Wendi Dial - Oklahoma Voter Role Anomaly Investigation Requests Are Refused

State Director for Restore Liberty (https://restorelibertyoklahoma.substack.com/), Wendi Dial, Michael and Jenni talk about how when requests for investigations into voter role anomalies are made to the Oklahoma State Election Board, state officials wave them away. Why not investigate? Can't an investigation only prove that the state has the secure elections it says it has? Couldn't an investigation make Oklahoma voters feel more secure in their vote? What plausible explanation can there be for pushing back against an investigation?

The Corruption Belt: SPECIAL ELECTION STEAL ALERT: UNKNOWN Group Runs Ads Against Candidates Opposing Fount Holland (CAMP) Clients In The August 23rd Run-Off

Conservative Policy Network is yet another group in a long line of groups which is using money from who knows where (Dark Money) to influence Oklahoma elections.

ROPE Endorses Dr. John Cox for State Superintendent

Every election since 2010, ROPE has announced support for a State Superintendent candidate.  We believe this position to be of paramount importance in the direction of education in our state.  This year is no different.

Four Republican candidates are vying for the State Superintendent’s chair:  Bill Crozier, April Grace, Dr. John Cox and Secretary of Education Ryan Walters.  ROPE held a candidate forum at Randall University on May 9^th.  Mr. Crozier was unable to attend and April Grace backed out of her original commitment to appear.

Homeschooling Parents CAN - And Should - Run For Public Education Offices

In an almost unprecedented move in American today, Governor Chris Sununu of New Hampshire, nominated a businessman who homeschooled his children, for New Hampshire Education Commissioner. In an unbelievable, though partisan victory, Frank Edelblut was confirmed to the position by the New Hampshire Executive Council today.

Common Core Conservative Re-Tread? Smart Oklahomans Won't Buy It!

WOW! Welcome to the New Year in Oklahoma, where we find the liberal Oklahoma news media ringing in their year with a tired and somewhat expected re-tread of 'Common Core as pillar of Conservative doctrine' by reproducing a blog from a former Mitt Romney spokesman, "Common Core popular in many quarters" by the Daily Oklahoman!

Goodness! Does this article coincide with the Governor Fallin-appointed Steering Committee's commencement into the re-write of Oklahoma's educational standards, ostensibly away from Common Core? Well, interestingly, yes, yes it does. Has the calendar changed over to a new year, signifying that Oklahomans will now forget the happenings of last year - including the REPEAL of Common Core - as easily as they have forgotten the color socks they wore last Tuesday?

Sadly, I imagine this thought to be the reason the Common Core indoctrination/re-education machine has begun to spin again. 

Here, former "conservative" presidential candidate Mitt Romney's former spokesman, Shawn McCoy, articulates a theme only summarized by the statement, "Conservative friends, if  “fellow Conservatives" like Jeb Bush, Mitt Romney and John Kasich LOVE Common Core, then YOU should too!" 

Yes, McCoy isn't shy in his assertions; he comes right out and says he knows for a fact Common Core is loved by all "Conservatives" because it has NOT been an election issue. McCoy tells us, "…election results nationwide have proven Common Core's popularity". To back this theory up, we’re told that 'fellow' "Conservative", John Kasich, supports Common Core and he won his state's gubernatorial election by a landslide. He "even received 26 percent of the black vote". WHAT?

This statement makes my eyeballs bleed. At what point do you consider an essentially unchallenged election as a scored point for Common Core? Please note the very first line in this article from Human Events,

Ohio Gov. John Kasich trounced a disastrous Democrat for his November re-election win, but in 23 of 88 counties Kasich received fewer votes than he got in 2010.

Later in the article, we’re given even more information about this less-than-stellar win for Governor Kasich

An Oct. 1 Quinnipiac University poll found 25 percent of likely Democratic voters planned to pick Kasich over FitzGerald. Election results suggest Kasich won tens of thousands of Democrats who would have supported a credible Democrat challenger. Every down-ticket Democrat running for a statewide executive office received more votes than FitzGerald in almost every county.

