The Rise of Censorship in The Oklahoma House of Representatives: How the Oklahoma House Is Silencing Its Own

What happens when a state representative tries to warn the public—and gets silenced by the House of Representatives.

An Oklahoma State Representative has just issued a chilling, must-read warning to his fellow legislators and the public. The statement describes a massive, woke law enforcement technology company—perhaps a bit like OmniCorp from RoboCop—that has hired a powerful lobbying firm.

According to the representative, lobbyists are now likely walking the halls of the Capitol as the legislative session nears its end, seeking to drop a late amendment—or possibly to gut and replace an existing bill—that could enable the company to secure millions in what are potentially no-bid, sole-source contracts.

These contracts would install tentacle-like extensions of an AI system that, in the author’s view, could set Oklahoma on a path to replace traditional human law enforcement officers with the coldness of artificial intelligence—managed by analysts in distant, detached fortresses far removed from the public they are supposed to serve.

As society struggles to come to terms with the concept of an AGI, the lobbyists may have Oklahoma’s legislators quickly sign off on authorizing the very tools that such an AGI would use to conduct warrantless, omnipresent surveillance.

The author of this chilling warning is right to be concerned. These lobbyists were apparently unable to move their proposal through the normal legislative process. But now—likely enabled by the latest changes in the House rules—they could push their far-reaching idea in a conference committee report, with mere hours' notice to the public.

If you’ve already seen this must-read warning, it’s likely because you are a reader of the OkGrassroots.org website.

But here’s what the keen, observant person with an insider’s view of the legislative process will be asking: “Why wasn’t this warning issued through the Oklahoma House of Representatives’ Media Office?”

Those who are accustomed to receiving various missives issued through the official arm of the House of Representatives will find themselves endlessly entreated to self-congratulatory back patting.

- Legislator A has been declared a member of the class of Oklahoma Achievers Under 40.

- Legislator B is playing ambassador by welcoming a delegation from Taiwan.

- Legislator C is a finalist for the RareVoice Award for state legislators.

- Legislator D has received an award from the Oklahoma Education Association.

None of these missives accomplish the goal of informing the reader about actual items of consequence. Nor do many of the other House Media press releases. They are little more than spam.

Which brings us back to the question: Why weren’t readers of the House dispatches informed of this sensational and ominous warning of impending Orwell?

As I best recall, during the first generation of Republican majority leadership, access to the House media office was unfettered. If a state representative believed something needed to be shared with the entire state, it was their right to have that content distributed.

But during the second generation—under the Imperial Speakership of Charles McCall—things took an ominous turn as reports began to filter out that the media office had started restricting content.

No longer was it a state representative’s prerogative to send out what he believed the people needed to see. Instead, certain types of content were reportedly being discriminated against—presumably at the request of the House Speaker, who is ultimately in charge of almost everything that happens in the House. His control is dictatorial and largely unchecked.

The discerning reader can immediately sense the problem: What gives one state representative—elected from one district—the right to censor another state representative from a different district who represents just as many people?

This is a sick system. And it’s just one more indicator of how far the Republican leadership in the House has devolved.

And now, once again, it appears censorship again has kicked in—blocking the public from easily accessing this important and fascinating information. Why did an independent media site like OKGrassroots.com become the primary outlet for this press release?

If you follow your curiosity and ask around, you’ll find that the author reportedly attempted to distribute the release through the official House Media Office—but was turned down. Reportedly, that office refused to let the people of Oklahoma hear from one of their legislators about one of the most, if not the most, important issues of this legislative year, an issue that almost no one is talking about.

Which brings us back to the point of this article: Legislators continue unabated in sending out pointless and self-indulgent missives, while an ominous warning about imminent policy—something every legislator and concerned Oklahoman would surely be intrigued to read—was reportedly censored by the House media office. And such censorship can only point in one direction: to the Speaker of the House, Kyle Hilbert, who has presumably allowed the censorship practices of his predecessor, Charles McCall to continue in place.

This devolution in openness is yet another sign of the paranoia, control, and general malaise occurring in the second generation of majority House Republican leadership, and is a complete anathema to the policies that I, as a member of the first generation of majority Republicans believed in and worked to enact.

When an imperial, dictatorial leadership is instanced, they kill free thinking, free and open discussion, and replace it with censorship and paranoia.

This poisons the culture of the institution—producing lemming-like house members who lose their sense of identity, get in line, and mindlessly hit their green buttons, unable to comprehend the damage they’re doing because open debate has been discouraged—if not extinguished. They don't even know, what they don't know.

And, as an un-tasty side effect, House leadership puts their own media office employees in the unfortunate position of having to navigate political minefields—refusing to work with certain state legislators on certain subject matters. That’s not a fair position into which a state employee should ever be placed.

When a government leader fails to shield their agency’s staff from political interference, they’re failing at one of the most essential responsibilities of leadership. And believe me, in all likelihood, those employees know it—and deeply dislike it. No state employee wants to be a helpless cog in Orwellian machinery.

So what’s the solution?

During the next election cycle, it is imperative to elect new members who will break up the Speaker’s centralized hold over the House and destroy the imperial speakership.

That reform was envisioned by The Gann Plan, codified in House Resolution 1001. It’s a plan that would allow House operations to be governed by a committee of legislators, who in open and transparent meetings could establish clear policy—including criteria for which press releases could be sent out, such as the one the House reportedly censored Monday.

Any aggrieved legislator could bring their case to this committee in a public meeting.

This would be a key step toward breaking the Speaker’s hold over House members and restoring the openness and transparency needed to return the House to a culture of free thinking, debate, and independence of thought.

As you communicate with your state representative, ask, "Do you support the Gann Plan?"

If they don’t provide an enthusiastic affirmative, you’ll know they are likely enabling the destructive status quo—one that, as this case demonstrates, has far, far reaching consequences for all Oklahomans.

And, know this, the issue of censorship is just one single example of many different issues that are at stake.

Fortunately, with the rise of independent media, censorship like this is losing its effectiveness. One way or another, the word is going to get out—and in this case, readers of OKGrassroots.com have a front-row seat to what may be one of the most fascinating press releases ever issued by a state representative.

Check it out here.

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