Oklahoma politics, as I have shown, is all kind of messed up.
I’ve written so much about how much Oklahoma politics is messed up, I would say that I had found my niched, expect my viewership is actually DOWN since that became my focus. While I’m done (for now) with the series about Erik Prince and the alleged effort to build an army out of Oklahoma’s poverty, I want to write at least one more about the messed up state of Oklahoma politics. Specifically, Republican politics.
In this post, I plan to write about the power and influence Don Spencer has. Second, I have an insider tip about some shady practices involving insider allegations that Don Spencer indorses candidates for money. And lastly, how critical the election for the next Republican Party Chair in Oklahoma is to the hopes for turning this state around.
Let’s dig in.
I’m going to leave links to the sites I’m quoting the most right here.
Let’s dig in.
OK2A-Not Just an Unintelligent Way to Communicate Water.
I want to be a bit careful with this one. I have a good friend who is part of this organization, so I don’t want this post to come across as an excoriation of OK2A, or of gun owners in general. I am not a gun owner, but many of my best friends are gun enthusiasts. They are salt of the earth people, and while all of them are dangerous in the sense that attacking them is dumb, none of them is a danger to anybody who is simply minding their own business.
I don’t have data, but I think that is likely 90% of gun owners in Oklahoma.
Mostly I’m going to talking about Don Spencer (not to be confused with Edmund Spencer). According to the OK2A website:
“Don Spencer has been a life long resident of Oklahoma and became President of the Oklahoma Second Amendment Association in 2016. He is a CLEET Certified Firearm Instructor and a Licensed Armed Security Officer. Don often states OK2A is not merely a gun group, it’s a liberty group. “We just realize it may take firearms to maintain that liberty.”
“The Oklahoma Second Amendment Association was founded in 2009 and in this time, Don has written and promoted more than 150 measures and positive changes to return the rights of citizens to keep and bear arms.”
The site rightly brags about his successes. “In total, the Oklahoma 2nd Amendment Association has helped pass almost 40 different pro-gun measures through the legislative process. No other 2A group in Oklahoma can boast such a resume.”
The gun lobby is, like most lobbies, not inherently evil per se. Again, I tend to be pro gun ownership, I believe in independence and the ability to defend yourself. So what is the other side of the issue?
Enforcing the Law is Not REALLY a Law. More of a Set of GUIDELINES
When I was writing about Erik Prince, I shared a Frontline video where many disturbing things were being shared. One of the things that I believe likely was in the video to scare people were images of children firing rifles in a gun range. You should make up your own mind whether that is scary or not, but my opinion is that I’m not worried about children being taught about guns. (And half my subscribers just blocked me). I grew up on a farm. I’ve seen my dad shoot animals. I have PTSD, and honestly guns trigger me, but I have absolutely 0 trauma from anything dad ever shot. If he shot an animal, it was to protect the family or feed us.
Having said that, The Oklahoman shares some things that I do find disturbing.
“House Bill 1002 would allow county sheriffs to arrest federal employees who enforce laws that are “counter” to the Second Amendment, while House Bill 2643 would make Oklahoma-made firearms exempt from federal gun laws.
“Those bills have not yet been scheduled for a committee hearing, but they would likely face legal challenges if passed into law.”
I have pretty mixed feelings about pitting local law enforcement against federal law enforcement. The Oklahoman continues. “In 2019, Oklahoma’s Republican Legislature and governor approved “permitless carry,” which allowed residents to carry a firearm in public with no training or license.
“Some lawmakers have tried to clarify where the new law applies, including this year’s House Bill 1404, which would allow individuals to carry guns onto a boat without a permit.”
“Asked in a House committee hearing this week whether firearm protection was needed on a boat, Culver said being out on an Oklahoma lake can be a dangerous place.
“I have seen all kinds of altercations on the lakes, people ramming boats, drunks,” said Culver, R-Tahlequah.
“So is this the ‘shoot the drunks’ bill?” asked Rep. Regina Goodwin, D-Tulsa.
“It depends,” Culver responded.
“The bill passed the House Committee on Public Safety.”
So…I have the right to carry a gun without training onto a boat, get drunk, and shoot people? Am I the crazy one, or does this just sound…frankly stupid? Look, I’m 100% for someone with a permit being allowed to carry a gun onto a boat. But someone with no training, no permit…I don’t know. Maybe I am wrong, maybe the founding fathers would take issue, but I know my gut says this is not a good idea.
