What in the world has gotten into Kevin Stitt and why did Gentner Drummond take Ryan Walters' side?
Up is down and down is up in Oklahoma, where the governor suddenly sounds reasonable, and the attorney general and state superintendent lose their minds
I have two thoughts.
One, ever the eternal optimist, I wonder if Kevin Stitt, given most of two more years as governor, now wants to make a real difference rather than score political points.
I’m against him on so many things: about every cultural issue for one; taking public money and putting it in the hands of private schools and private school parents who were already sending their kids to private schools in the first place for two; trying to end separation of church and state via the proposed public Catholic online charter school St. Isidore of Seville for three.
Two, as an old pro wrestling fan anchored in the ’70s and ’80s I just can’t help but wonder if the squared circle is a metaphor for everything, because Stitt used to play a Masked Superstar type character: a heel by all means, yet one comfortable in his own skin, still with a bit of a code. If you remember the masked man, you know. Meanwhile, Gentner Drummond has been a clear babyface, like, say, Kevin Von Erich, standing up for what’s right; while Ryan Walters has been Bobby Heenan from the start, saying and doing anything to get ahead, expediency and self aggrandizement his two warped virtues as he goes about hoodwinking the masses for selfish gain.
Only now, Stitt and Drummond may be reversing roles, like that December ’85 day when, on television in a Mid-South ring, Ted DiBiase went from heel to babyface and Dick Murdock went from babyface to heel, simultaneously, all in pursuit of Rick Flair’s National Wrestling Alliance world title.
Stitt is DiBiase and Drummond is Murdock in this scenario and Walters is still Heenan, who fans often greeted with chants of “WEA-SEL, WEA-SEL.”
Or maybe Stitt’s just trying to soften his image in an effort to become Oklahoma State University’s president upon leaving the governor’s office. Still, it’s more satisfying to believe he wants to do some good for its own sake and more entertaining to think about in pro wrestling terms.
Here’s what’s happening.
On Tuesday, Stitt, who has the legal right to make such moves, appointed three new state board of education members: Chris VanDenhende of Tulsa, Michael Tenney of Norman and Ryan Deatherage of Kingfisher; thereby removing Don Burdick, Kendra Wesson and Katie Quebedeaux; leaving Sarah Lepak and Zach Archer still on the board as well as a remaining open seat he’s expected to fill soon.
It should be noted that no member of the board since Walters — a board member himself as state superintendent — took office has ever voted against him.
The fireworks began with what Stitt said upon appointing the new members.
“Nothing is more important than ensuring Oklahoma kids have the best education possible. After months of headlines followed by disappointing NAEP scores this month, it’s clear that our education infrastructure has fallen prey to needless political drama. If we want to be the best state for business, we need to make sure our kids have a path to success. It’s time for some fresh eyes and a renewed focus on our top ten goals.”
You’ve got to love it.
Walters, of course, who was semi-dissed by Stitt when the governor applauded Bixby superintendent Rob Miller’s no-phones-in-class policy — Walters called Miller a “clown” in a press conference once, intimating financial irregularities in his district; Miller sued Walters for defamation — during his recent state of the state address, responded like a petulant child whose political daddy, after so many incidents told him, “I’m not going to clean up your mess this time,” which is pretty much what happened.
Walters tweeted this:
“Governor Stitt has joined the swampy political establishment that President Trump is fighting against. The board members that stood with us, working with the Trump Administration to make our schools safer and better, have been fired for political purposes. Every Oklahoman should be clear this move undermines Oklahoma kids and parents and an America First agenda. Stitt believes that the federal government, and not the people, need to continue to control our country. This is disappointing but not surprising. We’ll keep fighting for school choice, parents, kids, and our teachers.”
Then, in the upset of the year, Drummond RETWEETED Walters’ post with a note of his own attached.
It read like this:
@realDonaldTrump
It looks like another one of my fellow Republicans finally took the red pill and now realizes what I’ve been saying all along: Kevin Stitt is not a true conservative.❌. Gave permission to the Biden Admin to settle Afghan “refugees” right here in Oklahoma
❌. Promotes the green energy scam with socialist Denmark
❌. Mass commutation of felons
❌ Stabbed President Trump in the back and endorsed Desantis
I’m running for Governor as a true conservative who will serve the People of Oklahoma—NOT the political elite.
And looked like this:
If searching for Drummond’s lowest moment, you’ve found it.
Let’s break down his message for substance.
