One Republican state Senator has a message for restaurants and food processors in his state: fetuses are not OK on Oklahoma menus.

Not that they were on the menu to begin with. Indeed, that was the Food and Drug Administration’s reaction to GOP state Sen. Ralph Shortey’s SB 1418: a bill “prohibiting the sale or manufacture of food or products which contain aborted human fetuses.” This clearly isn’t something that’s actually happening, so what would this bill really accomplish?

Some have speculated that Sen. Shortey’s bill is part of a larger statement against embryonic stem cell research – that like a modern-day Jonathan Swift, Shortey’s real argument is that if it’s so obviously outrageous to use fetuses in food-related research, we shouldn’t allow the use of discarded embryos in medical research, either.

Except that argument wouldn’t make any sense, because there are plenty of materials used in medical research that would never be slapped between two hamburger buns. No one would seriously argue that western taste buds are the appropriate bright line for medical ethics.

No – Shortey’s bill was conceived not through high-minded parody, but rather through the Tea Party movement’s most defining characteristic: conspiracy theories. It turns out Shortey really does think fetus-food might be happening, and he sees it as part of a much larger conspiracy of forced organ harvesting:

“But the fact is that there is a potential that there are companies that are using aborted human babies in their research and development of basically enhancing flavor for artificial flavors. And if that is happening — because it is a possibility — and if it’s happening then I just don’t think it should even be an option for a company.”

Shortey added that if you took this idea to its logical conclusion, you could “force every human being” to be an organ donor, “and that’s kind of what we’re doing with these children. Before they’re born, we’re going to kill them and then we can do anything we want to with your body.”

[emphasis added]

This shouldn’t come as a surprise. Really, it shouldn’t – as the primary author of Oklahoma’s version of the “birther bill,” this is not the first time Sen. Shortey has embraced a bizarre conspiracy theory.

What is a surprise, however, is Shortey’s ineptitude as a legislator. His fetus-food bill has an effective date of November 1st, 2012 – which means if there really are restaurants in Oklahoma where, let’s say, you are what you eat, Shortey wants to give them nine more months before they have to stop. Even Mr. Swift would cringe at the irony in that.

The Wisconsin recalls are over, Congress is back in session, and some may think that state legislative politics is SO yesterday. 

But you and I know better. So here’s a rundown of what’s popping. 

In this week’s edition of The Nation, John Nichols explains why things are looking pretty good for Democrats in statehouses. 

There’s a confidence level on display in the states that goes far beyond what is being heard in Washington these days. It is rooted in the fact that state-based Democrats have found winning issues in their fights to defend labor rights, public services and public education against a GOP austerity agenda that cuts taxes for billionaires and corporations while placing greater burdens on working families in a period of high unemployment and economic uncertainty. 

In New Hampshire, where Republicans scored unprecedented victories in 2010, the GOP is losing House seats in special elections that have turned on the question of whether legislators will override Democratic Governor John Lynch’s veto of an antilabor “right to work” law. 

In Maine, where Governor Paul LePage may well be the most extreme of the new Republican leaders, Democrats are not just winning special elections. They are seeing spikes of nearly 20 percent over the party’s 2010 vote totals for candidates who bluntly declare that they are determined to fight the LePage agenda, which
has extended so far as to attack child-labor protections. The national Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee notes that Democrats are running on average nine points better than they did in the same districts in 2010. And the DLCC says they are “performing as well now as they were in [the 2008] election—and in fact winning additional seats lost in that election,” as was the case with the defeat of the two Wisconsin Republican senators who survived the Obama landslide. 

Read the full piece here. Check out our data on Democratic performance in special elections here. 

Meanwhile, the GOP war on voting has some fresh developments. Just today, the Maine Secretary of State certified a “People’s Veto” of the new law prohibiting the long-standing practice of Election Day voter registration. Until the GOP-controlled legislature decided to halt the practice this year, Mainers had been able to register to vote and cast ballots on the same day since 1973. Now citizens will have the opportunity to continue that practice by electing to overturn this restrictive voting law this
November. 

