CHEYENNE - Under a big tent in front of the stately stone Union Pacific train depot, the candidates for Wyoming's U.S. House seat took part in a forum Friday as the crowd feasted on barbecued ribs.

Part of RibFest, the candidates offered a range of views on boosting energy production, reducing the influence of special interests, improving health care and other topics. But all three agreed on one thing: Congress hasn't gotten its act together on the big problems facing the nation.

Republican Cynthia Lummis said Wyoming could teach Washington a thing or two about balanced budgets and good governance. Democrat Gary Trauner said he wants to be able to tell his young sons that he did something when Congress couldn't agree on energy independence and other topics.

Libertarian David Herbert offered a solution to pork-barrel spending. He said all bills should "say what they mean and mean what they say" and not sneak through funding for legislators' pet projects.

The three are vying to replace Rep. Barbara Cubin, who beat Trauner by less than a percentage point in the 2006 election. Cubin announced late last year that she is not running for an eighth term.

Trauner, an entrepreneur from Wilson, and Lummis, a former state treasurer from Cheyenne, promised to reach across party lines to help end gridlock in Congress.

"We need to have elected officials across the board that don't just talk to the people they get along with - that don't just talk to the people that gave them money, or don't just talk to the people they think they're going to agree with - but who are willing to talk to every single person in this state, and to listen and to learn," Trauner said.

Lummis said she would ask legislators from both parties what approaches and programs are working well in their home states, then apply those lessons in Washington.

"I know how to work on a bipartisan basis. I married a Democrat state legislator. Now, it doesn't get any more bipartisan than that," Lummis said to laughter. She was referring to her husband, former state Rep. Al Wiederspahn.

Herbert, a podiatrist and attorney from Cody, said that as the Libertarian, he is the closest thing to an independent candidate in the race.

"The rules in Congress can be changed. To do that, it requires grass-roots efforts," he said.

Lummis said Congress would benefit not only by borrowing Wyoming's approach to government, but by using the state's resources to become more energy independent.

"America needs it all. We need oil, coal, gas, uranium. We need wind, solar. We need to conserve, we need biomass energy. The United States needs all of the domestic energy that it can produce to meet our needs, so we can reduce our dependence on countries whose interests are contrary to our own," Lummis said.

Trauner said Wyoming will continue to be a significant energy-producing state. He also said that while some parts of Wyoming are suitable for drilling, others should be off-limits.

He said energy independence can be achieved without wrecking Wyoming's environment.

"We can do it, but you need folks that have the courage and the intestinal fortitude, to stand up not just to big business, but also to environmental extremists on the other side, and say you need to find balance," he said.

Trauner also called for reducing the influence of special interest groups. Keeping an open mind and being willing to work with everyone is one way to do that, he said.

So too, he said, is taking special interest money out of elections.

"But let's be clear: There is no magic bullet when it comes to dealing with special interests," he said. "The pressures are enormous. The money is enormous."

Lummis said the people of Wyoming are her most important special-interest group. She said she would reflect their views in Congress.

"I would apply conservative principles to the manner in which I vote," she said.

She said she believes in small government and low taxes.

"I want to create an environment in which business can prosper, because business and the people who run business are the only things that creates wealth in this country," she said. "The wealth comes from the people. It doesn't come from the government."

Lummis said she doesn't believe in government-directed health care. She said people should be free to make their own health care decisions.

Trauner said he would like to see a combination of free-market approaches to health care while reducing burdens that prevent employers from offering health insurance. He also would like to require all Americans to have health insurance.

"We already have a national health care system because there is no free lunch," Trauner said. "The simple truth is, people who go into emergency rooms today and get primary care and get all sorts of other types of care, if they don't have insurance or if they can't pay for it, you know who pays for it? Every single person in this room that does have insurance, or does go to the hospital or a doctor and pays their bills."

The Cheyenne Chamber of Commerce hosted the forum. The Cheyenne Kiwanis Club hosted the RibFest barbecued rib festival.