the pro-life “Personhood” bill

I wrestled with sending out this extra e-mail this week and have
decided to do a version with limited information, for a variety of
reasons. If you are alert to what is going on at the Capitol, you know
the pro-life “Personhood” bill has become quite controversial. As
such, the Republican caucus is deeply divided between pro-life
Republicans with deeply held convictions, pragmatic Republicans who
wish the life issue didn’t exist and the middle ground Republicans who
are mostly pro-life, but with them it is a preference, not a deeply
held conviction and as such they are quite willing to yield to the
“will of the caucus”. This last group I have defined is going to put a
bunch of panties in a wad, but so be it!

Also in the mix, in my opinion, is the quite influence of the State
Chamber of  Commerce, which I believe hates for these social issues to
get attention. In their eyes, they fear such attention might make
Oklahoma look like a state filled with backward religious hicks in the
eyes of the progressives in NYC, Boston, Chicago and San Francisco.
Gee, we sure wouldn’t want to look offensive to the liberal wine,
cheese, and artsy fartsy crowd in those places who just might want to
move to Oklahoma sometime in the future.

Throw in two more factors, Speaker Kris Steele, in my opinion a
Christian socialist (I attached this label to him years ago, though he
is a really nice fellow) along with pressure from the organization,
Oklahoman’s For Life and the rising awareness of the conservative
Protestant and Catholic communities, and we have the environment for
the most emotional issue of the year.

With this emotional environment, I went fishing for information and
there are plenty of lawmakers willing to at least confirm some of what
has gone on in the closed door caucus meetings. Rather than allow SB
1433 to go to a vote on the floor of the House, leadership’s whips
polled the members of the Republican caucus and found out that a
majority of the members didn’t want a recorded vote on this issue.

After the whips did the polling, on Monday, the members met behind
closed doors in a caucus meeting. Some of those opposed to SB 1433
expressed strong opposition to the measure. Of those expressing the
strongest opposition were Guy Liebman (R-NW OKC, Edmond & Deer Creek),
Fred Jordan (R-Jenks), Doug Cox (R-Grove), Pat Ownbey (R-Ardmore),
Steve Martin (R-Bartlesville), and Marty Quinn (R-Claremore). Then you
had Colby Schwartz (R-Yukon) upset with the robo-calls that were being
used to inform constituents. I also suspect Colby may have some
measure of opposition to this legislation because of his statement on
last Sunday morning’s dog and pony show he does on Chanel 9 with
Democrat Richard Morrissette. Colby and Richard both agreed that too
much time was being spent on this issue. May I suggest, if the issued
is allowed to go to a vote, then things will move on.

It is up to anyone reading this if they chose to contact any of these
lawmakers I have just mentioned. May I suggest for the future, looking
closely at their campaign promises when it comes to the life issue,
because I believe none of these I have mentioned have any deeply held
convictions about protecting unborn babies. If you do decide to
contact them, your cause is not furthered by using threats or acting
like that Biblical animal called an “ass”. I could go much deeper here
but I don’t want to expose my sources.

On Tuesday, the Oklahoman editorialized under the title: “Under cover:
Little transparency with bill’s demise”. In the editorial they stated
their support for greater accountability and transparency in
government which would have occurred had the legislature subjected
themselves to the Open Meetings Act. They expressed concern about the
PROCESS that determined the fate of the Personhood measure. One
paragraph expressed: “While it is common for caucus meetings, which
are private, to involve strategy and policy discussions as well as
internal votes on issues or leadership picks, it’s unusual for a
closed caucus to be made the forum for final action on a bill.” The
Oklahoman went on to say: “On tough issues in the past, a committee
chairman or legislative leader was the person who officially killed a
bill without a hearing”.

“While that action may not have been popular, it provided direct
accountability in the process, something that is lacking with the
personhood bill for supporters and opponents alike.”

“By shifting the blame to the ‘caucus’ every Republican lawmaker is
simultaneously responsible for killing the personhood bill and free to
proclaim support for it.” Folks, this is why I have named some of the
names of the opposition and may name more later on.

The Oklahoman closed their editorial with:  “We’re fans of Speaker
Kris Steele, and aren’t exactly upset that this bill got deep-
sixed.” (I believe the Oklahoman, is for the most part, the public
relations organ for the State Chamber and thus my belief that the
Chamber was against this legislation.) “But transparency and
accountability are crucial to maintain the legitimacy of the
legislative process. Passing the buck fails the test. Citizens should
demand more from lawmakers if they don’t want caucus meetings to
become an end-run around open government and public votes when other
tough issues arise.”

Cudo’s for the Oklahoman’s take on this issue.

It became apparent during Thursday’s session where House leadership is
on the issue. Several House members tried to use parliamentary
procedures to force a vote on the issue and it was clear, according to
my sources, that procedure didn’t make a bit of difference. Jeff
Hickman, sitting in the chair, was bound and determined not to allow
this measure to be heard. It has been described to me as, one of the
worst cases of abuse of power since the Republicans have been in
control.

Oh, by the way, has anyone seen Governor Fallin on this issue? I guess
this “pro-life” governor is just too busy trying to pressure
legislative members to fork over $40 million in new bond debt to
finish the boondoggle known as the American Indian Cultural Center.
She probably just doesn’t have the time to spend trying to save the
lives of unborn babies. Governor Fallin, its time to slither out from
under the rocks on this issue. Its time to make your position known.

Thanks for your time and attention.

Charlie Meadows
Charliemeadows7@gmail.com

Video of OCPAC Weekly Meeting 04-11-2012

THE DIFFERENCE, BIG GOVT. REPUBLICANS VS. DEMOCRATS?

++  AGENDA FOR THIS WEEK’S MEETING
++  OCPAC BY-LAWS & WHICH PRIMARY RACES WE CONSIDER
++  ANNOUNCEMENTS
++  THE DIFFERENCE, BIG GOVT. REPUBLICANS VS. DEMOCRATS?
++  ACTION ITEM


++  AGENDA FOR THIS WEEK’S MEETING

Our 12 noon luncheon for Wednesday, April 18th will be held at
Italiano’s restaurant, 4801 North Lincoln in OKC. Our speaker this
week will be nationally known author, speaker and former congressional
candidate from St. Louis, Bill Federer. Counting radio, TV and many
public speaking engagements, Bill speaks over 400 times per year. He
has authored around 15 books, his most famous being: AMERICA’S GOD AND
COUNTRY ENCYCLOPEDIA OF QUOTATIONS, which has sold over 750,000
copies. He has also produced an excellent DVD set on radical Islam and
has appeared on almost every TV and talk radio program in America.
Please arrive as early as possible and bring your seat belts. Bill
puts information out so fast it is like driving a car over a hundred
miles per hour or taking a drink out of a fire hydrant (get the
picture).

