The Don't Ask, Don't Tell Caucus
May 12th 2019 Newsletter
Several members of the caucus contacted us last week but not a one of them followed through on promises to distance themselves both politically and socially from the four men responsible for the Sexual Battery/Sexual Harassment scandal.
What we offered was a clean slate if they did the right thing by announcing their exit of the DADT caucus and beginning the process of establishing credibility with the remaining conservative legislators. These men know that they will be political orphans if they wait too long to make a deal and they will continue to suffer backlash by association with men under investigation.
Between the Pay to Play scandal covered in this newsletter and the Sexual Battery/Sexual Assault investigation one has to wonder how far they have compromised themselves to McDugle, Kannady, Fetgatter, and Wallace. If that is the case the best option, the only option, is to come forward and come clean with leadership.
The door remains open, a simple reply to this email stating that they are no longer associated with the four men and their caucus will be taken at face value but concrete action will be needed, especially for the ones that Manger that purposely attacked a sitting conservative House member. A phone call will not do boys. Put it in writing and then follow up with your promises.
Chris Kannady on Russian TV Attacking the U.S. for not Funding Resettlement of a Terrorist Responsible for Throwing a Hand Grenade causing a Death and Two Horrific U.S. Soldier Causualties
The Man That Would be the Next Gene Stipe
That was how the arrogant and conniving Christopher Kannady thought of himself, aspiring to be as influential and manipulative as the long serving state senator from McAlester. Like Stipe Kannaday got to be a House member after a short stint in the military. And like Stipe Kannady seems to feel invulnerable enough and entitled enough to break the laws when he sees fit.
Stipe was indicted in 1968 on federal income tax evasion over not paying tax on $110,00 but acquitted of the charges. Then a 1975 bankruptcy case landed him in the cross hairs again over a $100,000 retainer in a bankruptcy case. Stipe returned $60,000 to settle the matter with the trustee. Then he was indicted again by a federal grand jury for fraud in a SBA loan for a frozen food company in McAlester but was acquitted once again. While awaiting that trial he was indicted by another federal grand jury for fraud, extortion, and conspiracy in an extradition case. Stipe resigned from the Senate in early 2003 and pled guilty to federal perjury charges, and for obstruction an FEC investigation in illegal contributions to a 1998 congressional race. He received five years probation, six month's home detention, given 1000 hours of community service and fined nearly three quarters of a million dollars. He lost his legislative pension and his law license as he had been convicted of a felony.
Then in 2007 Stipe was in hot water again for associating with a known felon, former business partner Steve Covington. He faced mental capacity hearings and was found incompetent to face a probation revocation hearing. And ever the overachiever, while waiting the decision of competency, Stipes and his brother Francis were indicted again on mail fraud, witness tampering, money laundering, and conspiracy involving a real estate deal with a pet food company. Stipe dies without facing trial on those charges as he had been found incapable.
Don't Ask, Don't Tell Caucus Pay to Play Scheme
And Kannady was indeed following in Stipe's footsteps. Let's just hope he doesn't die in a mental hospital like Stipe did.
An example of the corruption is SB 608 where Kannady was the House author, it changed a few words in existing laws to benefit Boardwalk Distribution. The owner of Boardwalk is one Bryan Hendershot who handed out nearly $100,000 in campaign donations during the legislative session, illegal if a PAC or lobbyist had done so, but Hendershot did this as an individual. Hendershot also hired four lobbyists, costing an estimated quarter of a million dollars, to push the bill through the process.
The result, 27 of the 36 House members that received the bribe... cough, cough, I mean contribution, voted for the bill. Six walked the vote, in pink text below in the picture and you know why, and two voted no, marked in green, and one chose Constitutional Privilege. Twenty seven bought and paid for, nine were a poor investment by Hendershot.
Red votes bought and paid for
Green votes not for sale
Pink votes were cowards who had taken money
And Hendershot is alleged to have bought his access to Chris Kannady by being part of the Washington dark money funding that Kannady, McDugle,, West, and the rest of the Don't Ask, Don't Tell caucus used to take out the conservatives in the primaries. The way the federal contribution laws are it might take several years to find out exactly who funded that dark money. Or a bribery investigation into the Don't Ask, Don't Tell caucus would do the exposure much quicker.
Whether the bill is good or bad is not the issue. A bill that was good should be able to pass on its own without $400,000 spent on bribes and lobbyists, who by the way doled out who knows how much in gifts, drinks, and dinners to these same legislators.
Over on the Senate side Hendershot bought six votes and two he paid voted no. However, once the legislators have the votes it is common to allow some legislators to switch votes or just have the votes counted before you call the vote so they know it is safe to vote against what they were paid to support. In reality, they were paid for their leadership, not the vote.
And in addition to the eight senators that were bought the entire Senate PAC got a spiffy $5000 contribution. That apparently was more than enough to pay Senate leadership to push the issue or at least stay out of the way.
Red votes bought and paid for
Green votes paid for but voted no
The bill remains on the Governor's desk but remains unsigned after five days. Hopefully Stitt will realize the depth of corruption and veto Kannady's corruption and make the legislature take the issue back up legally and honestly in the next session. Any bill with Kannady's authorship ought to be suspect as well and vetoed regardless of the content.
