Hilliary political machine dumps major money into SD32, backs Curtis Erwin over conservative Sen. Dusty Deevers

Candidate Curtis Erwin flanked by major donors Dustin (l) and Michael Hilliary (r)

There's a new big-time player on the Oklahoma political scene. The Hilliary family of southwest Oklahoma, known best for their broadband company (Hilliary Communications) and a growing statewide media network (Hilliary Media Group), rose in recent years from relative obscurity to being among the biggest political donors in Oklahoma and garnering appointments to key governmental roles and boards. 

Now, they are setting their sights on Lawton area's State Senate District 32, backing political blank-slate newcomer Curtis Erwin against one of the most conservative Republicans in the Oklahoma State Senate, Dusty Deevers. This is the second election in a row that they have heavily backed a candidate in this Senate seat, having flushed tens of thousands of dollars into a candidate who lost to Deevers in the 2023 special election.

Voters in Senate District 32 need to recognize this for what it is: a brazen attempt by powerful special interests to oust a vocal conservative reformer.

The final hours: a news brief for the end of the 2025 legislative session

I have been swamped with work, family, and church activities for the last few weeks, and it's taken a big toll on my blogging time availability, so I'm going to attempt a brief summary here of just 16 of the 100+ news and press releases I've received in the past two weeks, including the state budget agreement, income tax cuts, economic development projects, audits, and more.

In order of what I feel is most newsworthy:

• May 26th: When “Shall” Becomes “May”: Why the People of Oklahoma Face a Dangerous Four Days Ahead. This is a must-read from what it swiftly becoming the best grassroots conservative coverage of legislative shenanigans, authored by former State Rep. Jason Murphey. You need to subscribe to his newsletter.

Here's what you need to know about the State Questions on Oklahoma's 2024 ballot

Two weeks ago, I published Here's what you need to know about the judges on the 2024 ballot. In this post, I'll focus in on the two state questions that are on the ballot. 

I got some of my information from these helpful articles (SQ 833, SQ 834) at Ballotpedia, in addition to information from various blogs and news stations.

2018 Oklahoma Constitution Conservative Index released

The 2018 Oklahoma Conservative Index

Published by the Oklahoma Constitution

Oklahoma's Conservative Newspaper since 1979

This issue of the Oklahoma Constitution presents the 40th annual Oklahoma Conservative Index, rating our state legislators. Members of each house of the Oklahoma Legislature were rated on ten key votes. A favorable vote on these issues represents a belief in fiscal responsibility, individual liberty, free enterprise, and constitutional government.

After taking suggestions from conservative leaders, the staff of the Oklahoma Constitution submitted bills to a vote of the membership of the Oklahoma Conservative Political Action Committee (OCPAC) to determine the ten key votes. The legislators were rated based on their votes on bills involving taxes, interference in free markets, protecting liberty, and the right to keep and bear arms.

RATING CALCULATION

To determine this year’s rating, 10 points were earned for each conservative vote (designated by a C), and no points are awarded for a liberal vote (indicated by an L). Each failure to vote (recorded as a Z) provides only three points. When the rating system was created in 1979, it was decided that there should be a difference between voting liberal, and missing a vote. A legislator absent for all the votes could only score 30%, which is our recommended score for seeking a replacement.

Thus, a legislator voting conservative on eight votes, liberal on one, and failing to vote on another, would receive eighty plus three, or an 83% conservative rating.

This year’s conservative rating was averaged with the legislator’s scores from any previous years of service to obtain the Cumulative Average score for all the years that legislator has been rated. With term limits, we have moved into a period when no legislator will have a cumulative score based on a period longer than twelve years. However, a few former legislators with service prior to the term limits law were later elected to their current positions. The scores of legislators with previous service are included in their cumulative average.

By examining this year’s score in relation to the Cumulative Average, the voting pattern of a particular legislator can be determined. While most score nearly the same, year after year, others trend upward or downward from their average. If your legislator is trending toward conservatism, please offer you encouragement and support. If your legislator is exhibiting a leftward trend, it is time to express your disappointment and suggest the need for a replacement if the trend is not reversed.