In addition, early in the program we will have a short debate and then
our dues paying members as of April 4th and present at the meeting,
will vote to determine, which of the 6 lawmakers qualifying for our
“Conservative Incumbent Protection Fund” will receive funds from our
treasury. We set aside 20% of everything we raise for this fund. It is
an incentive for lawmakers to govern conservatively as they must score
an 80 or above in the first year of the legislative session and then
draw an opponent to qualify to receive our support. Even at that high
standard, our members don’t always support some that qualify.

++  OCPAC BY-LAWS & WHICH PRIMARY RACES WE CONSIDER

Filing period ended last Friday afternoon at 5:00 p.m. Our by-laws
determine which Republican primary races in which we get involved and
the ones we don’t. We try to only get involved in what are considered
“safe Republican seats” knowing that the winner of the Republican
primary will most likely win in a general election. Therefore, the
primary winner is the most important part of the race and we want to
help find and support the most conservative candidates in those
primaries. Remember, the need in Oklahoma is not to have larger
Republican majorities in the legislature, but, better quality and more
conservative lawmakers.

Our by-laws determine a seat is “safe” as long as a Democrat candidate
has not received more than 38% of the vote during the most recent
Senate race or the 2 most recent House races. We will always get in a
Republican “only” primary race if it is an open seat (meaning no
incumbent is involved).

The only time we interview a Republican candidate challenging a
Republican incumbent, is when the Incumbent’s score on the Oklahoma
Constitution Newspaper’s most recent Conservative Index is a “63” or
lower. Even then, we consider if the challenger might be more
conservative than the liberal to moderate Republican Incumbent before
we support such a challenger.

With all that said, for the Republican PRIMARY races we will invite
one or more candidates to our interview process for 4 of the senate
seats, district #17 out of Shawnee, #33 out of Broken Arrow, #39 out
of Tulsa and #45 out of OKC and Mustang. Over in the house we will
invite the candidates for 10 of the house seats, district #25 out of
Ada, #26 out of Shawnee, #39 out of Edmond, #53 out of Moore, #60 out
of Yukon to Hinton, #70 out of Tulsa, #79 out of Tulsa, #82 out of NW
OKC & Edmond, #100 out of NW OKC and #101 out of Midwest City.

Though not all candidates will attend our interview process, 29 will
be invited and we need to get this done in 7 weeks, starting on
Wednesday, April 25th through no later than June 26th. It is important
not to take any longer, because the primary race is June 26th and we
must get any funds to candidates approved by our members to them as
soon as possible so they have the time to plan on how to best use
them. Our qualified dues paying members will be voting each Wednesday
to either support a particular candidate in each of the races or not
to make an endorsement. A qualified dues paying member is one who is
present at our meeting and has paid their dues at least 2 weeks prior
to that current Wednesday’s meeting.

After June 26th, we will try to have some of the candidates for county
offices and congressional candidates as speakers. We will probably
wait until after the primary but before the primary run-off election
to interview the final 2 candidates for the 2nd  District
Congressional race, assuming there is a run-off, which is likely.
Following all of this and our participation in creating the
Conservative Index for the Oklahoma Constitution Newspaper, we will
begin interviewing the Republican nominees for general election races
which will occur on November 6th. There are up to10 senate seats
contested and 16 house seats that will be contested. Most of these are
in the more rural parts of the state.

As you can see, we will be busy over the next 5 months with the main
business of OCPAC and that is interviewing candidates and helping the
best to get elected. Let me suggest, OCPAC is filling a niche, and
that is we have become the most significant funding source for limited
government conservatives, who aren’t in the pockets of the big
spending, big government special interest groups. Those groups that
circle around the Capitol passing out sugar dollars through their
lobbyists to all candidates or lawmakers they believe they can
influence.

With that in mind, I want to urge folks reading this e-mail to become
a dues paying member at this time if you have not already done so thus
far. I have just had one of our friends offer to match every new
membership through the end of April with a $50 contribution up to 20
memberships. To join, just follow the instructions at the end of this
e-mail. You can double your dollars by joining now.

++  ANNOUNCEMENTS

*  MONDAY EVENING  -  EDMOND AREA  -  Please remember, Brigitte
Gabriel will make her final appearance of which I am aware on Monday
evening April 15th at Fairview Baptist Church in Edmond. The meeting
begins at 7:00 p.m. (the church is located at 1230 North Sooner Road
in Edmond). I would advise arriving early, even thought it is a
Monday, the church only seats about 500 people and a good crowd is
expected. She has a riveting story and is well prepared to debate
radical Muslims and liberal leftist enablers as to the dangers of
radical Islam. This is an extremely important subject. If you
understand it, then grab a neighbor or friend and bring them to either
of these meetings so they can be informed.

*  TUESDAY EVENING  -  OKC AREA  -  The OKC metropolitan area chapter
of OK2A (Oklahoma 2nd Amendment) will have their monthly meeting this
Tuesday evening, 6:30 p.m. at H&H Gun Range which is located at 400 S.
Vermont, Suite 110. That is on the North side of I-40 and about 2
blocks East of Meridian Ave.

*  THURSDAY EVENING  -  TULSA AREA  -  The Tulsa metropolitan area
chapter of OK2A will have their monthly meeting at the 2A Shooting
Center which is located at 4616 East Admiral Place in Tulsa. The
meeting begins at 6:30 p.m.

*  THURSDAY EVENING  -  MOORE AREA  -  Our speaker this Wednesday,
Bill Federer, will address the Capitol Baptist Association and the
Union Baptist Association which are partnering to host Bill for this
important event. The location is the First Baptist Church of Moore,
located at 301 N.E. 27th street in Moore. The meeting begins at 6:00
p.m. and is free and open to the public. If you weren’t able to hear
Bill at our meeting or want to hear him again, this will be your
opportunity.

