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File Under, ‘Too Much Too Little Too Late’; James Lankford Comes Out Swinging In Favor Of Smaller Government

James Lankford voting record for big spending

Government score taken from the Freedom Index.

Recently, Senator James Lankford has been Tweeting (X’ing?) about the number of US tax dollars our government is wasting. He points to the fact that he’s released his 8th ‘Federal Fumbles’ report this month (2.25) and includes some kind of instance where the government is screwing over taxpayers.

This is frustrating and I clapped back on a couple of the posts I found.

I helped start a group called the OKC912Project in 2008 after Barrack Obama was elected. In 2010, when Lankford ran for his first office, he appeared before the OKC912Project to interview. At that time, he assured us he would help stop Obamacare. He also indicated that he was in favor of smaller government, but that he felt it important to work with others toward consensus. Most of us were very keen on removing government-controlled health care, so I don’t think we worried too much about the idea of consensus as we were expecting that to mean that he’d work with other Tea Party-elected legislators to stop what we felt was the socializing of our American government.

The first year he ran for Congress, I voted for Lankford. I have not darkened a single oval for him since that time for numerous, numerous reasons – I’ve just left the space for ‘Congressman’ or ‘Senator’ blank in the general election after having voted for another candidate in the primary.

Because I want to be fair, I took some time and reviewed every Lankford vote listed on Vote Smart. It was eye-opening. Now let me say this as a disclaimer – there are a LOT of votes listed there in the 15 years he’s been in DC – I’ve done my best and I may have missed a thing here or there, so realize that as you read. I’ve mentioned a few single votes, but the most important thing here is the pattern of voting.

At first I thought his votes were all over the place, but then I realized there was a pattern (I’ve included some of the votes at the bottom of this post FYI).

Here’s the pattern: solid support against socialized medicine (Obamacare), solid support for 2A, solid support against abortion, solid support for funding the military – a pattern almost right out of the Republican playbook, though the military funding issues is more than problematic.

This funding is funding with no oversight. This is funding because “I support our military”. Well, ok. A good chunk of Americans still support the military, but to an extent – they’re certainly not for throwing money at the military without oversight or reason. Part of the reason we have the military industrial complex stoking our national debt is votes like Lankford’s.

But here’s where we really diverge. Lankford supports the continuation of government funding.

He’s voted for nearly every budget and nearly every continuing appropriation over the years. What’s worse, he’s solidly for bills that strengthen the Patriot Act and/or government spying on its citizens. For Pete sakes, he voted for the COVID-19 HATE CRIMES BILL and then justified it by saying that he and Inhofe and another senator added an amendment to protect life! Would these bills have passed even if he had voted no? YES. But the fact that ‘my no vote doesn’t matter’ is not the reason to add a ‘good’ amendment and then vote for a bad bill.

Then there are the votes to keep the military stationed in Iran, Iraq and Yemen. And possibly worse than anything to so many Americans, are the votes to fund OTHER NATIONS while American taxpayers foot the bill. Examples here include voting to aid Syrian opposition, voting yes on the 95 BILLION foreign aid package last year and sending aid to the US border to help the illegals swamping the country.

Of course, for many Oklahomans/Americans, the fact that Lankford voted to certify the Biden election was the nail in the coffin of their support.

Yet there are just as many souls who support Lankford on the basis that he is a Christian and a ‘sweet man’ who worked for a short time at one of the largest Baptist summer camps in the nation. Their analysis of his votes aren’t necessarily important, he keeps babies safe and loves his fellow man. In the face of opposition, or confrontation with his votes, these people often claim that he couldn’t have done anything because ‘Republicans weren’t in control then’.

Here are the number of years Republicans have been in control since Lankford was elected.

There were at least a couple there with Republican control, where Republicans could have worked together to make some lasting changes protecting the American people, but that’s not really the point. The point is the ideology at play here.

