Yes, the same Capitol lobbyists and consultant class who, when they are not anonymous, exist in a perpetual state of pandering to those who work in the government-education space show their true selves once given a thin veil of anonymity: mocking and deriding the blue-collar person who resigns herself to the menial task of “driving a school bus,” before deeming herself worthy to join their class of political elites.
Here is my thesis: Some of Oklahoma’s most aggressive dark-money forces—the forces preserving the establishment’s control over the Legislature--are deeply bitter people.
These are the special-interest Democrats of old, now forced to play in the Republican arena. Gone are the days of old, and they aren’t allowed to use their dastardly skillset to elect the Democrats, anymore. Rather, they must keep in power some of the most dishonest people on Earth: Republican politicians who pretend to be conservatives but who are, in actuality, institutionalists, who, were this to be a blue state, would happily seek election under the donkey’s flag.
These now-secret Democrats, governing-class special interests are living a lie, playing a game they don’t want to play. They want to be out-and-out Democrats, but now, especially with their open-primary/jungle-primary scheme sidelined, will never be allowed to be honest.
So, instead, they do what bitter, closeted people tend to do whenever they can get away with it — without being directly exposed: They self-indulge in pure, absolute, unchecked meanness.
One of those self-indulgences is mocking the “ignorant” blue-collar workers who still possess a purity of belief—people whom the self-described intellectual elite view as naive enough to believe in bygone principles and dangerous enough to demand that those principles actually be put into practice, not just talked about in consultant-crafted bullet points during the campaign cycle.
Once one realizes the mindset of this governing class, one can see its fingerprints in its work product.
Exhibit A was recently provided courtesy of the dark-money group known as 2026 Conservative Victory, the anonymous organization, formed as a Delaware LLC operating out of a Yukon Staples store that endlessly spammed the Facebook feeds of the gullible during the final days of the 2026 primary cycle.
The group’s sense of superiority simply oozes from its many attack ads as its creators gleefully kneecap hardworking, ordinary people who simply want to do their part and make a real difference.
Perhaps no ad better demonstrates this tendency than the group’s attack on well-known grassroots personality and House District 39 candidate Ronda Peterson.
Broadcast to a purported audience of more than 100,000, the ad’s smugness is evident from the first utterance of its condescending voice-over: “Oh boy, bus driver Ronda Peterson is running again, and she is following the same tired route,” pictured over a black and white photo of Peterson, and a school bus, doing circles in a cul-de-sac.
The ad then features several of the usual context-murdering references to no-doubt-routine content pulled from Peterson’s social-media accounts before closing with: “It’s time to get off the Ronda Peterson bus. Once and for all.”
Yes, the same Capitol lobbyists and consultant class who, when they are not anonymous, exist in a perpetual state of pandering to those who work in the government-education space quickly show their true selves once given a thin veil of anonymity: mocking and deriding the blue-collar person who resigns herself to the menial task of “driving a school bus,” before deeming herself worthy to join their class of political elites.
A few months earlier, during another election cycle, Peterson had developed a well-known reputation for being a school bus driver after photos emerged of her school bus, its interior decorated for Christmas by Peterson, for which, as I recall, she received the mocking derision from some of the liberal-minded elites.
Allow me to suggest that this photo was a type of Rorschach test, a mirror into one’s soul. Those who are grounded in the real world saw the reality: an employee who took pride in her work and who had managed to not give in to the temptation that haunts and renders ineffective so many in the industry—to stop caring, just do the job, and go home.
No, Peterson was going above and beyond, celebrating Christmas with those students and likely providing them with a memorable experience they wouldn’t soon forget.
Now, I would suggest that the collective value added to society by a single school-district employee in the real world—on the ground, where she is making the most difference—far exceeds that of the entire professional consultant class and its dark-money and lobbyist funders.
She has not given in to the temptation to stop caring or stop trying, despite working an absolutely exhausting job: keeping the kiddos from murdering each other on a daily basis, a challenge complicated only slightly by the unthinkable chore of driving a 40-foot school bus through Edmond’s rush-hour traffic. Meanwhile, the consultant class and its funders, through their arrogance and dishonesty, coarsen society, wear away at its virtues, and, to the extent that society pays attention to their gruesome work product, transition it toward madness.
Put simply, those dark money ads are a direct pipeline directly into the true and actual psyche of those who control the Legislature.
One can detect this same anit-blue collar arrogance in the recent pronouncements from Team Lonnie Paxton as its members promote the narrative that their cause succeeded because they defeated the “populist” elements of the Republican base.
They are now advancing the claim that voters reelected them because these establishment politicians are the all-wise guardians—the “kitchen-table issues” Republicans who do not mind compromising and prefer to focus on practical policy because they know what is best for voters.