*  SATURDAY EVENING  -  OKC  -  The statewide chapters of the John
Birch Society will host the 2nd semi-annual Patriot Celebration and
awards Banquet (business attire recommended) at The Character Inn, 520
West Main Street in downtown OKC. There is free parking on the South
side of the Inn or across the street to the West in the parking lot
enclosed by an Iron fence. The banquet begins at 6:00 p.m. and costs
$15 per person or $10 for students. Glen Howard will MC the event,
with area coordinator Mike Sawyer speaking on the national activities
of the Birch Society. I will be talking about grass-roots activism,
what it is, how to do it and what it accomplishes. With all that said,
reservations must be made by no later than Monday evening April 16th.
For reservations contact Bob Donohoo at (405) 436-5412. You do not
have to be a member of the Society to attend, visitors are welcome.
This will be a fun and memorable evening.

++  THE DIFFERENCE, BIG GOVT. REPUBLICANS VS. DEMOCRATS?

At the OCPA banquet this past Wednesday evening I was visiting with
some folks, disappointed by the performance of the Republican
controlled legislature so far this year. When it comes to taxes, fees,
borrowing and spending for government, I suggested an understanding of
the difference between big government, big spending Republicans and
Liberal Democrats. Let me know what you think about this definition as
it seemed to really strike a cord with those at the banquet.

Liberal Democrats are quite willing to increase taxes, increase fees,
and borrow huge sums of money to fund big government. On the other
hand, Republicans don’t like to raise taxes, but they are willing to
raise fees and quite happy to borrow money to fund big government.
They talk big about cutting taxes, but significant cuts aren’t likely
to occur because they don’t seem to have the courage or ability to
think outside of the box when it comes to de-funding the improper and/
or non-core functions of government.

The current leadership and majority of Republicans in the legislature
are proving to be inept at prioritizing government spending, thus they
are likely to continue to fund big government as we are poised to
create new bonded indebtedness to the tune of approximately $300
MILLION dollars!

Perhaps 200 MILLION or so borrowed dollars to perform needed
maintenance on the Capitol and other government owned buildings. It
looks like momentum is gaining at the Capitol toward borrowing $40
MILLION dollars to complete the Indian Heritage and Cultural Center in
OKC. Then there is the slick shell game (now you see it, now you
don’t) by Senator Clark Jolley (R-Edmond) to borrow $42 MILLION
dollars to fund the new Medical Examiners office on the campus of UCO
in Edmond. Then the legislature will have to come up with the money to
pay the rent to the university on the new building paid for by
borrowed money.

Governor Fallin is proving to be inept at putting pressure on the
members of the legislature to make the necessary cuts to make her tax
reduction and eventual elimination plan have substance. Without more
effort on her part, her plan is not likely to be anything other than a
pie in the sky dream, blue smoke and mirrors.

Let me suggest a couple of ideas to think outside of the box on these
issues. In a recent article in the Oklahoman about the Indian Cultural
Center, former State Senator and former Chief of the Seminole Tribe,
Kelley Haney, complained that the tribes never get to tell their story
from their perspective and this cultural center would also not
accomplish that effort. Reading between the lines, that means the
white man can’t present Indian issues the correct way.

Therefore, why not let the 39 federally recognized tribes step up to
the plate and form a corporate consortium to fund the final cost of
the Indian Cultural Center. It would cost each tribe just a little
over $2 million dollars each, just a drop in the bucket for most of
the gambling revenue rich tribes. That way each of the tribes could
have a place in the Cultural Center to tell their story the way they
want and they could use each area to point visitors to the unique
points of interest in the areas of the state that were their tribal
lands. In exchange, the center would no longer be state owned, but
owned by the corporate tribal consortium.

However, I would not stop there. I would offer a law to let the
corporate consortium build a casino/hotel and conference center on the
grounds, next to the Cultural Center, if the tribes would pay the
state back the $67 MILLION or so we have already invested in the
Cultural Center. The tribes would have to agree not to put the land in
trust, but rather operate the casino through a corporation like the
Chickasaw Tribe agreed to do when they acquired Remington Park. The
tribes could have this lucrative location for a casino to reap the
profits to pay back their investment, tell their story the way they
want and all additional profits could go to each tribe.

The state could then pay back the $25 MILLION dollars it has already
borrowed to build the Cultural Center and then use the remaining $42
MILLION dollars to fund the new Medical Examiners Office.

To continue, last year we put over $200 MILLION in the state’s rainy
day fund and we will probably put another large chunk in the fund this
year. Let me ask this pointed question of any reader of this e-mail.
If you created a column in your personal budget for a rainy day or
emergency and had the funds in the bank, would you spend the money set
aside for that purpose to take care of an emergency or would you go
out and BORROW the money for the emergency so you could leave your
emergency money in the bank?

I hope you would not do the latter as it would be so foolish. In
addition, it will take some time, probably several years to make the
necessary repairs to the Capitol and other buildings, so the emergency
fund wouldn’t have to be completely drained, assuming new revenues
will probably be flowing into the fund over the next few
years.

Then 2 more ideas, Representative T.W. Shannon (R-Lawton) is
successfully pushing through legislation to accurately document all
the properties owned by the state, approximately 9,000 with perhaps as
many as 4,500 with buildings on them. He is suggesting we prioritize
them for usefulness and need, then sell off, at least initially, the
bottom 5% of the properties. He then wants to use the proceeds to
repair and maintain the higher priority properties such as the Capitol
or the leaky roof at the Corporation Commission.

Secondly, State Auditor Gary Jones recently released a scathing report
about the irresponsible lack of a plan and discipline to budget for
repairs for state owned properties. The nearly 90 years of Democrat
control at the legislature leaves quite a legacy of irresponsible
governance. The Republicans are making some improvements, but they
lack vision, ideas and have need for better leadership.

Rather than jump off and borrow a quarter of a BILLION dollars or
more, we need to have some patience, develop a plan and work toward
it. In 2 or 3 years these critical maintenance problems could be
solved, we could reduce our state debt and then we could give state
employees needed raises. We could do all this and at the same time
reduce our state income and corporate taxes. It is doable, the only
question is whether or not the current bunch of Republican lawmakers
have the will and discipline to get the job done.

