CAUCUS SYSTEM VS. PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY - BOTTOM LINE

– THIS SATURDAY’S STATE CHAIRMAN RACE
– CAUCUS SYSTEM VS. PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY - BOTTOM LINE
– CALLS NEEDED TO YOUR STATE REPRESENTATIVE & SENATOR
– ANNOUNCEMENT
– MEMBERSHIP

– THIS SATURDAY’S STATE CHAIRMAN RACE

The first item is why I will be supporting Cheryl Williams for
Republican State Chairman this Saturday and not Gary Jones. I know
there will be a lot of people who receive this e-mail that will
support Jones, and that is fine. In fact, should Gary win I believe it
is very important, in light of the liberal problems facing our state
and nation, that we all support the winner and work to make the
Republican party a more conservative and constitutional organization.

Before I express my problems with Jones, let me say I believe he has
done some things well as chairman. Since his election two years ago he
has done an adequate job of raising money for the party and I also
believe he has been wise in the strategic use of that money. He has
not been wasteful, but frugal with party revenues. Most of the time he
does a good job in communicating with the press or speaking on behalf
of the party in radio debates with Democrats. While Cheryl Williams
would have to prove herself as a fund raiser just like Gary had to do,
I believe she would be excellent at the other points I just mentioned.

With all that said I have some problems with Gary. Over the years when
various factions within the party vie for position or get into
squabbles with one another, I believe Gary has gotten involved, not as
a referee, but as one trying to affect the outcome of the conflict. I
believe this happened a few years back in the race for the
chairmanship of the Young Republicans (YRs). I would say the same
happened during the state convention last year when he tried to censor
a campaign piece for an alternative slate of candidates for delegates
to the national convention. Last week at OCPAC, when asked why he
tried to censor the information from the Liberty Values Coalition, he
admitted he was wrong in doing so. Politics is about numbers, power
and how power is used. I believe Cheryl will be inclusive of all
factions and let the numbers work as they should.

Cheryl Williams is in favor of the change to the caucus plan which
will be voted on this Saturday, Gary is not (more on the caucus item
in the next agenda item). Two years ago in the lead up to his
election, Gary was coming to almost every OCPAC meeting where he
sometimes talked positive about several versions of a caucus system,
but in the past two years has provided no leadership in an effort to
make the change.

I believe Cheryl is more conservative than Gary. Perhaps my biggest
problem with Gary is the pride he takes in recruiting many of the
candidates, especially from rural areas who are now in the
legislature. The problem is, they tend to be some of the most liberal
Republican lawmakers in the legislature. Some have asked, can a
conservative Republican candidate get elected in rural districts with
heavy Democrat majorities? My answer is just look at Representative
Dennis Johnson (R-Duncan, lifetime conservative score 78) and Senator
Anthony Sykes (R-Moore down to Duncan, lifetime score 90).

Last week Gary mentioned candidates he had recruited who are now
lawmakers. I checked their records and they have the following
lifetime scores, 53, 58, and a 59. Another one he recruited 4 years
ago for a special senate seat appeared to be so liberal during our
interview process, that none of us could figure why he was a
registered Republican. He barley lost, but had he won he might have
made Harry Coates (R-Seminole) to look like a conservative. If
candidates don’t come forth on their own in legislative races, I
believe Cheryl will only try to recruit conservative candidates.

– CAUCUS SYSTEM VS. PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY - THE BOTTOM LINE

While there are several reasons why I favor the caucus system over the
presidential primary, the overriding issue for me is to lessen the
influence of the casual, uninformed, minimally involved and easily
seduced Republican voter. While those types of voters would not be
excluded from participating in the caucus system either in person or
by absentee ballots, they would be less likely to put out the effort
to participate.

On the other hand, Republican voters who have studied history, the
principles undergirding our form of government, developed a
conservative ideology as well as tend to pay far more attention to
issues and the performance of elected officials, those will be the
more likely people to participate in a caucus system. I believe the
caucus system will in future elections facilitate Oklahoma Republicans
to chose the more conservative candidates for our presidential
nominees. It is simply a change in election method which gives
conservative activists more influence and reduces the influence of
people like my college student friend (true story) who registered as a
Republican simply because she thought elephants were more cute than
donkeys.

Fourth district Chairman Steve Fair from Duncan, a friend and
supporter of Gary Jones recently wrote an opinion column titled, WE’RE
DOING FINE, OKLAHOMA! CAUCUS NO!. In his article he took the various
pro caucus points found on the web-site www.CaucusOK.org and gave a
counter point to them. He pointed to the growth in Republican numbers
in the state legislature since we abandoned the caucus system (1984
was the last election cycle before we switched to the presidential
primary system).

