++ AGENDA FOR THIS WEEK’S MEETING
++ SEN JOLLEY’S RESPONSE TO ETHICS TROUBLE WORSE THAN THE CRIME?
++ WILL SENATOR COBURN BE A MAN OF HIS WORD?
++ NATIONAL IMPORTANCE OF GOV. WALKER’S RECALL ELECTION
++ AGENDA FOR THIS WEEK’S MEETING
Our 12 noon luncheon for Wednesday, June 6th will be held at
Italiano’s restaurant, 4801 North Lincoln in OKC. Mr. Brooks Mitchell,
candidate for Corporation Commission will be a speaker this Wednesday
along with a final candidate running for a legislative seat. That
candidate will remain un-named at this time. Congratulations to Ken
Walker for winning our endorsement last week in his effort to win the
HD 70 seat in Tulsa.
++ JOLLEY’S RESPONSE TO ETHICS TROUBLE IS WORSE THAN THE CRIME?
This past Friday, Bob Donohoo filed an ethics complaint against State
Senator Clark Jolley, alleging that Jolley had failed to file his SO-1
report with the State Ethics Commission within 10 days of either
raising or spending $500 in his effort to be re-elected to Senate
District 41.
Senator Jolley fired back with the statement: “We complied with every
one of the ethics laws in this state,”. Are you serious Senator
Jolley? Jolley is an attorney and he has also been a lawmaker for 8
years. If anyone should know the most simple and basic laws to run for
office it should be Senator Jolley.
Jolley’s responses as reported in the Oklahoman and the Edmond Sun
were, in my opinion, an effort to spin the issue away from the alleged
violation of a simple to understand law, to prior campaigns,
allegations of desperate attacks by supporters of his opponent, and an
attempt to silence anyone from talking about the issue lest they be
guilty of a misdemeanor and a $10,000 fine. The Oklahoman got it right
about a decision in 2009 by the Ethics Commission not to enforce the
silence rule because it didn’t want to violate the free speech of the
press or of citizens in the community. The Ethics Commission really
needs to get their miss-information on this subject off of their web-
site.
I am not privy to all the evidence presented to the Ethics Commission
by Mr. Donohoo, but let me say, I contributed $50 to Clark Jolley 8
years ago when he first ran for this office. Most likely, due to my
past record of contributing, I received an invitation from Governor
Fallin to attend “a fundraiser benefiting the re-election campaign
of Senator Clark Jolley Senate Appropriations Chairman” at the home
of Bryan Gonterman. I believe Mr. Gonterman is the CEO for the
Oklahoma division of AT&T.
Contributions were suggested to be $5,000, $2,500, $1,000, or $500.
Now, here is the important information. The date for this fundraiser
was January 31st. The law is so simple Senator Jolley, assuming he
raised more than $500 dollars that evening, and he did, and given the
fact that it was clearly for his Senate campaign, I believe he would
have been required to file his SO-1 with the Ethics Commission no
later than February 10th, however it appears he didn’t file those
reports until April 1st.
I suspect that this wasn’t the first fundraising event for Senator
Jolley. Sources told me some time ago that a fundraiser was held for
Senator Jolley in the cafeteria on the campus of Chesapeake Energy
prior to the January 31st date. I am sure Senator Jolley paid
Chesapeake something for the use of the cafeteria or that would have
been a corporate contribution which would also be a violation of the
law.
Sources also told me Chesapeake was once again holding a fundraiser on
campus for Senator Jolley this past week titled: lunch and learn with
Senator Jolley. Supposedly employees were encouraged to attend and
different contribution levels were suggested. I would suggest it
should have been named: “lunch and twist with Senator Jolley”, meaning
your arm will be twisted to give.
Maybe, if powerful individuals at Chesapeake were paying more
attention to good corporate governance, less debt and more frugality
in their spending practices, rather than trying to control state
government by influencing who gets elected, maybe they wouldn’t be
under such duress by stockholders (see today’s business section of the
Oklahoman), at least that is my opinion.
I also suspect Senator Jolley had spent tens of thousands of dollars
before this January 31st date in his effort to be re-elected to his
Senate seat. I have prospective candidates talk with me all the time,
asking for help in knowing what to do if they decide to run for
office. I always warn them to be sure and read the Ethics laws and be
sure to file their SO-1 report with the Ethics Commission once they
RAISE or SPEND more than $500.
