151 Band

Saturday, October 30, 2010

Another Coburn Staffer To Run For Office?

Greg Treat and his wife, Maressa are well-known Republican activists in Central Oklahoma and it doesn't come as much of a surprise to see that there is a possibility that Greg Treat may be running for Senate District 47 - Todd Lamb's seat if he wins the Lt. Governor's office. 

Sidebar:  Why in the hell didn't Todd resign his seat before running for Lt. Governor?  But anyway...

Here is a "note" from Mrs. Treat found on Facebook:

Dear Family and Friends,
I trust that you and your family had a wonderful summer and enjoying the cooler weather. I know we are! With our new addition to the family, it has been nice being able to take the boys for walks and to let Mason play outside.


As you may know, this is an election year so it is a very busy time for our family. Since Dr. Coburn asked Greg to run the Oklahoma Victory program, he has been working around-the-clock. The Victory program, which is dedicated to electing Republican candidates at all levels, is extremely important to the success of the Republican Party in Oklahoma! After the election, Dr. Coburn has asked Greg to return to the U.S. Senate, but we are not so sure that is what God wants for us. Though Greg has truly enjoyed working for Dr. Coburn off and on since 1999, we feel the Lord is leading Greg in a different direction. After many hours of prayer and discussion, we feel strongly God is calling Greg to run for office to provide our state with godly leadership and service.

The circumstances surrounding Greg’s potential race are quite unique. Currently, Senator Todd Lamb represents Senate District 47. Senator Lamb is running for lieutenant governor and is well positioned to win that race. In fact, we are working hard to make sure he wins – Greg as Victory director and me as a Republican activist in the district. We hope you’ll vote for Senator Lamb, not for the sake of his seat opening up, but so Oklahoma will have a conservative leader in the lieutenant governor’s office.

If Senator Lamb doesn’t win, District 47 will remain in capable and conservative hands. However, if he does win, which is very likely, the governor will call for a special election to replace him, likely to be held in February or March. Because the seat is not technically open and because Greg is focusing on ensuring Republicans win this fall, he is not yet campaigning. However, we will be ready to hit the ground running on November 3. And that’s why I am writing to let our family and friends know of our major decision. I am doing all I can to be a supportive wife and help Greg be ready and organized on November 3.

We will need your prayers, love and support along the way. I truly believe the Lord has called us to be public servants and it’s the right time for Greg to run for office. This will be a huge sacrifice for our family, but with God all things are possible!

Thank you in advance for your prayers and support!
Sincerely,
Maressa Treat



Sounds A LOT like the James Lankford "calling" to run for office, doesn't it?

Scary Saturday Predictions

Things have been truly bizarre this election season with unbelievable attacks, allegations and some of the worst television commercials in political history.  The anti-Obama sentiment is rampant and the Republican Party is going to sweep many elections.  Hell, it's so crazy that even a candidate like Christine O'Donnell won her primary.  It's just, plain bizarre.

So, here are some of my predictions for this Tuesday as I sit here with there kids watching Halloween 43 or something of FX.

SQ744:  Will fail about as badly as the gasoline tax increase proposal a few years ago.  The recent actions of the Yukon School Superintendent pushing teachers to hand out pro-SQ744 literature to students may have been the final nail in the coffin of all that is SQ744.  It's a deplorable proposal and the people of Oklahoma, believe it or not, are smarter than we are given credit.  The ridiculous "regional average" proposal has been ripped to shreds and we just won't take it any longer.

GOVERNOR:  Yes, I have predicted it before...Fallin will win this race, but it won't be a runaway victory like many believe.  The Askins campaign missed some opportunities to do some serious contrasts with what Mary has promised in previous campaigns contrasted with what she has delivered since serving in Washington.  In many ways, it shows that Askins is the nice person she campaigns as, rather than just another political hack.  Unfortunately, the cost will be the election.  Fallin wins.

LT. GOVERNOR:  Lamb will defeat Corn and that is primarily because Corn didn't read the opposition research closely enough and allowed his campaign to launch a ridiculous attack against Todd Lamb.  Lamb wins this one in a walk. 

