Two days into the legislative session and already the same old voting pattern is emerging.
Perhaps its too early to make judgements, but the same pattern appears year after year. There are some number of Republicans who vote more often with the Democrats then their own party.
In 2019 we had nine reliable Democrat votes and sadly that included Speaker Harshman and Majority Floor Leader Barlow.
Fast forward to today and in the first two days of the 2020 Budget Session and already 11 Republican vote like their Democrat counterparts.
Representatives Barlow, Kirkbride, Paxton, and Zwonitzer have the dubious honor of voting like a Democrat in 2019 and so far in 2020.
Time will tell, but I fear with the big money grab plans engineered by Speaker Harshman and the persistance of a jobs killing corporate income tax will be a test of wills. Moderate Republicans and the conservative Republican base will face a challenge fighting off the onslaught of new taxes and other schemes this budget session.
The data for the days voting will be uploaded every evening the legislature is in session. You can use the Evidence Based Wyoming Legislative Analysis Tool to do your own research on how your legislators are voting, and see how each legislator evolves over the course of the session.
With luck maybe our legislators will get the message that being a Democrat isn’t a good look for a Republican.
