A man of vision
By Jonathan Small
What can one man do? If the man is Dr. David Brown, founder of the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs, the answer is, “A lot.” Thanks to Dr. Brown’s vision and tenacity, many Oklahomans today enjoy greater opportunity and a better quality of life. A successful orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Brown lived the American Dream. But he knew it had to be defended if others were to do the same, which is why he was active in public policy for many years, including service on the board of trustees of the Heritage Foundation, a leading national free-market think tank. At one Heritage board meeting, a peer from South Carolina mentioned his home state was creating a state-level think tank that would mirror the Heritage Foundation’s work. Dr. Brown concluded Oklahoma should do the same. That was the birth of the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs, which launched in 1993. Its survival in those early years was due in large part to Dr. Brown’s focus and financial support—along with that of his wife, Ann, who was also all-in. They shepherded the organization until it became financially self-sustaining. When OCPA was founded, Democrats held the Oklahoma governorship and the Oklahoma Legislature by margins of 35-13 in the Senate and 67-34 in the House. Read more »by Muskogee Politico - March 11, 2022 at 08:46AM ![]() "A man of vision": OCPA mourns passing of founder, Dr. David Brown Click this headline to read the entire article at Muskogee Politico I don't know what's going on with OCPA and their affiliated school choice groups, but something seems to have broken inside them after tangling with homeschoolers who opposed being included in Sen. Greg Treat's Oklahoma Empowerment Accounts school choice bill. Their frustration has boiled over into public attacks on the homeschool community via social media. For example, this (first tweet, second tweet) from Brandon Dutcher, a homeschool dad himself, OCPA's senior vice president:
Dave Bond, Vice President for Advocacy at OCPA, had a series of bizarre postings on various Facebook pages. When a homeschool parent raised a question about SB 1647, Bond wrote "stop it. They took y’all out of the bill. Stop.", followed closely with another "stop. Y’all aren’t allowed to dictate to other families. Cut it out." Heaven forbid people comment as citizens with concern about possible legislation. He later commented with this articulate gem: "Why. Are. You. Not. Satisfied. Even. Though. They. Took. Out. Of. The. Bill. What. You. Wanted. Them. To. Take. Out. Of. The. Bill." Unique way of advocating for your organization's position, I guess? Read more »by Muskogee Politico - March 11, 2022 at 08:30AM ![]() School choice lobby turns on homeschoolers in fight over Treat bill Click this headline to read the entire article at Muskogee Politico
T.W. Shannon Announces Campaign for United States Senate
Former Speaker of the House and conservative leader says America is the the home of systemic opportunity, not systemic racism
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma — Today, T.W. Shannon announced his entrance into the open United States Senate race to succeed Senator Jim Inhofe. The former Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives, business leader, successful CEO, and Chair of Black Voices for Trump spoke to a packed room of friends and supporters in Oklahoma City. “The Left says that if you look like me and are born in America, then capitalism doesn’t work for you. My story is a living example that you can be born just a few blocks from here at Old Presbyterian hospital, raised in Lawton, by two amazing parents, obtain a doctoral degree, get elected to office, advise a president, become a successful CEO all by the age of 40, and yes run for the United States Senate,” said Shannon. “The only reason any of this is possible is because America has been all in for me, and to whom much is given, much is required.” Read more »by Muskogee Politico - March 10, 2022 at 05:55PM ![]() T.W. Shannon announces campaign for United States Senate Click this headline to read the entire article at Muskogee Politico Gov. Kevin Stitt is out with his first TV ad of his reelection campaign, touting accomplishments from his first term in office amid the difficulties of the pandemic and economic downturn. Stitt, who faces token opposition in the GOP primary, is being challenged by RINO-turned-Democrat State Superintendent Joy Hofmeister. He holds a commanding lead over the duplicitous Hofmeister, who has clearly shown herself to be a pandering liar when it comes to her political ideology and philosophy. An anti-Stitt group, led by a so-called Republican former legislator and political consultant affiliated with previous Hofmeister campaigns as well as figures like Congressman Markwayne Mullin, claims to have $10 million to spend against Stitt (link, subscription required, unfortunately). I don't think Stitt will have any difficulty batting away two-faced Hofmeister or her allies. STITT FOR GOVERNOR 2022 LAUNCHES FIRST TV AD, AIRING STATEWIDE March 10, 2022 (Oklahoma City, Okla.) – The Stitt for Governor 2022 campaign announced today its first TV ad of the election season, which is airing on broadcast and cable statewide. The TV ad “Hard Times II” reflects on the environment that propelled Kevin Stitt to run for office as a conservative businessman and political outsider when Oklahoma was facing year-after-year budget short falls and government systems failing to deliver results due to political posturing. “Not long ago, Oklahoma was facing hard times,” Stitt opens in the TV ad. “While hardworking Oklahomans suffered, the political insiders were only helping themselves.” During the three years of Governor Kevin Stitt’s leadership, the State of Oklahoma has experienced a turnaround with:
