ELECTION OUTCOMES FOR CANDIDATES

– THE AGENDA FOR WEDNESDAY’S MEETING
– ELECTION OUTCOMES FOR CANDIDATES SUPPORTED BY OCPAC – Are those behind Randy Terrill & Mike Reynolds opponents, supporting Steve Russell?
– INFORMATION AND POLL QUESTION ON THE OCPAC BLOG – OCPAC MEMBERSHIP UPDATE

– THE AGENDA FOR WEDNESDAY’S MEETING
The primary business of this week’s meeting will be some discussion and then we will vote to determine which senate candidates we will support for the general elections in November. In addition, we will have Preston Williams speak to us briefly about a recent project with which he has been involved. Mr. Williams is the Oklahoma State Director of that branch of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps affiliated with Chris Simcox.

– ELECTION OUTCOMES FOR CANDIDATES SUPPORTED BY OCPAC The members of OCPAC had contributed to or endorsed 8 candidates going into the primary elections. Four of those candidates won their elections and three lost with one going to a primary run-off which will be held on August 26th. The run-off race will be between Kyle Loveless, endorsed by OCPAC, and Steve Russell who had the largest number of votes in the primary. I will address this run-off race under the next subject. As a couple of points of interest, OCPAC Vice Chairman Richard Engle is headed for a run-off in the Canadian County Commissioner race. In a race with 5 candidates, Richard was just a couple points behind the candidate in the lead. One other race of interest, was the county commissioner race in Tulsa County between Commissioner Randi Miller and challenger Sally Bell. Bell, campaigning on an absolute promise to oppose any new taxes received 82% of the vote to Miller’s paltry 18%. In the weeks to come I will focus on other run-off races but in this e-mail it will be the Senate District 45 seat between Kyle Loveless and Steve Russell.

– Are those behind Randy Terrill & Mike Reynold’s opponents, supporting Steve Russell?
I want to challenge the readers and especially the supporters of Steve Russell to hear me out and avoid a typical knee jerk reaction to what I am about to say. This is not an attack on Steve Russell. What I am about to say are serious questions for which I don’t have an answer.

For your information, I had Lt. Col Russell come to OCPAC about a year and a half ago and speak about his service to our country, especially relating to his efforts to capture Saddam Hussein. I believe Russell is a patriotic war hero who served our country with honor and distinction. He received a standing ovation from our members after his presentation, though some of our members have had serious problems with the war in Iraq from the beginning. As much as he deserves honor for his service to our county, he is making a major career shift. He has left the military and is now seeking political office as a civilian. In that effort he brings with him leadership qualities. But after that, there are big questions that need to be answered.

Steve Russell informed me he couldn’t appear before the members of OCPAC the day before his scheduled appearance on June25th. He did not fill out our survey and send to us or appear to answer questions from our members and friends. Therefore he wasn’t eligible to receive our endorsement, which went to Kyle Loveless. Shortly after we endorsed Kyle and gave him a $2,000 contribution, Steve Russell had a flood of contributions come in.

He received a $5,000 contribution (the maximum allowed by law) from Aubry McClendon, CEO of Chesapeake Energy and one of the owners of the Sonics. He received another $5,000 from the Chesapeake PAC. Larry Nichols of Devon Energy gave him $5,000 and so did the Devon PAC. He also received $5,000 from Greg Love’s PAC of the Love’s Travel stations. In addition he received another $5,000 contribution from a PAC associated with Clay Bennent, a son in law of the recently deceased Mr. Gaylord, of the Oklahoman. In addition, Mr. Bennent is the point man among the 5 millionaires and billionaires who own the Sonics. In cases such as Greg Love’s PAC, you will find some of these other people I have mentioned contributing to his PAC and probably the others also.

I think you will find that some of these people were the same ones trying to defeat Randy Terrill and Mike Reynolds. Some of these people are dead set against at least parts of HB1804, legislation passed in 07 to deal with the abuses associated with the invasion of illegal aliens. If you look hard enough, you will also find that some of these same people are also those who were against the Taxpayers Bill of Rights (TABOR) petition as well as being opposed to the petition to eliminate eminent domain loopholes which was intended to stop government from abusing private property owners for the benefit of other “politically well connected” private citizens or corporations. In addition, Mr. McClendon is an honorary chairman of the election effort of Democrat Jim Roth, the homosexual appointed by Governor Brad Henry to the Corporation Commission.

Not to paint them with too broad of a brush as they are sometimes on the right side of issues; however, by and large, I believe they are corporate welfare junkies. I believe they view lawmakers as people they can influence with their big money so that government can be used as a means to greater wealth or to accomplish their pet projects largely on the backs of the taxpayers.

So my question is why did they pick Steve Russell? Why did they decide to fill his campaign coffers with their wads of money? I can understand them not picking Jerry Foshee, a trial lawyer, but why Russell rather than Loveless, who was polling in the lead before their money made a difference. Do they think Russell will be more likely to support their lust for corporate welfare? Did they decide they would have more success controlling Russell than Kyle Loveless?

