Republican chair passes enthusiasm to fair-goers

MOSES LAKE - If you want to be in a red, white and blue mood at the Grant County fair this week, a good suggestion would be a visit with Grant County Republican Party Chair Kimber Lybbert.

Lybbert, 37, is so gung-ho about the party and America that she will likely be at the party's fair booth every moment it's open. Her enthusiasm has impressed the party so much that she has risen from unknown to chairman in less than a year.

Lybbert may have a perspective on America that most Americans don't. She was born outside of the country's borders and chose to be an American at the age of 17.

Raised in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, Lybbert moved with her family to Okanogan when she was a sophomore in high school. She quickly adopted the American way of life and American principles.

"I was living like an American. I thought I should be one,"she said.

Lybbert teaches a class for Heritage College and another for Brigham Young University at Big Band Community College. She is also a full-time English teacher at Moses Lake High School.

"Whenever I can, I use the country's foundational documents in my literature classes," she said.

Lybbert came to Moses Lake as a young single in 1993 to study at Big Bend. She met her future husband Marty, married and stayed.

Lybbert did not plan to be involved in party politics. That came about by happenstance. Her daughter needed to attend the party caucuses the spring of 2012 for her high school government class. She needed for her mother to accompany her.

"I ran into about 60 neighbors there," Lybbert said.

When it came time to nominate delegates for the county convention, some of those neighbors threw Lybbert's name into the hat. All of the candidates gave little speeches with the usual platitudes. Lybbert was short and sweet with a little red meat.

"I really don't want Obama in the White House again," is about all she said.

Lybbert got a ticket to the county convention. There she punched a ticket to the state convention, and that convention made her feel at home.

"There were 4,000 people in that room who think like I do," she said. "We want freedom. We want reality. We sang the Star-Spangled Banner."

Last December, the party needed a new county chairman. Lybbert's name came up again, at an organizational meeting, and she was elected.

"I had to run the rest of the meeting, and I didn't even know Roberts rules of order," she said.

Lybbert has been a Republican since an age at which she was able to distinguish between Democrats and Republicans. She found the Republicans to have the same principles she has. She is particularly strong against abortion.

"We believe in the individual," she said. "We believe in doing things for ourselves and not having the government do everything."

That does not mean Lybbert does not like Democrats. Some of her friends are Democrats, and she says some Democrats are really Republicans who don't know it yet.

One group Lybbert particularly likes is the Tea Party. She says Tea Party members have not been given credit for all the good they've done, including the enthusiastic preparation of this year's fair booth.

"They came to me and asked if they could put the booth together, and they've done a wonderful job," she said.

Lybbert's No. 1 goal is to find ways to create unity among the party. She sees jaded older members and young members who don't yet know what's going on. She hopes they all develop the enthusiasm of the Tea Party.

"Those people are passionate," she said.