It doesn’t matter whether he could have ‘done’ something or not, Lankford’s votes tell the tale. That, and the 3 and 4 page explainers that respond to criticisms from constituents and other citizens that justify every vote as though any criticisms are silly because, well, he knows better. He has always seemed to believe that Oklahomans sent him to DC to do what HE thought was best, not to do what the CITIZENS thought best.

Lankford’s votes tell us that he trusts government. They tell us he thinks the military is great – whether there are generals protecting a soldier’s right to wear dresses or not. They tell us he thinks government is trustworthy and would never spy on its citizens without provocation and if there was provocation, the citizen probably deserved to be spied upon, or that it’s a shame they were ‘accidentally’ caught in a net that caught a very bad person. They tell us he thinks all life is precious – and so much so – that he must vote to send Oklahoman/American taxpayers dollars to other countries to protect their citizens, even while liberals here scream that America is bad and President Trump should be impeached. And all the while the debt clock keeps ticking, whether Americans see the amount of debt piling up around them or not.

Is James Lankford a nice person? Yes – even when people aren’t kind to him. His office even helped our family get one of our children out of a National Guard deployment during COVID that became abusive and unjust and I’ve been one of his biggest critics since his first term as a Congressman.

Does Lankford vote wrong every time? No. He certainly came out strong for all of Trump’s cabinet picks this year and has definitely voted against some very destructive policies over the years. But these are exceptions to the pattern and the pattern is destructive to American sovereignty, national debt and the right of citizens to their privacy.

Unfortunately for Lankford, it’s time for Oklahomans to understand this and to ask him to let someone else take a stab at the job after 15 years. It’s time for James Lankford to move on.

Here are some of James Lankford’s votes according to Vote Smart:

  • 2011 he voted for ‘various extensions of the Patriot Act’
  • 2011 he began voting to continue federal appropriations
  • 2011 he voted for the budget
    • voted against Obamacare
  • 2012 he voted to continue federal appropriations
  • 2012 he voted for a stop-gap spending and disaster relief bill
  • 2012 he voted to both raise the debt ceiling with certain spending limits (after voting no in 2011) and for the budget
    • voted against Import/Export bank reauthorization and against Obamacare
  • 2013 he voted to continue federal appropriations
  • 2013 he voted to approve the budget
    • voted against disaster relief appropriations and Obamacare
  • 2014 he voted to aid Syrian opposition
  • 2014 he voted to continue federal appropriations
  • 2014 he voted for the budget
    • voted against Obamacare
  • 2015 he voted to continue appropriations
  • 2015 he voted for the budget (with Obamacare repeal and other ‘conservative’ items added)
    • voted against the Budget Act that would have extended the debt ceiling
  • 2017 he voted for the budget
    • voted against disaster relief appropriations and for health care freedom bill
  • 2018 he voted for continuing appropriations
  • 2018 he voted for the expensive farm bill
    • voted against consolidated appropriations, sanctuary cities, bipartisan budget act and removing the military from Yemen
  • 2019 he voted against removing military from Yemen
  • 2019 voted yes on an enormous/costly bill related to reducing recidivism in the prisoner population
  • 2019 voted for appropriations that included all kinds of money for the Census, other items and extended the Patriot Act
  • 2019 vote to send millions of dollars to the border for humanitarian aid
    • voted against the bipartisan budget bill with an extension of the debt ceiling and other pork
  • 2020 voted for the CARES Act
  • 2020 voted to keep military in Iran
  • 2020 voted for the USA Freedom Act increasing surveillance on Americans
  • 2020 voted for continuing appropriations
    • voted against impeaching Trump but then voted yes to the impeachment procedures
    • voted for John Ratcliffe
  • 2021 voted to certify Biden’s election
  • 2021 voted for Biden’s picks for Treasury, Sec. of Defense, National Intelligence, Secretary of Veteran’s Affairs, Secretary of Agriculture
  • 2021 voted for Merrick Garland as Attorney General
  • 2021 co-sponsored the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act
  • 2021 voted FOR THE COVID-19 HATE CRIMES ACT
  • 2021 voted FOR THE GROWING CLIMATE SOLUTIONS ACT so farmers can sell carbon credits
    • voted against impeaching Trump
    • voted against the budget
    • voted against Blinken, Buttigieg, Mayorkas several others
    • voted against the American Rescue Plan
    • voted against the Delivering Emergency Assistance Act
    • voted against further appropriations
  • 2022 voted for emergency funding to Ukraine
    • voted to rescind the national COVID emergency
    • voted against Ukraine funding
    • voted against Inflation Reduction Act
    • voted against Ketanji Brown
    • voted against several other Biden initiatives
    • voted against appropriations
    • voted against Respect For Marriage Act
  • 2023 voted against repealing authorization for use of force in Iraq
  • 2023 voted to provide money to United States Fire Administration and firefighter assistance grant programs
  • 2023 voted for continuing appropriations
  • 2023
    • voted against providing funds to Israel following the terrorist attacks
    • voted against numerous Biden administration rules
    • voted to repeal national COVID emergency
    • co-sponsor of bill to protect kids online
    • voted against increasing the debt limit
  • 2024 voted to stop the government shutdown and increase funding to various agencies
  • 2024 voted to extend FISA
  • 2024 voted for American Relief Act for more government appropriations
  • 2024 voted for Wildlife Innovation and Longevity Driver (WILD) Reauthorization Act which provides funds to save animals OUTSIDE the US
    • voted against national security act
    • voted against increasing EPA regs
    • voted for Social Security Fairness Act to allow people to keep the money they paid into the system
    • voted no to expand access to fertility treatments
  • 2025 voted for all Trump’s picks and the Laken Riley Act
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This Is How Government-Issued Private School Vouchers Will Help Turn Private Education Into ‘Non-Public’ (Public) Education