So, honestly, the Democratic challenger was SO bad that “Fox News exit polling indicated 26 percent of self-identified liberals and 25 percent of Democrats voted for Kasich” and we’re to believe that Kasich won reelection not only because Common Core didn’t matter, but because it’s popular with “Conservatives”, leading to the unspoken thesis that all “Conservatives” support Common Core?

Man, I haven’t had a ton of logic in my studies, but I can assure you THIS notion amounts to a zero sum logic game.

While there’s no great exit polling on this race like Kasich’s, it might be instructive to look at “Conservative” Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin’s reelection bid.

In 2010, Mary Fallin ran for Governor against Democrat Jari Askins. Fallin received 625,506 votes (60.45%) against Askins - a strong Democratic candidate who left the post of Lt. Governor for her gubernatorial run.

In 2014, Fallin received 460,298 votes (55.8%) against an outgoing state Representative, Joe Dorman (338,239/41%), whose campaign began after a late announcement.

During her first term, Governor Fallin served as the Chairman for the National Governor’s Association – one of the progenitors of the Common Core – and made all of President Obama’s NCLB education ‘reforms’ the center of her education ‘reform’ initiatives. Why, would Governor Fallin lose 26% of the vote for her second term, if Common Core didn’t matter and conservatives supported this and other education ‘reform’ efforts?

Then there’s the case of former Oklahoma State Superintendent Janet Barresi, a Jeb Bush Foundation for Excellence in Education, Chief For Change, who supported all Governor Fallin’s initiatives. She lost her bid for reelection in the primary election where she came in third out of three, below a candidate that didn’t even mount a campaign.

I ascribe most of McCoy’s faulty logic to the idea that Romney, Kasich, Jeb Bush and Fallin are conservative. In fact, back in 2013, as former “Conservative” Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee came out in the Common Core camp, I wrote a blog about conservativism and what it means to be a conservative (I refer to the unrepresentative label as “Conservative”, I refer to the actual philosophy in lower case without quotes). I went on to contend that because Common Core is antithetical to the definition of Conservativism, there is no way conservatives can support Common Core.  

I know as long as Common Core lives ANYWHERE in the nation and as long as voters are not well enough educated on the principle of conservatism to understand they’re being played, this argument will arise again and again. We simply must educate others about what it means to be conservative if we’re to prevent Oklahoma from producing a Common Core re-tread that real conservatives don’t want and the state doesn’t need.

General Elections 2014 - How ROPE Will Vote

I have finally had it with the majority of my fellow Americans and their stubborn refusal to quit watching Dancing With The Stars long enough to become educated about the laws that govern the country from which they get so much they have time to sit on their posteriors and watch TV.  Originally, I was going to say I had finally had it with all levels of government, but then I realized there is no one to blame for the state of our American government, than the American people themselves.

Last week I posted the blog, "Seven Reasons Why Common Core Repeal in Oklahoma Isn't". Here, I explained why and how Common Core hasn't been removed from our state, yet ROPE's Facebook page has gone from a high of nearly 80 thousand views per week in May to less than 5 thousand views a week in October. I'm reading this as, now that Common Core is "dead" in Oklahoma, there's no need for participatory government; "We came, we saw, we conquered" and now it's time for everyone to go back to their 'regular' lives and TV schedules.

Let me be frank. Common Core is not about education standards, it's a policy representing the natural thought process of decades of people trained via schools, the media and churches, to believe government is their friend - that government can be all things to all people; the chicken in every pot, the protector of rights and liberties, the provider of services citizens can't provide for themselves - the be all, end all. This is categorically 100% false. The federal government has no power other than what it is dictated in the Constitution (the Enumerated Powers in Article 1 Section 9) and states allow it to have, yet how many people have educated themselves (because government schools won't do it) on the Constitution, what it says and how the Founders felt about their actions and how they ascribed the words they committed to that parchment so long ago?

Newsflash; the Founders expected American citizens to exhibit the concept of SELF GOVERNMENT - the governing of one's own actions - in order to prevent interference from a body politic excepting in certain, rare instances.