Let me say I am not trying to paint a picture of Steve Russell as someone who would become a lackey or a puppet on a string of the rich and powerful, checking with them before every vote he would cast as a Senator. However, I will say if Russell hasn’t developed a conservative ideology by which to measure issues and votes, then when faced with the desires of the rich and powerful, as expressed through armies of lobbyists, he may never know when he is being manipulated to do their bidding. I had a lawmaker call me on his own during this past session to profusely apologize for caving on a key vote regarding corporate welfare. He said he just buckled under the pressure on the issue.

Truth is Russell has never been grilled on the principles of good government. That is what our interview process is designed to do. He is pro-life as we are but that important issue is only 10% of the tough issues he will face. Does he believe in corporate welfare which is immoral and a violation of God’s 8th commandment? I don’t know and his supporters probably don’t either. Therefore, why take a chance? Kyle Loveless has developed a conservative ideology and understands the principles of a republican form of government. Does Russell?

If Russell wins he may become a fine lawmaker, but I believe there will be enormous pressure on him to “go along to get along” with the power brokers who control parts of the government of Oklahoma. Check out the OCPAC Blog at www.ocpac.info and link on to Mike McCarvile’s blog to read an article from the Tulsa World about Oklahoma’s corporate giants losing in the primaries (regarding Terrill’s and Reynold’s races). Then realize, they may win in the Senate district 45 race if Russell wins.

Let me say on final thing regarding these rich and powerful people. I never want to be guilty of promoting class envy. I don’t care how rich people become if they inherit or earn their wealth through fair competition and through moral enterprises. I can’t remember the exact quote sometimes attributed to Abraham Lincoln. To paraphrase it, the gist goes something like this: Some people through superior talents or energies and ambitions will naturally produce more wealth than others. However, with that said it would be immoral to also give them advantages through the powers of government! I don’t think I would be opposed to a thing these men are accomplishing if they accomplish it through fair market capitalism and without the socialistic re-distribution of wealth.

– INFORMATION AND POLL QUESTION ON THE OCPAC BLOG The OEA announced a petition drive to constitutionally force the state of Oklahoma (taxpayers) to pump even more hard earned tax dollars down the dark hole of government education. If successful, their efforts will require massive tax increases or cuts in spending in other government services to provide the new revenues the OEA wants. Please log on to the OCPAC blog www.ocpac.info and click on the link to the Americans For Prosperities’ (AFP) website to read their excellent response to the proposal by the OEA. Also, the poll question of the week will seek your opinion as to whether or not Steve Russell will do the bidding of the powerful elites if he wins the election on August 26th? Please vote your opinion. There is also an opinion section if you want to express yourself further.

– IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS

TULSA AREA: Tuesday evening August 5th at 6:45 p.m., the members of Oklahomans For Sovereignty and Free Enterprise (OK-SAFE) will hold their monthly meeting. The speaker this month will Amanda Teegarden. Amanda was one of 31 speakers at the Freedom 21 conference which just wrapped up in the Dallas area about a week and a half ago. Amanda will give an overview on the wealth of information she gleaned from the conference. You won’t want to miss this meeting.

OKC AREA: Senator Tom Coburn will hold a town hall meeting Tuesday morning beginning at 10:00 a.m. in the Council Chamber of the city of Bethany, 6700 Northwest 36th street. I hope someone will attend to thank him for outmaneuvering Senator “Dirty” Harry Reid (D-Nev) as Senator Coburn is credited with saving the American taxpayers $40 billion in earmarks. Then after you thank him for that, please ask him why he voted to spend $50 billion in the equivalent of earmarks to wage a global war on AIDS? Ask him where he finds the Constitutional authority for such spending? Ask him if he is “really” concerned about the growing debt, we, as well as our kids and grand kids are having to shoulder? I would love to go but must be working out of town on Tuesday.

– OCPAC MEMBERSHIP UPDATE

This past Wednesday we were just $20 short of raising $2,000 to take advantage of our full $2,000 matching membership challenge. We had 2 join which put us over the top. We have also had some new folks sign up to have us draft their checking accounts for either $15 or $30 each month which makes them members of either the Elephant Provider level of membership or the Elephant Provider and RINO Hunter level of membership. We are now at 187 dues paying members, just 3 memberships short of our all time record of 190 reached in 2006.

I want to break that record to continue growing in memberships as well as the number of people on our e-mail list. If you have not joined as yet, please consider doing so. None of the officers or volunteers at OCPAC receive any money for their efforts. Contributing to OCPAC is the most effective way you can give to advance conservatism in the state of Oklahoma. Instructions on how to join will follow my sign off. Thanks a bunch to everyone who has supported this organization.

I look forward to seeing everyone this Wednesday.

Charlie Meadows
charliemeadows@peoplepc.com