Tag: Edmondson

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Common Sense

Scare Tactic in Oklahoma

The political establishment resists reform. Voters have had to take their favorite causes – like term limits and tax limits – over the heads of politicians, directly to fellow voters.

And politicians don’t much like us voters having all that say-so.

That’s why they’ve tried to legislate the initiative process out of existence.

And that’s why three of us – Rick Carpenter, Susan Johnson, and I – are facing what the Wall Street Journal has called a “bizarre” criminal prosecution by Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson.

Edmondson is trying to lock us up for ten years for supposedly violating the state’s residency law, even though those working on the petition followed the rules as explained to them by state officials . . . and even though the constitutionality of the law is currently being challenged in federal court.

Why the strange prosecution? To frighten folks from doing initiatives. Recently the state’s largest paper, The Oklahoman, decried how difficult the process has become, with the people getting to vote on only two of the 23 initiatives filed this decade.

We, the Oklahoma Three, face a preliminary hearing – and the wrath of a rogue attorney general – July 23rd. Scary? Yes. But we’ll prevail. And perhaps inspire more people to defend the initiative against its most insatiable enemy, the politicians.

And hey: Already a new group, Oklahomans for Initiative Rights, has launched its own citizen task force to study reforming the state’s initiative process.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

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Common Sense

Petitioners May Petition

A leading indicator of a free nation? The lack of political prisoners. We Americans are aghast when we learn of dissenters jailed in other countries.

But, even in America, politicians in various states seek to put people in jail for engaging in legitimate (if dissenting) political activism.

I am one of their targets.

You may have heard that two other citizen activists and I are under the gun in Oklahoma. Allegedly, we defied the state’s residency requirements for people who circulate petitions.

The charge is false, as I explain at FreePaulJacob.com. But our glaring innocence didn’t prevent Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson from indicting us for supposedly defrauding the state.

Moreover, the Oklahoma law, imposed to thwart rather than foster the initiative process, is unconstitutional. The U.S. Supreme Court has said as much regarding similar restrictions elsewhere.

And recently, in Ohio, a federal district court granted preliminary relief to plaintiffs who wanted to use out-of-state circulators, which Ohio legislators had outlawed.

The court endorsed the U.S. Supreme Court’s conclusion that since the demand that circulators be registered voters “decreas[es] the pool of potential circulators, the requirement imposed an unjustified burden on political expression. . . .”

That’s right. America still doesn’t jail dissenters who work peaceably to put issues on the ballot and people up for office.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

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Common Sense insider corruption judiciary term limits

Another OK Court Decision?

Here’s another interesting court decision in Oklahoma. Oh, this time it’s not a petition with hundreds of thousands of voter signatures being tossed out. And no, it’s not quite as crazy as that ruling allowing a man to photograph up the skirts of girls at the mall.

This time Oklahoma’s highest court has ruled that former State Senator Gene Stipe is entitled to an $84,000 a year state pension.

Gene Stipe was a state legislator for 54 years, the longest in history. But in 2003, facing removal due to term limits and a federal indictment, Stipe resigned. He was then convicted on federal campaign violations and perjury.

Stipe also faces new charges of conspiracy, mail fraud, witness-tampering and illegal monetary transactions. Talk about an experienced legislator.

Oklahoma’s retirement system board ruled that Stipe’s crimes violated his oath of office. A 1981 law requires in such case the pension benefits are forfeit. But the Oklahoma Supreme Court decided otherwise, giving Stipe his full pension. The lone dissenter, Chief Justice Winchester, wrote “I would assert that tampering with an election goes to the very heart” of the oath of office.

Some wonder why Attorney General Drew Edmondson hasn’t investigated Stipe on state charges. But Stipe is a large contributor to Edmondson. When the AG was asked why he hadn’t returned Stipe’s money, Edmondson explained there was no conflict, since, after all, he wasn’t investigating Stipe.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

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Common Sense

Edmondson v. Term Limits

Oklahoma State Senator Randy Brogdon is disappointed by the most recent objectionable conduct of his state’s attorney general.

The AG, Drew Edmondson, publicly opposes a bill to term-limit the offices of state officials, including his. The proposal would impose a twelve-year maximum. Mild as far as term limits go, but it still triggers all the alarm bells if you are part of a family dynasty of career politicians.

Senator Brogdon, a supporter of the bill, notes that Attorney General Edmondson typically declines to comment publicly on pending legislation. So it’s “very disappointing” to him that Edmondson is now ignoring that practice.

As for me, I can’t say I’m seriously “disappointed.’ We’re disappointed by LAPSES in character, aren’t we? Not so much when persons with known character flaws – in this case, chronic contempt for democracy, the rule of law, the rights of the innocent – behave just as we expect.

Edmondson, after all, is currently trying to imprison me and two other honorable supporters of citizen initiative rights for our work on a 2005 initiative in Oklahoma. On fictional grounds. (See FreePaulJacob.com for details.) So it’s not like Edmonson has swerved from the straight and narrow. And I’m not exactly spitting up hot coffee.

Maybe I’m nitpicking. It’s always disappointing when power-grabbing incumbents act like power-grabbing incumbents. Would be nice if they changed their stripes. Most never will.

Which is why we need term limits.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

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Common Sense

Opposed to Answers

A Daily Oklahoman editorial laments the killing of a bill that would have created a task force to study the state’s initiative process, writing, “The initiative petition process in Oklahoma is in need of a fix.”

That’s why Representative Randy Terrill sponsored the bill. Which passed the House 86 yays to only 11 nays. But in the Senate, evenly divided between the parties, the Democrats stopped it.

As Norma Sapp, head of Oklahomans for Initiative Rights said, “This bill would simply allow legislators to find out the facts . . . and to discuss possible solutions. How can anyone be against having more information?”

Does seem a bit odd, no?

The editorial suggested, “That the bill got shelved is evidence the status quo on this issue suits some policy-makers just fine.”

Turns out, as a Democratic senator admitted, it was Attorney General Drew Edmondson who furiously lobbied behind-the-scenes against the task force.

Yes, this is the same Drew Edmondson who is persecuting the Oklahoma Three – that is, Yours Truly and two colleagues – seeking to imprison us for ten years for working on a petition drive. There’s more on our case at FreePaulJacob.com.

Edmondson also refuses to investigate instances of real petition fraud that have been brought to his office. Why? Well, it could be that the facts would hurt his case in a court challenge against Oklahoma’s petition law.

If you oppose answers, you don’t want any questions.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

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Accountability Common Sense insider corruption

Above the Law

It’s nice to have friends in high places. Or to sit on high yourself – way up above the law. Or so Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson must think, as he chirps from his high perch.

Last year, State Representative Mike Reynolds detailed publicly that Attorney General Edmondson had violated campaign finance laws. Numerous times.

Some of these Edmondson then sought to rectify, years after the fact. Some not.

But the Attorney General has not been prosecuted. Why, you ask? Well, it’s his job to prosecute such violations, and he has, not too surprisingly, not indicted himself.

Funny though, how Edmondson, a Democrat, has indicted Republicans Brent Rinehardt and Tim Pope for similar alleged violations.

Reynolds has now written to the governor, asking him to appoint an independent counsel. Reynolds argues that the Ethics Commission turns over matters for criminal or civil investigation to Edmondson, who “is hardly in a position to investigate his own campaign committee.”

But Edmondson told a newspaper, “It would be a waste of taxpayer money to pay another attorney to review what the Ethics Commission has already received.”

A spokesman for Governor Brad Henry, also a Democrat, says that the governor will not appoint an independent counsel.

Friends in high places . . . is for the birds.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.