Solutions to Wad Panties

State revenue is down which means that state agencies will be feeling a pinch.  It's what happens.  The liberals are blaming Republicans for tax breaks for the state's bread-and-butter industries; oil and gas.  The Republicans are blaming "100 years of mismanagement" rather than taking responsibility for the fact that the mess we're in is an equal opportunity destroyer and that politicians of every breed are to blame.  Republicans and Democrats alike are culpable for the place we're in right now because for both parties, the only solution is to raise taxes.  

Liberals want to raise taxes on the rich.

Conservatives want to raise taxes on the poor.

The bovine fecal matter stacks up so high in the Oklahoma legislature that you need wings to rise above it and largely, it's the career politicians who are left holding the bag.  Their greed and desire for power has overruled any common sense they may have possessed at a time in the past and it will never return.

With all of that taken into consideration, I have some budgetary solutions that will work to more effectively use state tax dollars and to rein in the madness under the methane gas-filled dome.  These solutions are going to piss off some people and those are the people we should vote out of office with impunity.  They are the problem, not the solution.

1.  Reduce Legislative Pay:  Pay for all state legislators and their assistants, envoys, project managers and the like should all be cut in half.  If you don't think they are overpaid, consider these little positions for the State Senate alone:

Randy Dowell        Chief of Staff      $128,947   Been there since 1997

Jonathon Nichols    Legal Council     $120,138  Been there since 2000

Caroline Dennis      Dir. of Ops        $120,128  Been there since 1982

Trait Thompson       Capital Proj. Mgr.  $86,957.

Those are JUST a few.  You see very familiar names when you go through the list of Senate payroll recipients like; Trait Thompson, Jonathan Nichols, Sharon Veazey, Claire Mcatee, or Nancy Pellow.  You got to see this madness.  I mean it.   The State Senate and staff should take a 50% pay cut and the position should remain at that specific salary.  Period.  It's amazing how much money is being slung around to and for our elected legislators.  

Here are more for you to review.  Bring a barf bag.

Attorney General

Corporation Commission (Note the total salary number.)

Boll Weevil Eradication Organization  (Yes, it really exists.) 

Department of Corrections (Your butt will pucker.)

Department of Tourism (The salaries are completely out of control here.)

State Treasurer

Department of  Veterans Affairs

2.  County Official Pay Reduction:  Like the legislators and their staff, County elected officials should receive pay that is commensurate to the average median income of their respective counties.  Makes sense, doesn't it?  Their pay should NOT be based on how much money is in the county, but rather the average income of the citizens therein.  This alone will save millions of dollars a year and when you take into consideration the number of staff members they have, when the same formula is applied, the savings to the taxpayers within that county will be astronomical.

3.  Statewide Elected Officials:  This is really a no-brainer.  Take the average median income of the state of Oklahoma and that will be their base pay.  They would be entitled to travel pay when on state business throughout the state, but beyond that, their pay should be capped as should their staff members'.

You can see how these three suggestions/solutions would create a huge problem from some elected officials so I implore you to ask your elected officials whether or not they would support a proposal such as what I have here.  If they say no, they are NOT citizen/legislators but rather are bottom-feeding blood-suckers.

Spread the word.  People need to know.

"Gorilla"

 

Unleash The (Saturday) Hounds

There is a great deal going on right now, so let's review, shall we?

High Noon Nastiness:  The Friday High Noon Club that meets at a local gun range weekly was fired up as Randy Brogdon, his new boss Commissioner Doak and attorney arrived to what used to be friendly territory.  Not so much anymore.  Apparently, Brogdon and crew were chastised, and one person even told Brogdon that she would "never vote for him again."  Former State Senator Randy Brogdon was a very conservative candidate for governor in Oklahoma who had vowed to reduce the size and scope of government, but then took a $99k/year job with Insurance Commissioner Doak.  Reducing the size and scope of government by eliminating positions to perhaps pay for his big salary is what he meant...and now, the chickens have come home to roost.

Barresi Blasts:  You read about it here, the fight that took place with the Board of Education and State School Superintendent Janet Barresi and McCarville has put together quite the series on the issue.  And this is a story that will not go away anytime soon.  Read more here. 

Brad Henry To UCO?  Rumors abound that since Henry will be temporarily working with a law firm in Edmond, that he will soon be tapped to take over when Roger Webb bails out at the University of Central Oklahoma.  Henry will fit in well in Edmond, will be seen frequenting Cafe' 501 (where the beautiful people of Edmond congregate), Lottinville's (where former Treasurer Scott Meacham has been seen) and of course, the Edmond Arts Festivals.  Since the law offices are right across the street from Lottinville's, that will more than likely be his new hang-out while he awaits the decision from the Board of Regents he himself appointed.  Think this will be a tough interview?

