John Birch Society Runs Candidate for Oklahoma Governor
The John Birch Society has tagged former two term Oklahoma State Rep Dan Fisher to be their candidate in the 2018 Gubernatorial race. Fisher is a favorite at John Birch Society events and while he has an excellent Oklahoma RINO Index score for his two terms as state rep his close ties to the John Birch Society are especially troublesome.
The Birchers', as they are known, have a long history of controversy including racism, extremism, and are counted as a fringe group upon the far right. While outright racist opinions from the group itself are generally difficult to document they did oppose the 1964 Civil Rights Act by calling it a communist plot to destroy America.
In general most conservative Republicans will find common cause with many Bircher positions but what offends many is their top down leadership, with the local chapters getting control and direction from the National John Birch Society leadership. That in itself is somewhat communistic. For us the biggest problem is wondering what candidate Fisher might say and if it is his position or the John Birch Society's position.
When the Sooner Tea Party was formed the Bircher's leadership tried hard to infiltrate and caused a lot of division and problems. The grassroots members of the Birchers' were generally helpful and decent folks but the leadership was toxic and troublesome. Generally candidates won't express public support for the Birchers' or let it be known that they are receiving support and direction from the John Birch Society. Many STP members outright rejected any involvement in Birchers' organizations or goals to avoid being tainted as ultra right or racist even if the group hadn't been positively shown to be racist, the feeling was to keep the Birchers' at a distance and it proved to be a wise decision.
For those reasons it is amazing that Dan Fisher has publicly associated and received support from the John Birch Society yet is intending to file for statewide office with all the baggage he carries by association with the group. Not a good idea for conservatives to support this guy.
