The Blog at MSPC

July 1, 1776, witnessed one of the most consequential debates in American history. The topic was whether America should declare independence. The principal participants were the passionate John Adams of Massachusetts for the affirmative and the eloquent John Dickinson of Pennsylvania for the negative.

Americans knew of the long struggle for liberty waged against the Crown by their British ancestors. Absolute submission to a government in which they had no representation was not a condition they were prepared to accept.

Civic participation in the United States has been weakening for years, and rural states like Montana and Wyoming feel those effects more intensely.

Franklin stood on the idea that no government could be truly representative if the taxing power (whether in exercise or forbearance) lay wholly elsewhere.

Gregoire is not a conservative activist. She is not anti-government. She is one of the architects of modern Democratic leadership in Washington state. Which is exactly why her recent remarks to the Association of Washington Business were so striking.

Idaho took a significant step this year toward strengthening civics education and preparing the next generation for informed citizenship.

Public trust erodes when voters believe democratic decisions are only respected when they align with elite opinion.

As America prepares for its 250th birthday, it’s important to remember why we celebrate.

Mountain States Policy Center recently had the opportunity to have a conversation with former Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels to discuss his thoughts on spending discipline, health care reforms, improving education outcomes, higher education affordability, regulatory reforms, the national budget outlook, and civility.

Our republic needs to continue to support the importance and power of the states, and the Electoral College is a prime pillar of that ideal.

Wyoming legislators should make strengthening the Public Records Act and other government transparency initiatives their center of attention in next year’s legislative session. This would build on the progress made this session for medical cost transparency.

House Bill 516 does not ban unions. It does not prevent teachers from joining them. It does not end collective bargaining. Even critics admit as much. What it does is far simpler — it stops government from acting as the middleman for union operations.

Lawmakers across our region were very busy during the 2026 Legislative Sessions. More than 2,300 combined bills were introduced in Washington (1,157), Idaho (817), and Wyoming (335). There wasn’t a legislative session this year in Montana. Several of Mountain States Policy Center’s (MSPC) recommendations were among those to make it across the finish line.

This year, Idaho lawmakers introduced more than 800 pieces of legislation—again. That’s not a one-off spike. It’s part of a clear trend: more bills, more activity, and more output from a citizen legislature that was never designed to operate at this scale.

Across Idaho, citizens and journalists have faced inconsistent rules about whether they could film or record public meetings. In some cases, they were told to stop. In others, policies varied from one city or school district to the next. The result wasn’t transparency—it was confusion.

The growth of Idaho and Montana’s largest counties is not happening in isolation. It is part of a broader rebalancing across the West—one driven by policy, affordability, and opportunity.

The people of Washington must now consider a question once familiar to Americans: what recourse remains when government refuses to listen?

It is now far too late to challenge the constitution’s legality. However, Montanans deserve a constitution that is not under a legal cloud. A state constitutional convention could propose such a document.

The best way to defend the constitution is not to dig in one’s heels to protect an inaccurate and distorted version. The best way is to call a convention to, first, clean up drafting mistakes that tend to discredit the document, and, second, to correct judicial distortions of it.

We were honored to have Montana Governor Greg Gianforte attend and address the crowd at our policy event in Helena on February 24. Governor Gianforte discussed his plans for the upcoming 2027 Legislative Session, noting that moving the Treasure State to a flat income tax and providing families with more education choice opportunities were among his top priorities.