Murphey's Mindscape - Opinion Series - The Oklahoma State Capital

Jim Shaw and The Save Oklahoma Plan: A Plan That Might Save Oklahoma — and the GOP Ballot?

Jason W. Murphey | Posted: September 12th, 2025 at 12:19 PM

Jim Shaw and The Save Oklahoma Plan: A Plan That Might Save Oklahoma — and the GOP Ballot?

OPINION: When Justice Becomes Theater: Gentner Drummond’s Cover for the Politically Connected

Jason W. Murphey | Posted: September 3rd, 2025 at 09:41 AM

Last weeks shocking Ty Burns affair isn’t an isolated failure. It’s the third in a string of extraordinary interventions where the "system" bent over backward to save insiders from accountability.

OPINION: If I Were Campaigning for Lieutenant Governor

Jason W. Murphey | Posted: August 29th, 2025 at 12:26 PM

Were I campaigning for lieutenant governor, I would make myself very clear: Lonnie Paxton has abused the people’s trust, and his days in charge of the Senate are numbered.

OPINION: Scorekeeping, Revenge, and Non-Citizen Commercial Drivers Licenses in the Oklahoma House of Representatives.

Jason W. Murphey | Posted: August 20th, 2025 at 08:07 PM

How one legislator’s fixation on scorekeeping led him to take credit for non-citizen commercial driver’s licenses — an epic self-own.

OPINION: Is Oklahoma Really 50th in Education? The Great WalletHub Self-Own

Jason W. Murphey | Posted: August 11th, 2025 at 06:12 PM

So who exactly is to blame for Oklahoma’s low showing on WalletHub’s latest education listicle?

OPINION: How The Vindication of Ryan Walters Gives Kevin Stitt a Second Chance

Jason W. Murphey | Posted: August 6th, 2025 at 11:29 AM

As a media firestorm unravels, new facts point to vindication for Ryan Walters—and a political reckoning for the governor who empowered his critics.

OPINION: The Midnight Execution

Jason W. Murphey | Posted: June 9th, 2025 at 12:43 PM

While you slept your legislators carried out a political execution in the dark — and set a dangerous new standard.

OPINION: When “Shall” Becomes “May”: Why the People of Oklahoma Face a Dangerous Four Days Ahead

Jason W. Murphey | Posted: May 26th, 2025 at 04:43 PM

The people of Oklahoma are in grave danger: How Charles McCall’s one-word power grab will hit hard this week.

OPINION: They Tried to Ambush Ryan Walters—Here’s How They Almost Got Away With It

Jason W. Murphey | Posted: May 14th, 2025 at 03:58 PM

While most House Republicans likely had no idea what was happening, leadership tried to sneak through a bombshell amendment—but three sharp lawmakers saw it coming, and a leak saved the day.

OPINION: The Rise of Censorship in The Oklahoma House of Representatives: How the Oklahoma House Is Silencing Its Own

Jason W. Murphey | Posted: April 22nd, 2025 at 05:43 PM

What happens when a state representative tries to warn the public—and gets silenced by the House of Representatives.

OPINION: Something Big is Happening in The Oklahoma House of Representatives

Jason W. Murphey | Posted: April 15th, 2025 at 05:25 PM

Don’t look now, but the first green shoots of independent thought are starting to emerge from the darkness of the Oklahoma Capitol.

OPINION: When the Oklahoma House Fails to Deliberate, the Cow Food Vending Machine and The Bridge to Perpetual Pork Win

Jason W. Murphey | Posted: March 14th, 2025 at 04:26 PM

In the latest example of "These are not serious people," it takes a House Committee just 40 seconds to give eternal life to a new state commission and its approximate six million dollars of annual spend.

OPINION: Introducing the Most Influential Member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives

Jason W. Murphey | Posted: January 29th, 2025 at 10:35 AM

He might be in Oklahoma City, but the state has its very own "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington."

OPINION: Inside the Oklahoma Capitol Swamp’s Attempt to Shut Down the People’s Emissary

Jason W. Murphey | Posted: January 24th, 2025 at 11:43 AM

Jim Shaw wasted no time in bravely taking on the swamp at the Capitol. But Kyle Hilbert, his special counselor Chris Kannady, and the Oklahoma City swamp aren't going to make it easy for him.

OPINION: Courage Is Contagious, and the Oklahoma House of Representatives Has Just Been Infected

Jason W. Murphey | Posted: January 14th, 2025 at 05:42 PM

Seven courageous state representatives have just sent an encouraging signal to the House of Representatives and the entire state of Oklahoma.

OPINION: The Darkest Part of the Night Has Arrived

Jason W. Murphey | Posted: January 9th, 2025 at 11:15 AM

The darkest part of the night has arrived in the Oklahoma House of Representatives, but the saying isn't wrong, the first light of day is just about to appear.

OPINION: My Advice to the New Speaker of the House: Divest the Curse

Jason W. Murphey | Posted: December 12th, 2024 at 04:19 PM

Will the next Speaker become just another picture on the wall of the House Chamber, forever consigned to the purgatory of watching future generations of politicians repeat the same mistakes?

The Assimilation Begins: Oklahoma's New Legislators Face Their First Test

Jason W. Murphey | Posted: November 18th, 2024 at 08:57 PM

A November 21st Oklahoma City fundraising event represents the start of the assimilation process that, for most new lawmakers, will prove "resistance is futile."

These are not serious people

Jason W. Murphey | Posted: May 10th, 2024 at 08:40 PM

How the second generation of Oklahoma's Republican legislative majority has become aimless and without clear purpose.