++  ACTION ITEM

*  MONDAY OR TUESDAY  -  Please call your state senator AND state
representative to ask them to stop increasing the state’s bonded
indebtedness. Tell them you want to fix the Capitol and build the new
Medical Examiners office through a better prioritization of spending
and the use of the rainy day fund rather than borrowing more money.
Tell them that under NO circumstances do you want them to borrow more
money to finish the Indian Cultural Center. Tell them you want the
state out of the deal and to find a way to sell it to the tribes or
the city of OKC, the real beneficiary of the Cultural Center.

 *  Make sure you are on the e-mail distribution lists for ROPE
(Reform Oklahoma Public Education), OK2A (Oklahoma 2nd Amendment), OK-
SAFE (Oklahomans for Sovereignty And Free Enterprise) as well as OCPA
(Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs) as they all have excellent
information and action items to make Oklahoma a better state. I don’t
always have the time to publish their projects. I know we are asking
for a lot of action, but this is the time of the year when it counts,
especially in an election year.

Please remember, our meetings are now on you tube. They are archived
and you can access them at http://www.youtube.com/user/ocpacvideo.
This Wednesday with Bill Federer will be the last meeting we will
record for a while as we will not record our candidate interview
meetings.

Thanks for your time and attention and I look forward to seeing
everyone this Wednesday. To join OCPAC, follow the instructions below.

Charlie Meadows
Charliemeadows7@gmail.com

Video of the 4-4-12 meeting Greg Gunn speaker from Family-iD.com

Greg's part starts at about 14 minutes.

You can buy Greg's book "Family-iD --- Intentional Direction" by clicking HERE.

ANDERSON, BRANAN, FIELDS & NEWBERRY, Good with Sharia Law in OK!

++  AGENDA FOR THIS WEEK’S MEETING
++  ANDERSON, BRANAN, FIELDS & NEWBERRY, Good with Sharia Law in OK!
++  ANNOUNCEMENTS
++  LAST FRIDAY’S DEBATE, SHALL WE CONVENE A CON-CON?
++  TIDBITS

++  AGENDA FOR THIS WEEK’S MEETING

Our 12 noon luncheon for Wednesday, April 11th will be held at
Italiano’s restaurant, 4801 North Lincoln in OKC. I have been trying
for some time now to acquire a special speaker for this Wednesday and
if I am successful, the speaker will be one of the highest profile
people we have ever had at OCPAC. If I knew for sure the person would
be able to make it to our meeting, I would be billing this person as a
mystery speaker for reasons I can’t divulge. If this person is not
able to make it to our meeting, we will show a new 16 minute DVD,
which exposes the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) as a radical
leftist group, going far beyond whatever good they do for law
enforcement in America. I will also give a report about a recent law
enforcement seminar I attended to determine how much influence the
SPLC has with Oklahoma’s law enforcement organizations and if they
were being influenced to become suspicious of law abiding
constitutionalists, who have valid grievances with the federal
government. I will point out the difference between law abiding
citizens vs. others (those in the Sovereign Citizen movement) with
similar grievances, but have decided to work outside of the system to
achieve whatever results they are after. I will also talk about the
John Birch Society’s ramped up efforts educate citizens about the
importance of supporting your local police and why they must be kept
independent. I hope we have our mystery speaker, but if not this
information will be very important.

One more thing, the People’s World, official organ of the CPUSA
(Communist Party USA), published an article on Monday titled: Amid
racism and shootings, labor fights back, by Justin Shepherd. I can
only speculate that Justin may have taken a little too much LSD before
writing the article as his creative juices appear to come from planet
Mongo. Typical of the intellectually dishonest on the left, OCPAC, The
John Birch Society, the tea party members, Ron Paul supporters and
others are mentioned in the same breath with the KKK, kind of
associated with the shooting of the black folks in Tulsa and are
accused of “stacking meetings” of Occupy in Oklahoma with ‘our’
people. For you amusement or perhaps amazement, I will have a copy of
the article at the meeting. I believe we are on their radar screen
because we are now posting our meetings online. All of our meetings
are achieved at: http://www.youtube.com/user/ocpacvideo.

++  ANDERSON, BRANAN, FIELDS & NEWBERRY, Good with Sharia Law in OK!

This past Thursday, on a 6 to 9 vote, members of the Senate Rules
Committee voted down HB 1552, the legislation to take the place of
State Question 755, the constitutional amendment to prevent the use of
Sharia or Foreign law in our court system. In a statewide vote of the
people in 2010, that issue had the support of 70% of the people, but
was tied up in federal courts and struck down in Denver because the
term “Sharia Law” was used in the State Question.

Therefore, State Representative Sally Kern authored H.B 1552 to remove
the term “Sharia Law” and simply replace it with the term “foreign
law”. This legislation passed in the House on a bi-partisan vote of 76
to 3 in 2011, but wasn’t heard in the Senate until last Thursday.

People understanding this issue realize this was one of the most
important votes that will be cast by a lawmakers in their lifetime,
regardless if they serve one term or until they are term limited out
of office. Republicans voting against the bill, were: Patrick Anderson
(R-Enid 405 521-5630, up for re-election this year), Cliff Branan (R-
Nichols Hills to Bethany, 405 521-5543, in his final term), Eddie
Fields (R-Wynona, 405 521-5581, re-election in 2014) and Dan Newberry
(R-Tulsa 405 521-5600, up for re-election this year). Also voting
against the bill were 2 Democrats up for re-election this year, Earl
Garrison (D-Muskogee) and Jerry Ellis (D-Valliant).

Just as important were the 2 Republican Senators who missed this vital
vote, Mike Mazzei (R-Tulsa, 405 521-5675, up for re-election this
year) and Clark Jolley (R-Edmond, 405 521-5622 up for re-election this
year. Please call and ask these Republicans why they voted against the
bill or in the case of Mazzei and Jolley, ask them why they missed
this important vote?

I don’t know about Mazzei, but Jolley is being challenged in a heated
Republican primary race by Paul Blair, pastor of Fairview Baptist
Church in Edmond. Sources at the Capitol tell me the State Chamber of
Commerce is against this bill and in my opinion, Senator Jolley is
quite happy to do the bidding of the State Chamber. Yet he would not
want to vote against this bill since he is in a tough primary race and
70% of state voters want to be protected from Sharia Law or other
foreign laws from being used in Oklahoma’s courts.

