House Censures Reps. Reynolds and Terrill

The Oklahoma House of Representatives voted this afternoon to publicly reprimand two members for separate incidents that took place last week.

The body voted 67-18 (7 members abstained, taking 'Constitutional privilege') to censure Rep. Mike Reynolds (R-OKC) for interrupting the Pastor of the Day on last Thursday, and 34-30 (with 30 members taking 'Constitutional privilege') to censure Rep. Randy Terrill (R-Moore) for saying very strong obscenities (FCC-fine kind of words, coupled with physical threats against the Speaker) to a staff member in the Majority Floor Leader's office.

Peter Rudy of Oklahoma Watchdog has more here.

[Reminder: the first round of our 2012 GOP Primary Madness closes tomorrow - make sure you have voted in it!]

Weekend Roundup

Voting continues in our 2012 GOP Primary Madness - Round 1. Round 1 will continue through Tuesday, so if you haven't made your picks yet, go here. The results thus far are fairly interesting.

Pam Pollard, longtime conservative activist, announced her candidacy for OKGOP Vice-Chair yesterday. Read her official press release here.

I've added some redistricting files to OKDistrict2.com. Do you want to do some redistricting of your own? There are files for congressional districts, state house districts, and state senate districts. Go here to take a look.

Take a look at the blog lists on the right sidebar. I continue to update and add new Oklahoma conservative blogs. I've recently added a list of blogs authored by Oklahoma legislators.

2012 GOP Primary Madness: Round 1

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MuskogeePolitico.com's 2012 GOP Primary Madness has officially begun! Ladies and gentlemen, voting is now open!

The polls will be open until Tuesday, March 15th. If there are any problems with the voting, please leave a comment, or email me at JamisonFaught@MuskogeePolitico.com.


Division 'A', Round 1




Division 'B', Round 1




Division 'C', Round 1




Division 'D', Round 1

8.9 earthquake, 33-foot tsunami strikes Japan

8.9 earthquake, 33-foot tsunami strikes Japan

Pictures here.  

Video of the tsunami:

'A Day in the Life of a Government Regulated Citizen'

My FCC regulated alarm clock goes off and I reluctantly roll off of my FTC and state gov't regulated mattress. I stumble to the bathroom and turn on the DOE regulated showerhead which is what really wakes me up. In the shower, I wash my hair with my FDA regulated shampoo which conveniently has a "Drug Facts" label on the back so I know what I am putting on my head. 

After the shower I get dressed and pickup my FCC regulated cellphone and head to my DOT regulated truck. On the way to work I stop and fill the truck up with DOE regulated gasoline, which I hope doesn't contain ethanol as I really like my truck.

For the rest of A Day in the Life of a Government Regulated Citizen, written by Fort Gibson resident Steven Hill, click here.

OKGOP: Howard Dean to Train Oklahoma Democrats

Oklahoma Democrats Set to Receive Training from 

Howard Dean's "Democracy for America"

(Oklahoma City)- First it was Obama's community organizing training, now the infamous leftist Howard Dean. What's next for the Oklahoma Democrat Party? A Nancy Pelosi Women's Conference?

On the heels of historic losses in 2010, the Oklahoma Democrat Party has decided to double-down on Saul Alinsky-like far left tactics.

This weekend, Howard Dean's political activist group "Democracy for America" will be holding a Campaign Academy sponsored by the Oklahoma Democrat Party, Democrat Senate Minority Leader Andrew Rice, as well as the County Democrat Party for Oklahoma, Tulsa, Canadian, and Cleveland counties.

The featured lunch speaker will be former Governor David Walters. While in office, Walters pled guilty to election violations...now he's set to teach Democrat activists.

"Oklahoma Democrat activists and candidates have taken training and aide straight from Obama's community organizing machine and now they are taking a page out of Howard Dean's playbook," said OKGOP Chairman Matt Pinnell. "Forget about moderating, it's clear the Oklahoma Democrat Party is making a hard left turn, and conservative Democrats from Cimarron to McCurtain and from Jackson to Ottawa counties and in between should find this turn alarming."

"Each election cycle Oklahoma Democrats try to convince Oklahomans that they're conservatives, but end up legislating as true liberals," continued Pinnell. "I commend Oklahoma Democrats for finally showing where their loyalties lie. We are sure voters will remember their ties to Howard Dean and Barack Obama when they again try and convince voters that they are 'conservative' Democrats in 2012."

Coming Friday: 2012 GOP Primary Madness begins!

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It's the time of year when people across the fruited plains get out their pens and fill in their brackets. Who makes it to the Sweet 16? Who falls in the Elite 8? Who wins in the Final Four, and who takes the National Championship?

Well, I decided that it was about time to put a little twist on "March Madness", and do a 2012 GOP Primary Madness version.

So, starting tomorrow, each of the candidates in the above bracket will begin to face off. Thirty two candidates will compete, but only one can be victorious! Who will end up as the winner of the MuskogeePolitico.com 2012 GOP Primary Madness?

You'll have until March 31st to decide that!

Tom Coburn & Rand Paul on the coming debt crisis

U.S. Senators Tom Coburn (R-OK) and Rand Paul (R-KY) both had speeches on the floor of the Senate recently where they talked about the looming debt crisis that the United State faces.

Up first, Dr. Paul. His is the shortest video.


"I wish I had a magnifying glass..."

Now, Dr. Coburn.

