Commentary: Was OK Budget Sidetracked by Anti-Electoral College Junket?

Was OK Budget Sidetracked by Anti-Electoral College Junket?
by Trent England, Special to The Okie

The final weeks of a legislative session are usually busy, sometimes frantic. With Oklahoma’s state government facing a budget shortfall and strong disagreements about how to deal with it, this session was set to be challenging right from the beginning. Yet with less than a week to go, three legislators decided to spend a long weekend in San Francisco.

The purpose of the junket is to scheme about nullifying the Electoral College, which is despised by many liberals who blame the constitutional process for Hilary Clinton’s loss and the election of Donald Trump. According to a report by NonDoc.com:

House Minority Leader Scott Inman (D-Del City) said today that Rep. Eric Proctor (D-Tulsa), Rep. Cory Williams (D-Stillwater) and Rep. Shane Stone (D-OKC) told him they would not be at the Oklahoma State Capitol this weekend, but he said he did not know they were out of state. …

Proctor, Williams and Stone spoke to NonDoc together by speaker phone. The three said they are attending an Institute for Research on Presidential Elections conference.

Inman said “they were” at the Capitol on Friday, but the trio said they left Oklahoma about 6 a.m. Friday. …

The members’ absence means that, this weekend, Inman could not deliver the 26 floor votes he has promised for a 5 percent gross production tax deal even if it were agreed to and moved through committee today by Republicans.

Apparently, for these three legislators, meeting with liberal donors in San Francisco to talk about manipulating future presidential elections is more important than balancing the state budget.

Editor’s Note: For more about the importance of preserving the Electoral College, Mr. England wrote about the topic both before and after the election.