Feed The Wallets:  Larry Jones, founder and former President of Feed the Children, has settled his wrongful termination lawsuit and FTC has also dropped all the counter-suits.  Looks like they've kissed and decided to go their own ways.  Now, the Attorney General is saying that there will be investigations into the embattled charity, but believes them to be headed in the right direction. 

More to come...

Doak: Saving Taxpayer Dollars

Okie Doakie

Reducing the size and scope of government.  Returning power to the taxpayers.  Following the Constitution...these were all issues championed by the Republicans in the tidal wave that took place back in November.  And Okie Doak is wasting no time saving some taxpayer dollars by laying off fraud unit personnel.

In a spectacular piece written by the Oklahoman, six investigators will be unemployed at the end of the month (any coincidence that Doak hired three former legislators is, well, coincidental) and will save taxpayers a bunch of money (emphasis, mine):

The six layoffs will save the department about $323,000 a year, Doak said in a news release.
Dan Ramsey, chief executive officer of the Independent Insurance Agents of Oklahoma, said he had not heard of Doak's plan to stop investigating allegations of policyholders committing fraud against their insurance companies.

Wondering if the savings is a net savings or if that is factored prior to the hiring of three former legislators?

HVAC Guy Randy Brogdon

The Insurance Commission, however, had a quick and well-planned response that should immediately silence any critics:

Some insurance department investigators told The Oklahoman they believe they were laid off so Doak could use their salaries to hire friends in executive positions, including three former legislators who are being paid $99,000 each to serve as deputy commissioners in his administration. The investigators requested anonymity, saying they were afraid of retribution if their names appeared in the newspaper.

Assistant Insurance Commissioner Rick Farmer denied the allegation, saying Doak saved money elsewhere to pay the deputy commissioner salaries of former state Sen. Brogdon, R-Owasso; former state Rep. Mike Thompson, R-Oklahoma City; and former state Sen. Owen Laughlin, R-Woodward.

Ah, well.  There is our answer - nothing to see here, folks, move along.  Doak saved money elsewhere to pay the deputy commissioner salaries of Brogdon, Thompson and Laughlin.  No worries.  We believe you.  Sort of.  We even believe the following:

Doak started out with 124 agency employees and the number will be down to 108 once employees who have been terminated go off the payroll, Farmer said. Doak campaigned under a promise to reduce the size of state government and would like to eliminate a “handful” of additional employees once other positions are evaluated, Farmer said. Reductions so far should save the department about $503,000 a year in payroll costs, plus an additional 25 percent or so in benefit expenses, he said.

Wonder if District Attorney Prater is watching this develop...

Fire some employees so you can hire former legislators.  Makes sense to me.  And there is a savings to the taxpayers of Oklahoma because clearly, previous Insurance Commissioners rarely thought of saving taxpayer dollars or reducing staff size.  Neither did they hire former legislators who are real estate professionals or HVAC guys to be "Deputy Commissioners."  They are more than qualified and experienced to do the job and are already showing their abilities...regardless of what the Oklahoman thinks:

The department receives hundreds of insurance fraud complaints a month and only a small portion could be investigated — even with a staff of nine, an investigator said.

Deputy Commissioner Brogdon, an unsuccessful candidate for the Republican gubernatorial nomination, will oversee the reorganized anti-fraud division, Farmer said.

Brogdon ran a heating and air-conditioning business before becoming a state senator.  

Some investigators questioned Brogdon's ability to lead an effective fraud unit, saying it takes a while even for trained law enforcement investigators to learn how to work insurance cases.

I hope that you've picked up on some of my sarcasm because I have been laying it on pretty damned thick.  The True Believers in the Republican Party will support Doak in his quest to keep the unemployment rate low for former legislators and they will point to these layoffs as "saving taxpayer dollars."  The rest of us, however, will see it for what it is:  Cronyism.

And by the way, there is rumored to be some stories about the new Labor Commissioner and his political hires coming down the pike pretty soon as well.  That will be fun.

Brogdon Will Endorse Fallin, But At What Cost?

More than likely, Senator Randy Brogdon will endorse Mary Fallin in her race for Governor and many will cheer and laud his effort.  Others will breathe a sigh of relief and wonder why it took so long.  But there will be others who will argue that perhaps since Randy is a man of principle who attacked Fallin throughout the primary, he should stick to his principles.

