For the second time in less than a month, an Oklahoma government investigation has determined that Ryan Walters is criminally incompetent but not yet criminally responsible for wrongdoing.
Yesterday afternoon, the Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency – an allegedly nonpartisan legislative watchdog group that “ensures government spending is efficient and transparent” – released the results of their investigation into Ryan Walters’s reign of terror at the Oklahoma Department of Education.
Here are the basic details via KFOR:
The results of a government spending investigation were released on Tuesday.
The Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency, or LOFT, report examined how State Superintendent Ryan Walters and the Oklahoma State Department of Education spent taxpayer dollars.
The report found no criminal wrongdoing but did uncover breakdowns in communication by Walters and the department.
“This is a waste of time for the people of the state of Oklahoma,” said Walters after the findings were released.
Ryan Walters and I rarely agree on things, but I actually share his sentiments. This investigation really does feel like a major waste of time!
Seriously, who conducted this thing? Captain Obvious and Deputy No-Duh? They spent months allegedly investigating this dufus of the damned, and the only criticism they could muster was that he’s a bad communicator? That would be like investigating Governor Kevin Stitt and simply determining he looks like Carl from Sling Blade!
Another reason the report was a waste of time is that it didn’t look into Walters’s misuse of taxpayer dollars to promote himself on the national stage.
Via The Oklahoman:
At least two state lawmakers − Democrat Rep. Meloyde Blancett of Tulsa and Republican Rep. Mark McBride of Moore − said the LOFT investigation should be expanded beyond just the five spending areas covered in the review…
Blancett wrote that LOFT should "examine the use of State Department of Education dollars to conduct travel for purposes not related to the operation of public instruction in Oklahoma, but rather for political purposes."
McBride agreed LOFT's examination should be expanded. Like Blancett, he, too, said there were other questions that needed to be asked. He said he also would like to see the department's travel expenses examined and has previously raised concerns about the Education Department's spending on public relations.
"I'd like more," McBride said. "There are problems within the agency. There are other things that need to be reviewed. Every agency needs to be accountable to the Legislature and the taxpayer."
The fact that the LOFT investigation failed to look into these areas makes you wonder just how nonpartisan the group really is. Friendly reminder – it’s an extension of the Oklahoma legislature, which, at last check, isn’t known for its competence and impartiality.
In fact, calling LOFT “nonpartisan” is like calling Oklahoma lake water clean – technically possible, but fundamentally misleading. When you have a government body dominated by a single right-wing party, with all its members jockeying for political clout, it's hard to believe their watchdogs are truly keeping an unbiased eye on anything, especially when it comes to their own psychopathic leaders.
Once again, Walters also thought the investigation was a waste of time, but for very different reasons.
In a press briefing following the release of the investigation report, he failed to accept any responsibility and instead leaned on the Trump playbook, dismissing the whole thing as a political stunt orchestrated by his favorite boogeymen. You know, the usual suspects: woke teacher unions, rogue superintendents, conniving political opponents, and just about anyone else he blames when things don’t go his way.
After his blame-game campaign, Ryan followed another tried-and-true right-wing demagogue tactic: deflect and distract in the most sensational way possible.
While the LOFT report was making the media rounds, Walters and his political string-puller Matt Langston announced they had sent VP Kamala Harris a letter demanding the federal government reimburse Oklahoma $474 million to cover the cost of another famed conservative boogeyman – “illegal immigrants.”
Check this out:
What a fucknut, huh? With an intellect like that, it’s pretty easy to see why his wife became a regular at the Harbor Mountain Coffee Shop.
Obviously, Ryan’s bizarre demand, aimed squarely at pandering to his right-wing base, is riddled with absurdities, but that didn’t stop some in the local media from taking the bait and helping Walters expand his message:
Trust me, I get it. When Walters does and says something stupid, the pageviews and clicks generally follow, but you can’t take the easy bait here. I don’t have a problem covering the flawed, abject stupidity of Walters’s antics, but it needs to be covered honestly and with proper context.
For example, instead of just repeating his PR stunt verbatim – which is what he wants – KOCO should have gone with a more direct headline like “Ryan Walters Uses Sensational Publicity Stunt to Distract People from LOFT Findings” or “Criminally Incompetent Moron Sends Criminally Moronic Letter.”
Anyway, I guess if you’re bored and want to waste your time, you can check out the full LOFT report here. If you want to watch Walters spew ultra-pandering right-wing nonsense on Fox News, you can do that below:
Stay with The Lost Ogle. We’ll keep you advised.