What in the world IS Non-Public education? We’ll get to that in a minute, but first a recap…

At the end of the Oklahoma legislative session in 2023, the House and Senate passed HB1934, a bill which created ‘Universal School Choice’ in Oklahoma as described by organizations like The State Policy Network which have long-championed giving public tax dollars to private education.

All of Oklahoma’s Republican legislators voted for the bill (House, Senate; excepting those ‘excused’).

Afterward, the legislators we spoke with about the vote couldn’t understand how we were against the bill since it was a ‘tax credit’ – the form of ‘school choice’ for which ROPE has advocated against the concept of vouchers.

In fact, these legislators either argued with us about how the bill WAS a tax credit, or about how a voucher would – insert ‘school choice’ talking points – like those asserted in our interview with the Executive Director of the Catholic Conference of Oklahoma, Brett Farley.

Farley, who was instrumental in the creation of Every Kid Counts Oklahoma, the school choice organization for which now-state Superintendent Ryan Walters was made head, actually admitted in the interview that yes, school choice advocates want voucher bills. In the ‘school choice’ mantra, the state already funds [failing] public education, so the only way to create the ‘competition’ necessary to make public schools ‘no longer a viable option’ is to divert state money to private schools.

This ‘logic’ has always been a head-scratcher to me, because the state legislature holds the budget appropriation strings and can choose to fund public education or not, yet every year they complain about how awful public schools are and then award them ‘historic’ appropriations (see 2023 and 2024 for example) while refusing to tie public school results to funding. Make that make sense.

After the Universal Voucher bill passed, I did a full breakdown on the associated rules and found that, as Farley described, the first two tax categories listed provide – not a tax credit as the legislature promised – or was lead to believe – but a ‘voucher’; a grant of Oklahoma tax dollars to private schools for children whose parents applied to the program because they couldn’t otherwise afford private education tuition.

