The Oklahoma Republican Party’s choice of former state Rep. John Bennett as its chairman last weekend did not go unnoticed by the men Bennett once denounced as terrorists or by others who’ve been smacked between the eyes by Bennett’s blunt language and unbending adherence to the world as he believes it should be.
“The Oklahoma Republican Party has officially branded itself as a party of hatred and bigotry,” Adam Soltani, executive director of the Council on American Islamic Relations-Oklahoma, wrote on Facebook. “There is no getting around that fact.”
Bennett, R-Sallisaw, did not reply to a text asking for comment about his plans for the party.
During his eight years in the Oklahoma House of Representatives, 2011-19, Bennett was known for his fiery rhetoric and verbal attacks on Muslim Americans.
He labeled CAIR, Soltani and Imam Imad S. Enchassi of the Islamic Society of Greater Oklahoma City as terrorists during a House interim study during October 2016.
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CAIR is a Muslim civil liberties and advocacy group working to enhance the understanding of Islam.
Bennett was equally outspoken in his opposition to gun control and abortion rights, and he often clashed with even fellow Republicans. Agencies warning of cutbacks in senior services because of huge budget shortfalls in 2017 also were terrorists, and tax increases to address the situation were unnecessary, he said.
If some were put off by Bennett’s polemics, many others were enthralled. At Saturday’s convention, he defeated three other candidates on the first ballot.
Shane Jemison, a Chickasaw Nation water resources analyst, was reelected vice chairman after being appointed to the post in September.
Whether Bennett still considers Islam a “cancer” to be “cut out” of American society, as he claimed while a legislator, is unclear. He doesn’t seem to have ever apologized to Soltani or to Enchassi, who offered the opening prayer in the state Senate last week just a few days before Bennett did on Monday.
Of some note, perhaps, a Muslim now serves in the Oklahoma House of Representatives.
“By accepting and embracing the most vile, Islamophobic lawmaker in the history of our state, (Oklahoma Republicans) have endorsed his hatred and bigotry and proved themselves to be a party that is void of integrity and responsibility,” Soltani wrote.
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Video from October 2014: Rep. John Bennett calls Islam ‘a cancer’ during town hall meeting
OK Rep. John Bennett speaks out against Islam during a town hall meeting in Muskogee
Tulsa-area state legislators and how to contact them
Tulsa-area state legislators and how to contact them
Sen. Nathan Dahm

DISTRICT 33
Sen. Nathan Dahm (R)
Hometown: Broken Arrow
District area: South and east Tulsa County
Phone: 405-521-5551
Sen. Dana Prieto

DISTRICT 34
Sen. Dana Prieto (R)
Hometown: Tulsa
District area: Owasso and northern Tulsa County
Phone: 405-521-5566
Email Sen. Prieto
Sen. Jo Anna Dossett

DISTRICT 35
Sen. Jo Anna Dossett (D)
Hometown: Tulsa
District area: South and central Tulsa
Phone: 405-521-5624
Sen. John Haste

DISTRICT 36
Sen. John Haste (R)
Hometown: Broken Arrow
District area: Eastern Tulsa County, western Wagoner County
Phone: 405-521-5602
Email Sen. Haste
Sen. Todd Gollihare

DISTRICT 12
Sen. Todd Gollihare (R)
Hometown: Kellyville
District area: Creek County
Phone: 405-521-5528
Sen. Kevin Matthews

DISTRICT 11
Sen. Kevin Matthews (D)
Hometown: Tulsa
District area: Northern Tulsa, southeast Osage County
Phone: 405-521-5598
Sen. Joe Newhouse

DISTRICT 25
Sen. Joe Newhouse (R)
Hometown: Broken Arrow
District area: South Tulsa, Bixby, Broken Arrow and Jenks
Phone: 405-521-5675
Sen. Dave Rader

DISTRICT 39
Sen. Dave Rader (R)
Hometown: Tulsa
District area: Central and south Tulsa
Phone: 405-521-5620
Sen. Cody Rogers

DISTRICT 37
Sen. Cody Rogers (R)
Hometown: Tulsa
District Area: West Tulsa County
Phone: 405-521-5600
Rep. Meloyde Blancett