In New Hampshire, where the state Senate upheld the Democratic Governor’s veto of that state’s voter ID legislation on Wednesday, GOP state Rep. Kyle Tasker posted some (unrelated) reprehensible comments on the House Republicans’ Facebook page. 

On Tuesday night, Tasker wrote on the House Republican Caucus Facebook page that “When a police officer points his firearm that’s not gonna make me feel threatened? If I’ve been trained to respond to that with force am I justified in blowing a cop away because I’m quicker on the draw, and he already pointed his firearm at me? Police are just citizens with badges and all laws should apply equally.” 

The comment has since been removed, but a copy of the posting was given to WMUR. 

Rep. Tasker defended these comments as part of an “intellectual discussion” of a piece of legislation. Former law enforcement officers and current Democratic state Reps. Steve Shurtleff and Ray Gagnon blasted the comments as “appalling,” “insulting and disgusting.” 

Oklahoma GOP state Rep. Sally Kern (whose antics we’ve highlighted previously) is promoting her new book, The Stoning of Sally Kern, and doubling down on her claim that homosexuality is “more dangerous” than terrorist attacks – just in time for the 10^th anniversary of the worst terrorist attack in American history. 

In an August 31 interview, she said: 

You know if you just look at it in practical terms, which has destroyed and ended the life of more people? Terrorism attack here in America or HIV/AIDS? In the last twenty years, fifteen to twenty years, we’ve had maybe three terrorist attacks on our soil with a little over 5,000 people regrettably losing their lives. In the same time frame, there have been hundreds of thousands who have died because of having AIDS. So which one’s the biggest threat? And you know, every day our young people, adults too, but especially our young people, are bombarded at school, in movies, in music, on TV, in the mall, in magazines, they’re bombarded with ‘homosexuality is normal and natural.’ It’s something they have to deal with every day. Fortunately we don’t have to deal with a terrorist attack every day, and that’s what I mean. 

So there you have the good, the bad, and the ugly in statehouse politics this week. Stay tuned for the next exciting installment!

While discussing the merits of a proposed constitutional amendment that would eliminate Affirmative Action in Oklahoma state government, a House Republican shared some disturbing views on race and gender last night. 

Rep. Sally Kern, R-Oklahoma City, said minorities earn less than white people because they don’t work as hard and have less initiative. 

“We have a high percentage of blacks in prison, and that’s tragic, but are they in prison just because they are black or because they don’t want to study as hard in school? I’ve taught school, and I saw a lot of people of color who didn’t study hard because they said the government would take care of them.” 

Kern said women earn less than men because “they tend to spend more time at home with their families.” 

While this statement is far from the first fringe view GOP Rep. Kern has promoted (other gems include saying that homosexuality is a bigger threat than terrorism and introducing legislation that would force teachers to question evolution in the classroom), the extent of the bigotry demonstrated by her statements shocks the modern conscience.

A Democratic state representative clearly also is disturbed by a trend he sees emerging in his GOP-controlled state. 

Rep. Mike Shelton, D-Oklahoma City, said: “This body will quote the Bill of Rights and then talk about Muslims every day. They’ll talk about illegal immigrants every day. They’ll talk about homosexuals. 

“Oklahoma is a great state — as long as you fit the profile.”

(H/T Think Progress)

The thoroughly debunked, racially charged conspiracy theory of “birtherism” has its roots in the 2008 presidential election. Fringe elements of the Republican Party fixated on the false notion that Barack Obama was not eligible to be president of the United States because he supposedly was born in another country. No major GOP candidates promoted this lie at the time, and birthers continued to scratch at the fringe of the Republican Party for a couple of years.

In the year following President Obama’s inauguration, it seemed as though birtherism would remain the purview of ultra-conservative media personalities like Jerome “Swift Boat” Corsi and Rush Limbaugh. But the nature and scope of birtherism have since changed dramatically.