Once the ethics complaint was filed by Mr. Donohoo, if Senator Jolley
would have responded by saying it was a stupid oversight, a mistake,
he could have probably paid a fine and gone on with his campaign.
However, I believe his attempts to disregard the law, obfuscate, spin
the issue and intimidate people from using their rights to free speech
just shows how 8 years as a powerful senator can create an arrogant
attitude of being above the law by a person who appears to have a
serious character flaw. Unfortunately the Ethics Commission won’t rule
on this situation until after the election which is why it is
important to discuss this in the open to help voters understand the
character of the people running for office.
Senator Jolley, not only are lawmakers NOT above the law, we the
people hold you to a higher standard and rightly so. Senator Jolley,
of course it was the supporters of Paul Blair who brought this to
light, it sure wasn’t your supporters. You are doing what almost all
power hungry politicians do when they get caught with their hand in
the cookie jar, they blame it on politics and their opponents. That is
the nature of the political process. If you want to avoid these
embarrassing problems, don’t give your opponents any ammunition to use
against you. Simply said, DON’T VIOLATE THE LAW!!!
++ WILL SENATOR COBURN BE A MAN OF HIS WORD?
In last week’s e-mail I related some insider information about U.S.
Senator Tom Coburn contacting a couple of State Senators with the
message to tell their colleagues that if they voted to borrow $40
million to finish the American Indian Cultural Center in OKC that he
would support their Republican opposition in the primary races.
As it turns out, the measure failed to pass by 1 vote. One of the
Republican Senators who voted for the measure to borrow the money was
Brian Crain (R-Tulsa). Senator Crain won the RINO (Republican In Name
Only) award last year for his paltry score of a 40 for the 2011
session.
May I suggest, if Senator Coburn really cares about the fiscal
discipline of Oklahoma state government, he should without hesitation
and immediately endorse and support Kevin McDugle in his race to
unseat the liberal Brian Crain. Our members overwhelmingly endorsed
McDugle during our interview process as he is clearly head and
shoulders more conservative than Senator Crain. We are waiting and
watching Senator Coburn, please be a man of your word!
++ NATIONAL IMPORTANCE OF GOV. WALKER’S RECALL ELECTION
Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin was the key note speaker a couple
of months ago at this year’s main fundraiser banquet for the Oklahoma
Council of Public Affairs (OCPA). I enjoyed very much getting to give
my opinion on one of the local news stations about organized labor’s
efforts to intimidate people from attending the Walker speech that
night. The part that made the news cast was: “I see the union thugs
are out in force tonight”.
A couple of things that impressed me that night with the Governor’s
speech was his grasp of the need to make Wisconsin friendly toward
business and the jobs growth that has occurred since he was successful
in making some of those changes. Then of course he discussed the very
reasonable changes he was able to push through the legislature to
contain some of the run-away costs heaped upon the backs of the
taxpayers of Wisconsin as a result of the excessive power the
government employees wielded over Wisconsin lawmakers, especially when
the Democrats were in control.
However, the most important comment by Governor Walker that evening
was about what he called: THE COURAGE FACTOR. The attacks by the
organized left upon himself and other Republicans in Wisconsin have
been irrational, un-relenting and vicious. Governor Walker and the
Republican lawmakers didn’t back down in the face of extreme pressure,
even when faced with risks to the personal safety of themselves and
their families. The intimidation factor from the liberal left
progressives was off the charts.
Therefore, should Walker lose this election it will send a message
across the nation to conservative reformers to get back into the cage
of “go along to get along”. It will send a message that if you stand
up, we, the leftist progressives will cut your legs out from under
you. Should Walker lose, a fear of standing up and opposing the
leftists in this country will spread everywhere. However, on the other
hand, should Walker win today, it sends a courage message across the
nation. A message that principled conservatives can take on the
progressive leftists and continue to be re-elected. Wisconsin is
traditionally a very liberal state with enormous union power and
money. If Governor Walker is left standing tall tonight, it will send
a message to the majority of states that conservatism can win almost
anywhere as long as those pushing conservatism are principled as well
as good communicators.
I will send out another e-mail this week with the announcements. I
look forward to seeing everyone this Wednesday.
