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States' Rights Groups Plan A Capitol Protest

4/16/2021

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  Several grassroots 'freedom groups' are planning a major protest event at the Oklahoma State Capitol, for next week, according to Don Spencer, president of Oklahoma 2nd Amendment Association (OK2A). A Parental Rights & Health Choice group indicated that they will also have a big event announcement tonight. Some other groups including right to life, will also be participating; according to our sources.
  Spencer says an announcement will be made this evening, with details.  Some OK2A county chapters are holding meetings this weekend, in anticipation of the rally. Some counties are already arranging carpools and caravans.
  The event seems to be largely provoked by Senate Pro Temp, Greg Treat's decision to not hear a bill passed by the House with 82 cosponsors.  HB 1236 pertains to state's rights in matters not involving federal constitutional jurisdiction.  

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  Rep. David Hardin, of Stilwell, said that this current federal administration's actions are making this legislation more necessary. Sen. Treat has not issued a statement as to why HB1236 is being denied a senate floor vote.
​ DEVELOPING...

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'Right-Friendly' Social Media Enters 'Wild West' Phase

4/15/2021

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  Mike Lindell is set to launch a huge social media venture this weekend.  FrankSpeech is going live in a weekend massive beta phase this weekend for those who sign up before Midnight Thursday night. On Monday the gates will all be open for a huge week of special features. Lindell's skills in promotion are legendary and this event demonstrates his skills in a whole new way.
​  Ten years ago, the the world's biggest advocates for free speech were managing Facebook, Twitter, Skype, YouTube, & the iTunes empires.  Then the China media market got too attractive and they each kowtowed to communist thugs & sold their souls (assuming they ever had righteous souls).
   The powerful influence of Donald Trump then threatened their empires by challenging them to live up to their creeds. So the big 5 decided to drop the pretenses and just started banning all sorts of political opinion and even hard news events which were inconvenient to their global goals of domination.
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Jason Murphey Decodes Gov. Stitt

4/13/2021

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  Last year the Oklahoma Legislature shunned Gov. Kevin Stitt & decided to unilaterally determine Oklahoma spending policy.  Former State Rep. Jason Murphey came back from blogging retirement to pen a very insightful analysis of the players at the capitol.  We decided to reprint this article from nearly 11 months ago, to help the citizen better understand the mindset of a 'capitol creature' and why your neighbor and friend who went to the capitol to serve you, somehow turned into someone you no longer recognize.
​   Here's his May 31st, 2020 post...
  I was recently asked, "Can you explain what is going on between the Legislature and Governor Stitt?"
  For the first time in the modern history of the state, a Legislature has forced through a general appropriations bill—without the approval of the Governor.
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Bennett Becomes OKGOP Chair

4/11/2021

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In one of the largest and most unusual OKGOP conventions, The Oklahoma Republicans selected John Bennett as the new state chairman, on the first ballot. The former lawmaker and career Marine received a 56% majority on the first ballot, despite a 4-candidate crowd vying for the favor of over 1200 delegates at the Oklahoma City Convention Center.
Shane Jemison was returned to the office of Vice chair with nearly a 60% majority in a two-way race with myself. Shortly after the elections I was asked by Jemison to arrange a meeting with Bennett. The 3 of us ageed on an 8pm informal meeting for Bennett & Jemison, at a nearby hotel. The two men wanted to have an informal 'get acquainted' visit.
Unfortunately, Vice Chair Jemison was a 'no-show' for the meeting with Bennett. While waiting, I had the opportunity to interview John & his wife, Nicole.
The couple still have two of their children at home, in the Sallisaw area of Eastern Oklahoma. John has become the pastor of a small country church since leaving the legislature nearly 3 years ago. His resume' includes training law enforcement in national security matters, which he'd been doing for several years.
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Nicole & John Bennett

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John & I took some time to recap the campaigns and make notes about what comes next for his new administration.

A Convention to remember..

  The convention was plagued with massive delays for credentialing confusion, then a couple of disputes and glitches resulted in a return to the tested and reliable paper balloting, administrated by the scores of county chairmen.  The web-based voting option fell apart when over 100 seated delegates were not given proper access to the online voting portal, causing a delay in the first ballot roll call until about 5pm.
  Once Bennett secured the chairmanship, I offered him a chance to address the convention by filling is as my nominator for the vice chair election.  As Bennett was climbing the stairs, General Mike Flynn called and John took the brief call, to update the Trump appointee for national security. Then Bennett made some passionate calls for party strength & unity, followed by the procedural nomination. 
  After the elections, folks began exiting the convention and a quorum was in doubt within minutes.  Much of the remaining agenda was dispensed with and will likely be a matter for the State Committee to sort out. in the coming months.

