After the Bennett Administration gained control over the GOP headquarters there was a flurry of activity to get it cleaned up and presentable after much neglect from the Mclain administration. One thing that I saw right off the bat after being asked to come down to look at the office and figure out what needed done was the grass needed mowing. There were weeds that were 18" high and going to seed.
So I hooked onto my enclosed trailer that I store inside my shop at one end of town, headed fifteen miles to my house on the other end of town and loaded up the riding mower. The lawn isn't large but it is quite hilly on the front and you know how riding mowers leave the grass, a bit less than perfect. So back in the trailer goes the mower, back across town to drop the mower off and back to my shop to store the trailer.
Geeze, probably close to a hundred miles to do all this. I need to find some help mowing the lawn. At the time I didn't know what else I could do to help but I could find some help and keep the grass mowed.
So I posted a post on Facebook, on Sooner Politics and on Bob Dani's Oklahoma GOP No RINOs page, asking for people to volunteer once every few months to mow and weed eat the lawn. And of course Facebook being what it is a stream of comments bitching about the GOP not being pure enough, one long exchange between a guy in Tulsa and me about whether or not mowing the lawn helped anything, and lots of "likes" but few people stepping forward to offer to mow the lawn.
I had also sent this out via our email system to Trump supporters. One gentleman associated with a huge car dealership, an executive, was too busy to mow but he wound up donating $1000 for the new conference room chairs. Then a few days later after chatting with him there he was with his teenage son mowing the lawn at night. That relationship turned into an even bigger donation idea a few days later but for now he was pretty much the extent of people stepping forward. I do believe that one of the daytime volunteers at the GOP had paid a man mowing nearby to mow the lawn once as well.
But the biggest response I got from asking for mowing help was from the Communications Director of the Oklahoma GOP, Leslie Nessmith asking me to stop posting about doing anything at the GOP because she was getting phone calls. What led to the text was me texting Leslie about going down to fix the back door and install a shelf that the alarm system company tech said was needed:
"I am fine with that, but you should probably also let John know. And I
need you to do me a favor. Please do not post on Facebook about it or
send emails about it. John doesn't need anybody else attacking him right
now. Seriously… I know you are helping & but a lot of people don't
and want to make problems for John. We have been dealing with a lot of
crap this week and instead of spending time fighting the good fight,
we're having to defend our actions and we just don't have time for it." (Emphasis is mine)
Later after talking with Bennett I confirmed that the main GOP phone number wasn't getting calls, Leslie was getting calls from her friends, most likely abolitionists. Here is a good faith effort to bring in volunteers and donors and Bennett's staff is telling people not to say anything and to stop recruiting.
I have had phone calls complaining about people volunteering and my response is to tell them to get down and volunteer themselves if they think too many of one group is at the GOP headquarters.
There are a bunch more stories to tell about Leslie Nessmith. And they will be told.
John Bennett ran for office claiming to protect the Constitution. Well his staff is trampling on the First Amendment, demanding people to be silent about helping out and not to try to get others to pitch in. These same staffers attacked the survey that was sent out, attempting to prevent delegates and state committee members from speaking their mind in the survey. These same staffers break the GOP rules and try to limit who contacts the delegates and state committee members and there is some evidence that they have shared this same delegate list with the abolitionists who are now getting emails from the abolitionists about religious matters or fund raising for the agenda.
Most of us are still loyal to John Bennett but at what point do we ask "Who is in control of the GOP?"