Spiderman Tried to Warn us…With Great Power, etc etc.
Curtis, yeah, all this is nice, but some of us frankly don’t care. Some of us are libertarian enough to believe the government shouldn’t be able to tell us much of anything when it comes to bringing stuff on our boats. If I don’t hurt anyone else, who are you to tell me what to bring on my boat. Ok, fair enough, I won’t try to convince you that I’m right and your wrong. However….
U. S. News and World Consorts tells us “Wayne Shaw seemed to have all the conservative credentials needed to win reelection to his state Senate seat in Oklahoma two years ago. The mild-mannered pastor with deep ties to the community had a solidly conservative voting record during his eight years in office.”
Honestly, it seems to me for good or ill this is a growing trend in the Oklahoma Republican Party. Pastors are flexing their political muscles out here. What does this remind me of?
US News continues: “But when Shaw, as chair of the Senate Public Safety Committee, declined to hear a bill to allow people to carry guns into bars, he drew the ire of an unemployed truck driver who was passionate about gun rights.
“The angry gun advocate, Don Spencer, belonged to a local pro-firearms group. In short order, he and his friends recruited a Republican challenger for Shaw, held a fundraiser in his district and helped defeat the incumbent in the primary.
“I’m not opposed to guns,” said Shaw, who was stunned by the development. “But that (guns in bars) is a good way of throwing gasoline on a fire.”
My dad was an alcoholic when I was young. I’ve seen a lot of people do a lot of stupid things. But nobody ever brought a gun into any of the bars. As an adult looking back, I realize some of the people I judged as idiots back then may have been more grown up than I realized. Nearly everyone in those days had a gun in their truck. But I honestly don’t remember anyone except the bar tender EVER having a gun in a bar.
US News continues: “Fundraising is rising sharply. OK2A raised nearly $40,000 in 2019, $83,000 in 2020 and more than $122,000 last year, according to state campaign finance data. Much of the money is spent on online ads and for booths at gun shows. Records show Spencer has started drawing a salary, about $30,000 each of the last two years.
“They do have influence out there, especially in Republican primaries,” said Gary Jones, former chair of the Oklahoma Republican Party. “Where they have their greatest success is low-turnout races where they can mobilize and turn out a bigger percentage of their supporters.”
“Tensions sometimes flare between OK2A and the party’s established leaders. When the leader of the Senate expressed concerns last year over a bill designed to protect Oklahoma from “federal overreach,” Spencer called for him to step down and quickly summoned almost 1,000 people to the Capitol to protest.”
It isn’t just your Tired Blogger. The entire nation is taking a look at our state. On one hand, I am actually proud that our state is so pro second amendment. But I feel as though it has gone too far, and my opinion is not merely because of national and state
Oh Mini Me, You Complete Me!
Ok, this may seem a bit convoluted, but I have another person to introduce in our Dramatis Personae. I’ve talked quite a bit about the previous Oklahoma State GOP chairman John R. Bennett. In case you didn’t read those or wish for a refresher, I’ll leave a few links here:
https://wordpress.com/post/tiredmidnightblogger.com/4981
https://wordpress.com/post/tiredmidnightblogger.com/5217
The good news is…Bennett is no longer our party chairman. Currently we are chaired by AJ Ferate. No…he isn’t the head of a huge drug cartel, but he is in hot water with Spencer, and that could be good or bad. But is it possible that, while Bennett builds up his army of Christian soldiers to fight a Civil War, Spencer is building up his power base? Doesn’t Spencer already have enough power?
Mull over those questions, and I will attempt to answer them in the next post. Thanks for your patience, and I hope you had a great Easter!
Tired Midnight Blogger (What Blogs at Midnight) 
I don’t understand why some people have such a problem with the phrase “well-regulated militia.” And how come if “guns aren’t the problem, people are”, that they have such a problem with background or psych checks and/or permits?
I have an Oklahoma concealed carry permit; by Oklahoma law I guess don’t need it now, but I’ve seen the intelligence and skill level of the general populace…. Those idiots are what bring bad PR to us responsible gun owners.
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I was hoping to find a photo of a hill billy looking down the barrel of a gun. I’m not finished, but in the context of what I wrote, I’m very disturbed that people are allowed the right to carry a gun WITHOUT TRAINING.
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I know this is finally the post that angered someone enough to respond in my social media
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