The average score in the House this year was 43%, compared to 32% last year. The Senate averaged 48% conservative this year, compared to 33% last year. There were 21 legislators who scored 70%, or better this year, compared to only 12 who scored 70%, or better, last year. We suggest you commend all of these lawmakers.

Readers should consider replacing those who scored 30%, or less, while giving close scrutiny to those who scored between 30% and 70%.

There were a few vacancies during the legislative session due to the resignation of a legislator. Since those legislators were not present for all of the votes, they were not rated. Newly elected Rep. Brad Boles (R-Marlow), and Sen. David Holt (R-OKC) who resigned after being elected Oklahoma City mayor, were vacant for part of the session. They were not rated, although there votes on the bills for which they were present are included. The votes on bills that occurred when there seats were vacant are recorded with a V.

The Top Conservative and Top Liberal legislators were selected by their scores on the Index. Making the Top Conservatives list were those lawmakers who scored 80%, or better. On the Top Liberals list were those making less than 20%.

THE TOP CONSERVATIVES

Three legislators, two in the House and one in the Senate, scored a perfect 100% conservative rating this year. House members scoring 100% were Tom Gann (R-Inola) and Jason Murphey (R-Guthrie). Senator Nathan Dahm (R-Broken Arrow) also scored 100%.

The next highest score was 93%, made by Representative Chuck Stohm (R-Jenks) and Anthony Sykes (R-Moore)of the Senate. Scoring 90% were Jeff Coody (R-Grandfield) and Sean Roberts (R-Hominy) of the House, and Josh Brecheen (R-Coalgate) of the Senate. Kevin Calvey (R-OKC), George Faught (R-Muskogee) and Rick West (R-Heavener) of the House all scored 83%.

Representative Travis Dunlap (R-Bartlesville), Mike Ritze (R-Broken Arrow), and Kevin West (R-Moore) of the House scored 80%, along with Rob Standridge (R-Norman) of the Senate, completing the list of Top Conservatives.

THE TOP LIBERALS

While no legislators scored zero conservative this year, two legislators, both in the Senate only scored a dismal 3 percent conservative: Kay Floyd (D-OKC) and John Sparks (D-Norman). Kevin Matthews of Tulsa scored a mere 6 percent conservative. Other low scores were compiled by Representatives Mickey Dollens (D-OKC), and Jason Dunnington (D-OKC), both making only 9%. Other legislators who scored less than 20% conservative on this year’s Index included Forrest Bennett (D-OKC), William Fourkiller (D-Stilwell), Claudia Griffith (D-Norman), Katie Henke (R-Tulsa), Ben Loring (D-Miami), Jason Lowe (D-OKC), Mark McBride (R-Moore), Monroe Nichols (D-Tulsa), Brian Renegar (D-McAlester), Emily Virgin (D-Norman), Collin Walke (D-OKC), and George Young (D-OKC), of the House and Michael Brooks (D-OKC), Anastasia Pittman (D-OKC), and Ervin Yen (R-OKC) of the Senate.

Click here for the 2018 Senate conservative index (PDF). 

Click here for the 2018 House conservative index (PDF).

Lt. Col. Barry Niles running for HD31

Lt. Colonel Barry Niles  (Ret.) Announces Candidacy for State House, District 31

Decorated veteran and third generation Oklahoman, Lieutenant Colonel (Ret.) Barry Niles, USAR, announces his candidacy on the Republican ticket for State Representative, District 31, an area that encompasses Guthrie, Cashion, Cedar Valley, Cimarron City, and Edmond. Niles and his wife Debra have lived and raised their 8 children in the South Logan County area for over 35 years.

Niles is a veteran of both the U.S. Army Reserve and the Oklahoma City Police Department. Niles performed 30 years of military service, and was deployed to active duty with a tour of Iraq in 2007. Niles was named Chief of a Military Transition Team, serving as Senior Adviser, 1st Brigade, 6th Iraqi Division of the Kadahmiyah Security District, Baghdad. He was tasked with training the Iraqi Army and coordinating with local and national police to provide security for the people of Baghdad, and working with other US government agencies and Iraqi government authorities to repair and rebuild major infrastructure problems and failures.

