An excellent article by GOP Chairman Matt Pinnell about our great friend and colleague, Rep. Rusty Farley.
As most of you have heard by now, Republican State Representative Rusty Farley passed away on the Fourth of July. The day after the 4th he was set to leave on a missions trip with his church.
This 18-year member of the Haworth school board is probably the best example we have that an honest, solid conservative can win anywhere in Oklahoma. House District 1 is McCurtain County, in far southeastern Oklahoma. Only 11.8% of voters are registered Republicans, and 5.2% are Independents, Farley got 50.83% of the vote last year. Impressive no matter what the circumstances.
Did I mention that his opponent spent over $20,000 on his reelection bid, while Farley spent $70? Yep, Farley spent $70 and won the race. Now that's one heck of a conservative when you can stretch $70 that far!
Rep. Farley didn't need to prove his worth to his constituents- he knew who he was and so did District 1 voters. And so, this past legislative session Rep. Farley didn't write a ton of legislation. Nope, in fact Rep. Farley authored just one bill.
He must have read Goldwater's "Conscience of a Conservative," in which he so eloquently states:
"I have little interest in streamlining government or in making it more efficient, for I mean to reduce its size. I do not undertake to promote welfare, for I propose to extend freedom. My aim is not to pass laws, but to repeal them. It is not to inaugurate new programs, but to cancel old ones that do violence to the Constitution or that have failed their purpose, or that impose on the people an unwarranted financial burden. I will not attempt to discover whether legislation is "needed" before I have first determined whether it is constitutionally permissible. And if I should later be attacked for neglecting my constituents "interests," I shall reply that I was informed that their main interest is liberty and that in that cause I am doing the very best I can."
Yes, you did the very best you could, Rep. Farley, and may it be an example to all of us.
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