“A good leader stands in front of their men in times of criticism, and behind them in times of praise.”

I do not know where this quote originated, but I heard it first from my husband, a supervisor at his job, who has always given his crew the credit when management praises them for a job well done, and takes the responsibility when things don’t go so great. This idea hit me in my gut and has always stuck with me. 

I took this to heart while I was the Uinta County Republican Party Chair. I took the criticisms on myself and gave all the credit to the great people in the central committee for the wonderful things we were able to accomplish during my term.

I accepted the lies, the slander and the criminal charges that were thrown at me and did not share them with the group. Still, to this day, I give all the credit for the tens of thousands of dollars we were able to raise (which all went to legal fees) to our great fundraising team. The resolutions we passed, the surveys we sent to candidates were all the work of the body.

Wyoming Republican Party state chairman Frank Eathorne has done the same. He has taken hit after hit for the Wyoming Republican Party’s furthering of conservative values and agenda over the last four years. I will forever be grateful to Frank for the mentoring, support and friendship that he has given to me, and for the gentlemanly way he has always treated me.

There is a serious misunderstanding of the process that the Wyoming Republican Party works under that I think needs to be corrected. The media has been criticizing Frank Eathorne for the “extremist right wing” agenda that the party has been putting out for the last several years but, in reality, the credit and praise should be laid on the grassroots folks from the counties.

The Wyoming Republican Party is a ground up organization, and it works under a set of bylaws that are voted on at the state convention every two years by 300 to 500 Wyoming Republicans, elected by their counties to represent them.

We also work within Roberts Rules of Order. Under Roberts Rules of Order, the chairman is unable to make motions, join in the conversation or present resolutions. So, all of the resolutions, censures, bylaws, and motions that have been issued by the Wyoming Republican Party have come from those conservative grass roots guys at the county levels. We deserve the credit.

Frank has done a wonderful job of bringing those issues to the public, but they did not come from him. He has done his job and fulfilled his role as chairman with respect and dignity for those that he represents.

There is not a divide within the Republican Party. There are those who agree with the party platform and believe that those who want to represent the party in elected office should adhere to those values; and there are those who do not.

If you do not agree with the party platform, and do not think you should be held accountable to it if you want to represent the party, you are not a Republican. The grass roots Republicans get to decide what a Republican is, not the legislators, or commissioners or the governor.

Our party platform is a guiding light for every honest Republican across the board. It is not some new-age, politically-fluid concept that means something different to every person based and their feelings or self-identification.

There will always be those who need to have someone else to blame for their actions, those who are unable to accept responsibility for their voting records, and those who have to slander and discredit others to make themselves look better.

When your only two options are to admit that you are a liar or to blame someone else for your mistakes. Every 3-year-old knows you always blame the other guy so you don’t get in trouble.

Wyoming mainstream media can and will continue to protect the “self-proclaimed Republicans,” “Frontier Republicans,” “Traditional Republicans,” “Moderate Republicans,” or whatever they choose to call themselves this week — and that’s fine. Those who actually know what’s going on, and have participated in the party know the truth — and truth is contagious — and there is no “two weeks to stop the spread” that can slow us down.