Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin need a civics class
Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin proves once more why it is dangerous to be guided by an ideology that makes things up.
The Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled that the Ten Commandment monument violated a part of the Oklahoma Constitution that prohibited the use of public property for religious purposes. Governor Mary Fallin says that the monument will remain at the Capitol while the expensive appeals process takes place. She said, “Oklahoma is a state where we respect the rule of law, and we will not ignore the state courts or their decisions. However, we are also a state with three co-equal branches of government. At this time, Attorney General Scott Pruitt, with my support, has filed a petition requesting a rehearing of the Ten Commandments case. Additionally, our Legislature has signaled its support for pursuing changes to our state Constitution that will make it clear the Ten Commandments monument is legally permissible. If legislative efforts are successful, the people of Oklahoma will get to vote on the issue.”
Subsequently Governor Fallin appeared at the Tulsa Metro Chamber where she was asked about her response to the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruling requiring that the Ten Commandments monument be removed from the Oklahoma Capitol. She said, “I think everybody was a little shocked by the Supreme Court’s decision. I’m disappointed in the Supreme Court’s decision. I respect our Supreme Court justices, they have a job to do, I have a job to do. And I respect them for having a tough job to do, but I don’t agree with them on this particular ruling. The call they made was not the right call. So one of the things that I’ve asked is that the, and the attorney general’s doing this, he asked the Supreme Court to review their decision. That doesn’t mean they’re going to change their mind but I think they need to review their decision. And I think it’s also important that we have time for our legislators, many of whom have expressed this opinion, that they would like to send an amendment to our Constitution to fix any ambiguity and what the article in the Constitution they referred to in their ruling to overturn the Ten Commandments at the state Capitol grounds.”
What was astounding is the manner in which she described the branches of the government. Remember, this is the highest public executive of a state. “You know, there are three branches of our government. You have the Supreme Court, the legislative branch and the people, the people and their ability to vote. So I’m hoping that we can address this issue in the legislative session and let the people of Oklahoma decide.”
The Governor and her ilk are of an ideology that believes in cutting spending at all cost including cutting education. Oklahoma is ranked 48th out of 50 states in education. Her inability to coherently describe the branches of government is probative. Maybe the Governor should invest the money she is using to sue over the Ten Commandments monument to educate the children of her state.
Governor, there are three branches of government. The Legislative branch that make laws. The Executive branch that execute the laws. And the Judicial branch that interpret the laws. Our democracy depends on an educated populace.