Pinnell: Two More Firsts

Republican State Chairman Matt Pinnell

Last week we posted a picture on the OKGOP Facebook page of our new Speaker of the House, TW Shannon, being sworn in to office. To date the picture has generated over 6,100 “likes,” over 200 comments, and has been shared over 350 times, all records for our page. Needless to say, people are excited about our new Speaker.

We certainly recognize that TW’s colleagues didn’t elect him because of the color of his skin (which happens to be black) or the tribe that he is a member of (which happens to be the Chickasaw Nation). Instead, they elected him because of his strong leadership skills and conservative vision that will help unite our caucus.

However, we do recognize and celebrate firsts. And TW just so happens to be the first black Speaker in state history. Furthermore, he picked a woman (Pam Peterson R-Tulsa) to serve as his Majority Floor Leader, also a first in state history.

You heard that right…the first black Speaker and first female Majority Floor Leader in our state’s history are both Republican. Forgive me if, as Chairman of the Oklahoma Republican Party, I want to brag about these firsts. I feel obligated in large part because Democrats (including the OK Democrat Party) continue to perpetuate the notion that conservatives have a “war on women” and we don’t connect with minority voters. That’s absolute baloney, and we’ve proven that it’s untrue here in Oklahoma for years.

We proved it in 2010 when we elected our first female Governor, Mary Fallin. Who was, yes, a Republican. That first and the two I’ve mentioned should be celebrated. The celebration though will be short, as we now have work to do. That being said, I’ll take two firsts like the ones we got last week any day! So congratulations again to Speaker Shannon and Majority Floor Leader Peterson. As you requested, Speaker, prayers for humility and wisdom to you both.