TO RUN FOR OFFICE IN OKLAHOMA, YOU NEED TO BE A REPUBLICAN

 

                                           …Scott Pruitt, former head of the EPA

 

Apparently, Democrats are in short supply in Oklahoma

 

It amazes me that some of the former losers in the GOP, especially those that worked in the former president’s administration, are now running for office.  That’s not to mention, Ms. Sarah Palin running for a House position in Alaska.

Apparently, Oklahoma Republicans will just ignore the bad job they did, when they were working for former President Trump.

The latest example is the former leader of the EPA, yes the former cabinet member that was previously running the Environmental Protection Agency.

Mr. Scott Pruitt, who led the EPA until he was forced to resign amid a series of ethics scandals in 2018.  He is now launching a Senate bid in his state of Oklahoma.

Pruitt at 53, is running to fill the unexpired term of Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), who announced in February that he will step down next year.  Inhofe had handily won reelection in 2020, meaning that whoever wins the November special election for his seat will serve what could be, much too long.  It would be until 2027.

Pruitt filed his state Declaration of Candidacy, and just in time for the deadline set by the Oklahoma State Election Board for candidates to submit their paperwork to run in the June primary.  In a statement, Pruitt said he “could not stand idle with so much at stake and be a spectator."  Yeah right.

Of course, Pruitt just had to add: “The current Administration’s policies have taken us backwards, making us dependent on our enemies and subjecting Americans to higher energy costs. … I have always engaged when it mattered and it matters now more than ever. Oklahomans know I fight hard, and fight on principle, and that’s exactly what I will do as our next U.S. Senator.”

Pruitt did not appear to have a campaign website at the time he made this announcement.

Before being tapped by President Donald Trump to lead the EPA, Pruitt was the Oklahoma attorney general from 2011 to 2017 and he served in the Oklahoma, as a State Senator for eight years.  He also pursued an unsuccessful U.S. House bid in 2001.

Pruitt resigned from the EPA in 2018 amid controversies over his lavish spending, ethical lapses and management decisions.  During his time leading the agency, Pruitt faced questions about his taxpayer-funded first-class travel, a discounted condominium rental from the wife of a D.C. lobbyist, and the installation of a $43,000 soundproof phone booth in his office.

What the hell he needed with a soundproof phone booth just says to me that he had to keep some of his conversation very private, probably because they weren’t to perform any legal business.

He also previously faced allegations that he repeatedly enlisted subordinates to help him search for his housing, to book personal travel and to help search for a six-figure job for his wife.

Yep, that’s just one of the items that he probably needed to keep quiet in his sound-proof phone booth.

In his resignation letter, Pruitt called it “a blessing” to serve in the Trump administration, but he said that “the unrelenting attacks on me personally, my family, are unprecedented and have taken a sizable toll on all of us.”

A half-dozen other candidates are also running in the GOP primary, including Rep. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) and former state House Speaker T.W. Shannon. Former congresswoman Kendra Horn (Okla.) is the lone Democrat running for the seat.

Oklahoma also has a regularly scheduled Senate election in November. Sen. James Lankford (R) is running for re-election.

Let’s face it, Oklahoma is a very Red state.  Apparently, the citizens of Oklahoma don’t seem to care if their candidates have been operating on the other side of the law. 

They Just need to be members of the Republican Party.

Copyright G. Ater 2022