OKLAHOMA CITY – Often sounding defensive and ill-prepared, Oklahoma City business owner Terry Neese addressed the findings of an Oklahoma-based online newspaper that alleged that the Oklahoma 5th District congressional candidate had used unethical methods in her staffing agency – deceitful methods that alarmed White House officials in 2005, just days before her Senate confirmation hearing.
When questioned by the moderator of Tuesday evening’s Republican congressional debate about these damning findings by The Frontier, Neese raised her voice stating that the story was “an absolute lie.”
This bombshell report came just hours before the debate Neese had with State Sen. Stephanie Bice, and exactly one week before the runoff between the two Republican candidates. The winner of the August 25th race will face incumbent U.S. Rep. Kendra Horn (D-Oklahoma City) in November.
The “Race for the Runoff” debate was a mixture of fireworks and head-scratching moments as moderator Tres Savage, editor of the online newspaper NonDoc, and fellow questioner Aaron Brilbeck, a KWTV-9 anchor, peppered Bice and Neese with questions covering issues ranging from state and national responses to the COVID-19 pandemic to the impact of the McGirt ruling.
It was just hours before the debate kicked off Tuesday evening at the Tower Theatre, The Frontier published a story highlighting training tapes from her former staffing agency that allegedly included Neese telling her employees multiple times to “lie when communicating with a client, make pretend phone calls, promise clients unconfirmed raises and ‘to manipulate people 24 hours a day.’”
This information came to light via an anonymous person who had previously worked for Neese. Neese withdrew her name from consideration for a job heading the U.S. Mint – a position offered to her by U.S. President George W. Bush in 2005 – because she wanted to spend more time with her elderly mother. The Frontier story, however, notes that the Bush White House learned of what was on the tapes and asked for her to withdraw from the nomination right before a Senate confirmation hearing.
On June 30th, Neese finished first in the crowded Republican field with 36.5 percent of the vote, while Bice finished second with 25.4 percent.
In her opening statement, Bice said “the future of the country is determined by elections like these” and adding, “This campaign is about the future. It’s about the future of the party. It’s about the future of this district.” Bice noted she wanted her daughters to be able to remain in Oklahoma and raise a family and not “chase their dreams in another state.”
“As a state senator I have cut spending. I have protected the sanctity of life and I have defended the Second Amendment,” Bice said, before turning on Neese, telling the audience, “My opponent has spent $700,000 attacking me and joining her is a D.C. group that is the original Never-Trumper organization, spending almost $1 million trying to defeat President Trump in 2016.
When Neese gave her opening statement, she took a swipe at Bice, saying that the senator had approached her in 2019, offering to support her congressional campaign, before giving her stump speech about growing up in the Cotton County community of Cookietown and how she did not want to go to college. Instead, she said, she wanted to start a business, which she did with $600 – the Terry Neese Personnel Services business that was noted in an aforementioned story published by The Frontier.
“I am pro-life, pro-Second Amendment and pro-Trump,” Neese said, adding that voters need a candidate they can trust. “Can they trust Terry Neese or Kendra Horn?”
Midway through the debate, questioner Aaron Brilbeck asked Neese about her decision to not accept President George W. Bush’s nomination of her to head up the U.S. Mint, and noting the aforementioned exposé brought forth earlier in the day in The Frontier.
Neese bristled at the mention of the story, declaring it a lie. She wanted to prove it to one and all that her story all along, about taking care of her elderly mother, was the real reason for declining to accept the post at the last minute. Sauntering up to the edge of the stage she declared she had been “100 percent processed” and approved by the U.S. Office of Government Ethics. She also noted a date in early September, that being two weeks before she declined to go forward with accepting the nomination.
“Wake up, folks. We’ve got somebody who is putting out a lot of dirt,” Neese said, complaining that this information was hitting her campaign just a week before the runoff election.
Asked to respond, Bice said, “These are really disturbing allegations. I read the article and listened to a little bit of the audio and it’s pretty damning. Unfortunately, this is the type of stuff the Democrats will use against us in November and I think you have to ask yourself, you know, if you believe that information or what kind of impact this has.”
