The Journal Record
One of Randy Brogdon’s big lies came in the form of three little dots. The other was even more egregious.
Writers use ellipses to shorten lengthy quotations so the pertinent parts remain. Leaving out a few critical words to intentionally change the meaning of the passage would be a grave deception.
But that’s exactly what former state Sen. Randy Brogdon and now the head of the Oklahoma Republican Party did in a widely distributed email that vilified the justices of the state Supreme Court and rallied support for the controversial Ten Commandments monument at the Capitol. In the fourth paragraph of his epistle to party members, Brogdon wrote, “They cited Article 2 Section 5 to render their opinion. It states: ‘No public money shall ever be appropriated, applied, donated, or used … for the benefit or support of any sect, church, denomination, or system of religion, or support any priest, preacher, or minister.’”
Proponents have made a big deal out of the fact that the monument was paid for with private money. Taken at face value, then, Brogdon’s quote from the state constitution makes the justices look like fools. No state money was used, so how can the monument possibly be illegal? Gov. Mary Fallin reiterated that point when she declared the monument would remain in place despite the high court’s 7-2 decision.
As written, it would be hard to argue with Brogdon’s sixth paragraph, which claims, “The court had ignore (sic) the obvious to come to their political decision, because it certainly isn’t an honest, legal or rational reading of Article 2 Section 5.”
What wasn’t honest or rational was Brogdon’s email. The ellipses was a stand-in for the clause, “directly or indirectly,” and the justices found that displaying the Ten Commandments at least indirectly benefited a system of religion. Worse, Brogdon simply deleted the words “or property” from the first sentence. What the constitution really says is, “No public money or property shall ever be appropriated, applied, donated, or used …”
The court’s decision was that state property couldn’t legally be used to display the Ten Commandments because while they might be historical, they are also clearly religious in nature and at least indirectly benefit a system of religion. If you quote the constitution accurately, the logic behind the decision is clear and simple to understand, even if you don’t like the outcome.
Deceiving Oklahoma Republicans to get your way isn’t leadership, Mr. Brogdon. It’s adolescence.
Quite so. We may not like the consequences of the Oklahoma Supreme Court’s decision, but I personally think it is correct. That’s the reason that Article 2, Section 5, should be put to a vote of the people. And Chairman Brogdon’s deceptive pronouncements on this matter are reprehensible.