OKGOP

OKLAHOMA CITY

Since the grassroots began taking over the Oklahoma GOP during this year’s precinct, county, and state conventions they have received considerable backlash from establishment Republicans, who have bristled at the thought of losing control of the party.

This tension rose to a boiling point this weekend when the Oklahoma Republican Party’s Facebook page published a post on Friday that called on constituents to contact the acting Governor Pinnell to call a special session or take executive orders to address vaccination mandates. The post draws comparison between the restriction and marking of the Jews in Germany prior to WW2 to the restrictions of the unvaccinated in the United States.

The post which had the picture above attached with it said.

“Please contact Lt Governor Matt Pinnell” and “Politely request he call for a special legislative session to address private employer VACCINE mandates, or their employees face risk of termination.”

This post which has received nearly two thousand comments had varying reaction from members of the community and public officials alike. Responses that agreed with the post echoed the call saying things like:

“the parallels of removing rights of a sect of people bit by bit should make you want to pay attention, not pretend it’s not happening.” -Jamie McGuire

Despite the minority of responses that support the Oklahoma Republican Party’s post, immediate criticism from community members that disagreed with the post. Replies saying things such as:

“I call on the state GOP chairman to remove this post immediately. The yellow star is a sacred representation and using it for this purpose is outrageous.” – Steven Chasteen

“I’m ashamed to be a Republican after seeing this. I will be changing my party. How dare you compare the two situations?? Completely disgusting.” -Laura Powell

POLITICAL DIVERGENCE

However, the disagreement with the post did not stop there, it also garnered a response from within the sitting members within Oklahoma’s House of Representatives. Rep. Josh West (R-Oklahoma City) published a post stating that he disagrees with OKGOP State Chairman John Bennett and the post that was made. In West’s post, he makes it clear that he disagrees with the messaging and the comparison, stating:

“Getting a lot of calls tonight after the Chairman of the Oklahoma GOP John Bennett, put out a post on their Facebook page, dealing with private companies implementing vaccine policies and comparing those that choose to not get the CV-19 vaccine, to the victims of the Holocaust. What a stupid thing to say, even for Bennett.”

Rep. West continues by make a jab directly at Bennett stating:

“My response…John Bennett is a joke. He’s the same guy who I served with in the legislature, that talked about waste year after year, but never did anything to find the waste. The same guy who called for an opponent against me, because I busted a house member (who I won’t name, but his initials are M.R.) who wore a Purple Heart that he didn’t earn, along with Airborne wings, a Ranger tab, a 101st Airborne Div patch. Who also claimed to be a member of the Disabled American Veterans and also claimed to be an Eagle Scout, all were verified to be untrue.”

Rep. West also received varying responses and comments regarding his post. Some say that he is out of “grove” with the constituents” in that he does not understand that some peoples exemptions are being denied. Liza Greve, President of Oklahomans for Health and Parental Rights, offering him proof that their religious exemptions and medical exemptions are being denied, with one person saying:

“Rep. West exemptions are being denied and there is no personal exemption in health care, that is only schools. Just wanted to clarify and if you want me to send you copies of the denied exemptions, I can. There is no state law to protect exemptions outside of daycare and schools. Employers can provide exemptions or not, deny and even give a religious test that I can also send you. They can and are being denied in some cases.”

While others congratulated him for standing up and doing what they believe is right. With comments saying things like:

“I just saw this on the news. How disgusting. Thank you for always having the level-headed and appropriate response.” -Richard Van Dyke

and,

“Absolutely!! Thank you, Josh for all you do!! God Bless!! ” – Angie Husong-Mullikin

The commentary didn’t stop there, it continued with the Oklahoma Republican Party Vice Chairman Shane Jemison releasing a statement:

“The Holocaust remains to be the largest genocide in modern world history and should be remembered as such. Many brave families’ generations before our time stood boldly against the evil that was incited through the actions of tyranny. This recent post by the Oklahoma Republican Party is offensive to the survivors and victims, of the Holocaust, as well as the Jewish people. The Oklahoma Republican Party believes in limited government, individual liberty, and personal moral responsibility. We believe Oklahoma is the land of opportunity for all people who work hard and abide by just and equally applied laws. Oklahomans strive every day to take care of their families, engage in their communities and support one another.

