GOP Makes Historic Gains
Constitution Staff
When the Legislature convenes in February, Republicans will begin an historic session. For the first time in state history, the GOP will control both houses of the Oklahoma Legislature. In the November General Election, Republicans gained a majority in the state Senate for the first time since statehood, and added to their majority in the Oklahoma House. 
State Budget Reductions Expected
Constitution Staff
When the state Board of Equalization met in December, it projected a 4.4 percent drop in funds available for the state budget for the 2010 fiscal year which begins on July 1. The state budget would drop from the current $7.1 billion to $6.8 billion.
2010 Governor's Race Begins
Constitution Staff
Gov. Brad Henry is midway through his second term, and cannot run again due to term-limits. With the 2010 General Election less than two years away, the contest for the open seat is beginning to take shape.
Lawmakers Refile Official English Bill
Constitution Staff
Lawmakers will again seek to make English the official language of Oklahoma government this year in an effort to save taxpayer money and help legal immigrants achieve the American dream.
Modernizing State Government
Constitution Staff
Several states have seen significant savings after either privatizing their procurement and technology services or dramatically restructuring them for better efficiency, members of a joint House and Senate budget committee were told in a January meeting.
Residency Requirement Ruled Unconstitutional
Constitution Staff
In an unanimous opinion in December, the federal Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals declared unconstitutional an Oklahoma law banning non-residents from helping collect signatures for ballot initiative petitions. The Denver court’s ruling, in the case of Yes on Term Limits, Inc. v. Savage, follows unanimous rulings by the Sixth and Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in similar cases from Ohio and Arizona. In their decision, the three judge panel declared the right to circulate petitions in the United States of America is "core political speech," and fully protected by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Constitution Tidbits
Constitution Staff
Lawmakers File MORE Bills
Bill filing ended for the 2009 legislative session on January 15. That was the deadline for members of the Oklahoma Legislature to file bills for the first session of the 52nd Legislature. Senators filed 1,240 bills and 42 joint resolutions for the upcoming session. In the House, there were 1,269 bills, 46 joint resolutions, and six concurrent resolutions filed . The 2009 legislative session will officially get underway on Monday, February 2.
In The Mail
From Our Readers
Post Election Thoughts
Well, we have finally survived two full years of electioneering by the candidates for national offices, President and Vice-President. The outcome was not to my personal liking and there are suspicions of the honesty of voting in some of the larger states, but the matter appears to be closed. Senator Barack Hussain Obama has been elected President, with Senator Joe Biden his Vice.
Empower the Delegates!
by Bill Stimmons
What would be the fairest, and at the same time, the most productive and efficient method of assigning delegate votes to the national party conventions? Longtime party activists and volunteers remember how the system of selection by district and state conventions stimulated party participation. The Republican State Convention used to fill the Civic Center Music Hall in downtown Oklahoma City. Now we do well to fill a large motel assembly room.
Private Ownership of Public Roads
Rep. Jason W. Murphey
As a member of the House of Representative's Transportation Committee I have been able to observe one of the most controversial but rarely talked about and mostly under the radar issues regarding the long term development of our highway system.
One year ago I wrote about an the issue at the heart of which has been Oklahoma's membership in a group known as the North America SuperCorridor Coalition (NASCO), the desire of big corporations to enhance the movement of Chinese-manufactured goods throughout North America, the possible privatization of new state and federal highways and NASCO's desire to deploy sophisticated tracking devices along I-35.
Unelected Lawyers Seek to Control Judicial Candidates
Former Oklahoma Congressman Mickey Edwards' new book is entitled Reclaiming Conservatism: How a Great American Political Movement Got Lost - and How It Can Find Its Way Back. Edwards is very eloquent and right on the mark as he describes how both Congress and the Executive have ignored the Constitution to the detriment of the nation. He accurately cites how the Republican Congress became a rubber stamp for the Bush Administration's misguided policies instead of standing for the best interests of the country. Edwards rightly excoriates Congress for allowing President Bush to fight, without a congressional declaration of war, the unjustified and unnecessary Iraq war. He recalled how congressional Republicans criticized President Reagan when they thought he was wrong, but statesmanlike criticism is missing as to George W. Bush and helped facilitate the 2006 Democrat takeover of Congress. Another example is the congressional GOP's silence as to Bush's use of "signing statements" whereby he signs a bill into law while directing that the government ignore parts with which Bush does not agree.
Diversifying Oklahoma's Power Mix
Commissioner Jeff Cloud
Finally, energy issues are getting more of the serious talk they have long deserved.
Global Warming Is Over
David Deming
President Barack Obama recently declared his intention to mitigate global warming by enacting a cap-and-trade policy that would reduce carbon emissions 80 percent by the year 2050. But the last two years of global cooling have nearly erased 30 years of temperature increases. To the extent that global warming ever existed, it is now officially over.
Reagan Did it – We Can Too
By Sen. Randy Brogdon
As the saying goes, "Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me." The continuing irresponsible actions of Congress are beyond shameful. The Washington politicians have inexplicably adopted the mantra of "government is the solution."
I remember not too long ago, President Ronald Reagan declared that "government is not the solution, government is the problem."
Politics and David Boren Book Review by Steve Byas:OU President David Boren's short, little book, A Letter to America, is a plea to return to the days when Democrats dominated the Congress, and Republicans knew their place. Boren does not present it in those explicit terms, but the intent is clear.
Edwards: Conservatism Has Been HijackedBook Review by Steve Byas:I first met Mickey Edwards in early 1976. He was making his second bid for Congress, having narrowly lost to an incumbent Democrat, John Jarman, two years earlier in what had been a horrific Republican year. I was the President of a conservative student group on the campus of the University of Central Oklahoma (then called Central State), and invited Edwards to speak on the topic of conservatism in the Liberal Arts Building auditorium. He was well-received, and I signed on to work for his election. He narrowly defeated Rockefeller Republican G.T. Blankenship in the primary, and then edged out Democrat Tom Dunlap in the general election.
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