One more time, let’s break down the school choice options afforded to parents in Oklahoma even prior to the ‘Universal Choice’ bill:

  1. Public school;
    • Traditional public schools – Oklahoma has 509 school districts in Oklahoma. None have requirements for entry.
    • Charter schools – according to the Oklahoma State Department of Education website, Oklahoma had 24 of these in 2022. All are taxpayer-supported. Some have requirements for entry, others are a ‘lottery’ system where if the child’s name is randomly chosen, the child may attend, others have no requirement for entry.
      • Virtual Charter Schools – the OSDE records six of these schools which operate either solely on the internet, or a combination of in-person and online, such as EPIC charter schools. There is no requirement for entry
    • Magnet Schools – I could find no information about ‘magnet’ schools on the OSDE website, but an online site called Niche claims there are five in Oklahoma. Magnet schools provide a specific field of study along with ‘typical’ educational requirements for the state. An example would be Classen School of Advanced Studies where students have the opportunity to have in-depth study in the Arts while completing their Oklahoma educational requirements. There are entry requirements for attendance and all are taxpayer-supported.
  2. Private Schools – According to Private School Review, there are 106 K12 private schools in Oklahoma with an average tuition of $7,293. These are private schools because families use their own household dollars to afford the school.
  3. Homeschooling – The Homeschool Mom has an amazing list of homeschool coops and ‘enrichment’ classes available in Oklahoma. This is probably because Oklahoma is the MOST FRIENDLY homeschool state in the union, having written the ability for citizens of Oklahoma to educate their children at home in the state’s Constitution. This is also a private educational form because families pay out of their own pockets to afford this type of education.

So what is exactly the ‘choice’ School Choice proponents are talking about then? Oklahoma has LOTS and LOTS of choices that parents may choose to provide an education for their child/children. What choice did we not have that we had to have last year with Universal School Choice? Oklahoma taxpayer dollars funding private education for parents who can’t afford it – that’s it. That’s all. The ONLY thing our organization has ever objected to in the ‘choice’ menu – publicly-funding private schools.

Last Wednesday (6.5.24), our guest on ROPE Report Live was my friend and fellow homeschooling mom from Broken Arrow, Sarah DeNeui.

Sarah has become increasingly concerned about what would happen to homeschooling and private schooling since the passage of HB1934 and private schools began to receive state money. She talked with us about several of her concerns, mainly that once PRIVATE schools begin receiving PUBLIC money, they would no longer be PRIVATE schools.

Why? Because once tax dollars are involved, the government must maintain some control of the dollars in order to provide accountability and transparency to the public from whom it was taken (by force).

In addition, schools that receive funds from the Federal Department of Education, are required to comply with federal dictates, including, for example, President Biden’s decree that boys enrolled in schools taking federal funds and wanting to be girls, can use the girl’s bathroom. Though many states wrote laws to get around that particular dictate, the Biden Administration then proceeded to write a rule to keep states from placing a ban on the practice. How’s THAT for government control?

The full live video of Sarah’s interview with Michael and I can be found on our Rumble and YouTube channels, but here is the most concerning issue Sarah raised. In this short video segment, she tells the story of reaching out to her contact in the OSDE questioning a press release concerning the creation of an “Office of School Choice” in the Department. She was interested in exactly what the ‘office’s’ duties would entail.

Essentially, when the answer to her question was returned, it included a phrase she’d never previously heard – non-public education. Sarah wanted to know more, so she went out onto the internet to find that the federal government has an Office of Non-Public Education. Here’s their mission:

ONPE fosters maximum participation of nonpublic school students and teachers in federal education programs and initiatives. Since the initial passage of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) in 1965, private school students and teachers have been eligible to participate in certain federal education programs.

So, the definition of ‘non-public education’ then, relates to private schools that take federal (and/or state?) funds.

The Office of Non-Public Schools even has a list of “private elementary and secondary schools, and/or home schools (?!?!) with which the U.S. Department of Education (Department) regularly communicates regarding the participation of nonpublic elementary and secondary school students and teachers in federal education programs and initiatives”.

