OCPA column: Washington smear tactics in Oklahoma

Washington smear tactics in Oklahoma By Jonathan Small Smear tactics are nothing new in Washington, D.C., but those tactics are now being used in Oklahoma. During U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearings, critics portrayed him as a drunk and a rapist. Fortunately, lawmakers saw through those attacks and confirmed Kavanaugh. Sadly, similar character assassination, recently carried out in Oklahoma, sidelined a qualified nominee for the State Board of Education. This sad episode began when Gov. Kevin Stitt recently removed Kurt Bollenbach from the State Board of Education and named Melissa Crabtree of Enid as his replacement. Bollenbach was clearly out of step with conservatives and the governor who appointed him. His removal was justified, because Bollenbach vocally supported efforts to bar Christian schools from serving children who receive scholarships through a state program. The regulations cited to justify that action were illegally adopted, as an opinion by Attorney General Mike Hunter soon made clear. It was obvious new blood was needed on the board. In response, school-choice opponents launched a smear campaign against Crabtree. Sadly, they succeeded, and she withdrew from consideration. Read more » by Jamison Faught - December 12, 2020 at 10:41AM

OCPA column: Washington smear tactics in Oklahoma Click the title to read the entire article at Muskogee Politico