Dear editor,

After reading Todd Johnson’s Jan. 5 letter to the editor I must stand up for Sen. Dan Laursen. The first point Mr. Johnson made was that Sen. Laursen broke the “11th commandment in politics, ‘Thou shalt not speak ill of another Republican,’” which isn’t truly a commandment. As we all know, there are Republicans as well as Democrats that need to be criticized for their votes and actions. Our legislators are sent to Cheyenne by voters to work for them, and they shouldn’t be punished for stating their opinions or pointing out things that are not right. Our nation was built by men who said what needed to be said in spite of what the retribution would be. I am proud of Sen. Laursen for having the courage to speak out. What seems to be out of kilter is Sen. Ogden Driskill’s response. He should not be using his position to punish another legislator for something he said, but should be working for the good of Wyoming citizens.  

In that same line of thinking, Mr. Johnson says that Laursen should learn to “ride for the brand.” When one “rides for the brand,” he rides for the one who hires him. Sen. Laursen does ride for the brand, the ones who voted him into office. He does ride for the brand by following what the Republican Party platforms. It does not mean that he has to agree with or bow down to the Legislature’s leadership. If legislators are not free to express themselves in fear of what ramifications might be brought to bear on them, then they cannot be as effective in working for their constituents.

Mr. Johnson takes Sen. Laursen to task for two of the bills he was working on, and then says that there are many other more important issues to address. Sen. Laursen, in his interview, listed several issues that he wanted to deal with: forced microchipping of employees by employers; a couple of education bills; stopping red-flag law implementation in Wyoming; requiring high school graduates to pass the same test used for citizenship; property taxes; avoiding a full-time Legislature; and others. He definitely isn’t sitting back and not working for those who voted for him. As for his comments about the schools having plenty of money, I agree with him. When I look at our tax bill, the biggest slice of the pie is for education. The administrators need to figure out how to educate the children without all of the extra things that cost the tax payers so much money. Families have to cut back, and so should schools.

It would be expedient for Mr. Johnson, and all of us, to contact our legislators if there are issues that concern us that we want to be addressed. As citizens, our responsibility shouldn’t stop with our votes. We need to be in touch with our legislators to let them know what our ideas are.

From what I know of Sen. Laursen, he is a gentleman and a man who takes his job seriously and works hard for all the people of Wyoming.

Susan Hoffert

Clark