STATE AUDITOR:  Gary Jones will win this race and deservedly so.  Steve Burrage, the Governor Henry appointee, has attacked Jones and it is backfiring - polls show Gary up even after the attacks.  Jones has been outspent in this race and has not received the assistance from the GOP he should have, in my opinion, though a statewide mailer apparently has gone out on his behalf.  Auditor isn't a "sexy" job and you have to truly have a passion for rooting out corruption and Gary is that man.  If this election cycle has shown us anything, it has shown us that corruption is rampant and we need Gary to expose it.  Gary is going to win, but it will be a close one.

SD6:  The Gumm/Brecheen race has made headlines and State Senator Gumm is in the political fight of his life.  I believe that he'll win, but it will be a much more narrow win than he or his supporters expect.  Brecheen does have a career ahead of him in politics but Gumm will win this one.

LABOR COMMISH:  Costello wins easily.  Richard Engle, Jim Marshall and crew have run a wickedly good campaign against the amazingly silly incumbent Lloyd Fields.  Fields should never have been elected to begin with, but the sentiment against Brenda Reneau was so great that even the political whiz Pat McGuigan couldn't save her.  Costello wins.

CD5:  Lankford defeats Billy Coyle, and Oklahoma will send the first-ever camp counselor to Washington.  Lankford's campaign was brilliant from the beginning, and he really hasn't made any promises to be held accountable for when he gets there.  He's pretty much run a campaign that is identical to Tom Cole's campaign in CD4 and in two years, when he's up for re-election, there won't be much to stick to the guy.  Congrats to Neva Hill and crew for running a historic campaign.

There are a few of my predictions on this Scary Saturday.  I'll add some of the other races later this weekend.

The sun is shining, the weather is wonderful and the kids get to dress up in their favorite costume and get treats tonight.  In a few days, some very undeserving candidates will get their treats for tricking voters into believing their hype.

Friday, October 29, 2010

Gumm Responds To Brecheen's Response

From the Gumm release:

DURANT, Okla. – In a desperate bid to save his failing political aspirations, Josh Brecheen continued a longstanding pattern of deception in a news release issued Friday, according to Senator Jay Paul Gumm.
In the release, Brecheen attempts to “refute” an advertisement now airing from Senator Gumm. The advertisement, paid for by Gumm’s Senate campaign, points out glaring inconsistencies in the carefully crafted image Brecheen has manufactured.
Brecheen challenged the media to “take seriously their duty to the public to investigate the allegations and expose these misrepresentations.” While he doubts Brecheen really means that, the senator said he would welcome such an examination because each assertion in the advertisement is backed up by documentation available through public records.
“I truly had expected more of Josh,” Gumm said. “At least I hoped he would have shown fidelity to the image he crafted, if not to the truth.
“However, I suppose a little too much ‘Washington’ rubbed off on him during his time working for a ‘D.C.’ politician.”
In his news release, Brecheen continues his effort to deceive voters, first by evading the fact he does not own real property. According to Coal County public records, Josh Brecheen does not own any land.
He does own a 1984-model manufactured home (VIN CA0693556S17003AB), which is sitting on his parents’ land, meaning it is not subject to real property tax. Also, the red farm truck he has driven for months on the campaign trail, and which appears in one of Brecheen’s television commercials, is registered to his father.
Gumm’s commercial points out that Brecheen did not cast a vote until he was working for a politician who appeared on the 2004 primary ballot. Brecheen asserts he voted while in Payne County while in college. The Payne County Election Board twice confirmed no record of Josh Brecheen having been registered in that county.
Coal County election records show Brecheen registered in his home county on March 15, 2000. He did not cast a vote until the 2004 primary election – the election at which the politician for which he worked was on the ballot. In fact, he was so negligent in voting, he had fallen to “inactive voter” status and had to be reinstated to cast that August 2004 vote.
“We also know that Josh did not vote in this year’s Republican run-off election,” Gumm said. “One of the most important duties of a senator is to step up and be counted on the floor of the Senate – and we are prohibited from doing so if the vote could benefit us personally. It certainly appears, however, that is when my opponent does vote.”
Brecheen did not deny that he collected large government paychecks, as asserted in the advertisement. In fact, Brecheen seemed to indicate he took even more from taxpayers than was listed in the commercial, saying he had an average annual salary of $45,000. According to congressional pay records, Brecheen’s highest annual salary was $53,500.
“We were being conservative on the amount of money Josh took from taxpayers,” Gumm said. “Josh fessed up to taking even more – up to $270,000 – all while taking the predictable shot at me because I have to work for a living to support my family.”
In his press release, Brecheen attempts to allege some impropriety in the fact Gumm – like virtually every member of the Legislature – has outside work, including ownership with his wife of rental properties.
Josh shows his lack of real world experience when he talks about my rental properties,” the senator said. “As a renter himself, he should know that landlords make money by providing quality and affordable places for people to live. How I afford rental properties is they show a modest profit after I pay expenses, insurance and the mortgages. If they did not, I wouldn’t be much of a business owner.”
Ethics Commission records show that Gumm has filed financial disclosures as required by law. Brecheen, however, has not filed the financial disclosure form required of state officials and candidates when they file for office. “The old saying about ‘Those who live in glass houses…’ certainly seems to apply here,” Gumm quipped. “Failing to file would probably earn you an ‘F’ in any transparency grade.”
As Brecheen concludes his press release, he quotes his political godfather, U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn, with the often-repeated clip in which Coburn says Brecheen has “no arrogance” and “no guile.”
“Josh apparently shows his boss a different side of himself than the one he shows to many who encountered him in the field and during this campaign,” Gumm said. “Many have seen Josh become verbally abusive when speaking to someone who disagrees with him, including a respected state judge.”
In a letter to Coburn earlier this year, LeFlore County Associate District Judge Ted Knight took Brecheen to task for being “disrespectful and rude” with his secretary on the telephone. Once transferred to the Judge, Brecheen displayed “arrogance” and a “demanding tone” when speaking about a subject the Judge said Brecheen “obviously does not understand.” Further, according to the letter, Brecheen made wild accusations and threatened the judge.
Gumm said the responsibility for this campaign becoming negative rests solely with Josh Brecheen.
“We have endured deception from the moment I was called in late May by a constituent who told me Josh was telling people he was going to run,” he said. “In the last week, it has just gotten completely out of hand. The air of desperation gripped the Brecheen campaign and they brought Washington, D.C. gutter politics to southeastern Oklahoma.”
From a $50,000 negative television-commercial-buy from a shady group with hidden donors, to a weekly-newspaper advertisement with bald-face lies about Senator Gumm’s record, the Brecheen campaign continues to reach new lows.
“I would much rather have spent time talking about the real issues of this campaign,” Gumm said. “However, it was obvious I had to defend my family, my record and myself. Because, if I won’t defend them, how can the people I have had the honor of serving the past eight years count on me to defend them on the floor of the Senate?
“The mud Josh refers to in the new commercial with him in the shower got on him only when he reached into the sewer to sling it at my family and me.”

JUDGE RULES SQ744 LITERATURE AS “ADVOCACY”

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK:  Judge Patricia Parrish ruled today that Yukon Superintendent Bill Denton’s request for teachers to distribute materials supporting State Question 744 to be “advocacy,” and that political advocacy in is not allowed by law.  While not issuing an injunction or restraining order, Judge Parrish admonished the defendants not to “engage in advocacy within public schools.”

Shawnnessy Black, plaintiff attorney stated, “While the relief was not granted, we are not disappointed with the ruling of the judge in this case.  We are hopeful that the unethical electioneering styles conducted by superintendents across the state will cease as a result of this ruling.”

Anthony J. Ferate, co-counsel said, “It was fun to watch the defendants do their song and dance, saying that none of them were responsible.  Sandy Garrett’s office directly claimed they ‘had no control of the superintendents across the state.’  It really makes me wonder what the Superintendent’s job truly is.”