Just a few months ago, Republican state legislators began working feverishly to mainstream the birther lie. Supporters of “Birther Queen” Orly Taitz ascended to leadership positions in their caucuses. Legislation based around the notion that Obama’s presidency is illegitimate began popping up in statehouses. With slight variations here and there, these “birther bills” question the validity of President Obama’s Certification of Live Birth by requiring presidential candidates to provide various documents proving they were born in the United States in order to qualify for a state’s ballot.

Birther bills have been filed in legislatures all over the country this year, and not just in “red” states. While this list may well continue expanding, it currently includes

• Arkansas
• Arizona (GOP Gov. Brewer just vetoed this birther bill.)
• Connecticut
• Georgia
• Indiana
• Iowa
• Louisiana*
• Maine
• Missouri
• Montana
• Nebraska
• New Hampshire
• Oklahoma
• Tennessee
• Texas

*Republican Governor Bobby Jindal has stated publicly that he would sign a birther bill, should the Louisiana legislature send one to his desk.

Meanwhile, on the federal level birtherism began attract renewed attention as the potential 2012 GOP presidential field addressed the “issue.”

Enter Donald Trump.

Shortly after announcing that he may launch a long-shot run for the GOP presidential nomination, Trump began pushing birtherism in a big way.

Why?

Months of Republican state legislators’ attempts to legitimize the birther lie through legislation has helped validate the GOP base’s suspicions that President Obama is not “one of us.” This cementing of conservatives’ views on the issue is demonstrated by polling that reveals 45 percent of Republicans believe he was born in another country, as The New York Times reported yesterday. Last July, a poll revealed that 41 percent of Republicans believed President Obama was “probably” or “definitely” born in another country.

Republican state legislators helped provide Donald Trump with a path to credibility with the conservative base.

Will Trump’s next issue position involve union-busting? Perhaps he’ll take a stand against the non-existent problem of sharia law. Or maybe he’ll advocate for the use of gold and silver as currency.

Whatever Trump’s next political move may be, look for its roots in GOP statehouse crazy.

Legislators and lobbyists often work together closely, but a recent investigation by The Oklahoman revealed that a Republican state Senator has developed a relationship with a lobbyist that was anything but professional.

A state senator and lobbyist who are having a romantic affair worked together to steer a lucrative state contract toward a private company that had hired the lobbyist, an investigation by The Oklahoman has revealed.

The wife of Sen. Harry Coates said Monday her husband has told her he is having an affair with lobbyist Haley Atwood. Atwood, 29, who didn't deny the affair with Coates, 60, also is married.

At issue here is not the affair itself, but rather the inappropriate influence that may have been wielded by the lobbyist to secure a lucrative contract and even change state law.

State officials last week announced plans to award a $10 million-a-year state contract for a new juvenile center to the Ada Youth Academy Authority, which has selected a private operator, Rite of Passage, to run the new center.

Rite of Passage earlier this year hired Atwood for consulting work.

Coates, R-Seminole, and Atwood have since been actively involved in helping Rite of Passage and the Ada group secure the juvenile center contract, records and interviews show.

According to the AP, the Oklahoma Attorney General’s office has involved itself in the matter.

The Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office has launched an investigation into a $10 million-a-year contract for a new juvenile facility awarded to an Ada group working with a lobbyist romantically linked to a state senator.

The contract was to be signed Monday, but was delayed after The Oklahoman reported Republican state Sen. Harry Coates and lobbyist Haley Atwood were having an extramarital affair and Coates helped steer the contract to Ada Youth Academy Authority. Neither Coates, 60, nor Atwood, 29, would comment on the alleged relationship.

Companies whose bids for the contract for the juvenile center failed allege that Sen. Coates, Atwood, and the Director of the Office of Juvenile Affairs “rigged” the bidding process to favor Atwood’s client.

