This week, lawmakers representing Oklahoma once again garnered national attention with outspoken rhetoric that sheds less than positive light on the state.
Sen. Markwayne Mullin, in an appearance on CNN’s State of the Union, exchanged tense words with co-host Jake Tapper on several key issues. Sporting a Mullin Ranch jacket on national television, Mullin refuted allegations that Pete Hegseth, current nominee for U.S. Secretary of Defense, has had an alcohol problem by seemingly suggesting most combat veterans inevitably use alcohol to cope.
“Unfortunately, a lot of our combat vets have come back and faced the same thing,” Mullin said in response to Hegseth’s own comments on how drinking became self-medication.
“They had their identity in the service. They had a job to do. They were responsible for certain things, and they get out of the service and they’re back and they’re sitting there, twiddling their thumbs. They’ve had a lot of experiences that the regular population doesn’t. They have these memories, these thoughts, these sounds, the smells that are still coming back to them. And they turn to drinking with their buddies. That doesn’t mean they have a drinking problem. That means that every combat veteran has had the same issues. … What he was describing is what most combat veterans have faced.”
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs reports that 1 in 10 combat veterans from deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan who use its services has a problem with alcohol or other drugs. While no small number, it certainly doesn’t come close to suggesting every combat veteran struggles with alcohol abuse. As a member of the U.S. Senate’s Armed Services committee, it seems like quite the leap for Mullin to defend one man’s alcohol consumption by suggesting it’s just part of being a veteran.
However, this wasn’t the first time in recent weeks Mullin has been in the spotlight for what some see as fringe behavior; in fact, it wasn’t even his first time speaking out on Hegseth.
Calling into question the validity of a sexual assault allegation against Hegseth, Mullin lashed out at CNN co-host Dana Bash, launching into an animated defense before Bash had finished her question.
It wasn’t the first time Mullin’s Armed Services Committee involvement led to a bizarre turn on veterans either. Last month, he placed a hold on the promotion of Lt. Gen. Christopher T. Donahue. With multiple tours in Afghanistan and Iraq, the former Delta Force commander, Army Ranger and paratrooper had a singular obstacle in the way of becoming a four-star general: Markwayne Mullin. It’s still not publicly known why Mullin blocked the confirmation, but once he finally dropped his hold at the beginning of December, Donahue received his promotion with a unanimous confirmation.
Mullin’s name in the press doesn’t end there. Recently on Meet the Press, he showed favor for scrutinizing vaccinations, suggesting they could be linked to autism.
“I’ve also questioned vaccines multiple times. And I think they should be questioned,” he said. “For instance, why is America highest in autism? What is causing that? Is it our diet? Or is it some of the stuff we’re putting in our children’s system?”
According to research from the National Institute of Health, as well as statistics from World Health Organization, the United States does not have the highest rate of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnoses, with some countries in Asia and the Middle East reporting higher numbers, and increases in global cases largely attributed to changes in diagnosis parameters.
Mullin isn’t the only state spokesman who has attracted national attention.
Ryan Walters
No stranger to the media, Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters recently became the focal point of ridicule from late-night television host Stephen Colbert for his initiative to put a Bible in every state classroom.
Colbert called out Walters during the opening monologue of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, referring to him as one of Trump’s “farm team of far-right weirdos” and “incel Chris Evans” while citing excerpts from an article by Rolling Stone.
“Walters is an ultra-conservative Christian nationalist who has caused a bit of a stir for ordering Oklahoma’s public schools to keep a Bible in each classroom,” Colbert said. “It’s notable that Walters used state money to purchase Trump Bibles at a whopping $60 apiece. Now that Trump’s about to be back in office, Walters is amping up the MAGA by ordering the state’s schools to play students a video of himself praying for Trump.”
The video in question was sent to school districts across the state with a message from Walters requesting schools to show the video in classrooms and share it with parents.
“I will now say a prayer, and to be clear, students, you don’t have to join, but if you so wish, I’m going to go ahead and pray,” Walters said in the video, which was also shown during Colbert’s monologue segment.
“Dear God, thank you for all the blessings you’ve given our country. I pray for our leaders to make the right decisions. I pray, in particular, for President Donald Trump and his team as they continue to bring about change to the country. I also pray that we continue to teach love of country to our young people and that our students understand what makes America great and that they continue to love this country. Amen.”
Many public school districts across the metro, including Mustang, Yukon, Norman and Edmond, refused to show the video in classrooms, commenting their plans to focus on approved curriculum and that Walters doesn’t have the authority to make a mandate like this one.
Also calling into question this authority, Colbert ended his thoughts on Walters with a quote from Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond, who publicly stated, “There is no statutory authority for the state schools superintendent to require all students to watch a specific video.”
When confronted with feedback that some school districts wouldn’t be showing his video, Walters had biting words in an interview with KOCO.
“We know we have some rogue superintendents who like to push a left-wing agenda onto their kids and like to continue to push state-sponsored atheism in our classrooms by pushing out any kind of mention of God,” he said. “But look, we’re not going to tolerate it.”
And by “not tolerate it,” Walters was likely referring to his establishment of the Office of Religious Liberty and Patriotism.
Now part of the Oklahoma Department of Education, the office “will serve to promote religious liberty and patriotism in Oklahoma and protect parents, teachers and students’ abilities to practice their religion freely in all aspects.” While the office’s mission mentions protecting free religious practice, its materials notably only reference instances of threats against the Holy Bible and other practices of Christianity.
The press announcement for the office’s establishment also mentions the office will “oversee the investigation of abuses to individual religious freedom or displays of patriotism” and refers to teacher unions as having “minions to indoctrinate our children against traditional values of faith and family,” a direct quote from Walters.
Bad behavior
Walters’ and Mullin’s actions are just the tail end of a historic showing of bad behavior from Oklahoma representatives.
Over the last two years, members of the Oklahoma Senate Dusty Deevers and Nathan Dahm became fodder for well-known comedians.
Deevers appeared as a focal point of a Jimmy Fallon monologue for his proposed bill that would make it illegal to participate in sexting, which Deevers feels is a form of pornography, with anyone other than your spouse.
In response, Deevers penned a strongly worded post on X, formerly Twitter, claiming that Jimmy Fallon served as a waiter to “pornography’s banquet in the grave” and alliteratively stated that he longed to “see singlehood, marriages, families and futures rescued from the poisonous promises of porn’s insatiable appetite for increasing deviance and destruction.”
Dahm, in a much more lengthy and visible interaction, was interviewed by Jon Stewart about his proposed legislation to loosen gun restrictions. For more than eight minutes, Dahm became increasingly flustered as Stewart questioned him about each of his proposals, including plans to curb gun violence by decreasing “fatherlessness,” which he stated, “we’re doing in Oklahoma.”
The almost-punch heard around the world, however, belonged, yet again, to Mullin, who challenged the president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters to a fight during a congressional hearing last year. The tense exchange of words ended with Sen. Bernie Sanders having to remind Mullin, “You are a United States senator!”
There’s a theory that Chicago earned its nickname as “The Windy City” because of all the “hot air” local politicians were emitting every time they opened their mouths to speak. The same could be said for the many representing Oklahoma and making a name for themselves in all the wrong ways. What more damage can we expect when their wind comes sweeping down the plain?
This article appears in New Year’s Eve Guide.