Charles McCall Out of Touch with Oklahoma and National Voters
Will McCall Lead the GOP House Caucus to Defeat in 2018?
Newly elected Speaker Charles McCall gave an astounding interview with the Tulsa World last week where he claimed that passing Real ID and passing a teacher pay raise were his priorities for the coming legislative session.
The rookie legislative leader acts as if Trump didn't just defeat the RINO Republicans and the liberal Democrats by standing up for the common people. Now, despite a $868,000,000.00 budget shortfall and another looming state revenue failure that will surely push the deficit over one billion dollars McCall continues to pander to the teachers unions and focusing on growing big government and stamping on privacy and fueling identity theft.
McCall is supporting increasing the tobacco tax, a hike in fuel taxes, and a massive program of billions of dollars in new state taxes on services that have never been taxed. At the back of McCall's list is "reforming" the billions of dollars in existing tax credits and incentives, all put in place by the State Chamber of Commerce who is responsible for McCall's rise to power. Reforming? How about taking an ax to the billions of tax credits that were handed out like party favors in return for campaign donations?
McCall also ignores the fact that it is going to take a 75% majority to pass these billions of dollars in new taxes meaning without the Democrats and the conservative Republicans he stands no chance of ever passing tax increases. They doubled the fees across the state last year after doing almost as much the year before. The one time money has all been robbed, leaving the agencies and commissions scrounging for money to keep the doors open and continue servicing their industries.
McCall KNOWS that most of the conservative Republicans will stand their ground in opposition to these billions and billions in new taxes and even if they didn't they would need at least two Democrats to cross over. The Democrats are smart enough to know that raising billions in taxes on the backs of the working class and middle class will mean they will gain seats in 2018 and all they have to do is oppose the taxes.
In the midst of this there are bills promising thousands of dollars of pay raise for teachers despite the resounding defeat of their state question on the issue. Each $1000.00 in raises costs the state fifty two million dollars on top of the billion dollar short fall. And the real joke is that the local school districts can raise teacher pay anytime they wish by raising local taxes but these school boards and county officials are intelligent enough to realize they would be sticking their head into a meat grinder by raising taxes.
At the end of the article McCall states that if the billions in new taxes can't be imposed upon Oklahomans then they will look at reducing expenses…. Yah think?
Real ID is the red cape that McCall is waving to try to misdirect the grassroots while he imposes the billions of new taxes on Oklahomans. Despite the change of leadership at the national level McCall needs to use something to distract and bargain with. What better than the privacy of Oklahomans? A passport isn't needed to get on an airplane but most Oklahomans already possess a passport if they need to get inside a Federal building. Trump will likely knock down this silliness anyway if the feds don't back off. The fact is that not a single state has yet to come into full compliance with the Real ID act is all you need to know. Anyone can get on an airline without a compliant ID, I have personally seen illegal aliens board after showing a piece of paper with their name written on it. Sure they are taken back and have their identity verified but you see them sitting at the gate a few minutes later.