Therefore, Jolley might be quite happy to hide in a Capitol broom
closet during this controversial vote and hope no one notices? Please
make your calls to these lawmakers and ask them why? Voting for the
legislation were Josh Brecheen (R-Coalgate), John Ford (R-
Bartlesville), David Holt (R-NW OKC), Anthony Sykes (R-Moore),
Jonathan Nichols (R-Norman) and Rob Johnson (R-Kingfisher), these
Senators deserve our thanks.

++  ANNOUNCEMENTS

*  TUESDAY EVENING  -  ADA AREA  -  The Ada-Seminole Tea Party will
hold their monthly meeting tonight, April 10th at the Ada Chamber of
Commerce meeting room, 209 West Main street, 6:30 p.m. Speaking will
be 2nd District Congressional candidates George Faught and Markwayne
Mullins.

*  THURSDAY EVENING  -  ADA AREA  -  OK2A (Oklahoma 2nd Amendment)
will hold their monthly meeting, 6:30 p.m. at JD’s Café (911 North
Broadway) in Ada. The program will include Casey Wehrenberg with
Students for Concealed Carry on Campus. This is so important to
understand as we just had another killing field occur on the campus of
a private college in California last week. Seven were killed and
others wounded as they were simply like sitting ducks in a fish bowl.
Had some professors or students with concealed carry permits been
allowed to carry on campus, the perp could have been stopped without
committing as much death and destruction as was accomplished.

*  THURSDAY EVENING  -  STILLWATER AREA  -  The Stillwater chapter of
OK2A will hold their monthly meeting this Thursday evening 7:00 p.m.
at Mexico Joe’s, 311 East Hall of Fame, in Stillwater.

*  FRIDAY  -  CENTRAL OKLAHOMA  -  The state chapters of the John
Birch Society will hold their second semi-annual recognition banquet
one week from Saturday. However, the deadline for reservations is this
Friday at 5:00 p.m. JBS Field Coordinator Mike Sawyer will share some
of the successes of the Birch Society on national issues. I have been
asked to talk about activism, what it is, what it is not, how to be
effective and what it produces. The cost is $15 per person, with the
banquet beginning at 6:00 p.m. The location will be the Character Inn,
524 West Main, in downtown OKC. For reservations please call (405)
348-9991 or make a check out to OKLAHOMA PROJECTS and mail it to 415
West 15th Street #2, Edmond, Ok 73013. If you need other information,
please contact Bob Donohoo at (405) 436-5412.

*  SUNDAY EVENING  -  YUKON AREA  -  Brigitte Gabriel, founder of Act
For America, the largest grass-roots citizen action network dedicated
to preserving national security and combating Islamic supremacy, will
be speaking at Trinity Baptist Church (620 N. Cemetery Road) in Yukon.
That is this coming Sunday evening, April 15 at 7:00 p.m.. Brigitte’s
family were Lebanese Christians hiding in their homeland for 7 years
while hunted by radical Muslims. She is a very powerful voice exposing
the many facets of the threat from the radical Muslims in our own
nation. If at all possible, you should not miss hearing from this
courageous lady.

*  NEXT MONDAY EVENING  -  EDMOND AREA  -  Brigitte will also speak
Monday evening April 16th at Fairview Baptist Church (1230 North
Sooner Road), starting at 7:00 p.m.. Brigitte has authored 2 New York
Times best sellers, BECAUSE THEY HATE and THEY MUST BE STOPPED. Based
on the pitiful vote in the Senate last Thursday, not nearly enough
Oklahomans and especially their elected officials understand the
seriousness of this issue.

++  LAST FRIDAY’S DEBATE, SHALL WE CONVENE A CON-CON?

This past Friday, Senator Steve Russell and I debated at the High Noon
Club on the merits of calling for a federal constitutional convention.
I only bring it up because it is an important issue that isn’t going
away, though it appears to be dead this session.

Bob Dani, club founder told both Steve and I that several people,
perhaps as many as 8 or so had told him they believed this was the
best meeting ever for the High Noon Club. I believe what impressed
many was that two opposing sides could be passionately debated, it was
educational, a humorous word picture was painted and no one got mad at
each other. I would say that shows the level of maturity of those in
attendance.

Both Steve and I had a total of only 16 minutes and Ed Murray did a
great job of keeping us in line regarding the time. The issue is so
important that I wanted to go over some points in this e-mail. The
legislation authored by Senator Russell would call for Congress to
convene a constitutional convention for the purpose of amending our
Constitution to prevent Congress and the President from raising the
debt ceiling without at least 26 states voting to approve of such.

With my opposition to calling for a con-con, one of our friends
suggested that I was acting like a hypocritical elitist and opposing
state rights, something he has always heard me promote. I am not
opposed to such an amendment, what I oppose is the very dangerous
means to get to the amendment. In other words, the end does not
justify the means. Conceptually, the Amendment looks good, it likely
would NOT hurt anything and offers a level of Federalism, so missing
in our nation today.

However, this amendment, if passed, would be worthless in actuality
based on human nature and the deplorable condition of our nation’s
citizens of today. I will describe that condition as ignorant of the
principles of good government, ignorant of economics and free market
capitalism. Most professing Christians are unable to take Biblical
principles and translate them to good government policy and then we
have the very large dependent class, shamelessly acting like leaches
sucking the life blood out of the producers which are trying to keep
this nation afloat.

Such an amendment would be worthless in practice because you couldn’t
come close to finding 26 states that would say to the federal
government, you can’t raise the debt limit, and know that such an
action would turn the tap off to hundreds of millions of federal
dollars pouring into each of their states. It doesn’t appear that
Oklahoma lawmakers can even find the courage to say no to funding the
leftist OETA organization with 3 to 4 million dollars each year, much
less say no to receiving hundreds of millions of federal dollars
coming to Oklahoma through all kinds of grants, subsidies, and kick-
backs.

I am not talking about not receiving back from the federal government
what the taxpayers of Oklahoma send to Washington such as taxes for
defense spending, money for roads and bridges, as well as social
security and Medicare dollars. I am talking about the 1.5 Trillion
borrowed or newly printed dollars which make up our annual deficit
spending, thus adding to our national debt.