Vaccines should remain voluntary and never forced in Oklahoma. It should always be up to Oklahomans to exercise personal responsibility to protect themselves and their families from COVID-19. Equating the possibility of private entities requiring their employees to receive the COVID-19 vaccine to the Holocaust is beyond abhorrent, disgraceful, and a gross misrepresentation of the Republican Party and its values here in Oklahoma and nationally.”

BENNETT RESPONDS

At 2 PM today the Oklahoma GOP Chairman John Bennett released a video explaining his post and his reasons for posting it. When speaking about the backlash from his party Bennett stated, “My own fellow Republicans came out against me”. Speaking directly to the comments and statements made by members of his party and other public officials. He continues by explaining why he chose the star explaining how the star was placed on Jews prior to the genocide began and how they mandated them to be identified saying:

“they give them a star to put on them, they couldn’t go to the grocery store, they couldn’t go out in public, they couldn’t do anything.”

Then drawing the comparison by saying,

“take away the star and add a vaccine passport.”

Bennett continues in explaining his rational, explaining why his post is relevant and important to Oklahomans:

“its not about the star, what its about is a totalitarian government pushing communism upon us.”

Then in what can only be a strike back and a rebuke of the comments made against him he strikes at how legislatures and the governor have not yet taken action saying:

“it is not about sending out press releases its about taking action.”

And,

“instead of supporting freedom and liberty here in Oklahoma they said I shouldn’t have referenced the star.”

At the end, Bennett cites the Declaration of Independence and the explaining the importance of the PEOPLE saying,

“it isn’t the government granting our unalienable rights to us, it’s the people compelling their government to acknowledge our rights.”

Ending with a call to action that can be heard across both sides of the political aisle “let’s put freedom back on the offensive where it belongs.”

The full link to Bennett’s response can be seen here: https://rumble.com/vkm1ey-chairman-update.html

Ignite Liberty has reached out to Representative West’s office for comment, however, at this time we have not received a response. Ignite Liberty will provide an update when it becomes available.

When Ignite Liberty reached out Leslie NesSmith, the Director of Media and Public Relations for the OKGOP, she stated:

“To suggest that Chairman Bennett’s use of the symbol of the Star of David is anti-Semitic would be tantamount to saying people who display the Christian cross are anti-Christian or pro-crucifixion. It’s utterly absurd.”

If Governor Stitt or Lt Governor Pinnell do not call a Special Session, then the next time the legislatures will meet for a session will be in October to address the federal redistricting. Over the next several months these tensions will need to be addressed and rectified, especially as the party moves towards the vital midterm election. The problems that Oklahoma Republican Party are experiencing are just an example of how the party as a whole are struggling with deciding on what values and beliefs are uncompromisable and in what direction the party should go.

– Jonathan Hewitt

EDMOND

When the OKGOP State Committee assembled at Fairview Baptist Edmond on Saturday, everyone knew the potential for fireworks between the pro-Lahmeyer and pro-Lankford crowds existed, especially with the Resolution to Censure Senator Lankford and Senator Inhofe looming large over the meeting.

While the vast majority of those in attendance were united in their disapproval of Lankford’s handling of the events of January 6th, the resolution itself was fraught from the beginning with serious questions about its legality.

Resolution Legalities Questioned

The questions surrounding the resolution’s legalities stemmed from wording in the resolution that called for the, “resignation of Senator James Lankford and Senator Jim Inhofe for failure to take all possible measures to protect the integrity of the 2020 Presidential Electoral Vote.” The accusation was leveled solely because Senator Lankford, “rescinded his support of reviewing electoral votes integrity before certification,” as well as for presumably blaming the Capital riot on “MAGA Republicans and President Donald J. Trump with mere circumstantial evidence.”

While the accusation of Lankford rescinding his support for the review of electoral votes is lacking some context (as he addressed in his speech at the Reagan Breakfast on May 7th), his continued labeling of the events of January 6th as an “insurrection” has consistently been a sticking point with most conservatives. Using the term “insurrection”, as opposed to the more appropriate term “color revolution” (more on this later), paints those patriotic Americans who attended the January 6th rally simply to show support for President Trump in the same light as insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Despite this, deep concerns about the legality likely doomed the resolution from the beginning. According to Party Rule 19(g), an official or member of the Oklahoma Republican Party can only be removed from office, “in the same manner and by the same power or authority by which one was appointed or elected.” For elected party officials (Chair, Vice Chair, etc), the body that elected them also has the authority to remove them from office.

