| The former senator, Brian Crain, once said; "You have to develop the candidates that represent your concerns and values. Don't wait until they get elected, because by that time they're already spoken for." Today we will see who our elected Representatives represent. Some have openly said; "I have to vote with leadership if I expect to advance into a leadership position." But others say; "I told the voters what I believe in, and how I would represent their values. That's what I must do in order to retain their trust." Today at 1:30pm the House Speaker is attempting to push through the most massive state tax increase in the century. The 'necessity' he claims is one of his & his predecessors' own making. McCall has not made a single call for a state Performance audit. The agencies are appearing more corrupted and mismanaged than ever. No line item oversight has been applied. This is the state of Oklahoma's inept legislature. They are relegating themselves to the role of a noncustodial divorced parent. They simply send a support payment of whatever the agencies say they need, but never investigate anything. |  Now the legislators must decide... "Will my primary challenger come from the left, or the right? What will my legacy be? |
Legislators; even the most corrupted ones; want to be loved by everyone. They know they can't please everyone, but they still try to. They usually don't challenge their own motives nearly enough, but they spend way too much time constructing rationalizations of what they inwardly are not proud of. And they are too busy building their own careers that they cannot devote themselves purely to the role of 'representative' for the people who trust them with this solemn trust.
In the end, the agencies appear to win yet again. The legislature will reward mismanagement and lack of adequate oversight. Voting to throw more money at the worst-run agencies is a way of punishing the taxpayers for the failures of the legislative leaders.
We know that the activists of the OKGOP's several county organizations are already getting candidates to step up and defend the values of the party. Sadly, a political war appears necessary. A purge will inevitably benefit the Democrat party. But to the conservatives it is;
"Better to have an openly liberal Democrat than a deceptively liberal Republican".
A legislator ultimately votes alone. That's how it must be. The lobbyist, the leadership team, the agency bureaucrats... they don't help you sleep at night. They don't give you the honor you must have in your own heart. You must believe in what you vote for.
In the end, the agencies appear to win yet again. The legislature will reward mismanagement and lack of adequate oversight. Voting to throw more money at the worst-run agencies is a way of punishing the taxpayers for the failures of the legislative leaders.
We know that the activists of the OKGOP's several county organizations are already getting candidates to step up and defend the values of the party. Sadly, a political war appears necessary. A purge will inevitably benefit the Democrat party. But to the conservatives it is;
"Better to have an openly liberal Democrat than a deceptively liberal Republican".
A legislator ultimately votes alone. That's how it must be. The lobbyist, the leadership team, the agency bureaucrats... they don't help you sleep at night. They don't give you the honor you must have in your own heart. You must believe in what you vote for.
