Dear editor:

“Ultraconservative ideologues?” I wondered as I read the Nov. 8 article, “Legislators:  Wyoming Turning a Darker Shade of Red.” I thought the article was lopsided in that the other side of the issue was not discussed. It made me wonder how Mr. Zwonitzer and Mr. Driskill would describe a conservative. American conservatism is “characterized by respect for American traditions, republicanism, support for Judeo-Christian values, moral absolutism, free markets and free trade, anti-communism, individualism, advocacy of American exceptionalism, and a defense of Western culture from the threats posed by socialism, authoritarianism and moral relativism.” It seems to me that an “ultraconservative” would then be someone who unwaveringly supports and stands up for those ideals. It seems that too many call themselves conservative when they actually are soft on the principles of conservatism.

More and more Americans are waking up to the realization that our republic is in danger of being destroyed. Public education has been taken over by those who want to brainwash our children with ideologies that are neither moral nor good for American freedom. Our children are being taught that socialism is better than capitalism, that if one is white, then he or she is a racist, that our American traditions and founding principles are racist, that our American heroes are not really heroes at all, but are oppressors, and on and on.   

Therefore, more citizens are running for political offices and challenging those who do not hold strong conservative beliefs. Mr. Zwonitzer bemoaned that these folks “don’t understand the complexities of writing law.” That sounds mighty arrogant. I wonder if he was born with that knowledge or did he have to learn it? Another of his moanings is that these “ultraconservatives” demand that Republicans vote in line with the party platform. Well, what good is the party platform if it is not followed? Those platforms are made up by Republican committeemen and women and voted for. More have voted for them than those against. It is only logical that if one is elected as a Republican, that he or she should vote like one. Just as in other realms, if one is a member of the team or a business or organization, that person is expected to go by their rules and play for the team.

David Pepper, in his very left-leaning opinions, first says that most residents don’t understand the amount of power that their Legislatures have. In other words, citizens are just too stupid to vote for the best candidates. Not only that, he says, but because of these “far-right” candidates being elected to state houses, our “democracy” is being attacked. He goes on to say that most of the bills that these nasty rightwing legislators bring forth are just “cookie-cutter bills that are dreamed up in some conference.” What arrogance he demonstrates! And to top it all off, says he, these bills are attacks on LGBTQ, abortion, voter’s rights of all things! He is of the opinion, it seems, that people who think this way should abandon their beliefs and march to the same drummer as the liberal legislators. We are in a battle for the soul of this nation. I praise those who are bold enough to run for office and stand for the moral principles found in the word of God. May their numbers increase!

Sincerely,

Susan Hoffert

Clark