• For starters, Donald Trump is not a real conservative and everybody knows it, Gentner Drummond among them. Yes, he’s captured the Republican Party, but nobody’s added more to the deficit than him, nobody cares less about the rule of law than him and nobody’s ever cozied up to our enemies while giving our allies the finger like him, none of which is conservative.
• Kevin Stitt’s not a real conservative because he allowed Afghan refugees to settle in Oklahoma? These are the folks and families who assisted our military’s two-decade long presence in their country in the wake of 9-11. Many would have been imprisoned or killed by the Taliban if not brought to the U.S..
In fact, how does Drummond feel about the Vietnamese who settled in Oklahoma following that war? It’s the first time I’ve seen him play the race card, to say nothing of what’s anti-conservative (or anti-liberal) about being there for your allies.
It’s repugnant.
• I know nothing about the “green energy scam with socialist Denmark” and I bet you don’t either. Perhaps Drummond’s gubernatorial campaign can send out a press release explaining it.
• Stitt “stabbed Trump in the back” by endorsing Ron DeSantis? Really? Sounds more like he exercised the freedom living in a democracy affords each one of us.
• Beyond all that, what’s anti-conservative about a governor reshaping a board that’s overseen, or is responsible for, a public education system ranked 49th among 50 states, because that’s what Drummond’s saying when reposting Walters’ original note.
Nor do the politics make any sense.
Drummond’s running for governor but Stitt is not his opponent. In the Republican primary, everybody believes Walters will be, so why is Drummond siding with him? Perhaps he thought he could isolate Walters by joining him in on this one little thing, cloaking himself like a Klingon warship from a future Walters attack, but he’s waded into crazy-land to do it, which is so off-brand for him. The more he does stuff like that, and he’s been doing it more lately, he opens his primary to another Republican willing to stay in the reasonable lane, one Dems who were willing to switch parties for primary purposes on his behalf might vote for instead.
Make it make sense, because I can’t.
Meanwhile, Stitt sounds like the most responsible of the trio, saying this at press conference Wednesday.
“When I see our NAEP scores not improving, when I see things that are messed up or wrong or kids being used as political pawns for some political stunt, it’s just frustrating. The bottom line is when you think about the outcomes and where our kids are compared to other states, we’re not doing as well as we should. So we've got to get that fixed, and that’s the big picture. I’m just trying to get a fresh set of eyes on that school board."
He also agreed the relationship between him and Walters has deteriorated and intimated immigration agents will not be allowed inside Oklahoma’s public schools.
“Collecting 6-, 7-, 8-year-old kids’ addresses and immigration status in Oklahoma? That is not a public safety issue. Let’s go after the bad guys. Let’s go after the people who are committing crimes, and let’s not terrorize and make our kids not want to go to school.”
Walters has since responded with as much subtlety and imagination as he’s capable, creating something called a “Trump Advisory Committee” co-chaired by Wesson and Quebedeaux apparently because “Sycophants are us” was already taken.
“To fight the liberal D.C. swamp that has now leaked into Oklahoma’s Executive Branch,” said Walters.
As for Drummond, it’s as though he already regrets sounding as crazy as Walters, or associating himself with him in any way whatsoever.
Thursday, he fired off a letter to VanDenhende, Tinney and Deatherage.
Here are excerpts, according to a press release from the AG’s office:
“While I welcome the Governor’s apparent ‘shake-up’ of the Board, this action is only necessary because of Gov. Stitt’s extremely poor judgment in appointing, promoting and then endorsing Ryan Walters and his anti-public schools agenda. As a new board member, you must act independently of Gov. Stitt and Superintendent Walters. The oath of office you take is to the Constitution and Oklahoma law.”
"Superintendent Walters also possesses an honesty gap in view of his own expectations for student performance on state-administered tests, having quietly lowered the student performance bar in 2024. The Superintendent’s watered-down approach further undermines the integrity of Oklahoma’s educational assessments, which the Governor’s previous appointees green-lighted. This approach permitted students to score lower while still being considered proficient.”
All of that’s true, of course, and even good advice, but it’s pretty rich, too, given the retweet of Walters’ crybaby response a couple days earlier. It’s hypocritical also. Stitt’s not allowed to endorse DeSantis over Trump, but state board of education members owe nobody their allegiance?
They don’t, but Stitt didn’t owe Trump a primary endorsement either.
Republicans, am I right?
This is great. I heard about the removal of the board members and was looking for a Substack writer who would be covering it. It’s so easy to get sucked into national/federal news and miss good, local writers covering the news. Glad I found you.
Stitt’s decision is surprising and encouraging (not a sentence I ever expected to write)