Charlie Meadows
Charliemeadows7@gmail.com
++ SEN JOLLEY’S RESPONSE TO ETHICS TROUBLE WORSE THAN THE CRIME?
++ WILL SENATOR COBURN BE A MAN OF HIS WORD?
++ NATIONAL IMPORTANCE OF GOV. WALKER’S RECALL ELECTION
++ AGENDA FOR THIS WEEK’S MEETING
Our 12 noon luncheon for Wednesday, June 6th will be held at
Italiano’s restaurant, 4801 North Lincoln in OKC. Mr. Brooks Mitchell,
candidate for Corporation Commission will be a speaker this Wednesday
along with a final candidate running for a legislative seat. That
candidate will remain un-named at this time. Congratulations to Ken
Walker for winning our endorsement last week in his effort to win the
HD 70 seat in Tulsa.
++ JOLLEY’S RESPONSE TO ETHICS TROUBLE IS WORSE THAN THE CRIME?
This past Friday, Bob Donohoo filed an ethics complaint against State
Senator Clark Jolley, alleging that Jolley had failed to file his SO-1
report with the State Ethics Commission within 10 days of either
raising or spending $500 in his effort to be re-elected to Senate
District 41.
Senator Jolley fired back with the statement: “We complied with every
one of the ethics laws in this state,”. Are you serious Senator
Jolley? Jolley is an attorney and he has also been a lawmaker for 8
years. If anyone should know the most simple and basic laws to run for
office it should be Senator Jolley.
Jolley’s responses as reported in the Oklahoman and the Edmond Sun
were, in my opinion, an effort to spin the issue away from the alleged
violation of a simple to understand law, to prior campaigns,
allegations of desperate attacks by supporters of his opponent, and an
attempt to silence anyone from talking about the issue lest they be
guilty of a misdemeanor and a $10,000 fine. The Oklahoman got it right
about a decision in 2009 by the Ethics Commission not to enforce the
silence rule because it didn’t want to violate the free speech of the
press or of citizens in the community. The Ethics Commission really
needs to get their miss-information on this subject off of their web-
site.
I am not privy to all the evidence presented to the Ethics Commission
by Mr. Donohoo, but let me say, I contributed $50 to Clark Jolley 8
years ago when he first ran for this office. Most likely, due to my
past record of contributing, I received an invitation from Governor
Fallin to attend “a fundraiser benefiting the re-election campaign
of Senator Clark Jolley Senate Appropriations Chairman” at the home
of Bryan Gonterman. I believe Mr. Gonterman is the CEO for the
Oklahoma division of AT&T.
Contributions were suggested to be $5,000, $2,500, $1,000, or $500.
Now, here is the important information. The date for this fundraiser
was January 31st. The law is so simple Senator Jolley, assuming he
raised more than $500 dollars that evening, and he did, and given the
fact that it was clearly for his Senate campaign, I believe he would
have been required to file his SO-1 with the Ethics Commission no
later than February 10th, however it appears he didn’t file those
reports until April 1st.
I suspect that this wasn’t the first fundraising event for Senator
Jolley. Sources told me some time ago that a fundraiser was held for
Senator Jolley in the cafeteria on the campus of Chesapeake Energy
prior to the January 31st date. I am sure Senator Jolley paid
Chesapeake something for the use of the cafeteria or that would have
been a corporate contribution which would also be a violation of the
law.
Sources also told me Chesapeake was once again holding a fundraiser on
campus for Senator Jolley this past week titled: lunch and learn with
Senator Jolley. Supposedly employees were encouraged to attend and
different contribution levels were suggested. I would suggest it
should have been named: “lunch and twist with Senator Jolley”, meaning
your arm will be twisted to give.
Maybe, if powerful individuals at Chesapeake were paying more
attention to good corporate governance, less debt and more frugality
in their spending practices, rather than trying to control state
government by influencing who gets elected, maybe they wouldn’t be
under such duress by stockholders (see today’s business section of the
Oklahoman), at least that is my opinion.
I also suspect Senator Jolley had spent tens of thousands of dollars
before this January 31st date in his effort to be re-elected to his
Senate seat. I have prospective candidates talk with me all the time,
asking for help in knowing what to do if they decide to run for
office. I always warn them to be sure and read the Ethics laws and be
sure to file their SO-1 report with the Ethics Commission once they
RAISE or SPEND more than $500.
