I was scrolling through Twitter this morning and stumbled across this tweet by confirmed plagiarist and Civil War Batman fanboy Josh Cockroft. He's a state rep and one of the anti-government conservatives who's helped make Oklahoma the broke dystopian hellhole it is today.
It's time to listen to Oklahomans? Uhm, shouldn't that already be a primary responsibilty of a lawmaker? That would be like the Dunkin Donuts man writing a column about how it's time to make the donuts. It shouldn't be a rare occurrence saved for only the most extreme situations.
Josh's column shows how out of touch certain lawmakers are with realty. Check it out:
As I write this column, it’s the morning of Monday, September 25; the day Governor Fallin has called the legislature into special session to fix several budget related issues facing our state. (Most of you won’t read this until Thursday when it will be put in print in the paper). A majority of the time when you read my columns the process begins by me directing my staff to prepare a skeleton statement based on what I want to discuss, then handed back to me to refine, change, and write any final points I see necessary to share. However, I feel this column as we begin special session is important enough to take the time and type this myself. I want you to hear directly from me and my heart as we move forward. This is less of a position statement, and more of an ideological reflection from one of your elected officials.
Yes, "this column as we begin special session is important enough" that he didn't have his intern write it like all his other official communication. That's probably not the best thing to admit in your opening paragraph. That would be like me starting this piece by saying most of my blog posts are written by old Tate Publishing employees from the Philippines, except for the important ones about Emily Sutton and Josh Cockroft. It kind of hurts your credibility.
We are facing incredibly challenging and important times in our wonderful State. At no other time that I have been in office have we met such trials challenging the well-being of Oklahoma. As such, it is past time to put petty political politics behind us. It’s past time to put personal agendas behind us. It’s past time we stop worrying about how conservative or liberal an idea is and to start worrying about its effectiveness. It’s past time for this state’s leaders to not worry about what move would be politically advantageous for us or create opportunities for our future. It’s past time we stop polarizing every issue and every decision. It’s past time to fix Oklahoma’s state government.
Confused syntax and repetitive wording aside, shouldn't all the past time things Josh listed be primary duties of lawmakers? Also, maybe it's "past time" that Josh stops writing his own columns. Farm that responsibility back to your worried staffers...
"What's Representative Cockroft doing in there?"
"Writing his newspaper column."
"Uh oh. That's why he bought new crayons."
Here's more:
There is no doubt we have a tough road ahead, but we have also come a great distance. In my eight years in office I have been privileged to play a part in hundreds of policy measures which have moved our state forward in a positive direction. These policies have been agreed upon by vast majorities of lawmakers and constituents alike and have led to real positive change in our daily lives. These are the things we must remember as we seek a better tomorrow. This attitude of cooperation is what we must strive for as we tackle the challenges of today.
LOL. Seriously? Please share some of the "hundreds of policy measures which have moved our state forward in a positive direction." If they were so successful, why is Oklahoma in such dire straights? The only people who have witnessed "positive change" from the policies of Oklahoma lawmakers are bill collectors, oil company executives and rural elementary students who don't want to go to school on Friday.
A common misnomer is that people on opposite sides of the aisle or viewpoints can’t work or live in cooperation. We can and we must. I’ve seen it happen and know it will happen again. We won’t always agree, yet this ability to disagree and at the same time move our state forward is woven into the very fiber of our country. However, respect for each other’s position, and not political posturing, is the key to success. We in political office often lose this respect for each other and the people we serve.The media and general public are quick to pick up on and expose this discord.
Yeah, that's really not a misnomer. I think the word you were looking for was "misconception." Just trying to help you out, Josh. Be sure to make that edit before submitting your draft to the newspaper.
With every moment I serve my state, my heart is resolution. My goal is restoration. My practice is respect. I will not always vote exactly how you would. I have and will continue to make mistakes and bad votes; I am human. I will not always follow either major political party. However, I will listen. I will represent you to the best of my ability. I will have respect for your views. I will encourage my colleagues to pull together instead of apart. I believe the public can do the same.
My heart is resolution? What does that even mean? Did you mean to say my heart is full of resolve? Stick with the cliche, man! Don't try to change it up on us.
I don’t have all the answers (editor's note: obviously), but I do know Oklahoma’s government needs recurring revenues, reforms, consolidations, growth, conservative and liberal approaches, all political spectrums and ideas, and both short-term and long-term solutions. Yes, all these are possible at the same time. The only question is if we’re willing to put the social media and instant reactions aside, forget our agendas, roll up our sleeves, and get to work; like Oklahomans do. Oklahoma’s future doesn’t belong to one political party or candidate. It belongs to all of us. In what shape will our children find it?
I think the answer to that question is "past time resolution."
Anyway, I like to criticize and make fun of dopey hypocritical lawmakers like Josh who blindly serve our greedy oil overlords, but at least he's showing some "resolution" and acknowledging our state has problems that need fixing. Is he the right guy for that job? Of course not! But at least he's giving it a shot and attempting to be honest about things. I guess that counts for something in the past time.