It’s obviously frustrating to the grassroots, at least those who still watch the corporate media, forced to stand by and cope with Paxton and his crew of elite establishment goons taking their victory lap.
However, I think that, in all their hubris, these establishment Republicans are walking into a trap.
They are exposing the game for what it really is.
Their post-election rhetoric is far removed from the five bullet points their consultants’ content factory repeatedly churned out through direct mail, video, and text message.
Those bullet points did not declare that the Swampy Seven should be reelected because they were “non-populist” members of the all-wise establishment. They also said little to nothing about the repeated corporate-welfare giveaways, inflation-busting budgets, pork earmarks, lobbyist-carried bills, bureaucratic wish lists, end runs around transparency laws, or refusals to act on conservative legislation—approximately 98% of the Senate’s actual work product.
No, those bullet points attempted to convince voters that these establishment senators were the real “hardliners”—the MAGA Trump Republicans who were fully committed to everything red-meat, MAGA, and conservative.
When Paxton or any other member of the insider political establishment takes to the news media to declare that they are members of the elite establishment—the compromisers—they are mocking the very people they just deceived.
Their voters, all too often, did not support them because they wanted compromisers. They supported them because, by a factor of X, these candidates outspent their underfunded challengers while presenting themselves as something very different from what they, as soon as the polls have closed, claimed to be.
That is the sickness of the game being played. Yet, judging from the public appearances of these candidates, it almost seems that they do not realize they are playing it. It is as though they truly believe the public wants them to be exactly who they are: sellouts of Republican and conservative principles.
That is where one begins to conclude that, for the most part, these elected officials are merely empty pawns.
They are dull-witted suits who enjoy their membership in the political class, are about to receive a substantial pay raise—a subject, by the way, that cannot be overlooked, stay tuned—and are funded at absurd levels by the monied special interests determined to ensure that the populist hordes at the gate never quite break through.
But that is also where their bragging becomes dangerous. Slowly, one voter at a time, they are opening the eyes of those who have been deceived.
And the careful observer of human history cannot help but believe that, one day, sooner than later, all of the factors will align, and the dam will break. As all that money continues to produce diminishing returns, no amount of spending or favorable circumstances will be enough to bail out these political pawns. For now, they remain free to play their game, at least for another two years, never realizing that a day of reckoning—the return of the people’s voice—is on its way.
Until then, the consultant class and the monied special interests, and the closeted Democrats who pretend to be Republicans, will continue doing what they do: destroying those pesky blue collars who deem hold the system to account, funding the unending, deceptive campaign messages that tell Oklahomans just how closely their leaders supposedly share their values and beliefs, then thriving on the largesse that follows when those same out-of-touch leaders return to Oklahoma City to play the political game of legalized corruption.
But the voice of the people will get its opportunity to be heard sooner rather than later.
The only question is: When?
That is where you play a part. You no doubt are in contact with those good-hearted, conservative-minded constitutionalists in your community or sphere of influence who were deceived by an establishment politician during the last election cycle—perhaps even by a member of the Swampy Seven.
Share this update with them, encourage them to subscribe, and, in the next election cycle, there will be one more voter who understands the arrogance of the elites—who are all too happy to deceive them on Election Day and, then, minutes after the polls close, arrogant enough to boldly brag about their deception.
And, to support this work, consider upgrading to a paid subscription. With your ongoing support, great things are planned.
To get a hint of some of these plans, paid subscribers should keep an eye out over the next few days for the first-ever OSC AMA. I will answer questions about why I started writing again, explain how the No Lobbyist Pledge is ready to officially graduate from the proof-of-concept phase ahead of the 2028 primary cycle, and envision how some of those NLM grassroots will go to an all-new level, reaching a next level of viability in the next campaign cycle.
I will also provide an update on my next book, explain the plan to deputize OSC subscribers, and share the story and, for the first time, actual metrics behind a recent post that became OSC’s most viral yet.
Just how far is OSC’s reach?
Stay tuned.
Oh, and one more thing: If you are ready to be brave like Rhonda Peterson—to put your reputation on the line and step out of the real world to clean up the fake world of the Capitol—know that your time to decide will arrive soon.
Reclaiming a House district from the establishment is not normally something that can be done between candidate filing day and Election Day. It takes time, extensive planning, and sustained effort.
So, you must prepare to make that decision sooner rather than later.
The Dark-Money Machine That Mocks a School Bus Driver: These Are The People Who Control Your Legislature
Click the title to read the full report at Jason Murphey Blog
June 25, 2026 at 11:15AM - J Murphey
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