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Mayors Rejected in Local Elections

4/7/2021

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  The April 6th municipal elections produced a number of changes in several towns across Oklahoma. Several incumbents were sent packing when the polls closed. 
  In Luther, Mayor Jenni White was in Oklahoma City when the polls came in. She told a crowd that the turnout was pathetic, but she did not concede at 7:30pm while she was  campaigning to be the next chairman of the Oklahoma Republican Party.  the Luther Register noted that only 80 voters bothered to cast ballots yesterday, contrasting with over 600 votes cast 4 years ago, when White was the top choice in the 2017 election returns.
  In a field of 4 candidates seeking the 3 seats in town council govt., White got only 37 total votes.  Among her more controversial actions as mayor was an ordinance which effectively banned medical marijuana sales in her town. After legal costs and court proceedings started going poorly, her council reversed course and approved one dispensary out on the highway on the north edge of town.
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Ousted mayors: Jenni White, Brian Hobbs, & Craig Thurmond

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Republicans Break 'Special Election Curse' - Merrick Wins Senate Race

4/7/2021

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Tonight the Merrick family joined with several senators, campaign volunteers, & supporters; to watch the election polling numbers come in.  Jake Merrick won the seat very handily.
  The very large crowd gathered on NW Expressway and around 9pm the team declared "a landslide". Of the 11,300 votes cast, Merrick got close to 2/3 of them. The Democrat opponent, Molly Ooten, only got a majority in 1 of the 27 precincts, and that was precinct 135, where a very small turnout of less than 200 total ballots.
  We asked Merrick what he did to win this battleground district in an OKC metro which has been recently losing ground to Democrats?
  Merrick says he decided not to hire campaign professionals but he had a great group of volunteers working tirelessly for months.
  He also credits some sitting senators who came to his aid in the closing days of the general election.
  Senator Nathan Dahm told us he sees an electorate which is turning more to the right and he saw Merrick as a strong conservative he could work with in the Oklahoma Senate.

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Getting to Know The OKGOP Candidates: David Van Risseghem

3/31/2021

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  In the race for OKGOP Vice Chairman, the founder of SoonerPolitics has declared his candidacy in support of a 'John Bennett Vision'.  As a Constitutional Christian Patriot, David says he intends to assist the chairman's vision, priorities, and timeline.
​  Party organizational reforms have been a part of David's legacy, in the OKGOP. No current party member has done more to reform the structure and process more than David, having secured passage of several party amendments in the past 10 years.

BIO
​​  David came to Oklahoma as a teen for his degree in pastoral studies in 1980. A few years later he married his hometown sweetheart from central Minnesota and they made their permanent home in Oklahoma. 

  His business & ministry training have informed his conservative values and led him to actively work in the Republican Party for several decades, focusing on presidential politics, initiative petitions, constitutional reforms, and grassroots organizing.

  In 2012 he was picked to lead the Rick Santorum Oklahoma presidential campaign, which brought grassroots conservatism our first presidential primary win since our state switched to a primary format.

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The Many Dialects of Oklahoma Speech

3/15/2021

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​ I don't consider Tulsa to be an Ozark-speaking area, but if I travel 20 miles out of Tulsa, it's definitely present. There are 6 prominent dialects in or near Oklahoma.
 ​  This report reflects a very east coast bias, but it's still part of the national discussion of Continental American dialects. 
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Do you pahk the cah in Hahvahd yahd? Do you refer to multiple people as “dey”? Is a jelly doughnut called a “bismark,” or is everything that comes out of a soda fountain called a coke, even if it’s really 7-Up? Do you root for Da Bears?
The way we speak, both the phrases we use and the accents that inflect those phrases, come from our upbringings. And in a nation of more than 300 million people, it’s little wonder that those accents vary widely. More than a decade ago, Robert Delaney, a reference associate at Long Island University, put together this map of the 24 regions of American English:
YouTube users across the United States have uploaded dozens of videos to demonstrate their local dialects. PostTV examined people's accents and state-specific answers to a list of questions created by Bert Vaux for a 2003 Harvard Dialect Survey. 

Oof-dah! They didn't even acknowledge the Minnissoutah dialect?

