Cal’s Corner: Oklahoma Lawmakers vs. The Will of the People

Besides the obvious, like not getting enough votes to win, sometimes our lawmakers meet their demise due to untreatable medical conditions like tin ear, partial or complete deafness, undiagnosed dumbness, air headedness, no horse or any other kind of sense, but most often it's just the gradual loss of touchy/feely fingers except those directed toward well endowed ladies or wallets.

Serious charges indeed, so just how do I know these politically life threatening, mysterious maladies really exist? State questions. Usually when the proletariat – fancy word for "Ya'll" – vote overwhelmingly for or against a particular state question, most elected officials get the message. But not our elephant idiots in Oklahoma.

Here's a breakdown of five recent state questions that prove that point:

1. SQ 777. The so called Right To Farm proposal. Rejected by over 300,000 food eating humans who apparently didn't think they would starve if they voted no. This barn full of bloviate was burped out by the legislature but was actually dumped on you courtesy of ADM, Pilgrim's Pride, Tyson's and other assorted turkeys most foul.

2. SQ 790. Looney lawmakers gambit to repeal Article 5 of our lengthy Constitution, which is the prohibition on spending your tax money for religious purposes on public property. Thought to be a can't miss sop to Sunday schoolers but most much too young to vote and their parents didn't care. Satan's black sheep, having long discarded their Baptist belt buckles, dominated by over 200,000 votes. Bible thumpers couldn't pull the wool over their eyes.

3. SQ 780. A very modest attempt to slightly slow our world-leading incarceration of humans, especially amongst those that happen to be either poor, a minority or a woman. This common sense question was courageously written and promoted by FORMER Republican Speaker of the House Kris Steele (R) Shawnee and won by over 235,000 ballots in allegedly redneck, lock-em-up Oklahoma. It then was castrated, dehorned and deep sixed by current Republican Dimwit Speaker Charles McCall (R) Atoka. Voters may return those favors to him in November since he is opposed by widely respected and well known Sulphur businessman Wayne Eidson.

4. SQ 781. The companion criminal justice reform proposal that would have paid for drug and alcohol treatment, alternative sentencing for non-violent offenders, education for high school dropouts and technical training with savings from not locking up everybody. Of course, it too was placed on the 2016 ballot by YOU, adopted by a huge margin of 175,000 and immediately sent to the shit can by the aforementioned McCall.

5. SQ 788. Reefer madness, medical miracle, economic engine or doobie dandy? As David Gates and Bread would croon 'That don't matter to me," but it does to the 57% plus who voted aye, many of whom worked literally decades to get this proposal to a vote of the folk.

One would think that margin would clear the smoke but no, poison pill amendments, crafted by pill dispensing doctors, were attached to the long drafted rules and signed the next day by the always compliant to The Rich And Famous Governor Mary Fallin, and then all hell broke out to wit.

Fallin now wants the controversial rules withdrawn; the Health Department lawyer Denise Ezell has been charged with felonies for sending herself threatening texts; the Pharmacy Board ED may have improperly offered the same Ms Ezell a job working for her; and, if that ain't enough, Attorney General Mike Hunter has advised the Health Board Commissioners they are blowing smoke because, on a 5 to 4 vote, said appointees of Ms Mary overstepped their authority when adopting the two most controversial rule changes in the first place. And most relevantly I'm not making any of that stuff up because if I was nobody would believe me anyway.

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As unlikely as it is, if you are still reading, please remember August 28 is the next chance to cast your ballot. Ten Republican incumbent house members, the vast majority of whom voted against PAYING FOR the teacher, school support personnel and public employees' long overdue pay raises are on the ballot again. Many will get beat, if you bother to vote, and most were also adamantly opposed to SQ 788 although they deny it now. So were Republican gubernatorial finalists Mick Cornett and Kevin Stitt because they too think most Okie elephants still want people put in stocks, believe President Trump is going to Make America Great Again and this country's best days were in the 1950s. Vote early and vote often.