“This assignment allowed me to go into a devastated region, deconstruct the processes that were flawed, develop a plan to correct, and then work with other groups to ensure that we assisted in the creation of a successful foundation for future growth. This experience prepared me with a unique skill set to face the ongoing challenges in our Oklahoma government, to find the areas that are not serving our state well, and develop a tactical plan to course correct. Oklahoma desperately needs people in government who can identify challenges, and then come forward with real solutions to ensure that our neighbors have stability and certainty in expectations of services, infrastructure, healthcare, education and a business positive approach to encourage free market growth,” Niles said. “I ask for your vote and your trust - I am ready to get to work to get our own state back on track."

Several area business leaders welcomed the announcement of Barry Niles’ entrance to the race. Trey Ayers, COO of the Dominion Group, stated, “I know Barry Niles to be a man of integrity, faith, and good Oklahoma know-how. I am pleased to support his endeavors in supporting my district - Barry Niles possesses strong leadership that will serve Oklahomans well.” The command positions held during Niles’ military service and his duties as a police officer, Detective and Internal Affairs Investigator, equipped Niles to identify failures, ask the hard questions and make the hard decisions required to tackle mismanagement, deconstruct failed systems, and rebuild with workable solutions that Oklahomans expect and deserve from their representatives.

In 36 years of service to the Oklahoma City police department, Niles worked his way up to Sergeant from a uniformed patrol position, serving a 10 year assignment in the Domestic Violence Unit, then Burglary Unit service, and then as an Investigator in the Office of Public Integrity (Internal Affairs).  Niles was a conscientious investigator; he worked hard to uncover corruption, expose fraud and bring criminals to justice while bringing closure to victims and their families.

Locally, in the course of his law enforcement career, Barry Niles’ varied assignments gave him a unique exposure to understanding dynamics in troubled areas. Niles has a strong commitment to youth, education, veterans, public safety, infrastructure, and mental and physical health. He knows that in order for Oklahoma to improve on state rankings in all of those categories, we must have transparency, accountability, restoration of a strong foundation, and a sustainable plan created and implemented so businesses and economic growth is encouraged.

Barry Niles is a graduate of the University of Central Oklahoma.  Barry and his wife Debra are faithful members of St. Mary Church. Three of their eight children are completing their career education, while others have already embarked on successful careers in carpentry, information technology, automotive industry, and co-owner of an electrical company. Their eldest daughter is a homemaker proudly raising a fourth generation of the Niles family here in Oklahoma.

For more information, please visit www.BarryNiles.com or on Facebook.com/BarryNilesForHouseDistrict31.

Rep. Jason Murphey: Taxing Netflix

Taxing Netflix

by State Rep. Jason Murphey (R-Guthrie)

Last Monday, legislative leaders positioned Oklahoma to join one other state and several left-leaning cities (including Chicago and Pasadena) in enacting a tax on Netflix users and users of other streaming video services including Hulu and Amazon Video.

The Netflix tax was just one in an overwhelming barrage of tax increase proposals to emerge from the House Appropriations Committee. These include a new tax on cable and satellite television, taxes on electronic documents such as eBooks and videos, iTunes and music, and even cell phone ringtones.

The committee went so far as to approve an excise tax on those who transfer their cars to a family member. A father who transfers the family car to his son would have been required to pay an excise tax -- a draconian proposal that would take millions out of the pockets of Oklahoma families.

Adding insult to injury, with no notice to the public, committee members then voted to suspend the state's August sales tax holiday. The bill, creating the suspension on the "back to school" event, appeared to have been emailed to committee members just minutes before the vote. As best I can tell, it was never made available to the public prior to the meeting.

