalwart of the more conservative wing of the state Republican Party, on some issues. Laursen said those disagreements would not be in the form of personal attacks.
Driskill even presented a partial apology to residents of Laursen’s Senate district, which encompasses Powell and much of the surrounding area, and said Laursen will be on at least one of the important committees Laursen had initially asked to be on after the General Session comes to a close.
Laursen still ought to already be on at least one committee, but it’s good to see Driskill willing to admit he may have gone too far and been too harsh in punishing a senator who had criticized his leadership. Laursen also said he would refrain from the attacks he said may have been more warranted on the campaign trail, but not for the Senate chambers.
What I think it shows, in part, is that it’s harder to say nasty things to someone else or otherwise be unreasonable in your actions when you’re staring the other person in the face. While Driskill and Laursen may disagree on some things, they’re still members of the same Wyoming Republican Party and, I hope, committed to the same broad ideal of doing what’s best for their constituents and the state as a whole. With wide open country in between, it can be easy to focus on what separates us. But give us a common mission and put us in the same place, and the similarities often shine through.
So I fully expect Laursen to stand up for the desires of his constituents in his home district, which may lead to some disagreements with Senate leadership. But going forward I hope their detente is a lesson we can all take to heart. If we want Wyoming to continue to be the great place we know and love, we need to work together.