It might behoove parents sending their children to ‘private’ schools to find out if the organization under which their private school is sanctioned, or accredited, is on the list provided here. And beyond that, to check DIRECTLY with their private school to find out whether or not they are truly PRIVATE – taking only private funds, no tax dollars.

This is HIGHLY problematic. It should go without saying that the more education becomes funded by a governmental entity, the more controlled it is by the government and the less free parents are to decide what is truly best for their child/children’s education. And we’re not the only organization to believe that.

Sherri Few, President of the organization USPIE (United States Parents Involved in Education) said this in a recent interview with FOX News:

“We don’t want private schools to accept money, no strings attached initially, get dependent on it and then the government starts throwing down these regulations in exchange for the funding. Then they’re stuck having to make a choice of either closing their doors or compromising their values in order to continue to accept the federal and state funding.”

Alex Newman of Liberty Sentinel told us the exact same thing in his interview with ROPE last year.

As did Robert Bortins, CEO of the worldwide homeschool organization Classical Conversations:

So how again then, does a school choice VOUCHER create freedom for parents? How is putting a school under federal ‘rule’ EMPOWERING for parents?

Sarah asks these types of questions and more in the video below. If you are a Republican FOR vouchers before you watch this segment and are still for vouchers afterward, I’m going to suggest you change your political affiliation – none of the questions asked by Sarah here, result in answers that follow the small-government, personal responsibility/liberty model of Republicanism. In fact, they could all be considered LEFTIST ideals, so how are Republicans buying into them?

The idea of every American parent choosing the form of education they want for their child is fundamental to the concept of personal freedom enshrined in the Constitution and I’ll fight with all I have to preserve that ideal.

HOWEVER, the ideal of ‘school choice’ that includes bringing in the government AT ANY LEVEL of a child’s education while asserting that as a ‘free market principal’ or freedom in any way, is a flat out lie and I’ll fight for that lie to be exposed for what it is and the detriment it will become to actual educational freedom in the long run, every day of the week.

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More Reasons We Support Dr. John Cox

In case you’ve not seen our Facebook posts with further explanations as to why ROPE has chosen to support Dr. John Cox for Oklahoma State Superintendent of Public Instruction, I’m going to paste them into the blog where you can share them with all your smart friends who are NOT on social media!

From June 7th:

A story about Dr. John Cox and why history is important: (update at bottom)

Back in 2012 (or so), the Carter County Republicans asked me (and ROPE) to do a presentation for them about why we needed to fight Common Core. They had the meeting at a hotel near I-35. After speaking, Julia Seay and I and a few others went to Two Frogs down the road to have dinner. Dr. Cox had been to another of our presentations previously and came to dinner with the group that night.

Julia and I both wondered why on earth a Democrat was so interested in fighting Common Core, so, we grilled him – beginning with abortion. He shocked us. He said he was 100% pro life. We asked him about gun ownership and he was 100% pro-second amendment.

As we got further into our discussions, Julia and I both started laughing. Julia actually told him something like, “You’re more Republican than many Republicans we know!” He explained that he’d been brought up as a Democrat and where he lived, there weren’t any Republicans to vote for anyway. If he wasn’t a Democrat he couldn’t vote except in a general election, where he traditionally voted for Republicans.

During the Common Core fight, John consistently showed up to do what he could to push back against an initiative he knew would tie his hands as an administrator and dumb down learning for his students – WHEN FEW OTHER SUPERINTENDENTS – REPUBLICANS OR DEMOCRATS – ANYWHERE IN OKLAHOMA DID.

Today we know that ROPE, Dr. Cox and all those who fought so hard against Common Core and federal intervention into state public education systems WERE 100% RIGHT about everything we said would happen with implementation of CC.

Since coming out with our endorsement of Dr. Cox yesterday, we have been lambasted and castigated by a prominent Christian once-supporter and had subscribers drop our email newsletter. This is all fine, as ROPE will fight to the death to allow people to express their opinions, but it is UNBELIEVABLY hurtful and frustrating.

