ICYMI – Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt is demanding the resignations of core McCurtain County officials. What they were caught joking about on a hot microphone was more than enough to prove these ignorant barbarians are the wrong individuals for such important jobs.
Governor demands responsibility
What ranking county officials were caught discussing might not amount to an actual crime. Even so, their remarks are controversial enough that the governor is howling for their heads on a plate. Figuratively speaking, of course.
The involved administrators can save everyone a whole lot of time and embarrassment by quietly oozing away on their own. Back to the 19th century, where their superstitions belong.
The controversy has been brewing for a while after a feud popped up between McCurtain County officials and a local reporter who was raking up some muck about them. Governor Stitt got dragged into it after the newshound secretly recorded his foes.
Gov. J. Kevin Stitt (R) called on four county officials to resign after a recording surfaced exposing alleged racist remarks and talk of assassinating a journalist. https://t.co/yDhZ12U60S
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) April 18, 2023
They held a public meeting in March. The public part was a quickie. They “dispatched with the agenda.” After waving away official business they “ushered citizens out.” They didn’t realize the news-hound who’s been dogging them left his recorder behind, still running.
Once he got the machine recovered and played the audio back, Bruce Willingham was knocked from his chair. “I was completely appalled and frightened, quite frankly.” His story published the next day in McCurtain Gazette-News was vile enough to catch the immediate attention of the governor. He’s not the only one. The incident quickly went viral, due to the obviously racist and ignorant things caught on tape.
While anarchist activist groups have a tendency to hyper-hype everything into a “racist” attack, this time they have a right to be angry. Those of us who managed to survive the 1960’s and 70’s are appalled. We thought Archie Bunker and Blazing Saddles had the superstitious ignorance practically stamped out. Like Polio. Both diseases have returned. Modern racism, some say, is really the Democrats trying to keep Blacks on the welfare plantation but that’s another story.
Recording went online
The county officials weren’t planning for their words to be published online where the governor could hear them when they babbled things about how they “could no longer yank Black people out of the jail.” Then “take them down to Mud Creek and hang them up” like the good old days.
The jail official also “allegedly mocked a woman who’d recently burned to death in a house fire.” The insensitive word he used was “barbecue.” In fairness, Larry Hendrix has context on his side to water down the ire over that particular remark.
The part that really has everyone talking were the comments which could almost be described as a conspiracy to murder two reporters, including Willingham. Governor Stitt is calling for the resignations of four ignorant barbarians with high paying jobs.
🚨🚨Breaking News: Oklahoma governor (R) calls for resignations after leaked audio of McCurtain County officials discussing killing journalists and lynching & hanging Black people. Thank you Governor Kevin Stitt!! #GOPClownShow #GOPCorruptionOverCountry https://t.co/0luNonaDiz
— Caitlin of County Kerry (@lynn_of_cait) April 17, 2023
“County commissioner Mark Jennings, Sheriff Kevin Clardy, sheriff’s investigator Alicia Manning and county jail administrator Larry Hendrix.” He’s “both appalled and disheartened” over what he heard. “There is simply no place for such hateful rhetoric in the state of Oklahoma, especially by those that serve to represent the community through their respective office. I will not stand idly by while this takes place.”
Washington Post diligently tried to verify the claims independently. While they were unable to identify the speakers for certain, they confirm what was said. After the public was out of earshot, “Sheriff Clardy gave the board an update on a deadly fire that had happened four days earlier when a 43-year-old woman died after rushing back into the flames to try to save her two dogs.” Someone “asked a question about burn victims’ body parts.” Hendrix replied, “you never had barbecue?” It went down hill from there.
Investigator Alicia Manning wasn’t worried about what the reporter could do to her, “I’m worried about what I might do to him. My papa would have wiped him and used him for toilet paper.” Commissioner Jennings mentioned he knew of “two big, deep holes” if they needed them. He also noted he’d come across “two or three hit men” in his life who “would cut no mercy” to Chris Willingham.