“On day one, we got to work. We took power out of the hands of the insiders and put you back in charge,” Governor Kevin Stitt continues. “We cut taxes, slashed job killing red tape, started fixing our schools and turned a budget deficit into $2 billion in savings.” Most recently, Governor Stitt signed into law the Redbud School Funding Act (SB 229) to increase funding to charter and traditional rural schools as well as signed into law an expansion of the Equal Opportunity Scholarships (SB 1080) to provide more school choice for low income and underserved families through increased investments. He continues to advocate for expansion of freedoms for parents in selecting schools that best meets students’ learning needs as well as for professional teachers to have a trajectory for making $100,000 salaries (HB 4388 and HB 4387). With the perspective of a conservative businessman, Gov. Stitt also called for with the first-ever financial audit of the Oklahoma State Department of Education. Governor Stitt charged the State Auditor to identify all revenue sources flowing in the OSDE and to determine transparency compliance of financial transactions for all public education institutions. “Oklahoma’s turnaround is working. Let’s keep it going,” concludes Governor Kevin Stitt. The TV ad can be viewed by clicking here, or watch below: by Muskogee Politico - March 10, 2022 at 12:00PM ![]() Gov. Stitt launches first TV ad of reelection campaign Click this headline to read the entire article at Muskogee Politico
Lankford Statement on 2,700-page, $1.5 Trillion Funding Bill
WASHINGTON, DC – Senator James Lankford's (R-OK) statement on the US House of Representatives FY2022 funding bill that is a 2,700-plus-page bill and costs more than $1.5 trillion: “The budget process in Congress is so broken that only four Members of leadership negotiate a 2,700-plus-page bill that costs more the $1.5 trillion and is released with less than 12 hours for House members to read it. No Member of Congress will have time to read this bill before voting. This year, only three of the 12 funding bills even made it through Committee in the Senate. This enormous $1.5 trillion bill has absolutely no transparency. Read more »by Muskogee Politico - March 10, 2022 at 09:00AM ![]() Lankford: broken process produces 2700-page, $1.5T bill with 12 hours to read before vote Click this headline to read the entire article at Muskogee Politico Senate candidate Alex Gray continues with a steady stream of news in the past few days. He announced $100k in fundraising during his first campaign's 24 hours, plus endorsements by two figures in the Trump administration (Ric Grenell and Kash Patel). Gray drops a hint that he has additional endorsements coming soon. This news was first broken by Erick Erickson, nationally syndicated radio host and commentator. Lee becomes the third sitting U.S. Senator to endorse a candidate in this race so far. Sen. Jim Inhofe started things off by endorsing of his chief of staff, Luke Holland, when he made his retirement announcement. Sen. Rand Paul has endorsed State Sen. Nathan Dahm. U.S. Rep. Markwayne Mullin has not issued any endorsements, but he figures to be the frontrunner due to his name recognition and deep personal pockets. Additional individuals are still rumored to be considering running, including Rep. Kevin Hern, former Rep. J.C. Watts, former Ambassador Kyle McCarter, former State House Speaker T.W. Shannon, and former State Rep. Paul Wesselhoft. U.S. SENATOR MIKE LEE ENDORSES ALEX GRAY Oklahoma City, OK – Just a day after announcing his candidacy for United States Senate, former Trump Administration national security official, Alex Gray, has received the third endorsement of his campaign from Senator Mike Lee of Utah in his campaign for U.S. Senate. Senator Lee is one of the most ardent supporters of President Trump in the United States Senate and understands the importance of electing America First senators across the country to stop the out-of-control Biden Administration's harmful policies. “Alex Gray is an America First conservative. We need more proven, constitutional conservatives in the Senate. As one of the key national-security officials for President Trump, Alex helped make America great again. He has my complete and total endorsement in his U.S. Senate campaign!” said Senator Mike Lee in a statement endorsing Alex Gray. Read more »by Muskogee Politico - March 09, 2022 at 12:00PM ![]() Sen. Mike Lee endorses Alex Gray in Senate special election Click this headline to read the entire article at Muskogee Politico Here's the sad truth about abortion, and it took time for me to fully understand it: pro-life laws put abortion into statute. Let me say that again: abortion is law today because of pro-life laws. There's a reason why Democrats tried to pass a bill in the U.S. Senate late last month to codify abortion into federal law (they failed). Roe v. Wade is not law. Roe v. Wade is not statute. Pro-lifers have been motivated to save the lives of the unborn, but for decades, we've actually been putting into law the means by which the preborn are murdered. We're regulating babies to death. Once you understand this fact, it really is eye-opening. I believe that most pro-lifers would agree that abortion is murder, that life begins at conception, and that the ultimate goal is to end abortion in all forms it takes. Thus, a truly and fully consistent pro-life position is that of the total and immediate abolition of abortion. State Sen. Mary Boren (D-Norman) is a liberal, pro-abortion Democrat. She penned an op-ed in The Oklahoman recently, attacking pro-life 'Rose Day', and accidentally stumbling upon a hard truth about pro-life legislation: that pro-life laws are aimed at reduc[ing] abortion rates, instead of making them illegal or move them out of state. She is accidentally right. If Roe were struck down today, abortion would still be legal in every state, because the when, where, and how of baby-murder is written into state laws by pro-life legislation. This is why legislatures everywhere should be advancing pure abolition bills: "An abolition bill does not regulate which preborn human beings are old enough to be protected by law – it outlaws abortion itself." Here's Boren's column, which seems to have been removed from The Oklahoman last time I checked:
Here's the thing, Boren's definition of "pro-life" is not what most pro-lifers would agree with, but she stumbled on the rregulatory nature of the pro-life movement. Instead, abortion must be abolished. by Muskogee Politico - March 09, 2022 at 08:35AM ![]() Pro-abortion Senate Dem accidentally hits on the regulatory flaw of "pro-life" Click this headline to read the entire article at Muskogee Politico |
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