The publishers of the Oklahoma Constitution have been indexing the key votes of the 149 state legislators for about 30 years. But many long-time subscribers say that this year's legislature is probably the least conservative in well more a decade. The oddity is that Republicans have overwhelming majorities in both houses. This group of Democrats strangely voted in opposition to tax increases that the Republican leadership repeatedly attempted to push through. This last winter we saw a massive number of freshmen elected to the House. After such promising campaign rhetoric and lofty platitudes, the reality hit in May. That's when nearly all of the freshmen ate the forbidden fruit en-masse and were drawn into the Lincoln boulevard swamp of believing what the agencies, governor, and house leadership had spent 3 months subliminally pressing into their consciousness. The alternative camp for fiscal and social conservatives was the newly formed Platform Caucus. This group of at least a dozen are holding each other to accountability for fidelity to the Republican principles. Some freshmen are making a move back away from the tax, tax, tax solution. Part of that could be that grassroots groups did single them out for condemnation.... |
Stories are coming in to SoonerPolitics about the members of the Legislature who are 'suddenly getting religion'. There are some who've jumped off the tax-raising bandwagon. We will see far more of this when the February session comes. Why? Because there's an election and the peasants are revolting. Here's one such story from Claremore. Ted King says it in his own words.... Read Ted King's entire post, here.
HB2311 Is A Good Start..
Senate Floor leader Treat upbraided both parties in the House, this morning. House Floor Leader Echols Responded.
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Sooner Politics
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