With that said, the real essence of the debate centered on whether or
not a constitutional convention, if convened, could be limited to only
one issue? Senator Russell believes it can and I believe it can’t.

Let’s look at some important perspectives on that idea. Following our
war of Independence we were governed by the Articles of Confederation.
There were a few problems with the Articles, so a constitutional
convention was called in 1787 to solve just a few specific issues.
Once convened, the convention worked behind closed doors, threw out
the Articles and created the Constitution we have lived under since
that time.

In Article 5 of the Constitution, provision is made for 2/3rds of the
States to petition Congress to convene a con-con anytime it may be
deemed necessary. Though it would be Constitutional, another
convention has never been convened since the one back in 1787. Oh the
states have issued calls for a convention many times and for many
different issues, but there has never been the necessary 2/3rds of the
states call for a convention on the same issue.

Senator Russell kept referring to the many calls of the past as if
that meant something? What he didn’t mention is that about a fourth of
the states have voted to rescind all their past call for a con-con,
including Oklahoma. Perhaps he didn’t bring that up since Oklahoma
voted to rescind all our previous calls in 2009, and yes Senator
Russell voted to rescind all our previous calls.

So if calling for a con-con is constitutional, and is a tool for the
states to reign in a tyrannical federal government, God knows we have
that today, then why has it never been used? I believe we have to look
no farther than the words of James Madison, considered to be the
father of our Constitution. Following the convention of 1787, we went
through a grueling and rancorous debate in the states between the
Federalists and the Anti-Federalists. Ratification could have gone
either way and during that debate, some were calling for the
Constitution to be scrapped and to convene another convention and
start all over again. Therefore, Madison issued the following warning
about convening another con-con during rancorous times when he
said:

“If a General Convention were to take place for the avowed and sole
purpose of revising the Constitution, it would naturally consider
itself as having a greater latitude than the Congress… It would
consequently give greater agitation to the public mind; an election
into it would be courted by the most violent partisans on both sides…
[and] would no doubt contain individuals of insidious views, who,
under the mask of seeking alterations popular in some parts… might
have the dangerous opportunity of sapping the very foundations of the
fabric… Having witnessed the difficulties and dangers experienced by
the first Convention, which assembled under every propitious
circumstance, I should tremble for the result of a second, meeting in
the present temper in America.” [From a letter by James Madison to
G.L. Turberville, November 2, 1788.]

Madison warned us about calling for another convention, and many other
contemporary voices have warned us that once a convention is convened,
it CAN NOT be limited to one or more specific issues. Following are
some of those voices:

Former Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, Warren Burger wrote in
a letter to Phyllis Schlafly on June 22, 1988:  “I am glad to respond
to your inquiry about a proposed Article V Constitutional Convention.
I have been asked questions about this topic many times during my news
conferences and at college meetings since I became Chairman of the
Commission on the Bicentennial of the U.S. Constitution, and I have
repeatedly replied that such a convention would be a grand waste of
time.

I have also repeatedly given my opinion that there is no effective way
to limit or muzzle the actions of a Constitutional Convention. The
Convention could make its own rules  and set its own agenda. Congress
might try to limit the convention to one amendment or to one issue,
but there is no way to assure that the Convention would obey. After a
Convention is convened, it will be too late to stop the convention if
we don’t like its agenda. The meeting in 1787 ignored the limit placed
by the Confederation Congress ’for the sole and express purpose.’

….. A Constitutional Convention today would be a free-for-all for
special interest groups, television coverage, and press speculation.

Our 1787 Constitution was referred to by several of its authors as a
’miracle.’  Whatever gain might be hoped for from a new Constitutional
Convention could not be worth the risks involved. A new Convention
could plunge our Nation into constitutional confusion and
confrontation at every turn, with no assurance that focus would be on
the subjects needing attention. I have discouraged the idea of a
Constitutional Convention, and I am glad to see states rescinding
their previous resolutions requesting a Convention. In these
Bicentennial years, we should be celebrating its long life, not
challenging its very existence. Whatever may need repair on our
Constitution can be dealt with by specific amendments.”

The following is from Arthur Goldberg, a former Supreme Court Justice
and member of the advisory board of Citizens to Protect the
Constitution:

“As we look forward to celebrating the bicentennial of the
Constitution, a few people have asked, “Why not another constitutional
convention?”

 I would respond by saying that one of the most serious problems
Article V poses is a runaway convention. There is no enforceable
mechanism to prevent a convention from reporting out wholesale changes
to our Constitution and Bill of Rights. Moreover, the absence of any
mechanism to ensure representative selection of delegates could put a
runaway convention in the hands of single-issue groups whose self-
interest may be contrary to our national well-being.

A constitutional convention could lead to sharp confrontations between
Congress and the states. For example, Congress may frustrate the
states by treating some state convention applications as invalid, or
by insisting on particular parliamentary rules for a convention, or by
mandating a restricted convention agenda. If a convention did run
away, Congress might decline to forward to the states for ratification
those proposed amendments not within the convention’s original
mandate.

Ultimately, the courts would be called upon to decide these matters.
This raises unprecedented problems. If every disgruntled convention
delegate, member of Congress, state legislator or concerned citizen
could sue at any time, a convention could mire the federal and state
governments in a debilitating web of lawsuits….”

I also referenced a recent voice from the current Virginia Attorney
General Ken Cuccinelli, a national hero for winning the case that
persuaded a federal judge to declare ObamaCare unconstitutional. He
was also the attorney arguing before the Supreme Court a couple of
weeks ago on behalf of the plaintiffs on day 2 or 3 of the 3 day oral
arguments. On the steps of the state capitol in Richmond VA. On
January 17th of this year, when asked about a runaway con-con, he
said:  “Yes, it is true that once you assemble a convention that
states have called, they can do anything.”

I also offered many articles written by constitutional law professors,
both from the left such as Larry Tribe from Harvard to Charles Rice
from Notre Dame, all stating that a con-con can’t be limited once it
is convened. To argue otherwise is a bit of wishful thinking,
especially in view of such a body of witnesses and warnings.

