Earlier this week, a group called Unite Norman – a collection of Oklahoma GOP operatives, Derplahomans, Qanon footsoldiers, law enforcement sympathizers and other angry conservative white people with draconian views – gathered at a BBQ restaurant to discuss their plans to recall Mayor Breea Clark and other members of the city council for being too radical.
Via The Oklahoman:
An effort to recall Norman Mayor Breea Clark and four city council members for cutting police funding and other actions is picking up momentum, with hundreds of volunteers set to begin collecting signatures this weekend.
Unite Norman's purpose is to remove "divisive and radical" figures from local political office, according to its Facebook page.
"We think that the city council legislates their own agendas based on national trends that are radical," group co-founder Russell Smith told The Oklahoman on Thursday. "They attempted to make Norman a sanctuary city, they have discouraged development as well as discouraged and insulted job creators."
If you read that quote in the voice of Spicoli or a Ninja Turtle, then you'd probably think Russell Smith would be supportive of the City Council's liberalism.
"Yo, Mayor Clark. Those are totally radical ideas! Hang Ten and stick it to the man, man! Cowabunga, dude!"
Unfortunately, it looks like Russell Smith is the opposite of that. Here's a pic of him from the Norman Transcript. He's the dude on the left:
Holy shit. If some artist ever wants to make a statue of a man waiting to speak to the manager at Chili's because his queso is cold, I think we found your model. He kind of looks like comedian Todd Barry, only without a sense of humor, and a huge pole shoved up his ass.
The guy on the right who's gently massaging Russell's shoulder like a tender pork butt is Unite Norman co-organizer Dave Spaulding. A long time sufferer of meat sweats, he's the chair of the Cleveland County GOP and a former Norman City Councilman. He's an old school Sally Kern-style Republican who says things like this in documentaries:
"Homosexuality is an abomination. You need to reach out to those people, or we need to reach out to them, and share with them the Gospel and show them that what they're doing is not conducive to making heaven."
Anyway, those are the two right-wing nutjobs leading the charge to recall local politicians who – at last check – were elected to office by a majority of voters. But don't worry. Even though the effort is being organized and funded by authoritarian right-wing conservatives, it's a "bipartisan" effort.
Smith said the movement to recall these council members and Clark is a bipartisan effort.
“I’m in a room full of Republicans — and I’m a Republican myself — but it’s going to be a bipartisan effort,” Smith said. “We have pure insanity on the council right now and the mayor’s office. What city do we live in right now? It feels like New York City or LA.”
Yeah, I don't think that's how bipartisan works. That would be like Dave Spaulding saying he's bisexual, even though he only has sex with brisket. Also, I was in Norman a couple of months ago, and it sure didn't feel like New York City or LA to me. Sadly, it just kind of felt like Norman.
Anyway, you can read more about this at The Oklahoma or Norman Transcript. It will be interesting to see if these groups can A) get enough signatures for a recall election, and B) get enough votes to recall the councilmembers. If they don't, it may be time for them to reevaluate who has the radical ideas.
