WOW!  What an interesting week of politics in OKC!  And best of all, nothing was accomplished.  The eight hundred pound gorilla in the room is that there is still no budget deal (in which  we, the minority party, is not allowed to participate with the negotiations anyway).  Because of that, the House leadership refused to do anything with joint committee amendments. Meanwhile, the House majority party female members decried actions of their newly elected State Republican Party Chairman because or what they consider an inappropriate hiring.  On the other hand, we in the minority party are actively looking to replace our State Democratic Party Chairman in a soon to be held election.    The present Chairman publicly took a position, allegedly on behalf of the entire State Party, that is directly contradictory to the position held by a significant majority of the duly elected members of the party that are in the legislature on an important farm issue.  This week both caucuses met frequently (we met daily) to discuss the ever-changing political landscape, and, as I said, as a result of all this, we were quite busy but nothing was accomplished.  In theory, the legislature can remain in session up until the last Friday in May, but in at least the last twelve years, we have never convened after Memorial Day.  To hold to that tradition would mean we would have to approve the yet to be decided upon, but still secret budget, pass all of the laws necessarily associated with it, and address all the bills that are pending in joint committees next week; which is what makes our doing nothing this week all the more frustrating.

Click below to read Rep. Ben Loring's legislative update.