If anyone has additional information about possible electioneering in public schools, both attorneys would appreciate correspondence via email for the express purpose of ensuring appropriate law enforcement agencies, including District Attorneys, are notified promptly.

Shawnnessy Black:  Shawnnessy@hotmail.com
Anthony J. Ferate:  aj@feratepllc.com

Citizen Files Injunction Against Garrett and Yukon Schools

"It's for the children," we hear all the time and this time, school superintendents and officials plan to use our children as campaign volunteers for the infamous State Question 744.  Today, a Yukon resident filed a temporary injunction and restraining order against Sandy Garrett and Superintendent Bill Denton of Yukon.  The plan was to give out materials to children to take home the day before the vote on State Question 744.

Bill Denton and Sandy Garrett have a great deal of explaining to do and friends, this is exactly the kind of campaign tactic that has created the tsunami of support against incumbents and against the status quo.

Contact your local school superintendents immediately and tell them that this kind of behavior will not be acceptable under any circumstances and if they try to pull what Denton has pulled in Yukon, you will work diligently to see them ousted.

We have seen the news reports, we have put up with the garbage from the teacher's unions, it's time for us to act.  Attorneys Shawnnessy Black and Anthony Ferate have assisted a citizen in the move to tell the status quo system HELL NO.  Please share this link with your friends and let them know that they now have another reason to vote NO on SQ744 and demand the prosecution of public officials who use the schools as their campaign headquarters.

Here is the contact information for Yukon Public Schools:
Yukon Public Schools Administrators

Mr. Bill Denton, Superintendent
Dr. Fred D. Rhodes, Assistant Elementary Superintendent
Mr. Kent Mathers, Assistant Secondary Superintendent


Office: (405) 354-2587

HEARING SCHEDULED, 4PM, 7TH FLOOR BEFORE THE HONORABLE JUDGE PATRICIA PARRISH.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Behind the Green Doak

I have just learned that consultant Chris Lowther is working on the Doak for Insurance Commissioner race and that OCPAC stalwart Richard Engle is Doak's campaign manager.

Well, that certainly changes things, doesn't it?

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Stand Up To Obama? From Oklahoma?

I have been called a "partisan hack" for many, many years.  I've been a Republican conservative and have made no bones about it.  I have completely decimated Democratic leadership on the air while on WKY and have ripped to shreds many liberal, feel-good policies that hinder our economy and have cost jobs.

But I am an equal opportunity offender.

So, while cruising Facebook, I came across a picture of Congresswoman Mary Fallin speaking at a State Chamber event and the caption to the picture read:
From The State Chamber forum: "I believe President Obama and Nancy Pelosi are out of touch and out of control ... and I'm the candidate who is ready to stand up to them."
Mary Fallin in Washington where, apparently, she was too close to Pelosi and Obama to actually take them on.
Now, I may not be the sharpest knife in the drawer, but that statement BEGS the following questions:
1.  Are you running for Congress?
2.  Why are you choosing NOW to "stand up" to Obama and Pelosi?
3.  Didn't you serve in Washington where you could have "stood up" to Democratic leadership?
4.  Why did it take you four years IN WASHINGTON to muster up the courage NOW to stand up to Pelosi/Obama?
5.  How freaking stupid do you think we are?

Apparently, very.

No doubt, Congresswoman Mary Fallin will win her bid for governor.  Jari Askins will fall victim to the anti-Obama/Pelosi/Reid sentiment and Fallin will be the first-ever female governor of the great state of Oklahoma in the same year we send a camp counselor to Washington as our congressman.

I like Mary Fallin.  She's fun, she's funny and a very, very sweet person.  This being said, if she says that she is going to take on Washington from the governor's mansion one more time, I may lose what's left of my cotton-picking mind.

State Question Guide - Share With Your Friends


Here is my take on the upcoming state questions, how I plan to vote and since I am such a cult of personality, you'll very likely do whatever I say...


SQ744 - EDUMACATION FUNDING
Hayl No. This "regional average" line of crap they are feeding us is just that - crap. The teacher's unions and bureaucrats use an intellectually dishonest formula that does not include even the most simplistic of measurements...cost of living indexes.

