Constitutional Carry-Urgent Action Needed
John Michener
1. TAKE ACTION on Constitutional Carry
2. OCPAC Program: Candidate Interviews
3. Schizophrenic Kevin Stitt
4. Split Personality Todd Lamb
5. Teachers & Tax Hikes: Behind the Scenes
1. TAKE ACTION on Constitutional Carry. We anticipate that the House will likely hear a Constitutional Carry bill on Monday, April 23. Please call your representative at 405-521-2711 and ask him to vote YES on SB 1212.
2. OCPAC Program. On Wednesday, April 25, at noon at Mama Roja we will interview candidates for Senate Districts 20 (Kingfisher, Logan, Noble, Pawnee), 24 (Cleveland), 18 (Cherokee, Mayes, Muskogee, Tulsa, Wagoner), 22 (Canadian, Oklahoma), and others who might attend.
3. Schizophrenic Kevin Stitt. “I am excited to sign the Oklahoma Taxpayer Platform proposed by Tom Coburn today,” Kevin Stitt said on March 28. He would like us to believe he holds strong convictions against taxation, but in various forums around the state, Stitt has explained that he would raise taxes as long as they were similar to surrounding states. He makes no appeal to moral principle, no commitment to abolishing or reducing taxes; only a relativistic attitude that justifies theft and punishing productivity because everyone else is doing it. Watch Stitt justify tax hikes in his own words.
4. Split Personality Todd Lamb. Like Governor Fallin, Todd Lamb calls himself “very pro-life.” When asked for specifics, he promised to keep doing what he has done in the past. In fact, Lamb loves to brag about the “pro-life” bill he authored many years ago in the Senate, but what he does not tell you is that his bill was nothing more than a minor health care regulation. Then, in 2016, when Governor Fallin vetoed SB 1552, which would have removed medical licenses from doctors who perform elective abortions, a pastor with Oklahomans United for Life pleaded with him to help. Lamb flatly refused the request to step into the Senate and ensure that SB 1552 received a final vote to override Governor Fallin’s veto. Of course, it is easy for Lamb to look back now and tell his constituents that, had he been governor, he would have signed SB 1552, but actions speak louder than after-the-fact words. It is reasonable to argue that as a result of Mary Fallin and Todd Lamb’s choices, two new abortion providers have opened for business. We do not need another “very pro-life” governor. We need abolitionist Dan Fisher.
If abortion is your number one issue of concern, you will want to review the gubernatorial Voter Guide provided by Oklahomans United for Life for the June 26 primary election.
5. Teachers & Tax Hikes: Behind the Scenes. We saw a massive tax hike, a massive “educator” pay increase, and a massive strike. Almost everyone believes this was about the teachers, but who was really driving these policy decisions and what agendas were really behind the theatrics?
First, let us consider the massive tax increase. Remember, last year Oklahoma’s credit rating was downgraded, making it harder for the state to borrow money. So this tax hike was about more than the taxes themselves. According to the Oklahoma State Bond Advisor’s Office, “The state…has taken steps to address the rating agency's concerns about Oklahoma's pension systems by eliminating unfunded cost of living adjustments, limiting early retirement, and providing more funding.” The legislature was not about to let a perceived education crisis go to waste. The massive tax increase will buoy the state’s credit rating and make it easier for the legislature to borrow in the future.
Second, why strike? The teachers won. They got the tax increase and a massive salary increase. So why did they not go to work April 2? Many districts did not get back to work until April 16.
The answer may lie in the Oklahoma Education Association’s (OEA) real objectives for the strike and a quirk of the calendar. The union likely anticipated a protracted fight with the legislature, which would have had government educators striking at the capitol during the time to file for legislative office April 11-13, providing the strikers with motive and opportunity to file. When the legislature caved so quickly, it left a calendar gap of several days until the filing period. If one of the goals was really to get government educators to run for office, the OEA would need to keep their people at the capitol for several more days. This may explain the union’s shift in arguments and demands from a salary increase to more funding for classrooms. The ruse worked, and while it is hard to get an exact number, some published lists are reporting more than three dozen known educrats have filed for legislative office.
We now have dozens of state employees, who are free in the summer, being paid to campaign for the legislature, which appropriates funds for their paychecks. Sound like an unfair advantage and a conflict of interest? Normally, it is. Other state employees have to resign from their government jobs to campaign. But somehow, government educators get a special dispensation.
So what other agendas were behind what some have called “Chaos at the Capitol?” To answer that, one should examine the unions which organized the chaos. Just a cursory review of the OEA and its parent organization the National Education Association (NEA) will reveal their radical leftist agenda. For example, OEA members are urged to support the “Dream Act” to prevent the deportation of illegal immigrants and sign a pledge to support “Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA. OEA also links to the George Soros-funded Center for American Progress. If you dare to swallow the red pill and follow Alice down the rabbit hole, visit the NEA website, which advocates restricting our God-given right to self-defense, as protected by the Second Amendment.
In conclusion, the OEA’s strike was just another orchestrated demonstration by the Left, like so many others we have seen since Trump was elected. George Soros and his friends have proven that they can shut down a state government and stage a kind of coup at the Capitol right here in good ole conservative Oklahoma. And our Republicrat leadership was more than willing to go along. This was just the opportunity they needed to twist a few arms and get the votes they needed to pour more cash into the state treasury and their personal campaign coffers.
Are you a good teacher who just cares about teaching kids and receiving a fair wage? Then get out of the OEA-NEA, so that your membership dues, and you, will not be used to further their hidden agendas.
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.