In October, OKGrassroots released a scorecard that scored every bill signed by the Oklahoma governor in 2023, comparing those bills to the Republican platform and then scoring (by a simple, transparent process) how our legislators voted.
The backlash for releasing this information has been astounding. In America today, we have people in prison because they exercised their First Amendment rights, we have children being subjected to evil sexual and SEL indoctrination, we have natural rights being violated by employers, we have our taxes going up and inflation running rampant….and the only thing that gets legislators and the party out of bed to go public with statements is a simple scorecard?!
In the last two years, the price of groceries has almost doubled. Many of my friends are discussing how to eat cheaper to make ends meet. As Oklahomans, many of us have wondered why our “Republican” supermajority is unable to preserve our rights. This scorecard reveals that many Republican legislators are consistently voting to grow government, not to limit it.
It is shocking. But is it? It actually affirms what many of us are feeling – at the Tag Agency, the gas pump, the grocery store, with our taxes, our schools, and our city governments. Our red state fails to address many of the issues that should be obvious to a Republican supermajority.
If you read the bills in this scorecard, you will see a consistent theme of growing government, lessening individual rights, and including more bureaucratic burden on the people of Oklahoma.
Many of the bills directly violate our constitutional rights and our Republican platform. The platform of our party is written by the Republican voters. Yet, our legislators are told not to engage with the party and few even realize we have a platform.
But it is a new day. The people of Oklahoma are tired of our government making excuses as to why they can’t protect our rights. To the people of Oklahoma, this scorecard is a gift. A gift that exposes the big government mentality of our so-called “Republican” supermajority.
Let us draw a line in the sand for liberty. Let us print the platform, set up a meeting, and encourage our legislators to govern as Republicans next session. Let’s knock doors for candidates, help our local county Republican parties, and stand up for freedom.
We need the R in Republican to mean something. This movement starts with transparency and continues with us, the People, holding legislators accountable. I firmly believe that if we will rally and stand for our liberties, our legislators will join us and together we will change this state.
– Sarah Burnett