Oklahoma State Superintendent of Public Education, Ryan Walters is an ambitious guy. No one is quite sure where those ambitions will lead, possibly not even Ryan Walters himself, but it is clear he has his sights set on some, let's say, higher profile job. What we do know, however, is Ryan Walters won't hesitate to spend the taxpayer's money on promoting, well, Ryan Walters.
In March, the Oklahoma City's local Fox affiliate, KOKH channel 25 in conjunction with the non-profit news organization, Oklahoma Watch discovered the State Department of Education had signed a deal with the Virginia firm, Vought Strategies for $30,000 plus. Whether the contract was signed after competitive bidding--a state requirement--depends on who you ask and their interpretation of the word competitive. The main purpose of the contract seems to be clear though. Vought Strategies was using the majority of the cash to secure Ryan Walters' appearance on national cable TV and radio news shows to air his views on everything from text book approval, to the inventory of public school libraries, and even the crisis on the southern U.S. border.
In short, Vought was being paid to make sure the entire nation would be able to witness the wit and wisdom of Ryan Walters.
In addition, the OSDE under Walters' command has spent somewhere between $22,000 and $30,000 to the Houston based firm , Precision Outreach. They began producing what Walters has described as, "Public Awareness," videos. One of the first was a piece about the evils of teacher's unions. Another warned of the dire threat posed to straight students by the transgender community.
No wonder 130 or so OSDE employees have quit or taken early retirement since this gruesome clown took office last year. (The Superintendent now claims he fired each and every one of the disloyal liberal bastards.)
Walters whole exercise in narcissistic excess came to a head this week when the Oklahoma legislature pushed through an amendment preventing the OSDE from hiring private PR firms. The charge into sanity was led by Mark McBride-R, Moore. Walters responded as he usually does in situations like these. He accused McBride of being a tool of the teacher unions and Joe-by God-Biden himself. It was, he said nothing less than a blatant attempt to, "censor him and Oklahoma parents."
Governor Kevin Stitt weighted in on the issue by vetoing the amendment. The Governor then turned around and proved the widely spread rumor that practically everyone in the state government hates Ryan Walters' guts. Stitt immediately issued an executive order stopping all departments, not just education, from hiring PR firms without state approval. He did so to prevent what he said was taxpayer funds being used to promote the political agenda of one man.
Ah yes, how artfully subtle of you, Governor.
Stitt and Mark McBride aren't the only people in the state who have grown tired of Ryan Walters' act. Recently the Oklahoma State Supreme Court ruled against Walters attempt to exercise complete control over the libraries of local school districts. The OSDE power grab was firmly denied by the court, denying a Walters appointed committee's ability to choose the books read by students in such far-flung places like Idabel, Enid, and Weatherford.
All this nonsense comes after a failed attempt by Walters to publicly fund a church administered school a while back.
The office of Governor will be up for grabs in two years, Stitt can't run a third time. That might be where this demagogue wannabe is headed. However, who knows, further down the line he might even think about rousting James Lankford out of the U.S. Senate. (Lankford pissed off the ultra-fringe by co-authoring an immigration reform bill that Biden said he would sign. A treasonous act to the far right if there ever was one.)
We know he is running for something though. You don't hire PR firms to get you on national radio and TV if you aren't. And, he has plenty of supporters. Reports are Stitt's office was overwhelmed with emails and social media messages demanding he veto the McBride amendment. Too bad those irate yokels didn't realize they were dealing with a man who not only wanted in on the fun of fucking with Ryan Walters, but would act with the freedom of someone who knows his political career is over.
sic vita est
6-15-24
Political statesmanship at its best!
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