In addition to potential improprieties surrounding the contract for the center, records demonstrate that lobbyist Atwood sought the change in state law that allowed Oklahoma to send juveniles to the proposed facility.

The practice wasn't previously possible, but agency officials and Atwood were successful this year in lobbying the Legislature to change state law to allow it, records and interviews show.

Rite of Passage operates its academies as charter schools and couldn't have accepted state juvenile inmates if not for lawmakers changing the law this year.

Meanwhile, GOP Sen. Coates reportedly has refused to sign the separation papers drawn up by his wife’s attorney. Sen. Coates, who was narrowly reelected this year to his seat in Senate District 28, featured his wife on his campaign literature, and she actively campaigned for him. She knew nothing of the affair until Sen. Coates broke the news to her the day after the election.

At this week’s Virginia State Crime Commission work group meeting, attendees heard a harrowing story.

Del. Ward Armstrong recalls an incident in which a woman going through a divorce had obtained a protective order against her husband, who nevertheless walked into her workplace and shot her to death.

"If she'd had a little warning, maybe she could've gotten out the back door," said Armstrong, D-Henry County.

The incident prompted him to propose legislation that would allow judges to require Virginians who are served protective orders to wear GPS tracking devices. Such devices can be set up to alert police, the person who requested the order, or both if the abuser gets too close to the victim.

After all, while protective orders are important and useful tools for victims of domestic violence, they’re just pieces of paper; they won’t stop a fist, a knife, or a bullet. Using technology to improve protective orders’ effectiveness is a smart solution to a problem facing over a million Americans every year.

But Minority Leader Armstrong isn’t the only Democrat leading the way in the fight against domestic violence.

In Connecticut, Democratic Speaker of the House Christopher Donovan created a task force last year to identify trends relating to domestic violence matters and developing a series of legislative recommendations. In May, the biggest group of domestic violence reforms in 25 years passed the Democratically-controlled state legislature. These reforms include:

• The creation of a pilot program for electronic monitoring for the highest risk domestic violence offenders;
• Enhancement of information sharing in family violence cases among appropriate state agencies;
• Authorization for prosecutors to consider out-of-state offenses for persistent family violence offenders;
• The creation of three additional domestic violence court dockets.

Meanwhile, in Kentucky, Democratic House Speaker Greg Stumbo sponsored a bill, the final version of which was passed unanimously by the state House and Senate in April, known as Amanda’s Law.

House Speaker Greg Stumbo, D-Prestonsburg, sponsored the bill in response to the Sept. 11 shooting death of state worker Amanda Ross in Lexington. Former state Rep. Steve Nunn was charged with her murder and has pleaded not guilty. Ross sought court protection from Nunn before she was gunned down.

Amanda’s Law would allow judges to order electronic monitoring in domestic-violence cases if certain violations of protective orders occur, such as assault, burglary or kidnapping.

Oklahoma Democrats took on domestic violence issues in their legislative session, as well. Minority Floor Leader Mike Brown and Senator Jim Wilson authored legislation which would stop the shameful practice of insurance companies in Oklahoma of denying coverage, refusing to renew, or canceling a person’s health benefit plan on the basis of that person’s status as a victim of domestic abuse. The measure passed on the last day of the legislative session, and once it is signed by the Governor, domestic violence will no longer be a “preexisting condition” in Oklahoma.

Efforts to address and prevent domestic violence are ongoing across the country. Democratic state legislators are tackling this issue head-on, and we can look forward to even more progress toward domestic abuse prevention and victim protection in legislative sessions to come.

Sometimes it’s important to find humor in everyday life, but we don’t think too many of Republican State Rep. Eddie Fields’ constituents are laughing about a recent poll on his website asking if they care more about “the economy,” “stray squirrels,” or “not enough toilet paper:”

[Hat Tip thelostogle.com]

In normal times, this might have been acceptable -- but not with over 117,000 Oklahomans still unemployed.