SQ746 - VOTER PHOTO ID
Hayl Yes. While I think it would be more important to have poll workers who aren't busy watching reruns of Matlock, having photo identification for voters is important.

SQ747 - TERM LIMITS
Hayl Yes. This will term-limit statewide elected officials from serving more than two four-year terms (total of eight years). Unfortunately, this doesn't go far enough. We need to limit terms for offices that include PRIOR service as an elected official.

SQ748 - REDISTRICTING
Hayl Yes. Increases the redistricting commission members from three to seven. We need more accountability, this is one way to get it.

SQ750 - BALLOT ACCESS
Hayl Yes. I am all about the First Amendment to the Constitution and this question protects our right to petition the government. I like it a lot.

SQ751 - OFFICIAL LANGUAGE...ENGLISH, PLEASE
Hayl Yes. While we may still be stuck "pressing 1 for English," state agencies will no longer be required to print documents in Swahili.

SQ752 - HERE COME DA JUDGE COMMISSION
Yep. Increases the number of members of the Judge's Commission to 15 members.

SQ754 - APPROPRIATIONS
Hayl No. If this passes, the legislature would not be required to use predetermined formulas to set agency budgets. It would end up being a free-for-all with your tax dollars and we just can't give Ken Miller that kind of power.

SQ755 - SHARIAH LAW
Yes, yes, yes. This is that state question everyone on the Right is talking about...forbidding state courts from considering or using international law or even Shariah Law (scary Muslim stuff) when deciding cases. We prefer the Constitution, thank you.

SQ756 - Obamacare No-Go
Hayl Yes. We don't need no stinkin' Obamacare.

SQ757 - RAINY DAY MONEY
No, no, no. Increases the Rainy Day from from 10% to 15% of the general budget. Look, our state government has already proven that the Rainy Day Fund is not being used for emergencies like FLOODING, why give them more money to jack with? VOTE NO on this pile of waste disguised as a state question.

Monday, October 25, 2010

Political Circle of Life

Every two years, we get ourselves all lathered up about how this candidate or that candidate will save us from ourselves, save our country from this or that perilous course and how our involvement in the process itself can make or break our future.  We wear our campaign t-shirts with pride, we decorate our front lawns with signs showing our allegiance to our particular candidate(s) and we tell the world how important our political affections are to us.

We lather, rinse and repeat.  Tragically, we expect different results every single time.

Sometimes, there are new faces in the crowd but even those "new" candidates are owned and operated by the same cast of characters who brought us the perennial candidates from years gone by.  Their tepid messages are the same, their lack of coherent policies are the same, their negative and often misleading attacks are no different than that which we swore we would refuse to accept in years past.

As Solomon wrote, "There is nothing new under the sun," but we fool ourselves into thinking so.  Candidates promise us the sky but deliver nothing more than hot air, and we love every minute of it because they inflate the balloons that are out carnivorous egos.

Politics is not life itself, but it is an unfortunate part of life.  We live in a country where we have been led to believe that "one person can make a difference," but the evidence points to something completely different in the macro, doesn't it?  Tea Party rallies, pastoral convocations, reclaiming this or that for this or that - all part of the cyclical processes by which we entertain ourselves and pretend that the man behind the green curtain doesn't exist...unfortunately, he does.  As a matter of fact, there are lots of green curtains, lots of men (and women) hiding behind those green curtains and you and I know it to be true...we just refuse to accept the truth and do something about it.

We are born, we live, we give birth, we die.  The circle of life is what it is and there isn't a damned thing we can do to change it.  As I have said before:   "Life is a series of mistakes.  Sometimes, we get it right - but that is a mistake too."

Once in a while, we can do something to make a minor change, to implement something for a short period of time that actually has meaning, that can create a blip on the radar and perhaps the effort therein is worth it for that brief moment in time.  We find reasons, excuses to justify our excitement about the temporal, ignoring the eternal or worse yet, intermingling the two - making that which is sacred somehow secular and making that which is truly secular, sacred.