To think – after all these years – that ROPE (or me) would support someone who supports policies I/we HAVE NEVER SUPPORTED is nonsensical. Why on earth would someone look at a label before taking the word of others who may know more about the person than they themselves – or even better – INTERVIEWING THE PERSON THEMSELVES?

Ronald Reagan was a Democrat. TRUMP was once a Democrat. One of the – hands down – most courageous, competent public servants we have in office – Cindy Byrd – was a Democrat and WE SUPPORT CINDY BYRD TOO!

I know that the devil has been seeding distrust since the beginning of time. I know he is the Father of Confusion and Lies. I know Conservatives have been through the ringer lately and trust is hard.

HOWEVER, allowing ourselves to tread water in a sea of emotion, where we all get spooled up in the back-stabbing, intrigue of ‘politics’ to make us feel as though we’re ‘doing’ something – we need to STOP AND THINK – and use discernment and reason to chart our course.

I’m not saying ANY man is perfect – only Jesus gets that label among humanity. All I’m saying is, the more we use emotion over reason and the more we desire to fight with one another, the faster we lose any chance of gaining the ground we’ve lost to the Communists – who are our REAL ENEMY and threat to individual liberty.

**I’m also going to add here – ROPE is not funded by anyone. We tried to be a PAC but it didn’t work. We have always supported this group on gas donations and out of our own pocketbooks. We don’t owe allegiance to anyone or any group. About what other advocacy group can you say that?

And from my personal Facebook page June 9th:

Yesterday, a person tagged me in a post that said they didn’t understand our stand for Dr. Cox because he has ‘never stood for parents’.

Here is the truth: Dr. Cox STOOD WITH PARENTS AGAINST COMMON CORE when only one or two other Superintendents did. But even that isn’t the issue here.

While Dr. Cox was labeled a Democrat, he STOOD WITH PARENTS against a FEDERAL TAKEOVER OF EDUCATION.

Here is the list of REPUBLICANS who stood AGAINST PARENTS and FOR FEDERAL EDUCATION: Former State Superintendent Janet Barresi, former governor Mary Fallin, former Senator Clark Jolley (who is running for state Treasurer and who wrote the bill to insert Common Core AND OTHER OBAMA EDUCATION INITIATIVES – into our state) and the state Chamber. Oklahoma Council For Public Affairs (OCPA) NEVER GOT INTO THE FIGHT FOR PARENTS AT ALL ON THIS ISSUE.

Who was right about Common Core? #ROPEWASRIGHT all it takes is a bit of internet search to find all the studies indicating just that.

As I’ve said before HISTORY IS IMPORTANT and if you choose to overlook it, you do so at your own peril.

In the end, who knows what Dr. Cox will do if elected – we can only go on our past experience with the man and the things he’s committed to us and the public. Obviously, Dr. Cox is human – as are we all.

We continue to remain friendly with Secretary Walters, but I did tell him, when I called to inform him of our endorsement, that one of the gravest concerns we have about his candidacy, other than his desire to see vouchers implemented statewide, is all the people with whom he associates.

In fact, his associates – all on ECKO’s Board of Directors – include former Policy Director for Mary Fallin, (Jake Yunker) – who, with former Secretary of Education Janet Baressi fought the repeal of Common Core – former Representative Lee Denney who fought against the repeal of Common Core and Jennifer Monies, who has worked extensively with the State Chamber who fought Common Core. This election cycle, Secretary Walters has had fundraisers thrown for him by both Jeb Bush – a Common Core and school choice proponent – and Betsy DeVos whose family runs the American Federation for Children 501(c)(4) and PAC; the (c)(4) of which reported 8 million dollars in revenues in 2019. Those names don’t inspire the idea of ‘parental rights’ to us, but the top-down, administrative, big government solutions of which we need to rid Oklahoma, not double-down.

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