Also especially egregious, a number of taxes, including the cable, satellite and Netflix taxes, were (in my opinion) illegally logrolled into a teacher pay raise bill. Lawmakers are have trepidation about being "anti-education," and by logrolling the new taxes in with the teacher pay raise, the tax proponents appeared to be attempting to force lawmakers to vote for the new taxes in order to avoid being "against the teachers."

On that same day, lawmakers also failed in an attempt to create a new $1.50 tax on cigarettes. This tax would have placed Oklahoma's rate so much higher than surrounding states that it would have potentially driven millions of dollars to the states with much lower tax rates.

This means that the state would likely receive much less revenue than projected. That's a big problem because the fictional "projected" new revenue stream would have likely been dedicated to health care funding, while a corresponding amount of "actual" revenues would have likely been directed away from health care funding and into general revenue.

This would naturally create a budget hole in the health care funding as soon as the next fiscal year.

By Tuesday, lawmakers had completely pivoted. They appeared to abandon the Monday tax increases, and instead advanced massive logrolled tax increase that included a 35% increase in the state gas tax amongst other taxes.

House members attempted to take the logrolled tax increase proposal from introduction to final approval within a matter of just a few hours. Their clear motive appeared to be to win approval for the massive tax before the public could find out what was going on.

They suspended the meager transparency rules that would have provided the public with at least one day to see the tax. I had a difficult time coming to terms with the fact that had the tax proponents had their way, one of the largest tax increases in the history of the state would have been approved with just a few hours of public purview.

The bill fell short by about 25 votes.

I had hoped that the failure of the new taxes would refocus lawmakers on the many millions of savings, efficiencies and inappropriate spending that have been identified as the solution to the state's ongoing appropriations deficit (a deficit that would not exist had lawmakers used fiscal constraint and good judgement over the past three budget years.)

However, at the time of this writing, it appears that state officials are still scrambling to put together a massive tax plan.

I think they still see taxes as the "easy button" -- a much easier option than the very hard work of thoughtful spending reduction. However, they are finding out the hard way that what appears to be easiest isn't always that way.

In the last few days I have enjoyed the opportunity to vote "NO!" on all the tax increases and will continue to do so.

Jason Murphey
@JWMurphey

OCPAC announces 2016 legislative awards

From John Michener, President of the Oklahoma Conservative Political Action Committee (OCPAC):

On July 13 members of OCPAC debated and then voted on which legislators should receive special awards for their principled policy and leadership.  These legislators will be formally recognized and presented with their awards at the annual OCPAC Awards Banquet on Friday, February 10, 2017.  In most cases the runner-up will also receive an award.  Here are the winners of OCPAC’s 2016 legislative awards:

Senate Legislator of the Year:  Nathan Dahm (R-Broken Arrow).  Sen. Dahm scored a perfect 100 on the Index.  Beyond simply voting the principled way when given the opportunity, he authored and championed many of the bills on and off the Index which supported conservative values.  As Majority Whip, he rallied the other conservatives to each cause and negotiated tirelessly with Senate leadership and less conservative senators to gain support for property rights, States’ rights, gun rights, and the right to life.  This is our most prestigious award in the Senate.

The runner-up is Sen. Mark Allen (R-Spiro) who scored 93 on the Index.  For two consecutive years his score has been 90 or better, and our members have been pleased with his conservative leadership.

Senate Freshman of the Year:  Joseph Silk (R-Broken Bow).  Sen. Silk scored 90 on the Index.  In his second year as a freshman, and without an official leadership position, Sen. Silk made his voice heard on issues such as life, federal tyranny, and parental rights.  Leadership is more than a position; it is a character quality, and OCPAC applauds Sen. Silk’s leadership.

Senate RINO of the Year:  Ervin Yen (R-OKC).  Sen. Yen scored 10 on the Index.  That is not a typo.  One wonders how he got elected and why the State GOP does not revoke his party membership.  His Index score is the lowest in the entire Senate.  Every Democrat scored higher, by an average of 26 points.  Some RINOs are simply ignorant or gullible.  They repeatedly vote the wrong way because they do not know any better and are easily persuaded to go along with liberal leadership.  But Yen is neither of these.  He is dangerous because of his big-government and collectivist beliefs and his willingness to implement them in policy.  In 2016 he fought hard to force parents to vaccinate their children, and he openly admitted in a committee hearing that he would go after religious exemptions.  Yen is an enemy of liberty on every front.