  ​We don't need to agree with this Harvard study. But it starts a good conversation.  This report first appeared in the Washington Post, by Jonathan Elker, Kate M. Tobey and Davin Coburn.
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House Passes New Tax On Electric Vehicle Recharging

3/11/2021

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  The Oklahoma House of Representatives just passed a new tax on recharging electric vehicles at recharging stations, then passed a companion tax credit to owners of those recharging stations. It's a wealth transfer narrative which does nothing to lower fuel taxes on gasoline or diesel.  The measure gained 90 floor votes in the 101 member chamber. It now goes to the Oklahoma Senate for further approval. 
  The measure, HB2234, would normally require a vote of the people, but the House avoided that accountability by getting a 3/4 margin and declaring an emergency authorization clause.
  Those members rejecting the proposal included; Crosswhite-Hader, Gann, Tommy Hardin, McDugle, Sean Roberts, Stearman, & Kevin West.
The author, Kyle Hilbert; said that if he didn't get the 3/4 threshold, he'd run another bill which doesn't need more than a simple majority vote. Nowhere did he agree to send his tax increase bill to a vote of the people.  He said his 3¢ tax equates to a 19¢ per gallon tax which gasoline is subject to.
  Hilbert said that he and Rep. Fetgatter met with charging station organizations over the past few months. He admits that much of the language was heavily influenced by industry players.
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The language of the 2 bills could result in Oklahoma taxpayers funding the property costs when convenience stores put an electrical recharging station on their retail property.

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House Passes New Lottery For Marijuana Business Licenses

3/10/2021

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  Rep. Josh West (R-Grove) just got House passage of a massive restructuring measure for the state medical marijuana business licensing.  HB2272 radically changes how State Question 788 directed the creation of a free enterprise system for growing, processing, and distributing cannabis medicines in Oklahoma.
  Current law, passed by the voters; allows all law-abiding residents to seek a business license for $2500 from the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority (OMMA).  The new licenses (if any get issued) will be awarded to lottery winners who purchased a  MMB lottery ticket from the OMMA. The most recent version of the bill now leaves it up to unelected agency officials to create the lottery scheme and the ticket prices. the previous bill language put the lottery tickets at $12,500 each. It could be higher, or lower; depending on what the governor dictates to the agency.
  The legislature is now seeking to take significant funding away from the OMMA and capping the licenses totals this fall. Then a moratorium will block any new licenses and the legislature will revoke licensed Medical Marijuana businesses (MMBs) if they fail to meet certain commerce quotas.  No safeguards are included to make sure remote locations have access to legal medicines, should their in-county dispensary be shut down for underproducing taxable sales quotas.
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The Newest Lottery Ticket will be $12,500 each, and the winner gets a chance to buy another $2500 license for Medical Marijuana growing, processing, or selling.

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Democrats Expose Violations of OK House Rules

3/4/2021

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 HB1814 is a bill to authorize criminal citations against motorists in construction zones, based solely on a digital camera image. It failed in the House last Tuesday.
  Democrat leader, Emily Virgin(D-Norman), immediately called yet another point of parliamentary order to point out that the House Rules only allow one vote of reconsideration of a measure.  After yet another pause to deliberate, the chair then decreed that she had not presented her contest in a timely manner (because the roll was already closed & the vote was declared).  The chair then allowed the bill to get an unlawful 2nd floor vote.
​  So the bill itself was given a 2nd vote on the house floor, where Rep. Jim Olsen debated against it, saying that a conviction via digital image is not in keeping with our constitutional right for the accused to confront the accuser. 
  The vote then resulted in a 25-67 heavy defeat.  At least 15 lawmakers changed their vote between the Tuesday rollcall and today.  Among those flipping to 'Yes' were: Culver, Dobrinski, Osburn, Roe, Strom, & Townley. Among those switching to 'No' were: Brewer, Dempsey, Hasenbeck, Moore, & Pfeiffer.
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OKGOP Faces Party Elections In the Trump Era

2/22/2021

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  The Republicans in Oklahoma have had 3 major infusions of new energy and involvement, in the past 40 years.
  • The Reagan revolution morphed with a 'religious right' movement in the late 80s & early 90s. 
  • The Tea Party revolt against insider bailouts of 'too big to fail' corporations, & cultural pushback of the Obama years.
  • The Trump revolution of blue collar conservatives. For national rebuilding & rejecting globalist agendas.
  As a part of that Reagan revolution, I joined the Tulsa GOP in 1984, shortly after I got married & settled in Oklahoma. At that time, the GOP was a very small portion of Oklahoma politics. Rural Democrats controlled all aspects of state govt. and Tulsa was just beginning to see expanded GOP influence. Dewey Bartlett sr., Jim Inhofe, & Frank Keating were a few shining stars in Tulsa, but one leader in the newly-emerging religious right said; "the GOP establishment still acts like the County starts at Utica Square and ends at I-44."
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All Tulsa County Republican Voters are welcome to participate this Saturday morning, at Stoney Creek Convention Center, in Broken Arrow.

