2024 Election Voting Recommendations from CultureWarrior.net
The following recommendations reflect the worldview and mission of CultureWarrior.net as expressed at its founding in March 2013:
The mission of CultureWarrior.net is to participate in the redemption of culture in all institutions of American life through sharing the truth of the biblical worldview that is the heart of the American cultural vision upon which the United States was founded.
Given the choices presented in this election ballot, the following recommendations come closest to upholding biblical standards of order, justice, and freedom of a nation and its citizens:
Candidates for Political Office:
President & Vice President – United States: Donald J. Trump and J. D. Vance – Republicans
Oklahoma Congressional District No. 1: Kevin Hern – Republican
Oklahoma Corporation Commissioner: Brian Bingman – Republican
Retention of Three Supreme Court Justices of the Oklahoma Supreme Court:
NO – Justice James G. Edmondson – Appointed 2003 by Governor Brad Henry – Democrat
NO – Justice Noma Gurich – Appointed 2011 by Governor Brand Henry – Democrat
NO – Justice Yvonne Kauger – Appointed 1984 by Governor George Nigh – Democrat
State Questions:
NO – State Question 833 – Creation of public infrastructure districts within municipalities
YES – State Question 834 – Only U.S. citizens are qualified to vote in Oklahoma elections
The above recommendations do not cover all elections being held in Oklahoma. If you are voting on candidates, judges, or other issues not shown above, it is highly recommended that you look at the platforms of the party to which the competing candidates belong to find the one that most closely reflects biblical values and standards. If it is a judge that is seeking office or asking to be retained in that office, research their original party affiliations, their judicial records, and such other information as may be available. Then as a general rule, vote for the political candidate, judicial candidate, or issue that most closely aligns with biblical values and a biblical worldview.
Changing a Liberal Oklahoma Supreme Court
The Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs was founded in 1993 by Dr. David Brown, an Oklahoma City orthopedic surgeon and longtime board chairman of The Heritage Foundation, arguably the most important conservative think tank in America. OCPA’s values and worldview are wholly biblical. For several years the OCPA has published a legislative scorecard to grade Oklahoma lawmakers on how they voted on legislation related to OCPA’s principles of limited government, free markets, personal responsibility, individual initiative, and strong families.[1]
Unlike political candidates for office, the OCPA grades the judiciary differently. The conservative principles by which judiciary candidates are graded are based on how well they interpret the laws in their role as a judge. To score well, the principal standard by which justices are graded focuses on how well justices fulfill their role as the interpreter – not maker – of the law. This is the foundational principle underlying the work of all judges in the United States and was recognized from the nation’s beginning. Supreme Court Justice John Marshall, appointed by President John Adams, wrote in Marbury v. Madison, “It is emphatically the providence of the judicial department to say what the law is.” In other words, it is not the court’s role to say what the law should be.[2]
OCPA ranked the current Oklahoma Supreme Court Justices by their conservative judicial votes:
Douglas Combs 14% (2011) Gov. Brad Henry – Democrat
Yvonne Kauger 18% (1984) Gov. George Nigh – Democrat
Noma Gurich 18% (2011) Gov. Brad Henry – Democrat
James E Edmondson 21% (2003) Gov. Brad Henry – Democrat
Richard Darby 28% (2018) Gov. Mary Fallon – Republican
James B. Winchester 57% (2000) Gov. Frank Keating – Republican
John Kane IV 80% (2019) Gov. Kevin Stitt – Republican
Dustin P. Rowe 82% (2019) Gov. Kevin Stitt – Republican
Dana Kuehn 85% (2021) Gov. Kevin Stitt – Republican[3]
Please note that the top three justices with the highest scores were all appointed by conservative Governor Kevin Stitt, and Governor Frank Keating’s appointment leans conservative. So where is Governor Mary Fallon’s conservative appointment? The next governor following the end of Governor Stitt’s two terms in 2026 must be a conservative Republican, not just a Republican in Name Only (RINO), e.g. Oklahoma Attorney General Gertner Drummond. With the election of another conservative governor following Governor Stitt, it is possible to establish a conservative majority in the Oklahoma Supreme Court over the next six years.
The importance of conservative courts is illustrated by Donald Trump’s appointment of three conservative justices to the United States Supreme Court during his first four-year term. Given the magnitude of the extreme opposition from many segments in American culture, it was an undeniable miracle that occurred through God’s divine intervention.
Larry G. Johnson
October 23, 2024
Sources:
[1] “Supreme Court justices ranked by conservative judicial votes,” Tulsa Beacon, September 19, 2024, 1.
[2] Ibid.
[3] “How did the Oklahoma Supreme Court Justices rule on Cases?” Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs, https://ocpathink.org/judicialscorecard (accessed 10-23-2024)