Yet, today America is nearly 18 TRILLION dollars in debt, and Americans have allowed

• an unconstitutional, socialized system of healthcare (the website for which won't even work), 
• failed immigration and border protection policies leading to the growth and spread of diseases we never thought we'd have again or thought we'd ever see in a first world country, 
• rapid growth and spread of radical Islam, 
• massive intrusions of personal privacy via the NSA and IRS (bureaucratic agencies that have ZERO power to even blow their own nose if we followed the Constitution), 
• government cronyism (GM? Solyndra?) leading to the loss of free enterprise, 
• vast usurpation of property rights via the EPA and Department of Interior, 
• failed government institutions such as the VA and the Post Office, 
• government scandals such as Benghazi and Fast and Furious 

I could continue this list for pages, yet nothing on it is the fault of any government. The fault lies with countless American citizens who choose not to vote, place uneducated votes, vote for party ahead of policy, vote though they have little understanding of the role of government or civics and/or refuse to participate in their system of government at all on any level out of sheer laziness and/or contempt for the country that provides them a better standard of living than, arguably now, any country in the world.

Unfortunately for Oklahomans, our state is following right behind. 

As Dave Bond, (CEO of OCPA Impact) says in a recap of this years' legislative session, 

"Lawmakers passed a $7.12 billion budget that is the largest in state history and contains hundreds of millions of dollars in nonessential spending, including golf courses and rodeos."

This on top of the fact that, while sales tax receipts are at an all time high, the Oklahoma legislature couldn't pass a reduction in state income tax to 4%, settling on 5% by 2016 (currently we're at 5.25% - Kansas' system is much better).

Every year since 2008, I have provided election thoughts and analysis to anyone who wanted to read it. In 2008 I was vilified for referring to President Obama as a Marxist (a political philosophy in opposition to the American Constitution). Please read the above list again and then the definition of Marxism. America is there. Oklahomans must protect our state from this nonsense, but we MUST have legislators willing to put a stop to federal government intrusion at all levels - not just healthcare. Educating citizens on the Constitution and civics and exercising our right to an informed vote are our only hope.

VOTER GUIDE

Here is the list of statewide candidates for office in the 2014 general election November 4.

Go here to get a SAMPLE BALLOT for your district November 4. Please print it out and complete it BEFORE you enter the ballot box. 

Voting information for JUDGES and STATE QUESTIONS can be found here.

PLEASE NOTE: NONE OF THE CANDIDATES FOR GOVERNOR OR STATE SUPERINTENDENT COMPLETED OUR CANDIDATE SURVEY! The only candidate that even responded at all was Hofmeister who said it was too long to complete with her current time constraints.

LYNN'S PICKS: Straight Party Republican

I just can't vote for a Democrat for a powerful, visible position like Governor. I do not agree with the Democrat party at all - more government, dependence on government, that government is the answer instead of individuals solving their own problems and succeeding on their own. I understand those statements are big and sweeping. The democrats will, of course, try to make a comeback in OK, this is the way for them- a so-called moderate that is riding Mary's coattails of controversy - NOT on his own merit. Even if he wants more money in education- where is it going to come from? How will he make sure that money is used properly?  I see more money in education always goes to new programs, not the classroom or for teachers. 

I read a Homeschool survey - Joe's one answer in question is "homeschoolers should take standarized tests annually" - that is philosophically against homeschooling. They would have to teach CC, and then would be in the data collection trap! That tells me Joe is so much more big government than he lets on. That is unacceptable. I do not agree with Medicaid expansion, I do not agree with increase in minimum wage, and fracking does not cause earthquakes - all things I have heard Joe support. 

So, could Joe actually get anything done - probably not with the Republican legislature, so whats the harm in voting for him? I want to reform (elect more conservatives) the republican party, not empower the democrat party. I am in it for the long haul - I believe it will take many election cycles. 

What I have seen in entry level employees over the last 30 years in my business is terrible. The quality of entry level employees is deteriorating - I see it is because of more dependence on government and the entitlement philosophy, not because of standards. I will vote against that every time. 