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Oklahoma Covid Fatality Rate Is 50% Higher For Men

2/22/2021

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  In the SoonerPolitics weekly review of the statewide battle against a viral pandemic, we focus on the fatality rate breakdown.
   Men are shockingly 50% more likely to die(1.27%), than women(0.84%). Yes, women get sick from covid at a rate 13.3% higher than men, But men clearly face a much higher risk of death.
   Are women getting better care? Are men worse patients? The disparity needs to be honestly and thoroughly investigated.
  In past weeks we've shown how our healthcare professionals have successfully kept our overall fatality rate at the 3rd best in the nation. But who are our fatalities? 
  Yes, the oldest demographic sector(65+) make up about 80% of our reported deaths. They  face perhaps a 5% chance of dying if they get sick from Covid-19.  
  All races suffer, but Asians and Africans living in Oklahoma are slightly less likely to die when infected. Whites are slightly more vulnerable.
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If the risk for men was the same as women, 211 more Oklahoma men would be alive, today.

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House Leaders Conduct Freshman 'Hazing' At Capitol

2/18/2021

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  When the new State Representative, Anthony Moore (R-Clinton, OK) presented his first bill as a lawmaker, he became the very first of the freshmen to achieve this goal & milestone.
 Majority Floor Leader, Jon Echols, decided to call attention to the monumental event, and 'dog-whistle' to his leadership team, that it's okay to send in the wolves & initiate not only Rep. Moore, but also by proxy, the entire freshman class.
  They were in the preliminary questions of floor consideration when a litany of irrelevant questions, badgering about properly using the microphone, and other nonsense;

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Van Risseghem Announces Candidacy For OKGOP Vice Chair

2/17/2021

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SoonerPolitics Founder & Leader Enters  race.

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  ​Political organizer, journalist, & advocate, David Van Risseghem announces his candidacy for OKGOP vice chair, in support of John Bennett's leadership for 2021-23.
Stressing communications, diversity, & party principles; Van wants to support the vision, priorities, and game plan for the Bennett agenda to continue the Reagan/Trump vision for a strong and prosperous America, and a peace based on strength.
   Over the next few weeks, Oklahoma's Republican party is completing their precinct & county reorganizational meetings, and electing leaders for 2-year terms. In April, the state convention will be held, to elect a new set of leaders at the state level.
Click on the video to hear David's announcement and the reasons for his decision to seek a supporting role for former Representative, John Bennett.
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    David Van Risseghem  is the Publisher of SoonerPolitics.org. The resource is committed to informing & mobilizing conservative Oklahomans for civic reform.  This endeavor seeks to utilize the efforts of all cooperative facets of the Conservative movement...

    ​"No politician 'checks off every box" in your list of issues. You have to prioritize and use personal discretion regarding every current and future issue that you can imagine. Then you have to also judge integrity & consistency. A candidate's openness to study the issues & courage to think for themselves. Then you need to review their honesty & work ethic.  I respect any voter's decision, when they've informed themselves and took voting seriously." - David Van Risseghem
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 SoonerPolitics.org is committed to informing & mobilizing conservative Oklahomans for civic reform & restored liberty. We seeks to utilize the efforts of all cooperative facets of the Conservative movement... Content of the diverse columns are solely at the discretion of the dozens of websites who create the content.   David Van Risseghem  is the founder of this platform.
 Sooner Politics News is a platform, not a media site. All our bloggers get their feeds promoted regardless of content. As soon as We suppress or delete even one posting, we become an endorser of whatever We didn't censor..The publisher doesn't (and could not) logically agree with all the content, so we would not expect any rational reader to agree, either. What we do hope, is that readers will think for themselves, and at least be better informed of the issues, events, and values that our citizen journalists work hard to provide for free.. We automate much of the tasks so that our sources' content gets as much exposure as possible. We encourage constructive discussion & debate. The solution is more free speech, not less.​

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