Quite the conundrum, isn't it?

OCPAC meets today as well to determine whether or not they endorse or give money to the Fallin campaign.  More than likely, OCPAC will just say no to both.  Charlie Meadows was probably one of the most ardent supporters of Senator Brogdon and finds himself in quite the pickle now, as the chair of an organization that has worked hard to stand on principle and let's give credit where credit is due - OCPAC typically sticks to its guns and supports candidates based on their record rather than their popularity.

There will be some fallout from a decision either way, but at this stage of the game, the attempts to show a united GOP will probably be effective. 

That Was Wild...

Like you, I spent the majority of the evening watching the primary election returns with great anticipation and yes, there were a few big surprises.  While it wasn't a huge surprise to see Congresswoman Mary Fallin defeat State Senator Randy Brogdon, it was a little surprising to see just how many turned out to vote for the Senator.  As the smoke cleared, Fallin got the decisive victory and even extended an olive branch to the Brogdon supporters - and they deserved it.  People like Cheryl Williams and Tiffany Titsworth, to name just two, were ardent supporters of Randy and they busted their backs to support him.  Brogdon's grassroots campaign was truly phenomenal and was almost textbook.  The problem for them was really the Mary Fallin juggernaut.

And Matt Pinnell at the watch party gave a rousing GOP rally cry as well.

Another wild ride was the gubernatorial race between Drew Edmondson and Lt. Governor Jari Askins.  Jari pulled out a close victory and now, Oklahoma will have its first female governor.

The 5th Congressional District race was not a big surprise to anyone, really.  Conventional wisdom dictated that it would come down to Calvey and James Lankford, but I don't think anyone thought that Lankford would top Calvey in the primary.  The News 9 interviews with both Calvey and James Lankford were quite revealing.  Both looked very tired, but had their game faces on.  Now, the runoff commences and should be very enlightening for all of us.  I know that my friend, Dave White, is very excited about the possibilities.

Of course, Dana Murphy sailed to victory and will now have six years to implement some of her plans at the Corporation Commission.  Of all the candidates for statewide office, you'd be hard pressed to find someone who has worked as hard as her and met with as many GOP members as she.  She worked hard and earned her victory.

Gary Jones won his race as well and it really wasn't that surprising, but he faces a pretty darned tough incumbent who was appointed by Brad "Gone Fishin" Henry.  Fortunately for Gary, the anti-incumbent mood is cresting and he can ride that wave to victory in November.

So, what does it all mean?  The analysis to me shows that people voted for the individual, don't care much for negative campaigns (thus, the Pruitt victory) and are looking for some real leadership with some fresh voices (generally speaking, of course).  There are still some questions to be answered, however.

How much money does the GOP have to help Mary Fallin against Askins?

How much money does the Democratic Party have to help Askins against Fallin?

Will Club For Growth kick in some more cash to support Calvey against the Baptist's red-haired prodigy?

Where will the Brogdon supporters go and whom will they support?

In the meantime, there's always the Back to School Blues Jam and Wail...

Mary Fallin Launches New Ad

Staying above the mudslinging, Congresswoman Mary Fallin launches her new television ad - though previous ads have been scarcely seen in Central Oklahoma.  Take a look:

Oklahoman On Brogdon Attack Ad: FAIL

The Oklahoman has begun a series of articles wherein the claims of campaigns are being analyzed.  And it is about darned time.  The Brogdon campaign couldn't be more unhappy about it because the attack ad on Mary Fallin has been an epic failure from the beginning.  The efficacy of the campaign ad is summed up in these words from the Oklahoman:

A review of the political action committee donations Fallin has received since her first congressional race in 2006 showed $1,500 in contributions from J.P. Morgan Chase's committee. None of the other big Wall Street banks' political committees were listed as donors to Fallin on the Federal Election Commission website.

Whether Brogdon is referring to contributions from some individual bankers isn't clear.

Louis Waller, a spokesman for Brogdon's campaign, declined to name any of the campaign donors to Fallin who were also recipients of bailout funds.

"I'm not going to do your digging for you," Waller said.

The ad also says Fallin "requested millions in pork from the Obama stimulus."

Waller also declined to be specific about this charge.

Game.  Set.  Match.

Read the whole analysis here.

McCarville: Brogdon Gets It Wrong, Apologizes

The Brogdonite/Fallinista war-torn region of Central Oklahoma surges forward, this time the heat is reduced by State Senator Randy Brogdon himself.

