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By Charles M. Phipps on February 5th, 2018 
‘Do you prefer tax-and-spend liberals, tax-and-spend conservatives, or tax-and-spend moderates?’
What’s the point in voting for Republicans to run the Oklahoma government? If you’d told me a few years ago that the GOP-controlled legislature would have a ‘meh’ attitude about out-of-control spending in our state agencies, I would have said you were crazy. If you’d told me a few years ago that our Republican governor would be calling for massive tax increases, I would have said you were crazy. If you’d told me a few years ago that the GOP-controlled legislature would be scheming to pass tax increases at the beginning of the legislative session, I would have said you were crazy.
But here we are, on opening day of the 2018 legislative session, and the Republicans are planning to bring a “quick vote” on tax increases. Of course, they want a quick vote before their constituents get wind of what they’re up to and jam the capitol […] → Keep reading
By Charles M. Phipps on April 30th, 2014 
There’s nothing like an execution to stoke the animosity in people. Those opposed to the death penalty spew their reasons why it should be abolished and those supporting it typically step down into the gutter with the opposition and argue why it should be continued. The ‘botched’ execution in Oklahoma last night has certainly set off a firestorm of opinions on both sides. Naturally, what happened to the murderer being executed is being pounced on by death penalty opponents as a reason why executions are cruel. Some are saying it is a violation of the Eighth Amendment restriction against cruel and unusual punishments. While that would possibly be a valid argument if what happened to Clayton Lockett was, in fact, the sentence as ordered by a court and intended to happen, it was not ordered or intended. To be fair, let’s look at what is being reported as happening.
News OK – The execution, which was supposed to start at […] → Keep reading
By Charles M. Phipps on January 31st, 2014 
Roll Call is reporting that Randy Brogdon, former state senator, is considering switching his campaign to the special election for the Senate instead of continuing to challenge incumbent Governor Mary Fallin in the Republican primary.
Roll Call – “He has got a lot of people inside of Oklahoma, probably eight or nine out of 10, that are urging him to run for Senate, and he is listening very intently to those urges,” Brogdon senior adviser Louis Waller said when reached by CQ Roll Call.
Brogdon’s potential entrance comes just after Rep. Jim Bridenstine, a favorite among conservative outside groups, decided against a bid. Groups like the Senate Conservatives Fund and the Madison Project had pushed for Bridenstine to run as a conservative alternative to Rep. James Lankford, who announced his bid for the seat earlier this month.
Brogdon, who lost to Fallin in the 2010 gubernatorial primary, has the kind of tea party profile that could garner support from […] → Keep reading
By Charles M. Phipps on December 18th, 2013 
If you live in Oklahoma, I hope you enjoy hearing about the school storm shelter issue because it’s shaping up to be the issue for the next year. Yesterday, State Rep. Joe Dorman (D-Rush Springs) launched an exploratory committee to begin raising funds and examine a possible run for Governor of Oklahoma next year. Dorman would be running against the popular incumbent, Mary Fallin. While announcing the committee Dorman said that education is going to be the top issue. “Visiting with teachers… about the conditions we’re seeing in schools, what we’ve seen Governor Fallin and Superintendent Janet Barresi do to education, I think that has to be one of our most critical issues we’ll look at.” For the past several months Dorman has been a strong advocate of an initiative petition that would allow the public to vote on issuing up to $500 million in bonds for the construction of storm shelters in Oklahoma schools. Franchise tax revenues would be […] → Keep reading
By Charles M. Phipps on May 18th, 2013 
I don’t agree with much at all of what the Oklahoma Policy Institute puts out, but their information about the recent tax cut legislation passed by the Oklahoma legislature and signed into law by Governor Fallin is right on the money. Opinions about policy can vary, but numbers don’t lie.
I’ve looked at the new tax rates in House Bill 2032 and I’ve run the numbers against the tax rates in this year’s form 511 – the Oklahoma individual income tax form. What the numbers tell me is that the things being said by Governor Fallin, Speaker of the House T.W. Shannon and others are highly misleading. Do you think you’re getting a tax cut? Unless you’re on the poverty level, you are, but let’s see how much.
Below is a chart from the OK Policy Institute’s post about the tax cut. It’s accurate. As you can see, if you make between $19,500 and $36,400 your tax cut is […] → Keep reading
By Charles M. Phipps on April 2nd, 2013 
Drones have been given a bad name. Mention the word drone and most people will automatically think of a Predator launching Hellfire missiles to obliterate a target. Drone use at this point is primarily military and their role in the killing of people in Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia has been extremely controversial in some circles. Some say the attacks are illegal assassinations and others say those killed are terrorists and are therefore legitimate targets.
Without delving into the merits or ethics of using drones to launch attacks, there are many other uses for drones that are being summarily dismissed by many people based on the belief that drones would violate privacy or be launching Hellfire missiles here in the United States.
Here in Oklahoma, Governor Fallin formed the Governor’s Unmanned Aerial Systems Council with a goal of lobbying for commercial drone test sites in Oklahoma and luring more military contractors to the state. Oklahoma’s Secretary of Science […] → Keep reading
By Charles M. Phipps on November 19th, 2012 
Governor Mary Fallin has announced that Oklahoma will not be creating a state-based exchange or participating in the Medicaid expansion as part of Obamacare. Oklahoma will be defaulting to the federal exchange. This is an excellent decision from our Governor. The costs associated with operating an exchange are so high it doesn’t make fiscal sense for the state to choose that route. In her statement Gov. Fallin also says the Oklahoma State Attorney General, Scott Pruitt, will still be pursuing a legal challenge to Obamacare.
This is just one more reason why it was important to elect Mary Fallin instead of Jari Askins.
This makes Oklahoma the seventeenth state I’m aware of to default to the federal exchange. The others are:
1. North Dakota 2. South Dakota 3. Wyoming 4. Nebraska 5. Kansas 6. Texas 7. Missouri 8. Wisconsin 9. Louisiana 10. Alabama 11. Georgia 12. South Carolina 13. New Hampshire 14. Maine 15. Alaska 16. Ohio
Here is the […] → Keep reading
By Charles M. Phipps on November 9th, 2012 
I will freely admit disappointment over the election results this past Tuesday. It was not the outcome I wanted or expected. But, after some reflection I have come to realize the conservative ideology I believe in was not rejected by the voters. In fact, it was embraced. Further explanation is likely needed here.
Some readers of my blog may be unaware of the meaning behind the name I selected – OK Politechs. I received a message once asking if I thought that the politics of the day were ‘okay’. No, the OK in my blog title is for Oklahoma, where I have lived all my life and where the true winner in Tuesday’s election became clear, that being true economic conservatism.
On a national level it’s no secret that the Republican nominee, Mitt Romney, was no conservative. He’s one of the liberals in the party who masquerades as something more palatable. Compared to Obama, he may have seemed like the […] → Keep reading
By Charles M. Phipps on August 18th, 2011 
Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin said yesterday that Texas Governor Rick Perry would be a strong advocate for issues important to Oklahoma, including oil and gas development. However, she stopped short of endorsing him for President, saying “I’m not going to make a commitment right now.”
This did not surprise me, since I recall an endorsement Fallin received last summer while running for Governor. No doubt, she is waiting to return the favor.
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