The runner-up is Sen. Jack Fry (R-Midwest City) with an Index score of 33.  His liberal ideology is evidenced by his votes for more debt, more police surveillance, unlawful seizure of private data, and more regulations on small businesses.

House Legislator of the Year:  David Brumbaugh (R-Broken Arrow).  Rep. Brumbaugh scored 100 on the Index and earned OCPAC’s highest award in the House.  Beyond his tough votes under pressure, he also spent many late nights building a coalition committed to closing every abortion mill in our state.  This was not a popular project with House and Senate Leadership; without Rep. Brumbaugh’s tenacious shepherding of the legislation at every step, it would not have made it to a vote on the House floor.

The runner-up is Rep. Jason Murphey (R-Guthrie).  Rep. Murphey’s steadfast commitment to conservative principles in policy is the standard in the House.  After ten years of service, his lifetime average on the Index is still 100.

House Freshman of the Year:  Chuck Strohm (R-Jenks).  Rep. Strohm scored 93 on the Index and several times this year debated passionately on the House floor in favor of bills to defend property rights and transparency in government.  His bill to force internet publication of school district finances was used on this year’s Index.

The runner-up is Rep. Travis Dunlap (R-Bartlesville).  With an Index score of 80, Rep. Dunlap showed great understanding of conservative principles and how they are manifested or come under attack in policy proposals.

House RINO of the Year:  Leslie Osborn (R-Mustang).  Rep. Osborn scored 23 on the Index.  She actively advanced anti-liberty and anti-free-market policies.  Osborn was a vocal advocate of complying with the federal REAL ID Act, an unconstitutional act which violates state sovereignty and grows the police and surveillance state.  Right after the primary filing date passed, and after seeing that she had no primary opponent, Osborn came out in favor of the governor’s budget plan which featured a whopping 150% tax increase on cigarettes.

The runner-up, another big spender on immoral and unlawful projects, is Rep. Mike Christian (R-OKC) who scored only 21 on the Index.

Wilberforce Champion of Life:  Joseph Silk (R-Broken Bow).  William Wilberforce (1759-1833) was a member of the British Parliament and is famous for his life-long campaign to abolish the slave trade.  Year after year he introduced legislation to abolish slavery, even when he knew it was not popular and would not help his political career.

Freshman Senator Joseph Silk took a similar stance this year when he authored Senate Bill 1118 which would have put the practice of abortion back under the state’s murder statutes.  Sen. Silk knew that in so doing he would likely be forfeiting future positions of power.  By taking the morally and constitutionally correct position that the federal government and U.S. Supreme Court are wrong on abortion, Sen. Silk has created enemies in the Oklahoma Senate.  We praise Sen. Silk for matching policy to principle, regardless of the opposition or personal risk.

Braveheart Champion of Liberty:  Josh Brecheen (R-Coalgate).  William Wallace is famous for his leadership in the Wars of Scottish Independence.  His willingness to sacrifice everything for liberty was portrayed in the film Braveheart.

Senator Josh Brecheen holds the view that Washington is an oppressive overlord.  At every turn he is looking for a way to fight against federal tyranny and restore Oklahoma sovereignty.  He fought to put his principles into policy when it came to federal education standards and federal trans-gender bathroom mandates.  At the local level, he fought the tyranny of our own overlord, Gov. Mary Fallin.  Fallin vetoed legislation protecting parental rights regarding vaccination; she vetoed legislation allowing farmers to hunt destructive wild hogs on their own property; and she vetoed legislation which would have torn down all Oklahoma altars of child sacrifice.  Sen. Brecheen was a key leader in the coalition which attempted to override the governor and her liberal lackeys in the Senate.

