By M. Scott Carter
The Moore American
May 28, 2008 10:13 am
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Way back in January, just prior to the state of the 2008 Legislative session, legislators across the state issued press release after press release telling us what they planned to do this year.
It was supposed to be a banner year for conservative ideas and policies.
Locally, state Rep. Randy Terrill informed area voters he planned to run the “son of” House Bill 1804, his tough immigration reform act.
Additionally, other lawmakers said they would work to lower taxes — again — and make sure English became the state’s official language.
Former Speaker of the House Lance Cargill said he would “reform” the state’s education system with a teacher merit pay proposal, and state Senator J. Paul Gumm wanted desperately to remove the sales tax on groceries.
Few of those things happened.
Terrill’s second attempt at immigration “reform” ran aground, as did proposals to cut state taxes and a call for a public vote to make English the “official” language of the state.
Likewise for most of Cargill’s education plan and Gumm’s idea for eliminating the grocery sales tax.
And, ironically, all those ideas hit the dumpster during an election year.
Go figure.
Perhaps those pieces of legislation died because cooler heads prevailed.
Perhaps many saw through the rhetoric and instead listened to reason.
Rep. Terrill’s proposals to “strengthen” an already inquisitorial immigration law met with resistance he didn’t expect. Members of the business community and many conservatives across the state — a good portion of Terrill’s base — came out against his second plan.
In fact, many members of Terrill’s own party lobbied against his immigration idea and Terrill’s bill was criticized in newspapers across Oklahoma — including Cleveland County.
Cargill’s merit pay idea fell hard, as did the Speaker’s legislative career.
And Senator Gumm’s idea — which, at first glance, is noble — was tabled because the state couldn’t afford additional tax cuts.
So why the exodus of so many “core” pieces of the conservative platform?
I believe the answer is found closer to home.
Real close to home, for that matter.
While lawmakers would have you believe otherwise, most people are more worried about keeping their house, their job, and dealing with $4-plus gas prices than they are about the state’s “official” language.
In my neighborhood, the talk isn’t about immigration, it’s about the price of bread, eggs and cheese.
Across the state people are worried about simply paying their electric bill or stretching an already thin household budget to keep a roof over their head.
And while “tax cuts” sound like a wonderful idea, those folks doing the driving are more afraid of crumbling bridges than undocumented workers.
Don’t believe me?
Find a soccer mom with three kids who spends a portion of her day going from errand to errand; she’ll tell you she’s using grocery money to keep gas in the car.
Her husband is more worried about his job, a rocky economy and making sure his mortgage stays current than he is about reforming education.
Sadly, most lawmakers haven’t figured that out.
Instead of addressing — or, heck, I’d settle for just listening — to the real concerns of their fellow Oklahomans, our illustrious Legislature tried spoon-feeding us issues which they were sure would endear them to voters.
They were wrong.
Instead of non-issues like “official” languages and making it a felony to keep a barking dog, lawmakers should try their hand at solving the “real” problems Oklahomans face.
Energy costs, health care and a stagnant economy are a great place to start, or they can continue to create straw men.
But somewhere down the line, those real issues still will need to be addressed. The only question is when.
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