However, elected officials are not chosen by the party. They are elected by the citizens of Oklahoma. Under Party Rules, then, the only way a sitting U.S. Senator could be removed from office is by the citizens of Oklahoma. Given that there is no statutory authority to recall a sitting U.S. Senator, the only way such a removal could happen is by Lankford losing re-election (Senator Inhofe is retiring after this term).

When we inquired from those in attendance as to whether an elected official could be removed from the Party, the general response was, “we don’t know, but it’s never been done.” Assuming this even could be done, Rule 19(g) lays out in detail the causes for which a person can be removed from the Party:

(1) Misappropriation of funds under the rules of the Republican Party;

(2) Failure to follow the rules of the Oklahoma Republican Party;

(3) Conviction of a felony; and

(4) Publicly supporting or endorsing an opponent of candidates of the Republican Party.

The censure resolution made no mention of any such infractions by either Senator. Even if there were such infractions, Rule 19(g) requires the following due process in order to lawfully remove such a person from the Party:

Any such removals, except as to precinct officers as provided under Rule 5 (f) and any removals authorized under Rule 6(f), may be ordered only after ten (10) days notice in writing has been given to the person charged, stating the cause and time and place of hearing thereon, and after the person has had the opportunity to present evidence, witnesses, and to be heard personally and by counsel.

Given that the Republican Party stakes its reputation on being the party of law and order, approving a resolution that so clearly violated the Party’s own rules would have proved disastrous…regardless of the anger towards Lankford.

Widespread Disapproval Remains

Despite the failure of the ill-conceived censure resolution, everyone Ignite Liberty spoke to said without question that a Resolution of Disapproval or Formal Rebuke of Senators Lankford and Inhofe would likely have passed by a wide margin. The significance of this can not be understated, because it speaks to the unity that so many in the party are working hard to achieve.

With the exception of a few stalwart swamp rats, no one in attendance is happy with Lankford’s seeming inability to grasp the gravity of the color revolution that global communist forces have unleashed on the U.S. Color Revolutions have become the coup d’jour anytime communist forces take over a country. They occur when communist forces or sympathizers are used to stage  violent mass riots and protests disguised as the group of people they want to destroy.

It was used during the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia. Hitler used it when his brownshirts burned down the Reichstag. It was used when the Communist Party took over China. Now that the Global Communist Party (CCP along with the Democrat Party) have set their sight on taking over the United States, they turned to the same old tactics. They used their Antifa thugs (whose namesake Hitler used in Nazi Germany) disguised as MAGA supporters to storm the Capitol while the DC Police stood by and watched, much to the horror of the true patriots in attendance.

Unless Senator Lankford has a change of heart, and chooses to call January 6th what it actually was, his chances at re-election maybe smaller than he thinks…regardless of how much money he raises.

OKGOP Leadership Shows Strength

The meeting was not without incident, as prior to its beginning two individuals had to be removed from the premises. Seth Rott, a local LGBTQ activist/lobbyist, seemingly attempted to use his status as a proxy courier to gain entry into the meeting, something expressly against State Party Rules because he is a registered Independent. Fortunately, when asked to leave Mr. Rott went peacefully.

The same cannot be said for Al Gerhart, the proprietor of the Sooner Tea Party blog and long time agitator within the OKGOP. Mr. Gerhart had to be removed by an Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office deputy when he refused to leave the premises, since members of the press were not allowed at this meeting.

It is precisely the agitators like Gerhart that the current administration of the OKGOP is working hard to root out of the party…and for good reason. Ignite Liberty spoke to Leslie NesSmith, Director of Media and Public Relations for the OKGOP, about the efforts to oust divisive individuals like Gerhart from the party:

“Under John Bennett’s leadership we truly want to bring everyone together. Not in a glossed over, kum-ba-yah sort of way. We want to bring people together to get to know each other in order to foster an environment of respect and trust. The problem is the Party has had people who are spreading distrust throughout the party for years. They have specialized in sowing rumors, suspicion, and discord to the point that they have even torn down long-time relationships. They have actively worked to create and environment of suspicion and distrust. We are trying to fix that.”

When asked about how the OKGOP plans to fix this cancer on the party, NesSmith replied:

“One small example of these efforts occurred in just the first couple of months of this administration. We as a team set a rule that we will not accept or listen to complaints or criticisms of other Republicans, or anybody for that matter,  unless the person bringing it, 1) has first talked to the subject of the complaint, and 2) is coming to us with a solution. This has been a systemic problem throughout the OKGOP, and it stops here. This administration is going to bring people together and hold elected officials to the party platform. Those two things are not mutually exclusive.”