Davy Crockett Champion of Property:  Kyle Loveless (R-OKC, Mustang).  Davy Crockett was a member of the Tennessee Legislature and the U.S. Congress.  He became famous for defending property from the money-hungry hands of government—see his speech “Not Yours to Give.”  He died in defense of the Alamo during the Texas Revolution.

Senator Kyle Loveless has realized that government at every level has means and methods of stealing private property.  He has worked tirelessly over the last year to educate the public about the abuses of civil asset forfeiture, and he proposed legislation to protect private property from seizure by law enforcement without due process.  His efforts appear to have been thwarted by law enforcement unions and lobbyists who exerted pressure on Senate leadership, but Sen. Loveless remained vocal, and his efforts led to some moderate reforms being heard in the Legislature.  We appreciate Sen. Loveless’s Crockett-like tenacity to defend our property.

Korczak Defender of Individual Rights:  Rep. Randy Grau (R-Edmond), Rep. Mike Ritz (R-Broken Arrow), Sen. Rob Standridge (R-Norman), Sen. Nathan Dahm (R-Broken Arrow).  Janusz Korczak was an author of children’s stories, a pediatrician, and the headmaster of an orphanage for Jewish children in Warsaw, Poland.  When the Nazis moved the orphans to the Treblinka extermination camp, Korczak had been offered sanctuary, but he turned it down repeatedly, saying that he could not abandon his children.  Attempting to provide comfort and protection from the state until the very end, Korczak boarded the train with about two hundred of his children and was never seen again.

Statists and collectivists are working at every level to take away parental rights, destroy local sovereignty, and control populations in every meaningful way.  One of the greatest manifestations of these efforts is the move toward mandatory vaccination.  Although Sen. Yen’s vaccine mandate was defeated, grassroots activists wanted to go on offense by attempting to secure in Oklahoma law parental rights to informed consent.

Rep. Grau agreed to carry the Parental Rights Immunization Act for the Oklahomans for Vaccine and Health Choice PAC.  Rep. Ritz (an OBGYN doctor) made sure the bill was heard in his House committee.  Sen. Standridge (a pharmacist who had already spoken against Yen’s tyrannical bill), readily agreed to hear the Parental Rights bill in his Senate committee.  Sen. Dahm co-authored the bill in the Senate and secured the votes necessary for passage.  These legislators fought to empower parents to defend (like Korczak) their children from the deadly overreach of state power.

Charlie’s Overall Conservative

Every legislator who has completed at least two years of service and has a lifetime average of 90 or better on the Index receives the Charlie's Overall Conservative award.  This award recognizes the hard work it takes to be consistently conservative, and it is named in honor of OCPAC founder Charlie Meadows who always wears overalls.

Congratulations to Senators Anthony Sykes (R-Moore) and Nathan Dahm (R-Broken Arrow).  Congratulations to Representatives Jason Murphey (R-Guthrie), Dan Fisher (R-El Reno), Sally Kern (R-OKC), David Brumbaugh (R-Broken Arrow), Paul Wesselhoft (R-Moore), Chuck Strohm (R-Jenks), and Travis Dunlap (R-Bartlesville).

Visit OCPAC's Facebook page here, and become a member here.

Speaker Hickman hits back after Fallin's veto fit

House Speaker Jeff Hickman

Today, Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin vetoed 15 House bills, citing frustration that the legislature, and the House in particular, is "avoid[ing] passing meaningful legislation". Specific examples she mentioned included a bond for the Capitol building repairs (conservatives have opposed adding additional debt for the state), and the state budget.

According to the Tulsa World, Fallin said her vetoes "[are] not a one-day deal".

From Pat McGuigan on OklahomaWatchdog: "The vetoed measures touched on such issues as the authority of county commissioners, attempted limits on power of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, expungement of criminal records, sales tax exemptions for veterans and infant vaccinations."

