SEXUAL perversion & hypocrisy at the capitol
John Michener
1. Sexual Perversion & Hypocrisy
2. Governor’s State of Despair
3. Pro-Life Ignorance & Naiveté
4. OCPAC Programs
This last week saw an inauspicious beginning to the 2018 legislative season. The first week always involves much political pomp and circumstance, not to mention posturing and grandstanding. Here are a few comments and reflections on what we witnessed.
1. Sexual Perversion & Hypocrisy. On February 1 there was
nothing happening at the State Capitol.
You will find no weighty agenda, no long debate in the Journal Record,
and no archive of policy hearings. In
short, there was no reason at all that Lt. Governor Todd Lamb should want to
preside in the Senate, yet he chose to officiate over the swearing-in of an openly
homosexual senator, a ceremony laden with irony. West Tulsa Democratic Senator Allison
Ikley-Freeman is a woman who is “married” to a woman.
Let me state at the outset that we love everyone. This is not about hating or persecuting those who have abnormal physical or psychological urges. Everyone should be treated equally under the law and have the same protections of their God-given rights. So this commentary is not about discrimination, but about hypocrisy, the rule of law, and our cultural decline.
The last two years have seen several politicians leave the capitol in disgrace, and rightly so. They were guilty of adultery, fornication, sexting, and homosexual pedophilia. It matters not whether such behavior was legal. The state constitution, in Article 8 Section 1, stipulates that elected officials may be removed from office for “moral turpitude,” which means immoral behavior. Even drunkenness, which is usually not criminal, is grounds for removal from office under the same section. Essentially, those who behave immorally disqualify themselves from office.
So the first thing about this ceremony that presents itself is the double standard. All of these men have been driven from the capitol for inappropriate sexual behavior, but a woman who leads an immoral lifestyle is celebrated and welcomed. We are struggling to see the difference between the sins of the males and this female sin which Todd Lamb helped to usher in to the capitol. This is extraordinary hypocrisy.
The second thing we note is the disregard for the rule of law and the irony of the oath of office. The oath is “I … do solemnly swear that I will support, obey, and defend the Constitution of the United States, and the Constitution of the State of Oklahoma.” The Oklahoma constitution says in Article 1 Section 35, “Marriage in this state shall consist only of the union of one man and one woman.” This new senator is violating the Oklahoma Constitution in her first official act as a senator. Of course, we already mentioned the constitutional provision for moral turpitude.
This brings us to our last observation, which is the moral decline and lack of discernment now rampant in our culture. Twenty years ago, Miss Ikley-Freeman would not have been considered eligible for candidacy, much less elected or sworn in. Now, we see Todd Lamb, a Christian, welcoming her to the capitol. Lamb typifies what is wrong with the church generally. Christians are now believing and acting like the world. I saw a gay pride bumper sticker in the church parking lot the other day. When I remarked on it to a friend, she admitted the car belonged to their family. I was shocked. It was as if I were talking to a Christian who owned a strip club or a Christian bartender who relished serving drinks to drunks.
As this story illustrates, the church has done more than make peace with homosexuality; it has embraced it. We have lost the discernment which informed us that homosexual sex is not a healthy behavior we should celebrate and promote, much less encourage in our children through government school curriculum and the modeling of our public officials. It would be better to return to the sober policy of respectful toleration of private practices, while upholding traditional standards in our public institutions.
2. Governor’s State of Despair. At the governor’s State of the State speech
on February 5, some audience members in the gallery allowed a large banner with
a likeness of Gov. Mary Fallin to be unfurled over the balcony. Like raucous fans at a football game, they
taunted the opposing team. The banner
was painted over in red letters exclaiming, “OKLAHOMA State of DESPAIR.” The message captures the thoughts and
feelings of many grassroots lovers of liberty across the state. The governor’s speech would have been
perfectly suited to a socialist Democrat, but coming from a Republican, it was
deplorable. She had only two major
themes.
Governor Fallin’s first theme was that leadership is defined and characterized by compromise. We completely reject this notion. We should never compromise with evil. We are in an ideological war for the political soul and identity of the State of Oklahoma. Republicans used to fight for smaller government, fewer taxes and less regulation, and liberty. Because our Republicrat leadership has compromised these principles, we continue to suffer unbalanced budgets, greed, and corruption in state government.
Governor Fallin’s second theme was that we must StepUp and raise taxes. Taxing the people and growing government are the wrong things to do, both morally and fiscally. It is sad to witness the decline of Oklahoma values as our leaders chase after the governing models of Massachusetts and California.
3. Pro-Life Ignorance & Naiveté. At Rose Day on February 7, Gov. Fallin continued her conservative charade by pretending to stand against abortion. Her remarks in the House chamber were received by applause from hundreds of Christians. We learn three things from this particular event.
The first is that many politicians, like Mary Fallin and Todd Lamb, are shockingly dishonest when it comes to abortion. While touting their pro-life credentials to their voting bases, they actively work to keep abortion safe and legal. To them, being pro-life means they hope people will choose life, and they use words to encourage that choice, but they would never seek to directly criminalize murder by abortion. They are functionally pro-choice.
The second observation to take away from this day is just how uninformed the typical citizen is about what their elected officials have actually done. If the people knew what Fallin and Lamb had done to protect abortion over the years, Fallin would have been booed out of the House chamber. She might even have had eggs (unfertilized, of course) thrown at her.
People have limited time and resources, so
they choose the issues and activities to which they will devote their
attention. After jobs, children, a
favorite hobby, and maybe one political issue, no one has time or energy left
to pay attention to anything else.
Consequently, politicians can literally get away with murder when it
comes to abortion, and only a small number of activists know the truth. Our hope is that these activists will take up
their call to loudly share the truth in their circles and that voting citizens
will pay discerning heed to the facts and truth this election season.
The third observation from Rose Day is that besides ignorance of political chicanery, the average Christian seems to have made peace with murder by abortion. One official Baptist Rose Day participant calmly explained that Gov. Fallin had to veto the 2016 bill to ban abortion licensing because it would have cost the state millions of dollars in legal fees. Again, ignorance rears its ugly head, because Liberty Counsel was prepared to fight all the way to the supreme Court at no charge to the state. But uglier still, we see that this Christian is willing for over five thousand babies this year, and in each subsequent year, to be burned, poisoned, and ripped apart, to save a few bucks. What hope do we have when Baptist pro-lifers have become this calloused? With friends like these, who needs Bloody Mary Fallin?
4. OCPAC Programs. This Wednesday at noon at Mama Roja our speaker will be Dr. Everett Piper, President of Oklahoma Wesleyan University. Dr. Piper will challenge us to reevaluate how we view our established institutions of education. He will provide a clear vision of the path to restoration. When we learn to respect the truth, as opposed to the reigning tyrants of academia, we will begin to see our churches and communities develop into something far better than daycare centers.
The views expressed in this email are the personal opinion of John Michener and do not necessarily reflect the views of OCPAC, its leadership team, or its members…although they should. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate committee. Authorized and paid for by Oklahoma Conservative PAC, PO Box 2021, Edmond, OK 73083.