The cycle continues and even though this litter of candidates has within its brood a couple potential superstars who can and will deliver that which they have promised, we will probably overlook them because we enjoy feeding at the trough of hyperbole and flashy television commercials.  And in two years, then again in four, the political circle of life will continue and we'll be bitching and complaining about the incumbents like we are right now.

Cue the Lion King...


Sunday, October 24, 2010

(Not So) Serious Sunday

It's time for the weekly round-up and analysis of the week to come brought to you by your friendly former 400lb Gorilla of Oklahoma media...you ready?


Oklahoman Takes After Terrill (Again):  In a story published by the ever-so-objective Oklahoman, questions about the "investigation" of Representative Randy Terrill by Oklahoma County District Attorney, David Prater.  Michael McNutt implies that Terrill didn't return calls for an interview, but answered questions in an email and in the email (which Terrill sent me), McNutt was given the pimp-hand.  One of the funniest exchanges was where the implication that Terrill's opponent said there were many voters out there concerned about the so-called investigation, to which Terrill replied, "To be completely candid, most of my constituents say they don’t even know who my opponent is, so I  seriously doubt many of them are “voicing concerns” to her. Be that as it may, i have knocked a lot of doors, and not many have told me they have any questions on the subject.  That's most likely because they recognize the allegations as the baseless, politically-motivated election-year garbage that they are."

Ouch.  But seriously, the real problem is that since Terrill was the unashamed author of HB1804 and plans a tougher illegal immigration bill next session, the Oklahoman has painted a target on Randy's back.  Why?  It's simple:  Cash.  Large corporations that comprise a significant revenue stream for the down-sizing Oklahoman do not support HB1804 and the advertising agency that handles said corporations place ad dollars with the Oklahoman.  As long as Terrill is a hawk on immigration issues, and the Oklahoman is in the hip pocket of one or two ad agencies and their "branded news," Randy can expect continued attacks.  Hell, if Gene Stipe himself were running against Terrill, the Oklahoman would endorse Stipe over Terrill.

RGA Is A-OK For OK Corps:  Wondering where all the money came from to fund those anti-Askins commercials?  Well, the money flowed from the heavenly streams of Oklahoma corporations, of course.  According to the Oklahoman's Paul Monies' analysis...here is the breakdown of contributions:
Devon Energy....$650,000
Rooney Holdings....$282,145
Chesapeake Holdings....$225,000
And so on, so forth totaling $1.4 million.  Contrasted with the Democratic Governor's Association wherein Oklahomans contributed a whopping $1,250.  And you wonder why Jari Askins is getting spanked in the polls?  You have to wonder why Devon and CHK is so willing to fund such nasty ads against Oklahoma's Lt. Governor - particularly since Jari Askins is a mineral rights owner...

Sooners/Cowboys/Huskies Get Whipped:  It was a bad week for my Washington Huskies as well as the Oklahoma college franchises (yes, I called them franchises because that is truly what they are), but we live to fight again next week.  Oklahoma's undefeated streak comes to an end. 

Jones Goes It Alone:  Gary Jones has been fighting corruption for a very long time in Oklahoma and because of his work, former State Auditor Jeff McMahancan't is gone.  And now, the Republican Party has all but forgotten the fact that it was under Jones' leadership that the House and Senate went to Republicans and we maintained control of the Corporation Commission.  Todd Lamb, Mary Fallin, Ken Miller, Dana Murphy, Glenn Coffee and Speaker Steele owe Gary a debt of gratitude and their support - financial and otherwise.  Locked in their own races of course, they are focused on their own opponents and it's understandable.  BUT, the GOP continues to support the other statewide races and have even purchase ads on social networking media such as Facebook on behalf of Mary Fallin, but has failed to adequately support Gary Jones.  The irony is that when these other candidates needed Gary, he was there for them but in politics, there is rarely a quid pro quo.  What these candidates need to remember, however, is if that Henry appointee wins, his office will be auditing the hell out of them just for political purposes...   It's time for the GOP to support their candidate for Auditor.  Period.