Truth is, we actually lost Senate numbers in 1990 following the 1988
presidential primary. There is no doubt Republican numbers have grown
in the legislature in recent years, but I believe it is a stretch to
tie that to a change in how we chose our presidential candidates. In
recent years we have actually lost ground on state wide races such as
Governor, Lt. Governor and Labor Commissioner. Is that what Steve
means when he says we are doing fine Oklahoma?

If we stay on track, lets review just how well Oklahoma has done in
our selections for presidents nominees. Under the caucus system, in
1976 we choose Ronald Reagan, though he lost at the national
convention to the liberal Gerald Ford. In 1980 and 1984 we choose
Ronald Reagan who won the presidential race both times. The we
switched to the presidential primary and in 1988 we choose the liberal
George H. Bush who became president and in 4 years unraveled most of
the conservatism accomplished under Reagan. In 1992 we choose Bush
again and he lost to Clinton. In 96 we choose the liberal Bob Dole who
lost to Clinton. In 2000 and 2004 we chose the liberal George W. Bush
who, along with a bunch of liberal Republicans in Congress, delivered
unto America great socialist leaders like Harry Ried, Nancy Pelosi and
chief among them President Obama. By the way, under the primary
system, we also choose the liberal John McCain.

I really like Steve Fair, but if that is his definition of “we’re dong
fine, Oklahoma!” then I would hate to see the definition of what
“Oklahoma bad” would be. If Oklahoma would have had a caucus system
last year we would very likely have chosen Mike Huckabee as our
nominee who was certainly more conservative than McCain. Coming in
second would have likely been Ron Paul, far more conservative than
McCain.

Therefore, the delegates this Saturday will either chose for the
caucus system and move us toward conservatism or we will stay with the
primary system and the main stream liberal press and the big money
establishment will continue to influence who we chose for our
presidential nominees. They won’t be the conservatives.

CALLS NEEDED TO YOUR STATE REPRESENTATIVE & SENATOR

SB 483 is in the House as a live round, waiting to be brought up at
any time. This legislation is known among concerned conservatives as
the “direct electronic access” bill. If passed it would make the
Department of Public Safety at gateway agency for the distribution of
personal biometric information of unsuspecting citizens and is linked
to the controversial fusion center being developed in Oklahoma. This
bill must be defeated as it moves us further toward a global
surveillance society.

After revelations this week on talk radio as well as on the front page
of Wednesday’s issue of the Oklahoman, any movement towards a
surveillance society should send chills up and down your spine. The
news regarded homeland security pressuring local law enforcement to be
wary of people who are opposed to abortion, support the second
amendment, support state’s rights, the constitution and any other
number of conservative positions. Contact your state representative
and urge them to oppose SB 483. The house switchboard is (405)
521-2711.

HJR 1042, the legislation to allow Oklahomans to vote in November of
2010 to declare English as the official language (not the only
language) of Oklahoma is stuck in the Senate. Sources tell me some
Republicans are angry over efforts by the proponents of this effort.
Therefore, they may be turning this into a personality issue rather
than voting to allow the citizens to vote on this issue. Speaking of
tactics, I believe the opposition to this legislation is pulling out
all stops to defeat it. A source notified me the RIED report has
decided to assign a minus 20 score to any senator (not house members)
who votes for the measure and a plus 20 for any senator who votes
against the measure.

As I have said many times in the past, I believe RIED is little more
than a schill for the state chamber of commerce and their scorecard is
arbitrary, capricious and not worth the time it takes to look at it.
Please call you personal Senator and ask them to vote for this measure
so WE THE PEOPLE can debate the issue and then vote on it in 2010. The
senate switch board is (405) 524-0126 or 1 800 865-6490.

– ANNOUNCEMENT

This Sunday evening 6:00 p.m. April 19,th The First Baptist Church in
Moore, I believe it is I-35 and 15th street, will feature the World
Premiere made-for-television event - DARWIN’S LIFE & LEGACY. This is
presented by the Creation Truth Foundation and will put the theory of
evolution under the microscope to determine if it can stand up under
scrutiny? Everyone is welcome and there is no charge to attend.

– MEMBERSHIP

As of April 15th we had 142 dues paying members, just 12 short of
exceeding our all time high of 153 in a non election year. While I
appreciate every member at every level, I am very appreciative at the
largest number of people ever having us draft their checking accounts
for higher level memberships or simply writing checks for those
memberships. If you have not joined as yet, please do so, at any
level. Your support really makes a difference. Instructions for
membership follow my sign off.

I look forward to seeing folks at the convention this Saturday.

Charlie Meadows
charliemeadows7@gmail.com