Oklahoma House Speaker Jeff Hickman responded to Governor Fallin with the following statement:

"Governor Fallin developed an aggressive agenda this session to move Oklahoma forward, however moving that agenda through the legislative process requires developing relationships with legislators across the state. The House of Representatives worked hard to pass a personal income tax cut, as Governor Fallin requested, which we delivered to her desk early last week. The House also passed pension reform, a school tornado shelter referendum, and a ban on youth access to e-cigarettes, all which were part of the Governor’s agenda and devoted numerous hours of debate to the Governor’s bill to expand charter-schools statewide.

"The House, for the second time in the three years she has requested it, voted on Governor Fallin’s plan to renovate the Capitol with a bond issue. For the third time, the House has said her plan is not acceptable, yet today the Governor is still calling on members to support her plan.

"The members of this body are closest to the people and have listened to their constituencies on issues such as Common Core, school testing and bond proposals. We know there are serious issues left to resolve and the House intends to work every day, regardless of political rhetoric, to have a successful session for the people of Oklahoma."

From the Edmond Sun:
Rep. Jason Murphey, R-Guthrie, said he didn’t understand why the governor vetoed two of his bills Tuesday that he said were requested directly from her office.

He said one of the bills was designed to save tax dollars by allowing state agencies to better use their purchase card authority.

“The governor is essentially vetoing her own request bill,” Murphey said. “It makes no sense.”

Time will soon tell whether Governor Fallin's fit will continue, and whether the Legislature will simply override here vetoes.

Planned Parenthood Received $244k from the State of Oklahoma in 2010

State Rep. Jason Murphey (R-Guthrie) stumbled, almost by accident, upon a startling fact: Planned Parenthood of Arkansas and Eastern Oklahoma received $244,723.96 from the State of Oklahoma from July 2010 through the end of the year.

Rep. Murphey discovered the transactions by searching Oklahoma's Open Books website. It appears that the payments began with the start of the FY2011 budget in July of 2010. A quick search of the state spending site shows no previous transactions with any Planned Parenthood vendor.

(click to enlarge)

The money was paid by the State Department of Health. At this time, it is not sure what exactly those payments were used or intended for, but since this has come to light, you can be sure that it will soon be known.

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.

The Conservative View: Open the Gate

This week's Conservative View, by Adair County Commissioner Russell Turner (R-Stilwell).

The Conservative View
by Russell Turner

Open the Gate

A wise man once said that any government is a burden and expense to the citizens. I feel that the burden should be as small as possible; every effort should be made to make the government involvement into our lives simple and efficient. Anyone who has ever started a small business knows the runaround from our government just to obtain the proper licenses and permits to do business. From personal experience I know how frustrating it can be when you start calling different agencies; when you ask questions invariably the answer will be “I don’t know”. If you are lucky, after a dozen or so calls you might start to make some headway in getting your question answered. From my experiences the most useful information was to talk to other business people who had gone through the same process. I have often said that there should be some agency that an inexperienced entrepreneur could go to that could help them through the process. Fortunately a bill has passed the Oklahoma House of Representatives that has the potential to make the burdens for our business people much lighter.

House Bill 2310, by Rep. Jason Murphey, establishes a pilot program to integrate several licenses and permits with a one-stop Web site administered by the Department of Commerce. The bill would encourage a real-time environment where business owners can receive instant license and permit approval. The business one-stop site was established by legislation initially approved in 2007. The goal of the 2007 initiative was to provide potential business owners a single location they could visit in order to help them start a business.

We Americans seem to have forgotten that the entrepreneurial spirit of our citizens is the driving force of our economy. Government programs very seldom have a lasting positive impact upon our economy. I have observed people that would want to start a business, when they saw all of the hassle and paperwork they would decide to forget their desire to start a small business. I feel that the American people are a lot like a pen full of fine racehorses, they are just waiting for the gate to be opened so that they can stretch their legs. I say open the gate and let the American people grow our way out of the financial troubles we are experiencing. House Bill 2310 passed the House with a vote of 66-33 and will now proceed to the Senate for consideration.

If you wish to contact Russell Turner, or want to subscribe to his email loop, email him at rdrepublican@windstream.net.