His apology (from the Greek, "apologia," to give a defense), Kris "I-Wanna-Be-Brad-Henry-When-I-Grow-Up" Steele intentionally labels constitutional issues as "social." Either Steele's ignorance and stupidity will go down in Oklahoma history as legendary, or he is a crafty snake in the grass who has spent far too much time with his liberal mentor, Ed Kelley. Either way, they dynamic duo of hyperbole have given us all we need to prove that Steele is not a conservative, regardless of his position on abortion. This statement in his asinine article says it all:
We must defend our constitutional rights, including the right to bear arms, defend against federal government overreach, and guard against those who intentionally break the law and pose a threat to public safety. My commitment as a social conservative has not changed or wavered.He actually uses the word, "constitutional," but concludes his statement with the "social conservative" caveat. He ignores the issue of illegal immigration altogether, which is constitutional, and something that the Republican Party campaigned on in this last election cycle. Since when is the 2nd Amendment to the Constitution or the problem of illegal immigration merely "social conservative" issues? It is the bloody constitution, my friends. The Constitution many men and women currently and throughout history have raised their right hands and swore an oath to defend against enemies both foreign and domestic. Many gave their lives to defend what Steele and the Oklahoman consider toilet tissue. By attempting to marginalize the constitution to merely "social," it is a slap in the face to every veteran in this country.
And his trip continues elsewhere. Read carefully this statement from Steele:
Because the national recession has left many jobless and created a $600 million state shortfall, it is clear we must enact sensible reforms that allow Oklahomans to reach their economic potential and grow our state economy."$600 million state shortfall." We have a balanced budget requirement in Oklahoma - a "shortfall" is language used by those who believe the taxpayer dollars belong to the government rather than to the people. That kind of language begins with the faulty supposition that the tax dollars earned by citizens of this great state belongs first and foremost to the government. The way we SHOULD look at it is that our income is OUR income and the state government gets what is tantamount to an allowance to run what WE THE PEOPLE believe to be justified government programs, predicated on what has been outlined in the United States Constitution as well as the Constitution of the great state of Oklahoma.
If Kris Steele lived in any other state, he'd be considered a Democrat.
The truth that you need to know is that there are many Republicans and Democrats alike in the Oklahoma House of Representatives who are sick and tired of Steele's song and dance. They feel as though they too have been bamboozled, flim-flammed and hoodwinked. Otherwise constitutional conservatives have been forced to provide a defense for Steele just to try and keep the peace. It's a disaster already and the legislature isn't even in session just yet.
No one will disagree that we need jobs in Oklahoma and we need to attract jobs here. We do so by creating a functional infrastructure - not by appointing the same bureaucrat who failed to effectively build roads and repair bridges in the past (Fallin appointee, Gary Ridley). Steele is right that we need education reforms, but that doesn't mean throwing more money at the problem as he is eluding to. It means eliminating administrative functions that are costing Oklahoma taxpayers needless millions of dollars every year. The constitutionally conservative solutions we demand are the very solutions that will accomplish what Steele is desiring but he is afraid to offend his puppet master, Fred Morgan and his liberal media mentor, Ed Kelley.
It's one of the biggest shams we've seen in a long time. It's the same flim-flam the Democrats under Gene Stipe pulled but the language has changed and establishment Republicans are putting up with it. Hopefully, not for long.
When exceptionally liberal Democrats are defending Steele's position, we need to be afraid. Very afraid.
Let's not forget that within the first two years of Republican leadership in the House a few years back, Scott Pruitt pointed out to then Lt. Governor candidate Todd Hiett, Republicans had grown government by 18%.