Once the ethics complaint was filed by Mr. Donohoo, if Senator Jolley
would have responded by saying it was a stupid oversight, a mistake,
he could have probably paid a fine and gone on with his campaign.
However, I believe his attempts to disregard the law, obfuscate, spin
the issue and intimidate people from using their rights to free speech
just shows how 8 years as a powerful senator can create an arrogant
attitude of being above the law by a person who appears to have a
serious character flaw. Unfortunately the Ethics Commission won’t rule
on this situation until after the election which is why it is
important to discuss this in the open to help voters understand the
character of the people running for office.
Senator Jolley, not only are lawmakers NOT above the law, we the
people hold you to a higher standard and rightly so. Senator Jolley,
of course it was the supporters of Paul Blair who brought this to
light, it sure wasn’t your supporters. You are doing what almost all
power hungry politicians do when they get caught with their hand in
the cookie jar, they blame it on politics and their opponents. That is
the nature of the political process. If you want to avoid these
embarrassing problems, don’t give your opponents any ammunition to use
against you. Simply said, DON’T VIOLATE THE LAW!!!
++ WILL SENATOR COBURN BE A MAN OF HIS WORD?
In last week’s e-mail I related some insider information about U.S.
Senator Tom Coburn contacting a couple of State Senators with the
message to tell their colleagues that if they voted to borrow $40
million to finish the American Indian Cultural Center in OKC that he
would support their Republican opposition in the primary races.
As it turns out, the measure failed to pass by 1 vote. One of the
Republican Senators who voted for the measure to borrow the money was
Brian Crain (R-Tulsa). Senator Crain won the RINO (Republican In Name
Only) award last year for his paltry score of a 40 for the 2011
session.
May I suggest, if Senator Coburn really cares about the fiscal
discipline of Oklahoma state government, he should without hesitation
and immediately endorse and support Kevin McDugle in his race to
unseat the liberal Brian Crain. Our members overwhelmingly endorsed
McDugle during our interview process as he is clearly head and
shoulders more conservative than Senator Crain. We are waiting and
watching Senator Coburn, please be a man of your word!
++ NATIONAL IMPORTANCE OF GOV. WALKER’S RECALL ELECTION
Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin was the key note speaker a couple
of months ago at this year’s main fundraiser banquet for the Oklahoma
Council of Public Affairs (OCPA). I enjoyed very much getting to give
my opinion on one of the local news stations about organized labor’s
efforts to intimidate people from attending the Walker speech that
night. The part that made the news cast was: “I see the union thugs
are out in force tonight”.
A couple of things that impressed me that night with the Governor’s
speech was his grasp of the need to make Wisconsin friendly toward
business and the jobs growth that has occurred since he was successful
in making some of those changes. Then of course he discussed the very
reasonable changes he was able to push through the legislature to
contain some of the run-away costs heaped upon the backs of the
taxpayers of Wisconsin as a result of the excessive power the
government employees wielded over Wisconsin lawmakers, especially when
the Democrats were in control.
However, the most important comment by Governor Walker that evening
was about what he called: THE COURAGE FACTOR. The attacks by the
organized left upon himself and other Republicans in Wisconsin have
been irrational, un-relenting and vicious. Governor Walker and the
Republican lawmakers didn’t back down in the face of extreme pressure,
even when faced with risks to the personal safety of themselves and
their families. The intimidation factor from the liberal left
progressives was off the charts.
Therefore, should Walker lose this election it will send a message
across the nation to conservative reformers to get back into the cage
of “go along to get along”. It will send a message that if you stand
up, we, the leftist progressives will cut your legs out from under
you. Should Walker lose, a fear of standing up and opposing the
leftists in this country will spread everywhere. However, on the other
hand, should Walker win today, it sends a courage message across the
nation. A message that principled conservatives can take on the
progressive leftists and continue to be re-elected. Wisconsin is
traditionally a very liberal state with enormous union power and
money. If Governor Walker is left standing tall tonight, it will send
a message to the majority of states that conservatism can win almost
anywhere as long as those pushing conservatism are principled as well
as good communicators.
I will send out another e-mail this week with the announcements. I
look forward to seeing everyone this Wednesday.
Charlie Meadows
Charliemeadows7@gmail.com
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