Drummond One-Ups McCall's Fear Tactics in MAGA Primary

Folks, last week we sent out the below update on how the two leading Republican candidates for Governor spent their holiday break. Instead of reflecting on the professed values of their faith, their campaigns crafted conspiracy theories and hateful messaging regarding the imminent threat of Muslims in Oklahoma.

Well just as the national rightwing conspiracy consensus was forming that civil rights groups were dangerous fronts, the Broken Arrow Planning Commission approved plans to build a new mosque. As you can imagine, the Christian Nationalists had a meltdown. 

AG Drummond, eager to shore up his waning support amongst extremist primary voters, announced today that he would be starting an open-ended investigation into the development because of "substantial public concern."

As we documented last week, opening an investigation and then saying you're unable to comment on said investigation is a cheap, easy way for Gentner to look like he's taken up the ultra-right's cause. And well, in our experience, if a Republican primary candidate governs like a Christian Nationalist and talks like a Christian Nationalist - then they're pandering to Christian Nationalists. 

But today, you can help us oust the politicians spewing hate! We have candidates running to replace Christian Nationalists at every level of our State government. You can help reject the powerful, entrenched political interests seeking to divide us. Instead, chip in to our work of mobilizing our neighbors to build a better Oklahoma on the issues that unite us. 

In a perpetual race to the bottom, unbecoming of the Oklahoma Standard, Charles McCall & Gentner Drummond spent their Christmas throwing coal at each other in shameless attempts to appeal to the hateful paranoia driving Republican primaries. 

This particular round of Bigot-Off began when Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard made the ridiculous claims that Islam was the greatest threat facing America, and that the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) held a nationwide conference on implementing Sharia Law. 

Except, CAIR is a civil rights and advocacy organization that lives up to the founding principles of this country while Gabbard peddles anti-Muslim hatred and shells out conspiracy theories. 

Regardless, Republicans had their marching orders. Whip up the base into a fear-induced frenzy.

So McCall did what a former elected does best, and made ludicrous demands of the people who are still actually in office.

But if you're Gentner Drummond, you're a crafty one. And you've figured out a way to accede to these ludicrous, anti-Muslim demands while most importantly, not actually doing a single thing.

All you have to do is say, "actively investigating," and then you can't say anything other than echo the same dog-whistles McCall has been using.

Now you, thoughtful reader that you are, might ask, "Why is the Oklahoma AG's office  involved in an investigation into the Muslim Brotherhood, a political party in foreign countries?"

But that's the beauty of this, because Gentner can once again direct you to the magic words, "active investigation," and refuse to comment further. 

He also took a shot at McCall for funding "Islamic Schools." If you're miserable enough to speak local online rightwing troll like we are, you suspect it refers to some perfectly innocuous charter schools that operate out of OKC that just happen to have been founded by a family from Turkey.

Gives real judging people by the content of their character vibes doesn't it?

Not to be out done by magic words, McCall drops the dog-whistling. He again conflated CAIR with the Muslim Brotherhood, and his team created a paranoid ad straight out of a fever dream. 

This to us seems like the perfect example of a right-wing Christmas: easy on the Jesus, heavy on the spite for people who practice faith differently. 

Honestly, can you imagine anything sadder than spending the week of Christmas not with your family, but with a bunch of political hacks in a room testing which version of this crap creates the most traction on Xitter?

If you're as tired as we are of our State being defined by ignorance and hate, chip in to our work of building the Democratic bench and infrastructure that will oust extremists and hatemongers. 

There are over 100 Democratic candidates running to replace MAGA Republicans this November.

We have the chance to redefine our State. 

As Oklahoma Democrats, we are working every day to engage, connect, and organize Oklahomans to elect Democrats at every level of government.