We must get back to self empowerment, individual responsibility. For me the question is do we get closer to that with Mary or Joe? Mary showed last session she is pushable- with CC and with Obamacare. Some powerful liberal pacs are supporting Joe ( afl-cio for ex) - they will want something. My hope is we elect more conservative republicans in the house and senate and we push the republican governor that way. We don't have great choices - but I also don't believe in not voting because of bad choices. We all need to vote and then hold all elected officials accountable!!

JOYS PICKS:

I believe in the republican platform. I think it necessary to continue to strive for better candidates and not cede power to the hands of a party that wishes to fundamentally transform our state and nation. Just because I support any candidate doesn’t mean they are immune to public and private scrutiny and accountability. I have only listed those candidates whom I wish to endorse. With that said here are my picks.

• Governor: Mary Fallin – While I am displeased with several of the actions and decisions of our sitting governor, I cannot partner with a candidate who seeks to challenge my freedom as a homeschooling mom, grow government, and spend more money. Governor Fallin requires some elbow grease while in office, but she can be compelled to do the right thing when necessary. I challenge the Senate and House to pursue conservative principles and not seek the blessing of the governor!
• Superintendent: Joy Hofmeister 
• Commissioner of Labor: Mark Costello
• US Senator: Jim Inhofe
• Congress 5th District: Steve Russel
• State Senator 6th District: Josh Brecheen
• State Senator 44th District: Ralph Shortey
• State Senator 48th District: Duane Crumbacher
• State Representative 10th District: Travis Dunlap
• State Representative 36th District: Sean Roberts
• State Representative 43rd District: John Paul Jordan
• State Representative 76th District: David Brumbaugh
• State Representative 87th District: Jason Nelson

• JUDGES: I will vote against all judicial retention.

• STATE QUESTIONS: Yes on all three. 1) I believe a person serving in the US military should be able to concurrently service in office. 2,3) I believe property taxes should be eliminated altogether. We currently lease our property from the government and do not own it. Providing exemptions on homesteading for those who have served in our military is a great start.

JENNI'S PICKS:

• Governor: Governor Fallin's record is that of having to be pushed (as Lynn says) into taking the conservative path on nearly every issue. She talks a good game, but she'll pick the federal government over her state citizens nearly every time while saying she won't or didn't. Why? I believe the cause is a lack of Constitutional knowledge and a staff that believes most Oklahomans are not smart enough to make their own decisions so they must make our decisions for us. I believe Governor Fallin governs the way her paid staff advises in order to produce the best political advantage. Throughout her time in Congress and again as Governor, Fallin has shown me her compass rarely finds true North. **While I've heard a few things that concern me about Joe Dorman's ideas for Oklahoma, I believe he truly cares about the state and her people. In fact, I don't see him filling his office with stiff-arming, dismissive, rude staff, which would be a really nice change. In addition, Dorman's voting record is not awful, and is, in fact, arguably better than some of our currently seated Republicans. Though a Republican-led legislature has tended to back our current Republican Governor all the way down the trail of higher taxes and more government intrusion into our regular, everyday lives, they may choose to balk if these plans come from a Democrat. I don't like the idea of supporting the Democratic party in any way shape or form - as you can tell from the screed above, but I won't hold my nose and vote Republican ever, ever again. I have actually not decided whether I will actively vote for Dorman or simply not vote for this office (I'm considering neither of the Independents in this race) - I may not know until I'm in the voting booth. The definition of insanity is continuing to do the same thing time and again expecting different results and I don't need to add to my insanity level.
• Lt. Governor: Lamb
• State Superintendent: Hofmeister. I think Dr. Cox is a very nice man, but I also believe the Republican-led legislature will find excuses not to work with him. I also believe he will not manage taxpayer dollars (which he refers to as "public money") conservatively, and we'll have the same lack of fiscal transparency we saw with Barresi. I feel certain Cox will try to stop a lot of the mandates that have been stifling public schools, but again, I don't believe he'll get any traction with the legislature. Because the state Board of Education has been handpicked by Governor Fallin, though Dr. Cox may choose to battle them on any number of issues, the office of Governor (thanks to our Republican legislature) now holds all the keys to the board, not the State Superintendent. No matter how Cox chooses to confront the Board or education issues, the Board can stymie every single issue on which he chooses to go to battle. Net result - ZERO. Hoffmeister has a working relationship with much of the Board and is publicly supported by a chunk of the legislature. She has a record of allowing ROPE to educate her on a number of issues. If she chooses to follow our admonitions about a number of education policies, she has the ability to create movement with the Board and the legislature and that is really the issue here. In addition, she has successfully run her own business for years (Kumon) indicating to me she understands how to manage the fiscal aspects of the job.
• Commissioner of Labor: Costello. Frankly, if Mark Costello were running for Governor, the Republican party would have my vote. Mark is one of a very few conservatives I have ever met that just intuitively understands the ideals of conservatism.
• Senate: Inhofe
• Senate (unexpired term): Though James Lankford is the only real choice here for conservatives, I won't be voting in this race either. Mr. Lankford continually frustrated me with his "go along to get along" positions while in Congress - particularly those which continue to fund the government ad infinitum. This is certainly not personal - I think Mr. Lankford a fine man personally, he's just not conservative enough for me - and again, I will no longer hold my nose and vote Republican. (Yes, please feel free to lambaste me for my comments, my shoulders are big enough to take it).
• Congress 5th District: Steve Russell 
• Congress 1st District: Jim Bridenstine
• Congress District 2, 3, 4: If I were in these districts, I would again, refuse to vote. None of these candidates are reflections of our conservative state, nor have they been in recent years. 
• Josh Brecheen must be re-elected.
• Jason Nelson must be re-elected.