In my 3 minutes to cross examination Senator Russell, I asked a series
of yes or no answers as to whether or not he was aware of the book:
THE EMERGING CONSTITUTION written by Rexford G. Tugwell (1974 by
Harper and Row) and his answer was no.

The reason for this line of questions is that about 20 years ago I
attended a seminar in Tulsa to listen to a Constitutional Law
Professor, by the name of Dr. John Eidsmoe, author of the book
CHRISTIANITY AND THE CONSTITUTION. Also speaking that day was a lady
from Tulsa that closely followed all the efforts sponsored by the Ford
and Rockefeller Foundations to create a new Constitution and have it
waiting in the wings should a con-con ever be convened. At that time
it was in its 32nd version.

I asked Senator Russell if he had ever heard of the CENTER FOR THE
STUDY OF DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTIONS, recently headed by socialist leaning
University of Denver Chancellor Maurice B. Mitchel? His answer was no.

This is the organization behind the 40th revision of the constitution,
which is called A CONSTITUTION OF THE NEW STATES OF AMERICA. I asked
Senator Russell if he had ever read this new version of the
constitution which is waiting in the wings, should a con-con ever be
convened. His answer was no.

I asked Senator Russell if he had ever considered that some of the
organizations pushing for a con-con may be taking advantage of the
good intentions of conservative organizations and lawmakers such as
himself? To his credit he did answer yes, it was a possibility.

Bottom line, the good guys in America are in a minority today, if we
ever convene a con-con, we are not likely to improve our lot through
such an effort. Rather than waste our time on such foolishness, we
must double down on Christian evangelism and teaching our fellow
citizens as to the superiority of the ideas of liberty and those of
our founding fathers. Our problem is not with our document, our
problem is that our citizens are NOT well educated about it and not
involved. If they were, we would have congressmen in Washington who
would abide by it and not overspend us into oblivion.

It is true that I pulled some antics during the debate to paint a
vivid word picture that would hopefully remain in the minds of those
in attendance. I did wear a coat and tie along with walking shorts. I
had on one brown sock and one white along with one black shoe and one
white. I pointed out that if a con-con were convened we might come out
with a hodgepodge and patch work looking something like the way I was
dressed. I also had a box labeled as Pandora’s Box and suggested a con-
con would be the equalivant of opening that box. I pulled out of the
box 2 jars of the rankest stink bait ever made to show how a con-con
could really stink things up. In addition I opened a can of worms,
dumped them on a plate and then tried to keep them from running away
off of the plate, to signify what a run-away convention might look
like. I also picked up several of the worms that I suggested had names
on them. Names like the elimination of the 2nd Amendment, the RIGHT to
health care from womb to the tomb and etc. My final antic was to
suggest calling a con-con would be like trusting the future of America
to a roll of dice. I rattled some dice and threw them down on the
table and hollered “snake eyes”.

To sum it up, even though most in Washington ignore the Constitution
or pervert it, there are elements in our nation that would still like
to eliminate its objectionable parts so conservative
constitutionalists such as ourselves will not even have such a
document to point to. Senator Russell is a good man and a real
patriot, I just believe he has been deceived on this issue and is
being used by people who aren’t patriotic.  We must stay vigilant on
this issue as it will not go away.

++  TIDBITS

*  TULSA AREA  -  Katie Henke, the Republican Candidate for House
District 71 in Tulsa is 3 votes behind as a result of last Tuesday‘s
special election, even after the 4 good provisional ballots were
counted. She has called for a recount using the paper ballots, which
will be the first recount since we have started to use our new voting
machines. It will be interesting to see if they are more accurate than
the old machines, which usually were a few votes off, when recounts
occurred using the paper ballots. Either way, I sure hope Mrs. Henke
will file for the seat this Wednesday through Friday as the outcome
this November is not likely to be nearly this close or in the favor of
the Democrat. This November, hordes of Oklahoma voters will go to the
polls to vote out President Obama and far more of them will vote down
line for the Republican candidates than will vote for Democrats. Katie
could win big time in November.

*  TIME TO FILE FOR OFFICE  -  STATEWIDE  -  This Wednesday through
Friday will be the time period for candidates to file for office to
run for the state legislature, congress, corporation commission or
several of the county offices. This filing period has been moved up
almost 2 months and the primary elections will be held on June 26th.
As such we will be interviewing Republican primary candidates starting
on Wednesday, April 25th. Candidates endorsed by the voting members of
OCPAC will have checks cut for them on that day. That is why it is
important to raise as much as possible now so we have an idea as to
how much money will be available during this election cycle.
Therefore, if you have considered joining OCPAC but have not done so
as yet, please consider doing so at this time. Instructions on how to
join follow my sign off.

I look forward to seeing everyone this Wednesday.

Charlie Meadows
Charliemeadows7@gmail.com

Video of March 28th Meeting

Just click HERE.

Video of March 21 OCPAC Meeting

Just click HERE.

FAMILY ID -- INTENTIONAL DIRECTION: DISCOVER YOUR FAMILIES UNIQUE PURPOSE AND PASSION

Our 12 noon luncheon for Wednesday, April 4th will be held at
Italiano’s restaurant, 4801 North Lincoln in OKC. Our speaker for this
Wednesday will be Mr. Greg Gunn, founder of Family Vision Ministries
and the author of FAMILY ID -- INTENTIONAL DIRECTION: DISCOVER YOUR
FAMILIES UNIQUE PURPOSE AND PASSION.  Greg formed the Family-ID
workshop as a class in his local church more than fifteen years ago.
It has now expanded into his full-time calling. Greg has taught all
over the Unites States and in countries around the world, sharing a
message of intentional purpose and passion for the families of this
generation and generations to come. I believe it was 2005 or 2006 that
the Gunn family won OCPAC’s Family of the Year Award. In the movie
Monumental this past Tuesday evening, two things really stood out.
First the importance of Character as a governance from within to be
able to have a society with a large amount of liberty. The other thing
that really stood out, was the importance of strong families. Have you
considered that members of strong families rarely cause an expense
toward government? Broken families are frequently a large drain on
society, strong families are the ones who actually pay the bill for
such trouble. Last week Tom Hill pointed out the vital importance of
good character for a free society and economy of production of wealth.
This week Greg Gunn will point out the importance of strong families
and how to achieve such a family. Greg will have some of his books
available for those interested in them.