Gingrich's "Patriotic Affair"

"There's no question at times of my life, partially driven by how passionately I felt about this country, that I worked far too hard and things happened in my life that were not appropriate."

That's how Newt Gingrich explained his extramarital affair with current wife Callista (then a House staffer) while Newt was Speaker to CBN's David Brody yesterday.

Some things just leave me almost speechless. I said almost, otherwise I wouldn't be blogging about this.

Saying "I'm so patriotic I cheated on my wife" just doesn't sit well with me...

On a side note, the above picture is taken from Gingrich's new exploratory committee website. Do you find it to look as creepy as I do?

Wisconsin-in-Oklahoma: AWOL OK House members

For the first time since the 1990's* last March, the Oklahoma House of Representatives issued the Call of the House, to force absent members into the chamber for a vote.

During the vote on the emergency clause for Speaker Kris Steele's HB2139, which expanded the State Superintendent's authority and limited that of the State Board of Education (in response to the controversy over State Superintendent Janet Barresi's first school board meeting), several House members appeared to be purposefully absent. That's when State Rep. Jason Nelson (R-OKC) invoked House Rule 10.5, or the 'Call of the House'.

The procedural motion gives the House sergeant-at-arms the authority to "compel the attendance of the absent members."

After a roll call, the doors to the House chamber were locked, and the House sergeants began the search for missing Reps. John Bennett (R-Sallisaw), Mike Christian (R-OKC), Charles Key (R-OKC), Mike Reynolds (R-OKC), Mike Ritze (R-Broken Arrow) and Randy Terrill (R-Moore).

Peter J. Rudy of Oklahoma Watchdog has more on the story here, including the missing members on the second roll call.

UPDATE: Rudy got a response from Rep. Randy Terrill, one of the AWOL members. Read it here.
* - thanks to the commenter who pointed out that the Call of the House was issued on March 11th, 2010.

Let last US WWI vet Frank Buckles lie in honor in Rotunda

Erick Erickson of RedState.com posted this earlier today. I concur.

Speaker Boehner, Allow Frank Buckles Into the Rotunda

I think Speaker John Boehner is making a terrible mistake.

The Speaker’s Office is blocking a request that Frank Buckles be allowed to lie in state (or in honor as the case may be) in the rotunda of the United States Capitol.

Frank Buckles is not just anybody. I agree that we should not let just anybody lie in state in the rotunda. I totally understand John Boehner’s reasoning. The right should be reserved for a very special few. While I understand his reasoning, I think the last of the WWI and the last of the WWII servicemen should be given the honor.

Frank Buckles is not just a special few. He is the last of his kind. The very last.

Precisely 4,734,991 Americans served in World War I. Frank Buckles was the last of them to die. He lied to get into the Army at age 16 so he could fight the Kaiser. He is the last of a generation of Americans who heard the calling for freedom in a way others did not and rose up to fight.

He is the last of those men and boys who fought under an American flag across an ocean in a land most had never been who did so not because we were attacked or brought into a war, as we were in World War II, but because they heard the call of freedom in the first great war.

He, as the last of the embodiment of the men and boys who heard that first call for freedom across the seas, deserves to lie in the Rotunda.

The Speaker may be reached at (202) 225-0600.

I called Speaker Boehner's office to respectfully request that the last American veteran of World War I be given this honor. Frank Buckles represents millions of Americans who fought (and in 116,708 cases died) for the United States overseas. We should honor their memory and sacrifice.

Speaker Boehner's Washington D.C. office: (202) 225-0600
Sen. Coburn's Washington D.C. office: (202) 224-5754
Sen. Inhofe's Washington D.C. office: (202) 224-4721
Rep. Boren's Washington D.C. office: (202) 225-2701

I called... will you? Let's honor the memory of our World War I veterans in this small way. Allow Corporal Frank Buckles to lie in honor in the Capitol Rotunda.

OKGOP vice-chair race shaping up

As the Oklahoma Republican Party's 2011 State Convention draws near, candidates are beginning to announce for party positions. State Chairman Matt Pinnell is expected to run for a full term (he is currently fulfilling past State Chairman Gary Jones' term), so the real race appears to be shaping up for Vice-Chair. Today, the first candidate made public her decision to run.

Grassroots organizer, Jenni White, to run for GOP Vice Chair

From the precinct, to local schools, to the halls of the state Capital, Jenni White has proven her abilities to get things done for Oklahoma.  On March 3, 2011 White announced her candidacy for the number two position in the state Republican Party.

“I’m excited about the opportunity to help our Chairman Matt Pinnell and every Oklahoma Republican build an even better party over the next two years” said White.  A lifelong Oklahoman, White has primarily worked in the area of education reform.  White commented, “Education takes over half of the state budget but our results have yet to catch up.  I was pleased to support Superintendent Barresi and I appreciate the way in which the legislature has worked to advance public education reforms.  Now I’m ready to use the organizational skills I have developed to build our party.”

White co-founded ROPE (Restoring Oklahoma Public Education) in 2009 and has been active at every level of Republican politics.  White and her family live in north Oklahoma City and attend Fairview Baptist Church in Edmond.

The OKGOP State Convention will be held on May 6-7 in Oklahoma City; expect some more candidates to announce in the coming weeks. The current vice-chair is Angie LaPlante, who was first elected in 2009. No word as of yet on whether or not she will run for reelection.