Sooner Politics.org
  • Front Page
  • Oklahoma News
    • Oklahoma Reports
    • OCPAC
    • Oklahoma Constitution News
    • Citizen of the Year
    • Oklahoma History
    • Today, In History
    • Oklahoma Center Square
    • Faked Out Sports
    • AP Wire
    • NewsBreak Oklahoma
    • Inside the Capitol
    • Lawton Rocks
    • Muskogee Now
    • OSU Sports
  • Podcasts
  • SPTV
    • Fresh Black Coffee, with Eddie Huff
    • AircraftSparky
    • Red River TV
    • Oklahoma TV
    • E PLURIBUS OTAP
    • Tapp's Common Sense
  • Editorial
    • From the Editor
    • Weekend Report
    • 3D Politics
    • Reagan Speaks
  • Sooner Issues
    • Corruption Chronicle
    • Constitutional Grounds
    • State Groups
  • Sooner Analysts
    • OCPA
    • Muskogee Politico
    • Rooke Report
    • SoonerPoll
    • Everett Piper
    • Andrew Spiropoulos
    • Tulsa Devil's Advocate
    • Eddie Huff & Friends
    • 1889 Institute
    • Steve Byas
    • Michael Bates
    • Steve Fair
    • Josh Lewis
    • Tulsa Today
    • OK2A
    • Dr. Jim Meehan
    • AFP Oklahoma
    • Sooner Tea Party
  • Nation
    • Bongino Report
    • Breitbart News
    • Daily wire
    • Steven Crowder
    • InfoWars News
    • Jeff Davis
    • Alex Lains
    • The F1rst
    • Nigel Farage
    • NewsMax
    • America's Voice
    • Ron Paul Institute
    • Bill Gertz
    • Emerald
    • Just the News
    • Trey Gowdy
    • Fox Politics
    • National Commentary
  • Wit & Whimsy
    • Libs of Tiktok
    • It's Still The Law
    • Terrence Williams
    • Witty Cartoons
    • Will Rogers Said
    • Steeple Chasers
    • The Partisan
    • Satire
  • SoonerPolitics.org

Oklahoma's Egregious Poll Tax

4/14/2018

Comments

 
  Oklahoma's Republican politicians have another indictment to face in the growing class warfare narrative.
  The candidate filing fees were massively increased in recent years, effectively making citizen representation more favorable to the affluent. It's a massive poll tax on a citizen who dares to take up the notion that we are a government of the people. Sure, the state will let you vote for free, but you cannot dare be a leader for free.
  It now costs a citizen a minimum of $500 to file for any state elective office. Some fees are as high as $2000, just to have the possibility of living the doctrine that our grade school civics lessons claim that we all enjoy.
   Is the effort to exclude the less affluent motivated by party politics? Many say 'yes!'. But another and larger group claim that it's an effort to prop up the incumbents who have spent their previous years in office gaining exclusive access to deep-pocketed special interests. How else do you explain  the Oklahoma Senate voting to give another $70 million to the wind energy companies? It's unjustifiable to all but a few senate districts where the wind energy actually pays some property taxes.
  Just to run for a state judicial or House seat will set back an individual $500. Senate seats cost $750. Allother seats cost $1000, and the governor's mansion costs $2000.
Picture
794 citizens paid nearly half a million in candidate taxes, this week.

   Was the motivation for doubling the filing tax an attempt to dissuade foolish filers? If so, then who are the foolish filers? This year Oklahoma set a record for the most candidates filing. They may be just as foolish or even more so; but at least they're the affluent foolish.
   Some have said; "The difference between a 'nut case' and an 'eccentric' is only defined by wealth or notoriety.  William F. Buckley jr. once said;

"I'd rather entrust the government of the United States to the first 400 people listed in the Boston telephone directory than to the faculty of Harvard University."

   The great Oklahoma experiment in Republican-run government is being squandered by interlopers who either faked being conservative or got corrupted by the trappings of power, influence, personal ambition, or all of the above.
​  Can the Democrats do any better? They've showed us 90 years of doing far worse. They likely will be no better in the future. But perhaps a more evenly divided state government is the likely 2nd best option. The best option would be a return to liberty, conservatism, and unleashing the potential of Oklahomans to do for themselves and take care of each other without the government doing any more than the minimal that we can tolerate.
  Two weeks ago I spoke with Frank Robinson. He's a disabled older Oklahoman who cannot afford the filing fee, and cannot physically accomplish the necessary petition drive he'd have to have certified in order to be a candidate for office. Is this Jefferson's republic?  When the disabled are facing walls in front of the election board entrance, we have failed to live our creed.  
Picture
Frank Robinson is a disabled man who have been denied the opportunity to run for office because he's disabled and barely surviving on his pension.
Comments

    Sooner Politics
      Editorial  

    Picture
    David Van Risseghem reports the events and adds some perspective. 


    Search Our Archives.

    Get A Daily News Email

    * indicates required

    Get new posts by email:


    Archives

    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    August 2015
    January 2015


    Subscribe in a reader
    ​We recently moved our blog. Our archives are still partially stored at our old site. 

    Author

    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
​FRONT PAGE •  OKLAHOMA NEWS • EDITORIAL • SOONER ISSUES •​ STATE GROUPS •​ SOONER ANALYSTS •​ LAWMAKER'S JOURNAL •​ NATION •​ NATIONAL COMMENTARY •​ CARTOONS •​ ​
Picture

918 . 928 . 7776

 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.​

  • Front Page
  • Oklahoma News
    • Oklahoma Reports
    • OCPAC
    • Oklahoma Constitution News
    • Citizen of the Year
    • Oklahoma History
    • Today, In History
    • Oklahoma Center Square
    • Faked Out Sports
    • AP Wire
    • NewsBreak Oklahoma
    • Inside the Capitol
    • Lawton Rocks
    • Muskogee Now
    • OSU Sports
  • Podcasts
  • SPTV
    • Fresh Black Coffee, with Eddie Huff
    • AircraftSparky
    • Red River TV
    • Oklahoma TV
    • E PLURIBUS OTAP
    • Tapp's Common Sense
  • Editorial
    • From the Editor
    • Weekend Report
    • 3D Politics
    • Reagan Speaks
  • Sooner Issues
    • Corruption Chronicle
    • Constitutional Grounds
    • State Groups
  • Sooner Analysts
    • OCPA
    • Muskogee Politico
    • Rooke Report
    • SoonerPoll
    • Everett Piper
    • Andrew Spiropoulos
    • Tulsa Devil's Advocate
    • Eddie Huff & Friends
    • 1889 Institute
    • Steve Byas
    • Michael Bates
    • Steve Fair
    • Josh Lewis
    • Tulsa Today
    • OK2A
    • Dr. Jim Meehan
    • AFP Oklahoma
    • Sooner Tea Party
  • Nation
    • Bongino Report
    • Breitbart News
    • Daily wire
    • Steven Crowder
    • InfoWars News
    • Jeff Davis
    • Alex Lains
    • The F1rst
    • Nigel Farage
    • NewsMax
    • America's Voice
    • Ron Paul Institute
    • Bill Gertz
    • Emerald
    • Just the News
    • Trey Gowdy
    • Fox Politics
    • National Commentary
  • Wit & Whimsy
    • Libs of Tiktok
    • It's Still The Law
    • Terrence Williams
    • Witty Cartoons
    • Will Rogers Said
    • Steeple Chasers
    • The Partisan
    • Satire
  • SoonerPolitics.org