Freedom Caucus needs to rethink its approach to governing
Freedom Caucus Needs To Rethink It's Approach To Governing
They call themselves The Oklahoma Freedom Caucus.
No, these are not Revolutionary War heroes, but a small, loud collection of far-right legislators who came together in 2024. Led by Republican Sens. Shane Jett, Dusty Deevers and Rep. Jim Olsen, the group is part of the State Freedom Caucus Network.
They claim they are for strict conservative principles. But since they went live, they have continually created rifts within the Republican Party and the Republican caucuses in both the state House of Representatives and the state Senate.
If you believe them, they are the sole experts on both the state and federal Constitutions and Christianity. They say they are advocates for limited government, personal responsibility, constitutional authority, and the preservation of “God-given freedoms.”
They don’t define these concepts, but know that with the OKFC, there is no room for dissent.
If another lawmaker dares to disagree, that lawmaker is vilified, labeled as unpatriotic and, in some cases, labeled as evil. Those who dare to raise questions are simply pushed out.
And while they generate a great deal of political theater, they’re just not very good at governing.
Instead of working with other elected officials, hearing ideas and coming together to develop solutions, the OKFC bails on difficult votes, skips meetings, finds others to blame, then derides Republican leadership, making baseless claims that GOP leaders aren’t following party principles.
President Dwight Eisenhower would just shake his head in wonder.
Right now, this state has a large collection of issues that must be addressed – problems with education, health care, infrastructure and public safety.
Last week, legislative leaders took a step in that direction. They watched as Governor Stitt signed a bill to improve the state’s literacy rate. Many lawmakers were involved.
The policy the governor signed represented a focused effort to solve a problem.
Still, it wasn’t an issue that was important to the OKFC.
Instead of working to ensure every child in this state learns to read, the OKFC would rather whine about how many of their bills were heard this session.
“They had 18 Democrat bills heard on the Democrat floor this month, and we, the toprated conservatives, had zero bills,” Jett said in a video posted online. “So, we’re holding Lonnie Paxton, (the Senate’s leader) the whole team accountable.”
For the OKFC, governing isn’t about solving problems but instead about how many bills they can get to the floor.
It’s time for this small group to rethink their efforts. Instead of all the shouting and all the name-calling, it’s time for the Oklahoma Freedom Caucus to realize they have the opportunity to actually govern and work to improve the state’s future.
Slogans, threats and name-calling may generate attention, but they do little to push this state forward. Because freedom isn’t free – it takes effort and work.
M. Scott Carter is an award-winning political and investigative reporter with more than 45 years of experience covering federal and state government and politics in Oklahoma. He can be reached at scott. carter@swoknews.com