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Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Heard It Here First: Trojan Horse Committee Assignments

Speaker-elect Kris Steele has leaked out a handful of his assignments to key committees in the new, Republican-controlled House of Representatives, but this list hasn't been officially declared.  Numerous legislative and executive sources have given your friendly Gorilla the inside track on committee assignments.  Why?  Because it's time for We The People to stand up and be heard and to do so without the filtering of corporate media.

Some of the committees have merged, some have stayed the same.  So, here's your list in no specific order:

Wildlife:  Merged with Agriculture and Rural Development and Phil Richardson retains his chairmanship of this committee.

Veterans/Military Affairs:  None other than the pitbull crusader himself, Paul Wesselhoft.

Transportation:  T.W. Shannon retains leadership.

Rules:  Used to be Gus Blackwell, now, Gary Banz will be running this committee.

Public Safety:  Sue Tibbs retains leadership.  If you recall, Tibbs is far less than a supporter of the 2nd Amendment and will more than likely kill any proposal for a campus concealed carry law in the great state of Oklahoma.

Public Health:  John Enns gets this post and is known for his advocacy for government intervention on issues such as tobacco use.

Judiciary:  Fred Jordan.  Who?  Used to be Vice Chair of Judiciary, he is from Tulsa.

Economic Development & Tourism:  Randy McDaniels.

Finance & Insurance:  Charles Key, one of the favorites of the Tea Party.

Human Services:  Pam Peterson

Higher Education/Career Tech:  Unknown - but this will be a very important decision for Speaker-elect Steele.

Government Modernization:  Jason Murphey has been replaced with Mike Reynolds.  Reynolds was a Steele supporter for House Speaker.

General Government:  Was Lisa Billy, presently unknown.

Energy/Utilities:  John Trebilcock.  You're probably more than familiar with that name.  A simple Google search will tell you volumes.

Common Education:  Ann Coody.  Ann is a former OEA member and has opposed school choice.  Quite the contrast from Janet Baressi.

Appropriations& Budget:  Earl Sears.  There will be a follow up story soon on what this appointment means and to whom Sears is connected.

Appropriations & Budget - Education:  Lee Denney who is probably best known for her puppy mill legislation that the Oklahoma Rifle Association opposed vehemently.

A&B Human Services:  Ron Peters from Tulsa.


A&B Natural Resources and Regulatory Services:  Don Armes.

A&B Public Health & Social Services:  Dr. Doug Cox.  Cox was the only "no" vote on the Wildlife Committee for the Constitutional Amendment to protect hunting and fishing that was passed overwhelmingly by Oklahoma voters.

A&B Public Safety & Judiciary:  This has split into...
A&B Judiciary:  Gus Blackwell.
A&B Public Safety:  Lisa Billy.

A&B Revenue & Tax:  David Dank.  This will cause one hell of a stir.  Dank is well known for his consulting, his relationship with members of the media as a result of his work on the Oklahoma News Network and Clear Channel Communications.

A&B General Government/Transportation:  Guy Liebmann, champion of the Bass Pro Shops deal a few years back.

Admin Rules & Agency Oversight:  Unknown at this time, however, it is rumored that George Faught from Muskogee is in play.

So, what does this tell us?  First, there is not a conservative Republican of note in leadership right now.  Charles Key is probably the most conservative selected for leadership, however, he is truly more of a Libertarian that a Republican on many issues.  The people of Oklahoma believed they were voting in some serious conservatives, but it appears as though that with a few minor exceptions, we've received little more than establishment leadership selections.

The political leadership of the GOP campaigned hard using names like "Tom Coburn" to convince voters that there was conservative change in the wind.  I submit to you that what we bought into was a Trojan horse, painted with all the right slogans and covered with bumper stickers that made us all feel good.  Unfortunately, after the Trojan horse was allowed into the gates, from the belly poured forth moderates and more status quo.

I have confidence that this list is accurate within a 3% margin of error.

Coming soon:
Irony In Insurance
Steele's History On Gun Manufacturers