The importance of this new direction of leadership cannot be understated. If the OKGOP is going to truly become a force for the advancement of liberty in the Sooner State, it is absolutely vital that it do so as one strong, united front.

As the first Republican President so aptly noted, “a house divided against itself cannot stand.” If the OKGOP does not make the uniting of the pro-liberty forces its first priority, the Communist Democrats will take over the Sooner State and exterminate us all.

Thankfully, under Bennett’s strong leadership, that unity is now priority #1…and it couldn’t have come a moment too soon.

 

 

 

Oklahoma City – The surge of victories for metro-area Liberty Candidates that started in the City Council/School Board primary elections earlier this month continued today at the Oklahoma County GOP Convention, with establishment candidates suffering a near-complete sweep.

The convention got off to a contentious start, with the establishment candidates, led by now-former County Chairwoman Evelyn McCoy, making often-times angry, defiant, and self-aggrandizing pleas for re-election, touting their successes while at the same time chastising the Liberty movement’s demand for censure of Senators Lankford and Inhofe for failing to support the challenge to the illegal slates of electors from states rife with election fraud.

Despite nearly every single precinct signing a censure resolution, the Rules and Platform Committee abjectly refused to allow the motion to be a part of the official order of business, killing any chances of a vote on the measure. This proved to be the final straw for the staunchly pro-Liberty crowd, giving them the momentum necessary to carry the day.

As a result, the incumbent County Vice Chair Ken Warner was able to secure the County Chair position in a resounding victory. Pro-Liberty candidate Gaylene Stupic easily beat Scott Hasson for County Vice Chair, and Porter Davis survived two rounds of voting to outlast incumbent Ronn Cupp and challenger Leslie NesSmith for State Committeeman.

The lone establishment incumbent who survived a challenge today was Jenny Schmitt, who defeated Leslie NesSmith for the second State Committeewoman. Schmitt was the incumbent 5th District Committeewoman, but was nominated from the floor to run for the open State Committeewoman slate when it was left vacant by Linda Huggard. Leslie NesSmith was also nominated from the floor for the State Committeewoman position.

The last pro-Liberty candidate to secure victory was Ignite Liberty’s President, Bryan Armstrong, who won the 5th District Committeman position unopposed. Incumbents Valorie Filippo and Jerome Montgomery secured the two 4th District Committeeperson positions unopposed. Incumbent Kathi Holloway retained the other 5th District Committeeperson position unopposed.

Aside from the censure resolution not being allowed a floor vote, the most disturbing part of the day was a motion by Larry Stein, the Oklahoma County Property Assessor, to strike the support of the right to property from the party platform in favor of “right to pursuit of happiness.” In doing so, he claimed that “there is no right to property. There’s property rights, but no right to property.” The motion carried by the slimmest of margins, as easily half of the room was left aghast at the astonishing ignorance of the proposal.

While the right to property is technically not in our Declaration of Independence, anyone who has studied the writings of our Framers would know that it was in the original draft. The only reason it was taken out is because the Northern Colonies feared that the Southern Colonies would use it to claim a permanent “right” to slavery.

Even the Foundation for Economic Education, not necessarily a staunch bastion of conservatism, noted the Framer’s passionate believe in the right to property, stating:

“A reading of the important founding documents, however, shows clearly that the Founders held property rights to be as important as other human rights. In fact, at times they insisted that the right to acquire and possess private property was in some ways the most important of individual rights. Only one who ignores the history of the founding period could deny that the men of that era held the right to private property in high esteem.”

In fact, anyone who knows the Marxist agenda knows that the destruction of the right to property is of one of the tenants of their Agenda 2030 platform. The World Economic Forum recently stated in a propaganda video for Agenda 2030 that “we would own no property, and be happy.”

Belief in the right to property has been a fundamental platform of the Conservative movement for as long as it’s been alive. The fact that this right was removed from the Oklahoma County GOP Platform is telling, and shows how completely inept the establishment is in fighting the Marxist takeover of our culture. Fortunately, this notion will be passionately challenged, as the new pro-Liberty District Committeepersons have pledge to fight it at the State Convention.

While the Liberty movement is still reeling from the stolen Presidential Election, it is safe to say from the events of this month that they are not sitting idly by. Freedom’s flame still burns bright in the hearts of Oklahomans, and it has found a new champion.

– Copyright, Ignite Liberty, 2021