Noting how Club for Growth-sponsored negative and false attack ads were launched against her campaign in the week running up to the GOP primary in late June, Bice said she “knows how it feels” to be attacked with only days before voters hit the polls.
Neese pounced.
“Like you say, it’s anonymous,” Neese said, referencing the anonymous source providing the tapes to The Frontier. “So why don’t you have someone who will actually come out and talk to us about it? It was you, Stephanie.”
“That is absolutely, unequivocally false,” Bice responded.
“No, it’s not. I know the truth,” scolded Neese.
“I have nothing to do with those tapes,” Bice said.
Neese continued, seemingly wanting to change the subject. “Neither have I. It’s anonymous. I have no idea where it’s coming from. This is really ridiculous. Let’s get back to the issues. That’s what we’re here for.”
Savage agreed, adding, “Just for clarification, is that you on the tapes?”
Neese did not deny it was her voice, only saying, “I have not listened to the tapes.”
MASKS, the “CHINESE VIRUS” and CONGRESS
When moderator Tres Savage asked Neese about U.S. Sec. of Education Betsy DeVos having suggested that school districts that choose not to reopen for in-person instruction should lose federal funding and that Congress could make that decision and, if elected to Congress, would she vote to withhold federal funding for schools that make that decision, Neese and Bice agreed.
Neese said it was a local matter and that children need to go back to work, before correcting herself and saying that children need to be back in school.
Bice, meanwhile, responded that in-person schooling is optimal.
“I do believe strongly that schools should be in session, in person,” Bice said, noting that schools across Oklahoma had implemented CDC recommendations on masks, social distancing, hand washing and using sanitizer.
“I think that kids are resilient and keeping them out of the classroom can exacerbate a whole host of other issues. Emotional and social issues that can be detrimental long term,” Bice said. “I want kids back in the classroom, but cutting funding is not the answer.”
When questioned about the best way to save lives in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Bice said that while following the CDC recommendations was key, Americans needed to know that the spread of the virus was exacerbated by the inactions of the Chinese Communist Party which she said was not forthcoming with information about the virus and what it was doing to its citizens within the borders of China.
“We need to hold China accountable for this decision and make sure that something like this doesn’t happen in the future,” concluded Bice.
Neese also chimed in, echoing President Trump by calling it the “Chinese virus” and how it remains on “our shores.” Neese said Americans know best how to “police” their own lives, even in the midst of the pandemic.
“We know how to police ourselves,” Neese said. “I don’t think we should mandate masks nationwide. I think that we, personally, can police our lives, do what the CDC tells us to do and really focus on that. It’s important.”
When Savage asked Neese about Trump’s handling of the coronavirus crisis, she said the president had done “an incredible job with this Chinese virus.”
“I think he has had a lot of leadership that has helped him with this crisis,” Neese said. “I think he has done an excellent job. I don’t think there is anything he could have done better.”
Bice said Trump took measures that helped slow the spread of the virus that she admired.
“The reality is that he made a tough decision, with a lot of unknowns,” Bice said. “It’s easy to armchair quarterback, but I believe he has made the right decisions.”
Brilbeck asked Bice about “mask mandates” in Oklahoma communities and how those mandates have proven effective in slowing the spread of the virus. Specifically, he asked if Oklahoma City officials made the right call in having a mask mandate going into early September.
“Look, I think Oklahomans have to take responsibility for themselves and be thoughtful in their approach to the pandemic. That can mean wearing a mask. That can mean social distancing. But not every Oklahoma community is the same. What happens in Oklahoma City is very different from what happens in Elk City, Oklahoma.”
“(Wearing masks) is certainly bringing down those numbers and I think people are beginning to see that,” Bice said, clarifying that mask-wearing should be “left up to businesses.”
“I do not believe that the government should tell us what we should do in terms of wearing masks or not wearing masks,” replied Neese to the mask mandate question. “This is freedom. This is America. This is a free world. And we should be able to do whatever we want to do.”
