Betsy DeVos, the President's pick for the U.S. Secretary of Education, is a corporate politician - unlike her boss who many believe is a traditional republican. When Donald Trump was only a candidate for the Presidency, most corporatists began calling him the same profane-laced names as the democrats did. Mitt Romney, Rick Perry, Jeb Bush, and many others said that a Trump presidency will be a disaster. Betsy DeVos, however, contributed heavily to the Trump campaign, so President Trump has remained loyal to DeVos.
This column/blog is about Betsy DeVos and her connections to Oklahoma State Senators and Representatives - and possible conspiracy with them. Remember, connections to lawmakers is not a crime, but "conspiracy" is a crime, especially if the players in question conspire to commit campaign fraud in the form of excessive campaign contributions and dark money ads. Betsy DeVos was the former Executive Director of the American Federation for Children (AFC), a "pro-private and corporate charter school" voucher group which typically "buys" congressmen in Washington D.C.. Mrs. DeVos gave up the AFC directorship when she was appointed to serve as the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education. It is a well-established fact that DeVos has donated huge sums of money to U.S. Congressmen, both privately and in behalf of the AFC (in order to provide motivation to "see things her way", and vote accordingly). This is probably one of the reasons that the U.S. Senate voted to "confirm" her appointment on January 31, 2017, as several senators received huge campaign contributions. Betsy DeVos is also connected to Oklahoma State Senators and House members through the state branch of the AFC, the Oklahoma Federation for Children Action Fund (OFCAF). This state "school voucher" group is just what its name implies - it provides funding for pro-voucher politicians to help get them elected to office. In other words, public school teacher candidates need not apply for OFCAF dark money. Oklahoma Watch, a public watchdog group, has identified several state senators and representatives who received almost $200,000 in financial support from the OFCAF. At least part of this total was used to discredit the public school teachers and officials who were candidates for office this last election season. The legislators and candidates receiving financial assistance included Elise Hall, House District 100, $3,177; Joe Newhouse, Senate District 25, $13,611; Rob Standridge, Senate District 15, $2,489; Kyle Loveless, Senate District 45, $3,156; Julie Daniels, Senate District 29, $7,165; and Tim Downing, House District 42, $7,039.
Those public school teachers and officials who were candidates and received the brunt of the voucher group's anger included Shawn Sheehan, educator and 2016 Oklahoma Teacher of the Year, $2,489 for ads against; Lloyd Snow, school superintendent, $11,509 for ads against; Don Wentroth, teacher, $3,177 for ads against; Lisa Kramer, school board member, $22,788; Robert Founds, public school advocate, $13,611; Robert Jobe, teacher, $7,165; and Liz George, public school supporter, $7,039. A few public school candidates received "both barrels" of the Dark Money voucher shotgun, one blast from the OFCAF and the other blast from Catalyst Oklahoma. Again, the public watchdog group Oklahoma Watch listed Jim Beckham (public school candidate for House District 42) as having been blasted with $33,834 in "dark money ads" and phone calls, Robert Jobe (public school candidate for Senate District 29) $39,665 in dark money ads and phone calls, and Lisa Kramer (school board member and CPA) $40,288 in dark money ads and phone calls. These voucher and dark money groups spent a total of $221,400 to make sure no public school candidates would win in the state primaries, while the OFCAF alone spent over $190,000 to make sure only school voucher candidates would be elected in November.
Just because Betsy DeVos is connected to state candidates and lawmakers through campaign contributions and dark money ads, does not mean a "conspiracy" exists between the state legislators and Catalyst Oklahoma, or the Oklahoma Federation for Children Action Fund.
Everyone has heard of the conspiracy charges and campaign violations allegedly committed by a candidate and her campaign consultant, Fount Holland of AH Strategies - in 2014. These charges and alleged "ethics" violations stem from the campaign to oust Janet Barresi from the state superintendent post. AH Strategies with Holland won the election in 2014, but allegedly conspired with a dark money group to "run" $300,000 worth of negative campaign ads (mudslinging) against Janet Barresi in the days leading up to the election. One interesting note is that the executive director of the OFCAF is Jennifer Carter, the Janet Barresi campaign chair and chief of staff for Barresi when she was state superintendent. The connections are becoming transparent. These activities, if proven true, are both illegal and "unethical". It is illegal for any campaign for any elected office to "conspire" or collude with a group or individual, in order to campaign for or against any candidate. The evidence of conspiracy between Fount Holland and the dark money group is reportedly phone conversations and text messages exchanged in the days leading up to the 2014 election. Only "time will tell" if the allegations and charges prove to be true.
Now, the burning question for many voters is this: "Could any state senate or house campaigns conducted during 2016 election year, be guilty of "conspiracy" and "unethical" behavior? Many Oklahomans believe that "where there's smoke, there's fire". In other words, if the Fount Holland campaign is guilty of conspiracy to commit voter fraud in one case, based on exchanged text messages - then several other campaigns may be guilty of the same. Just as in the AH Strategies/Holland campaign of 2014, evidence may exist which could implicate several state senators and representatives. The evidence could exist in the form of senate or house campaigns having a connection to AH Strategies, for starters. Secondly, there could be recorded or written evidence of conspiracy between senate/house campaigns and dark money groups such as Catalyst Oklahoma or the Oklahoma Federation for Children Action Fund (a local pro-voucher group affiliated with Betsy DeVos and the American Federation for Children). The evidence may be present in recorded interviews between candidates and the dark money groups, or in candidate solicited written application for dark money support. Many voters believe the evidence for such conspiracy and "unethical" senator/representative behavior exists. Of course, the problem for investigators, just as in the Holland/Alexander alleged conspiracy, is to actually obtain the evidence. Many Oklahoma citizens are hoping that a watchdog group or "investigator" will uncover enough evidence to warrant charges for these "other" state campaigns. All it takes is "connecting the dots" or "making the connections".
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