• JUDGES: Please see the blog on judges.

• STATE QUESTIONS: Though I don't like monkeying with our state Constitution as a rule, I'll vote yes on all three state questions. Property taxes are flat unconstitutional (the Founders warned us not to go there). If we're going to start allowing Homestead Exemptions for certain individuals, let us now decide to ultimately release ALL property owners from such an unconstitutional, Founder-hated, tax. Though I've heard grumbling about crossing two branches of government (lawmaking and peace keeping), I don't see this as an issue here. If voters are particularly concerned about a candidate for office being in a military position, they should oppose his election. SQ 769 simply allows for the option of a candidate also serving in the military - the voters ultimately have the final say - as it should be.

NOW, GO VOTE, TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4th. Polls are open from 7am to 7pm.

TW Shannon And The Common Core (Updated 6/18/14)

Come election time, everyone has a story.  Some are better than others, but the most important thing to voters should be whose story is true.

Because there has been much said about T.W. Shannon and the Common Core fight in Oklahoma, I thought I would spend a few minutes detailing what I know.  Now please know, I realize there are two sides to every story.  I'm telling mine.

In December of 2012, just after T.W. Shannon had been announced as the historic new Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives, Lynn Habluetzel and I met with him in his tiny office.  We had tried to schedule the meeting several times, but it just so happened, that today, a mere week before Christmas, he was in town and had time to visit.

At that meeting, Lynn and I provided the new Speaker with a run-down on Common Core, complete with a folder of written materials to read.  T.W. was attentive, took notes and at the end of the meeting, assured us he would look into the issue further.  We smiled, shook hands, wished him a Merry Christmas and said good-bye.

Representative Gus Blackwell introduced HB1907 the next session; a bill to provide a task force to study the costs of Common Core in Oklahoma.

The bill was heard in the Rules Committee which Blackwell chaired and passed unanimously.  In determining when we could plan for the bill to come to the Floor of the House, Calendar Committee Chair, Pam Peterson told us all Task Force bills were being held until all other bills could be heard.

The whole story can be found in my original blog, but suffice it to say, we were then told by Representative Blackwell that Speaker Shannon had killed the bill because the Governor had said she would veto it.   The Speaker then offered Representative Blackwell an interim study to be conducted over a number of days and over which Representative Blackwell would have free reign. (The study was conducted in October.  Few legislators - including T.W. Shannon - were present.)