++  CRITICAL ACTION ITEMS

*  It is urgent that you call one or more of the following Republican
lawmakers on Monday morning, especially if one of them is your
personal State Representative. Here is the issue, Sheriff John
Whetsel, a Democrat, knows there is some risk of losing his election
this year as long as it is a partisan election. If the election were
non partisan, his long time name ID would easily carry him to victory.
Therefore, he began almost a year ago to get the Sheriff elections in
Oklahoma changed from partisan to non-partisan political races.

The bill to accomplish that is SB 327 by Senator Rob Johnson (R-
Kingfisher) in the Senate and the House sponsor is Representative
Randy Grau (R-Edmond).

It is important to keep these races partisan as it is one of the few
things that tell something about the candidates. First off,
Republicans and Democrats often differ on their view of crime and
punishment. Political parties are organizations of free will
association. When people belong or run for an office from a particular
political party, it tells something about their character and
ideological philosophy of government. That is not to say that
sometimes people don’t line up well with the principles of the
political party in which they join. But it does tell some level of the
story about a person’s values and philosophies.

Now that the Democrat name brand has been seriously damaged in
Oklahoma, it is CERTAINLY NOT the time to change these races from
partisan to non partisan. I believe sheriff Jim Bauman in Logan county
is one of the best county sheriffs in Oklahoma. Had the race not been
partisan 3 years ago when he challenged a good old boy Democrat
incumbent sheriff, he would not be in office today. Again, with
Democrat registrations falling like a rock in the state (down to about
48%) and the Republican registrations rising (up to about 42% and
climbing), it is no time to make a change in how we elect our County
Sheriffs. Having more Republican candidates on the ballot is how you
build the party, especially in rural areas.

Last Thursday the vote in the House for SB 327 failed by only one
vote. It was held over for another vote this Monday. If you have a
Republican House member, please call that lawmaker and ask them to
vote against SB 327. The following Republicans voted for the measure
and they need to be contacted by everyone and politely asked to change
their vote on SB 327 to a “NAY”:  Jeff Hickman (R-Dacoma), Jason
Nelson (R-NW-OKC), Todd Russ (R-Cordell), Tom Newell (R-Seminole),
Dennis Casey (R-Morrison), Josh Cockroft (R-Tecumseh), Charles Ortega
(R-Altus), Pat Ownbey (R-Ardmore), Doug Cox (RINO-Grove), Guy Liebmann
(R-North OKC), David Dank (R-Nichols Hills and OKC), Todd Thomsen (R-
Ada), Mark McCullough (R-Sapulpa), George Faught (R-Muskogee), Randy
McDaniel (R-NW-OKC), Phil Richardson (R-Minco), Randy Grau (R-Edmond),
Dustin Roberts (R-Durant), Sean Roberts (R-Hominy), and Tommy Hardin
(R-Madill). If you don’t have their personal office number, just call
(405) 521-2711 and ask the House operator to connect you with the
lawmaker you want to leave a message with. Calling is the most
effective way to communicate with lawmakers or most likely you will be
leaving them a message.

I believe every Democrat in the House voted for this measure and that
ought to speak volumes to these misguided Republicans. Darrell Sorrels
is running for Sheriff in Oklahoma County and would make an excellent
Sheriff, if elected. His only chance is for it to be a partisan race.
This is really important issue, please make your calls early Monday
morning.

*  Please check the web-sites for OKSAFE, (Oklahomans for Sovereignty
and Free Enterprise), ROPE (Reform Oklahoma Public Education) and OK2A
(Oklahoma Second Amendment) for critical bills they are trying to get
passed or defeated. I urge folks to get on the e-mail alert lists from
these groups, their information will be timely, information I quite
often don’t have time to forward. Electing the right people to office
is critical for good government. However, until we have that majority
of good people in office (and we don’t at this time) it is a must that
we be involved and contact elected officials to have any chance at
good government.

++  ANNOUNCEMENTS

*  ALL DAY TUESDAY  -  SPECIAL ELECTIONS  -  The special election to
fill the Tulsa District 71 seat formerly held by Dan Sullivan will
have its final journey on Tuesday. Katie Henke is the Republican
candidate and was probably the best candidate in the field. Those
citizens in District 71 did well in their choice.

The other special election of our interest is Senate District 20 which
included all of Logan, Noble, Pawnee and most of Kingfisher counties.
In the primary race, Wayne Murphey, the more conservative candidate,
won in Logan County. However, the farming background, OSU alumni
status and being a teacher for 8 years (rural Oklahomans live and die
for their school systems) made AJ Griffin just too much to overcome in
the more rural counties. Therefore, Wayne came in a close second place
in the 4 person primary.

I had a nearly 3 hour dinner with AJ Griffin, where we both spoke
freely about many issues. She is an intelligent and hard working
person. If she will read, attend seminars and really dig for the
conservative perspective on issues, she has the potential to be an
excellent Senator. Time will tell, but we do not want to lose this
seat to a Democrat. I attended a forum with her opponent, the former
Mayor of Langston, and can attest that he is a typical liberal
Democrat. The Democrats would like nothing more than to score an
upset. If the students at Langston turn our and the Republican voters
go to sleep with a low turnout, we could lose this seat. Vote on
Tuesday.

*  FRIDAY AT NOON  -  OKC AREA  -  Senator Steve Russell is passionate
about his call for a Constitutional Convention and sincere in his
convictions. However, he is sincerely wrong. We didn’t have any time
last Wednesday for Q&A on this issue, so we have set up a debate
between Senator Russell and me to be held this coming Friday at the
High Noon Club. Channel 9 News anchor Ed Murray will moderate the
debate. I don’t mind saying it is a little intimidating as I have
never had any formal debate training and going up against a popular
conservative Senator who potentially debates on a daily basis when in
session is a little daunting. On top of that, the High Noon Club has
as a high priority second amendment issues with Senator Russell being
a champion on that cause and as such is very popular at the High Noon
Club. All I can say is that I will walk into the Lion’s Den and do my
best. H&H is on the North side of I-40 about 2 blocks East of Meridian
Ave. I believe this will be informative, sprinkled with a dash of
humor.

Please don’t miss this Wednesday’s meeting.

Charlie Meadows
Charliemeadows7@gmail.com