Tag: oklahoma 3

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ballot access general freedom initiative, referendum, and recall

Wheels of Injustice

The wheels of injustice creak along slowly.

Indicted in October last year, the Oklahoma Three — Rick Carpenter, Susan Johnson, and I — have still not had a full preliminary hearing. That first step has now been pushed back to next February.

Our alleged crime? Oklahoma’s Attorney General, Drew Edmondson, argues that we conspired to hire non-residents to gather signatures on a petition.

Never mind that state officials said the campaign’s hiring practices were perfectly legal. Never mind that the law itself is under constitutional challenge, with similar laws in Arizona and Ohio having been struck down earlier this year.

The real goal? Frighten and intimidate those who would dare petition to do things like cap runaway government spending, provide protection from government’s abuse of eminent domain, or limit the terms of politicians — like, say, Mr. Edmondson.

Opponents of the petition that triggered this prosecution amounted to a who’s who of wealthy, powerful Oklahomans, including entrenched political interests such as the teachers’ and public employees’ unions.

Recently I sent out a news release with a statement declaring our innocence and attacking this politically-motivated prosecution. Next thing I know, the Citizens in Charge website gets shut down. An email from the Oklahoma Educational Television Authority complained to our hosting service that the news release was spam.

The website was restored, but I tell you: “These are the times that try men’s souls.”

That’s Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

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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.

Categories
Common Sense free trade & free markets

Guilt and Innocence in Oklahoma

Last October, two colleagues and I were indicted by Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson. Our crime? Helping a petition drive to limit the growth of government spending.

Supposedly, we three willfully violated an arbitrary residency requirement for signature gatherers.

As I’ve explained at the freepauljacob.com website, we acted in good faith to comply with Oklahoma’s unconstitutional regulation. If the prosecution succeeds – if we do get jailed for ten years – it would be a chilling precedent. And sadly, that’s the point: to intimidate citizens from making any future petitions of government that might inconvenience the political establishment.

That’s why a Steve Forbes editorial asked, “Has North Korea Annexed Oklahoma?” and termed Edmondson’s actions “thuggish.” A Wall Street Journal editorial called the AG’s prosecution “bizarre,” expressing fear it would make citizens “think twice before challenging political elites.”

Several Oklahoma legislators have called the prosecution wrong-headed and politically-motivated.

So, Edmondson has begun – you guessed it – a PR offensive. In an opinion piece for a local paper, he wrote, “The Oklahoma Supreme Court and the multicounty grand jury both independently found these defendants to be in substantial violation of Oklahoma law.”

But wait a second. Neither a court, nor the grand jury, have found us guilty of anything. As an attorney and the highest law enforcement officer in the state, Edmondson must know this.We get our day in court. See you there.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.