Who deserves the credit for a progressive agenda? Most likely the Democrats, and I'm not afraid to give them the credit they deserve. The best part of this, however, is that the passage of State Question 788 will eventually (without the promised hampering and stifling by Mattress Mary and the rest of those who have systematically dismantled education in Oklahoma) provide added funds for teachers and schools without the people having to vote to raise our own taxes.
Novel idea, right? Just keep in mind that this will go much easier for funding if the Republicans in Oklahoma's government don't kill it like they have in Arkansas. So don't wait 6 weeks and start crying about "weed is ineffective and provides no money." Patience, Grasshopper. The election may have taken place overnight, but miracles in government will not.
On Tuesday, the people of Oklahoma spoke. And we spoke loudly. With a final tally of 107,871 votes, SQ788 was passed over 62,138 people who forever want to make it illegal for Oklahomans to seek safe and natural medicine, despite a growing and terrorizing opioid crisis we see getting worse by the day.
What's a landslide, you ask? I'll go with 63.45% to 36.55%. That's a landslide. Trust me, if Hillary had beaten Trump by that margin, in a rigged election, we'd never be hearing the end of it.
But let's turn the focus back to Oklahoma's Democrats for a second...
In 2014, Oklahoma Democrats turned out a small voting crowd. In the middle of the worst Governorship in state history, the vibe on social media was that Democrats were satisfied, overall, because we had a Democratic President and there was essentially no hope for putting a Democrat in the state mansion. The final (D) voter count that year was estimated around 167,000.
In 2018, however, the story is much different. How different, you ask? How about a 132% voter INCREASE amongst Democrats! That'll perk up your pantaloons for the day.
After all was said and done on Tuesday, not only did we watch the Hogs roll up the beavers and smoke them like Trivia Crack on the iPhone games, we also watched as the progressive movement in the state (Democrats) turned out more than 388,000 voters.
So what does that mean for Oklahomans? It means thousands of veterans, who were trusted to carry guns and defend freedom and democracy around the world, can now get the safe, natural, and legal medicine they need. It means we no longer tell veterans with PTSD and other issues that they can't carry a plant anymore.
It means children who are force-fed Prozac since the age of 4 (like my own daughter, without my consent), or those who suffer from epilepsy and tourette's syndrome, finally get a safe means of easing their symptoms (and sometimes curing them), which studies all across the nation and world have proven to be effective with cannabis. Much more effective than the poisons in giant pharmaceutical meds that are deemed "appropriate" for all.
It means Oklahoma has peeled back ridiculous laws and regulations on a plant. A plant that grew naturally from the earth, like aloe or cilantro, long before we had a government that decided to make laws based on religious preferences.
I'm a Republican. Always have been, always will be. But what bothers me the most about Republicans is that they always want to find a Bible verse to force their agenda on everyone, which is highly illegal and a direct violation of religious liberty in the 1st amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America. The same Constitution I (twice) swore an oath to support and defend, and I did so in a foreign war.
So, on behalf of progressive Republicans, and the 388,000+ Democrat voters who turned out a 132% increase in order to pass the medical use of a plant and give us a Governor who won't destroy our sacred institutions like education, I leave you with a bible verse that you can take to the bank, straight from Genesis 9:3.
"And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything."