Oklahoma Republicans Launch State’s First Freedom Caucus To Put Conservative Priorities ‘Front And Center’
A coalition of Oklahoma Republicans launched the state’s first freedom caucus on Tuesday, making it the 12th state where conservatives have created such a group.
“It is our job to make sure that no one who has been given the direction to represent ‘We the People’ ever use that power or money to run over or erode the freedom of the people who consented to be governed,” GOP Sen. Shane Jett said during a press conference held in front of the state capitol.
According to Jett, who will serve as chairman of the group, the Oklahoma Freedom Caucus (OKFC) will work to ensure conservative priorities aren’t falling through the cracks in Oklahoma’s Republican-controlled legislature. Operating as part of the State Freedom Caucus Network (SFCN), the coalition’s main mission is to focus on getting Oklahoma taxpayers “more of their money back, getting [a] better bang for their buck, and making sure that government serves them and doesn’t rule over them.”
Conservatives are “tired of woke values being shoved down our throats, even in a red state. They’re tired of Republican establishment politicians who campaign like they’re Tom Coburn, but govern like they’re Mitt Romney, ” GOP Sen. Dusty Deevers, vice chair of OKFC, said.
The SFCN was launched in December 2021 to ensure state GOP lawmakers are fulfilling the legislative interests of their voters.
Despite Republicans controlling 23 state trifectas, an in-depth analysis published by The Daily Wire in April 2023 revealed that many so-called “red states” are run by GOP-dominated legislatures that are not as conservative as they should be. The report indicated Oklahoma Republicans have a more liberal voting record than their GOP counterparts in “blue states” such as Colorado and Minnesota.
“Oklahoma is yet another brick red state that needs to be more conservative because its voters are demanding it,” SFCN President Andy Roth told The Federalist. “So, the new OKFC will work with GOP leaders to make that happen or hold them accountable if they don’t.”
In a statement provided to The Federalist, Jett said he expects the OKFC to make a “significant push” for measures designed to lessen the “inflationary pressure” on Oklahomans during its next legislative session. This includes legislation aimed at slashing income taxes and “a reduction in state spending.”
“The Oklahoma Freedom Caucus’ focus will be putting the interest of the taxpayers front and center,” he said. “We will be focusing on policy — not personality or politics — that reflects the respect we have for Oklahoma families.”
The GOP senator also signaled during Tuesday’s presser that advancing medical freedom policies that protect Oklahomans from authoritarian federal mandates will be a major focus of the OKFC in future sessions. Months after the emergency approval of the Covid shots, the Biden administration attempted to mandate that private businesses with more than 100 employees force their workers to get the experimental jab.
The overreaching edict on private businesses was ultimately struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court. As noted by Federalist Senior Legal Correspondent Margot Cleveland, however, the high court separately upheld the “Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ rule requiring vaccines for medical facility workers to take effect.”
“There is still an unrealized mandate from the people of Oklahoma in health care; people who have lost their jobs because they declined to take an experimental vaccine,” Jett said. “Those requests to provide us protection from the federal government, who imposed the will of the federal government and the pharmaceutical industrial complex … [call for policies] I will continue to push for.”
Since the SFCN’s launch, freedom caucuses in other states have faced immense pushback from the GOP establishment. Republican leadership in so-called “red states” such as Wyoming, Idaho, Missouri, and South Carolina have all but gone to war against these freedom caucus members for pushing common-sense conservative priorities.
Despite this fierce opposition, the SFCN is seemingly growing its ranks. According to Roth, 101 of the organization’s 106 lawmakers running for reelection won their primary races this past year. He also claimed more than “two dozen liberal Republicans” were defeated in their respective primary races and SFCN-supported candidates won more than 30 open seats in which there was no GOP incumbent.
Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He previously served as a state content writer for Convention of States Action and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClearHealth, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood
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