When Savage asked about the declining COVID-19 infection rates and if that was seen as a positive by the candidates, Neese said it was a positive and that more people are getting involved with protecting themselves and one another. Bice added that she wanted to know who was going to enforce the wearing of masks.
MCGIRT FALLOUT
Asked about the fact that Congress never disestablished the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, the candidates were asked what should be done since it applied to not only the Creeks but also the Choctaw, Chickasaw, Cherokee and Seminole nations – most of eastern Oklahoma – what should Congress do to address the potential legal and jurisdictional impacts on civil law and more.
Neese, who has claimed Cherokee heritage, said the matter should be looked into further, without giving any real solid solutions.
Bice, meanwhile, said, “The reality is, that with the McGirt ruling, you created a lot of chaos. Tribal entities across Oklahoma are asking questions such as ‘how does this impact mineral rights? How does this impact sales tax on local communities? How does it impact property tax? And without a real, clear defined endgame for that, it’s going to be very complicated. It’ll be complicated for the state of Oklahoma. I encourage Congress, and I hope to be one of the members doing that, to find a reasonable solution, working with the tribes, to address this very important issue moving forward.”
Later, Neese was asked if tribal nations in eastern Oklahoma should be able to impose a severance tax?”
“I don’t think so,” replied Neese.
“Why not,” Savage asked.
“Because it’s another tax. I’m not for taxes. Any kind of taxes.”
Bice, on the other hand, said, “Congress needs to address this issue so there is more certainty with the tribal nations and those landowners.”
Things got heated when Neese said she had worked hard to help Native communities with educational needs. Bice chided Neese for supporting education in Native communities on one hand, but being against increases for education for other communities and schools in need.
Later, Bice noted the negative attack ads sponsored by Club For Growth, which spread a false narrative about Bice, suggesting she gave herself and other legislators a pay increase.
Neese claimed she had never even heard of Club For Growth, which led to an audible groan in the audience.
“I supported the state budget. It’s a constitutionally-created entity that determines legislative pay. In 2017 they cut our pay by $3,000. This group (Club For Growth) is saying I should ignore the constitution of the state of Oklahoma. I don’t subscribe to that narrative.”
“Stephanie, a $474 million increase.” Neese said.
“There’s always a way to find money, rather than raising taxes,” Neese said.
Bice replied: “I’ve been cutting services, I’ve been cutting the fat. I’ve been doing that. But at some point you’ve got to lead and you have to make tough choices and I did that for Oklahoma and for the future of Oklahoma.”
Brilbeck brought up the fact that Congresswoman Horn has noted how the Republican mayor of Jones, in eastern Oklahoma County, has endorsed her candidacy because she got a bridge built in Jones. That said, if Horn can work in a bipartisan manner, why would a Congresswoman Bice be better?
Bice replied that people were surprised when U.S. Rep. Steve Russell, the incumbent Republican, lost in 2018. She emphasized that people in CD-5 were surprised when a pro-choice congress member was sent to Washington. Bice said she wants to bring back conservative Oklahoma values to Washington.
“I’m a conservative and I will never compromise my values,” Neese said. “I’m going to Washington to stand with President Trump and to move his agenda through Congress. That’s the reason why. That’s the difference between Stephanie and I. I’m planning to go to help President Trump continue his absolutely great administration.”
A question from Savage regarding China was broached, this about a possible scenario where President Trump brought forth evidence that COVID-19 was caused “intentionally by China,” how far would you want the president to go in response. Crippling economic sanctions? Or, “present Congress with articles of war”?
“I think the president has been very tough on China,” Neese said. “This is a Communist regime that is on our shores. And the president, I believe, will continue to be very, very tough on China.”
Pressing for a more direct answer regarding a response to this possible and serious scenario, Neese simply said a domestic supply chain needed to be built so the U.S. would no longer have to deal with China.
Again, not satisfied with her reply, Brilbeck pressed further.
“How far are you willing to punish China, should that be the case?” Brilbeck asked.
“I think we don’t deal with them anymore,” added Neese, implying that economic sanctions would be in order.
Bice, on the other hand, said she did not think an act of war would be necessary. However, Washington, she said, needs to show Beijing that “we mean business."