Speaker McCall touts CPAC rating of OK Legislature as 2nd most conservative in nation

McCall Touts Latest CPAC Rating for OK Legislature

OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma House Speaker Charles McCall, R-Atoka, today issued a statement praising the conservative rating for the Oklahoma Legislature after the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) Foundation's Center for Legislative Accountability (CLA) released its 2023 ratings of the voting records of state legislators in all fifty states. Oklahoma was ranked as the second most conservative legislature in the country, trailing only West Virginia.

Small: Conservatively stewarding or else

Conservatively stewarding or else

By Jonathan Small

Broadly speaking, a conservative champions free markets, limited government, individual initiative, personal responsibility, and empowering families.

Progressives’ view, in practice, can be summed up in this quote from former President Barack Obama’s chief of staff Rahm Emanuel: “You never want a serious crisis to go to waste.”

Need examples of progressives exploiting problems and crises? Government distortions and intervention in health care have caused massive health-care cost growth, and then government by way of Obamacare created a $1 trillion-plus government welfare program that raises health care costs further. Government overreach and government spending fuels significant inflation growth. So then progressives responded with an “inflation reduction act” that didn’t lower or eliminate government-caused inflation, but instead increased tax burdens through massive green energy subsidies.

Since progressives often want to seize problems to expand government control, conservatives must think long-term and solve public-policy concerns before they metastasize and the public entertains the left’s command approach.

Brecheen and 'Tenacious Twenty' extract transformative rules changes from McCarthy

It's an auspicious start to his time in Congress. Freshman Representative Josh Brecheen (OK-02) and nineteen fellow conservatives played hardball with House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy -- and extracted some truly transformative rules changes before supporting McCarthy's bid for House Speaker.

Small: What is a conservative?

What is a conservative?

By Jonathan Small

Polling consistently shows a strong share of Oklahoma voters identify as conservatives. Therefore, Republican candidates do as well, if for no other reason than political self-preservation.

But being conservative means more than checking off the pro-life and pro-Second Amendment boxes on a questionnaire, as important as those issues may be.

So, what is a conservative?

Faught Receives Top Limited Government Score

State Rep. George Faught (R-Muskogee) received the top 'Limited Government' rating from Oklahomans for Sovereignty and Free Enterprise (OK-SAFE) for votes bills that made 3rd Reading this session. A bill that actually passes on 3rd Reading is sent to the next chamber (from House to Senate, or Senate to House).

OK-SAFE took ten bills, and rated them. "The general guidelines for supporting a bill were that it promotes constitutionally-limited government, or was a preemptive bill against more federal intrusion or initiatives. The general guidelines for opposing a bill were that the bill increased the power, scope and reach of government beyond it's proper function or boundaries, and/or increased the use of technology as enforcer (i.e surveillance)."

Faught was one of five representatives to get the top score: 9 out of 10 votes. The other legislators were Charles Key (R-OKC), Jason Murphey (R-Guthrie), Mike Ritze (R-Broken Arrow), and Paul Wesselhoft (R-Moore).

You can view the scores for the entire state house by clicking here. Go here to find out more about OK-SAFE.

Adam Andrzejewski for IL Governor

There's a solid, grassroots conservative running for governor in Illinois that needs our help. Adam Andrzejewski (and-jee-EFF-ski) is running in a tight 6-way Republican primary, with the vote coming up on February 2nd.

I first heard of Adam Andrzejewski on the Race42012 blog, where Adam Brickley started talking about this sterling candidate in Illinois. Brickley was the first person in the blogosphere to really start pushing Sarah Palin for Vice President; how he finds gems like Palin and Andrzejewski before anyone else does is beyond me.



Andrzejewski is running on a platform of reform, transparency and fiscal responsibility. You can find several posts on him here at R4'12. Adam is a stellar, rock-solid conservative with strong anti-corruption credentials - just what Illinois, and the rest of the nation, needs.

Erick Erickson at RedState has picked up the Andrzejewski banner, and other bloggers are trying to rally the conservative 'troops' for a moneybomb to take place tomorrow for Andrzejewski (Give2424.com).