From the McCarville Report:

UPDATE: Randy Brogdon has apologized. He said the error is his. Randy Brogdon's campaign for governor is out with an email that falsely claims The McCarville Report Online suggests his attack commercial on Mary Fallin is effective.

The email uses a McCarville quote about another commercial, not the commercial that attacks Fallin, yet ties the quote to the attack commercial.

"How anyone could confuse the two is beyond me," said an irritated McCarville.

And McCarville isn't the only one irritated by the email. Muskogee blogger Jamison Faught, who has been a Brogdon supporter, says it all very well at http://www.muskogeepolitico.com/.

Faught joins the already-irritated bloggers at okiepundit.com.

Added McCarville: "I wasn't aware of this email until several readers brought it to my attention. It is interesting that for months, I have received copies of all of Brogdon's emails, sometimes multiple copies, but this one, one (mis)quoting me, was not sent to me."

This is a fight that has be a long time brewing.  Randy Brogdon has been winning straw poll after straw poll, but can't seem to generate revenue for much-needed media and against the Fallin machine, you have to have BIG cash to run and win.  And you sure as hell don't win by misquoting the likes of Mike McCarville in the process.

The wheels are not only falling off, they are disintegrating before our very eyes.  It is sad, truly sad because Randy Brogdon has many very loyal supporters who have looked to him as almost being salvific in this race - that Brogdon held the keys to gubernatorial life and death for them. 

In this mess, nobody wins.

Brogdon Attack Ad: McCarville Report

The McCarville Report was the first to locate the attack ad against Mary Fallin, put out there by State Senator Randy Brogdon.  Here is the ad to review, my thoughts below:

First, it was officially the first attack ad of the political season in this cycle so there are probably more than a few politicos breathing a sigh of relief.  Second, the ad misses the mark on a couple of points.  In terms of production, the voice-over is of a low tonal register which could present problems for those watching who are moderately hearing impaired.  Secondly, the TARP bailout discussion is getting old and so far, voters are willing to overlook the issue because Mary did in fact vote against the second bailout.  It may appear to some viewers that Brogdon is being less than genuine.  Third, the last :10 of the ad, there is only one mention of Senator Brogdon.  There should have been something that underscores why he believes he is a legitimate contrast to Congresswoman Fallin.

Again, hat-tip to Mike McCarville.

AZ Governor to Endorse Fallin

Candidate for Governor and U.S. Congresswoman Mary Fallin has announced that today, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer will be endorsing Fallin.

From the release:

"I've known Mary for a long time and I know her to be a tireless public servant, a strong leader and a good conservative. I worked with her while she was lieutenant governor, and there was never any doubt in my mind that she was ready to take the reins in Oklahoma and move that state forward.

"I have also appreciated Mary's strong, principled stance on immigration. At a time when many have been willing to attack the common sense, rule-of-law reforms we've put into place, Mary has stood with the people of Arizona and defended our right to enforce our laws and protect our citizens. I'm pleased to announce my support of Mary Fallin in her campaign to lead Oklahoma, and I look forward to seeing another strong conservative governor in office."

The Randy Brogdon campaign will certainly be following up with press releases to discredit this endorsement.

Brogdon Supporter: Never underestimate the power of grassroots.

That was the Facebook status of a key player in the Brogdon campaign's efforts in Central Oklahoma and based on the straw poll results, she's right. 

Brogdon has won virtually every single straw poll he has been a part of, and it is directly related to his ability to mobilize his boots on the ground and get them to the various state party events.  At the State GOP meeting held last week, Brogdon beat out Congresswoman Mary Fallin on her own turf and it sent some shockwaves through the crowd.

While it is true that SoonerPoll has Fallin up by 50 points in statewide polling, the supporter is correct - never underestimate the power of grassroots.

Grassroots operations will play a key role in virtually every race this GOP primary.  In the 5th District, for example, Mike Thompson's grassroots operation has already been hitting the streets, quietly gathering support and now, his campaign supporters await his launch on television.  Lankford too has an enormous grassroots operation that has the inside track to most of the Baptist community in Central Oklahoma because of his job as a youth counselor at the uber-popular Falls Creek. 

Senate District 30 is another example of grassroots operations and in that district, if signs could vote, Matt Jackson would have the edge, though his opponent, Mayor Mick's Chief of Staff David Holt has a serious lead in the money race. 

Whether the grassroots operation for Brogdon will result in making up for the 50 point polling spread is yet to be seen, but this is the election year when anything is possible.