As best we can tell, Fields hasn’t issued any sort of apology, but he was clearly ashamed enough to take down the poll and replace it with one that, while not exactly offensive, is still puzzling. It asks if, among other things, “job growth,” “the economy,” or “Oklahoma Economics” are people’s top issue.

Democrat Dale Christenson, Jr. is seeking the nomination to face Rep. Fields for an open State Senate seat.

The Oklahoma Senate passed House Bill 2750 this session in a unanimous vote. This piece of legislation will add the events of the Oklahoma City Bombing to the state’s history curriculum, ensuring that the events of April 19, 1995 are never forgotten.

Today is the 15th Anniversary of the Oklahoma City Bombing. It is a struggle to recognize anything worth celebrating about this day, but as DLCC Board Member and State Senator Sean Burrage explained in an editorial last week, the people of his great state pulled together in the midst of such a horrendous act:

This horrible event showed us that in the midst of something so terrible, we could see the very best in people. Oklahomans pulled together as they never had before, providing for the families of victims, the injured and those involved in the rescue and recovery at the Murrah Building. The eyes of the world were on us, and we in turn showed them the spirit that defines us—the “Oklahoma Standard,” as it has since been called.

Sen. Burrage and his wife, Carole, are among the many Oklahomans directly affected by the bombing. Carole was working across the street from the federal building and suffered minor injuries from flying glass.

In memory of the victims of this attack and in honor of those who showed great courage in the aftermath, we would like to say “thank-you” to the Oklahoma Legislature, for passing such an important piece of legislation.

Some Republican legislators in Oklahoma have decided to mark next week’s 15th anniversary of the infamous Oklahoma City bombing… by teaming up with local Tea Party extremists to form a right-wing paramilitary militia to guard Oklahoma “from an overreaching federal government."

No, really:

Thus far, the discussions have been exploratory. Even the proponents say they don't know how an armed force would be organized nor how a state-based militia could block federal mandates. Critics also asserted that the force could inflame extremism, and that the National Guard already provides for the state's military needs.

"Have they heard of the Oklahoma City bombing?" said Joseph Thai, a constitutional law professor at the University of Oklahoma. The state observes the 15th anniversary of the anti-government attack on Monday. Such actions could "throw fuel in the fire of radicals," he said.

Militia organizers are sending out promotional materials with headlines like “Buy more guns, more bullets,” but they insist that their militia would not plot to attack (i.e. murder) police officers or federal employees. Left unsaid, of course, is how exactly they plan to use guns to defend against the federal government.

Amazingly, Republican legislators like State Sen. Randy Brogdon and State Rep. Charles Key are backing the anti-government militias and even offering to promote them through the legislature.

Oklahoma Republicans have some funny opinions about marriage: they want to make it as difficult as possible to get in, but once you’re in, they’ll never let you leave. That’s the most reasonable take, anyway, on a Republican-sponsored divorce ban in the Oklahoma State House:

[Rep. Mark] McCullough, R-Sapulpa, wants all marriage license applicants to receive at least eight hours of counseling. He also proposes counseling for parents of minor children before divorcing.

[Rep. Sally] Kern, R-Oklahoma City, is proposing to bar divorces on grounds of incompatibility for couples married 10 years or more, that have minor children, or if one or the other party objects.

Kern’s bill is especially bizarre, but it follows a long line of homophobic statements by Rep. Kern, including her declaration that homosexuality is “the biggest threat our nation has, even more so than terrorism.” So this is probably just misguided pushback against successes by the marriage equality movement in other states this year.

Equality supporters have a basic argument that two people who love each other should have the right to be married. But there’s also a pretty compelling corollary that says two people who do not love each other should have the right to divorce.

Sally Kern and her Republican allies obviously don’t believe either of these arguments. So maybe a better, simpler principle is that government should not meddle in people’s personal lives.

That’s something people of all political stripes should be able to get behind.