So, Adam Andrzejewski for Illinois Governor!

Coburn Lands on UK Telegraph 'Top Conservatives' List

Sen. Tom Coburn, M.D. (R-Muskogee), landed on the UK Telegraph's "Most Influential US Conservatives" top 100 list. The Telegraph first issued their list in 2007, and subsequently followed up with this 2010 list.

Coburn placed at number 37; he was number 43 in 2007.

Said the Telegraph regarding Coburn:

"Outspoken, conservative to the core and unafraid to take on the Republican leadership or give Democrats a chance when they deserve it, Coburn is one of the most unusual politicians in Washington. It would be more correct to describe him as an anti-politician since he is a doctor first and foremost and disdains the political class. Arrived in Washington as part of the Republican revolution of 1994 but left after his self-imposed term limit was up. Returned as a Senator but one always senses he would prefer to be back home in Oklahoma."

"A crusader against abortion rights, he once said: “I favour the death penalty for abortionists and other people who take life.” Also stated that “the gay community has infiltrated the very centers of power”. Since then (both statements were in 2004), he has mellowed a touch. Was personally friendly to Obama when they were both in the Senate and speaks warmly of the President’s character and intention. Refused to jump on the Republican bandwagon this week by branding Senator Harry Reid a racist. A passionate opponent of "pork barrel" spending, whether by Republicans or Democrats. Still regarded by many as one of the consciences of the conservative movement."

Coburn's influence continues to grow, especially with the ongoing health-care reform debate. It's good to see someone in the media notice that. Still, I would love for Coburn to rank much higher on the list; the conservative movement and the Republican Party both need more men like him.

Anne Frank, Iran, and Psychopathic Murderers

"Just imagine how forgetful I'll be when I'm eighty!"
(Anne Frank, May 11, 1944)

Today would have been Anne Frank's 80th birthday, had she survived WWII. After living in hiding in the top floors of a warehouse in Amsterdam with her family and four other Jews for over two years (July 6th, 1942, to August 4th, 1944), they were betrayed by an unknown character. Anne died in March of 1945 from Typhus in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in Nazi Germany, a few weeks before the camp was liberated by British troops.

Anne kept a diary throughout their time in hiding, and her father (the only one to survive the war and concentration camps) later published it. It has since been translated into many languages, and is considered to be one of the most important written works of the 20th Century.

I've been reading it the past few days, unaware of the significance of today's date in relation to Anne Frank. It's a very fascinating read, but somewhat of a downer. You find yourself hoping that they all make it through at the end, but the while, you know how it ends. Still, it is very interesting to see the view of World War II from Jews in hiding, and the day-to-day life in the "Secret Annex" where the Franks, Van Pels and Fritz Pfeffer lived.

"Never Again!" was the cry after World War II. And yet, today we can see the rise of another Hitler wannabe: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The last major leader to publicly declare his intent to wipe the Jewish people off the face of the earth was not taken seriously until it was too late, and millions of innocent people were murdered. The world leaders do not take this man seriously, either (see previous posts on the subject). If Ahmadinejad gets a nuclear weapon, he will use it.

This past week, an elderly man shot and killed a guard (by the name of Stephen Johns) at the U.S. Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. The man, who does not deserve to have his name mentioned, was a rabid anti-Semite, anti-government radical, and ran a website dedicated to various neo-Nazi, anti-Semitic conspiracies and views. He was shot by one of the other guards at the museum, and is currently in critical condition.

Like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, this Hitler lover is also a Holocaust denier (his views on the human race coincide with many of the Nazi elite and Darwinist views as well).

Many on the left and in the media constantly refer to this man as 'right-wing'; I disagree. There is a point that one can reach which is neither left-wing or right-wing, but enters the realm of crazy-land.

However, no one of the left or the media sees it that way. To alter one of Anne Frank's quotes, "What one liberal does is his own responsibility, but what one conservative does is thrown back at all conservatives."

Anne Frank, her family, and millions of Jews suffered and died at the hands of maniacal psychopaths. May we not be the generation to allow it to happen again.