BY RUSSELL TURNER
LEAKY ROOFS AND POLITICS
Sooner or later all of us will have to deal with some expensive home repairs. One of the most frequent examples is having to repair a damaged roof. Every time a hail storm hits an area, there are always a host of roofers who will swarm into the area in an attempt to get some of the repair jobs. While many of the local roofers are reputable businessmen, there are always a number that are less than reputable. The prudent home owner is the one who does his homework and searches for a reputable local contractor who will be honest and do a good job. I have found that the local contractor will, for the most part, tell you what you need to know instead of what you would like to hear. Often times the local contractor may be a little higher than the fly by night contractor, but from personal experience I have found that you usually get what you pay for. In spite of all of the warning from organizations such as the Better Business Bureau many people are scammed by slick talking individuals that they have never seen before and more than likely will never see again. Sadly our political process has morphed into a system which closely resembles the fly by night roofer scenario.
I have found that the most capable candidates refuse to abandon their principles for campaign donations and endorsements from people that do not even live in their districts. They understand that campaign cash and endorsements come at a price; the people giving all of this help have their own agendas and will expect favors in the future. We have become a society where campaign cash, dark money and high priced consultants are king. A prudent homeowner would never pick a roofer by the endorsements from someone they didn’t know in another city or another state, but they become so swayed by some celebrity outside of their district they will ignore the local people who are the most capable of doing the job.
What has all of this slick campaigning done for us? In the Oklahoma legislature we have a Republican majority in both houses who claim to be conservatives, but I have found that the word conservative has little meaning to them. There are some true conservatives in the crowd, but whether we want to admit it or not we have elected a bunch of REPUBLICANS IN NAME ONLY (RINOS). Instead of striving to right size government and make efficient use of available monies, there is a trend where the only solution they can see is to increase the size and scope of government along with a never ending increase in fees and taxes.
The elections are just around the corner; we need to be listening to the candidates who tell us what we need to hear instead of what we might want to hear. We need to remind ourselves of the importance of having good representation in OKC that puts the interests of their district first. We also need to do our own homework and stop being influenced by the big money and celebrity endorsements from people who care more for their agendas and not our needs.
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