DISTRICT 78
Rep. Meloyde Blancett (D)
Hometown: Tulsa
District area: Midtown Tulsa
Phone: 405-557-7334
Rep. Jeff Boatman

DISTRICT 67
Rep. Jeff Boatman (R)
Hometown: Tulsa
District area: Southeast Tulsa
Phone: 405-557-7341
Rep. Amanda Swope

DISTRICT 71
Rep. Amanda Swope (D)
Hometown: Tulsa
District area: Brookside in Tulsa
Phone: 405-557-7361
Rep. Suzanne Schreiber

DISTRICT 70
Rep. Suzanne Schreiber (D)
Hometown: Tulsa
District area: Midtown Tulsa
Phone: 405-557-7359
Email Rep. Schreiber
Rep. Dean Davis

DISTRICT 98
Rep. Dean Davis (R)
Hometown: Broken Arrow
District area: Elm Place in east Broken Arrow, east to 248th East Avenue
Phone: 405-557-7362
Rep. Mark Tedford

DISTRICT 69
Rep. Mark Tedford (R)
Hometown: Tulsa
District area: Jenks, Bixby and Tulsa between those cities
Phone: 405-557-7331
Rep. Scott Fetgatter

DISTRICT 16
Rep. Scott Fetgatter (R)
Hometown: Okmulgee
District area: Okmulgee County and the southeastern tip of Tulsa County
Phone: 405-557-7373
Rep. Ross Ford

DISTRICT 76
Rep. Ross Ford (R)
Hometown: Broken Arrow
District area: West Broken Arrow
Phone: 405-557-7347
Rep. Regina Goodwin

DISTRICT 73
Rep. Regina Goodwin (D)
Hometown: Tulsa
District area: Downtown and northwest Tulsa
Phone: 405-557-7406
Rep. Kyle Hilbert

DISTRICT 29
Rep. Kyle Hilbert (R)
Hometown: Depew
District area: Westernmost Tulsa County, Creek County
Phone: 405-557-7353
Rep. Mark Lawson

DISTRICT 30
Rep. Mark Lawson (R)
Hometown: Sapulpa
District area: Sapulpa, Mounds, southwest Tulsa County
Phone: 405- 557-7414
Rep. T.J. Marti

DISTRICT 75
Rep. T.J. Marti (R)
Hometown: Tulsa
District area: East Tulsa
Phone: 405-557-7356
Rep. Stan May

DISTRICT 80
Rep. Stan May (R)
Hometown: Broken Arrow
District area: Southeast Tulsa County; small section of southwest Wagoner County
Phone: 405-557-7338
Rep. Monroe Nichols

DISTRICT 72
Rep. Monroe Nichols (D)
Hometown: Tulsa
District area: Southeast corner of Inner Dispersal Loop to Owasso; also includes Turley and Sperry
Phone: 405-557-7391
Rep. Clay Staires

DISTRICT 66
Rep. Clay Staires (R)
Hometown: Skiatook
District area: Sand Springs, west Tulsa between Arkansas River and Osage County line and Riverview
Phone: 405-557-7390
Rep. Terry O'Donnell

DISTRICT 23
Rep. Terry O’Donnell (R)
Hometown: Catoosa
District area: Catoosa, east Tulsa
Phone: 405-557-7379
Rep. Melissa Provenzano

DISTRICT 79
Rep. Melissa Provenzano (D)
Hometown: Tulsa
District area: East and southeast Tulsa
Phone: 405-557-7330
Rep. Lonnie Sims

DISTRICT 68
Rep. Lonnie Sims (R)
Hometown: Tulsa
District area: West Tulsa County from the bend of Arkansas River down to Glenpool
Phone: 405-557-7340
Rep. John Kane

DISTRICT 11
Rep. John Kane (R)
Hometown: Bartlesville
District area: Bartlesville, north Tulsa County including Collinsville
Phone: 405-557-7358
Rep. Mark Vancuren

DISTRICT 74
Rep. Mark Vancuren (R)
Hometown: Owasso
District area: Suburban Owasso
Phone: 405-557-7377
Rep. John Waldron

DISTRICT 77
Rep. John Waldron (D)
Hometown: Tulsa
District area: Northeast Tulsa
Phone: 405-557-7410
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