From there, a series of events occurred in 2013:

• ROPE had a rally in the hall of the Supreme Court against Common Core that was well-covered by the media.
• Speaker Shannon had a change of heart, does a 180, says he believes Common Core is "federal intrusion into our education system", and will write a bill to help stop it.
• Speaker Shannon is a guest on the Glenn Beck Show (Dana Loesh was subbing that day)
• While he is gone, Representative Dennis Casey apparently authored a piece of anti-Common Core language that was attached to HB1719 (which we never saw but in draft form - it was never officially filed apparently as there is no record) which then died because it was 'accidentally' (?) sent to Senator Clark Jolley's Appropriations Committee (Senator Jolley helped author the legislation placing Common Core into Oklahoma State Law - SB2033 in 2010)
• Representative Blackwell authors HJR1011 to stop implementation of Common Core unless several categories of inquiry are met - the bill is not filed
• Legislative Session 2013 ends without a bill of any kind passing either Oklahoma legislative body

During 2014:

• Speaker Shannon authors HB3331, to stop the federal overreach of Common Core into Oklahoma
• Speaker Shannon leaves his Speaker's post to run for Senator Coburn's seat
• HB3399 is authored by Representative Jason Nelson after meeting with a number of grassroots activists prior to the beginning of session
• Holly Gerard, from the Oklahoma State GOP Executive Committee, Carolyn McLarty, National Committeewoman and I begin to work with Representative Nelson and others (also Senate author Josh Brecheen) to develop, discuss and study HB3399
• Holly, Carolyn, Lynn, Ronda Vuillemont-Smith (Tulsa912Project) meet with Representative Shannon about his bill - he says he will keep it to make sure we have a vehicle if something happens to HB3399
• HB3399 goes to the floor after Speaker Jeff Hickman takes over authorship - Representative Shannon is absent for the vote
• HB3399 goes to senate, conference committee and back to the floor for a vote, T.W. Shannon votes YEA

Now, once the bill passed the Senate - during the time it is waiting to be signed by the Governor - a veritable slew of Representatives signed on as co-sponsors of the bill: Kern, Bennett, Ortega, McCullough, Cockroft,
Brumbaugh, Sears, Echols, Walker, Derby and Shannon.  It is a very political move to sign on as a co-sponsor once the heat is off and you know the bill is going to pass.  However, it must be said that Sears, Kern and Shannon actually did do more than virtually anyone on the list historically and this year alone.

Did T.W. Shannon stop Common Core in Oklahoma by himself?  Absolutely not.  Did he move the conversation?  You'd have to say he did.  Was he a key player in stopping Common Core in Oklahoma?  He was one of the first legislators to speak publicly against it, but with the two twists of stopping Blackwell's bill and putting repeal language on a Jolley-bound track - I've always wondered how much of this was rhetoric simply because nothing came out of all the talk.

I like T.W. Shannon.  Face it, the man is likable, articulate and has a great 'cool' factor.  The only problem is that it takes more than a 'cool' factor to create a strong legislator that can stand FOR conservatism in the face of everything AGAINST conservatism at the federal level.  In fact, you need to look at his voting record.  I've never seen so many YEA's in my life.  My goodness he's agreeable, but not every bill can be a yes - only those that limit government, and many times that means a 'nay'.  T.W. Shannon is a very nice man, but I need more action and less talk.  I need more results and less attempts.  While I absolutely appreciate the efforts on T.W.'s part to change the discussion on Common Core, I'm not ready to send T.W. to Washington, D.C.

Via call from TW Shannon (6/18/14):  T.W. explained that he told Gus he was concerned his bill wasn't going to pass the House, let alone the Senate and that the Governor wouldn't sign it.  By offering Gus the interim study on Common Core instead of allowing the bill to come to the House floor for a vote, Shannon believed he would give the fight against Common Core a chance to develop.  Shannon was concerned that  if the bill made it to the floor and was voted down, it would do more to hurt the cause against Common Core than simply denying the bill a hearing and allowing Gus an extended period of time to bring Common Core issues to the public through an interim.
I asked him about the attempt to add Common Core language to Representative Osborn's bill after that, but he didn't remember the specifics and indicated he would contact someone in his office at that time who might know.  If I didn't have trouble remembering my kids birthdates, I could call that statement into question.
It was also interesting to me that he admitted being 'agnostic' on the topic of Common Core until after Lynn and I visited with him and he began to study the topic further.