EDITORIAL: Stitt's war against tribes is an embarrassment

Jul. 26—Gov. Kevin Stitt's war against tribal nations is just one of many items on the list of embarrassments for the Sooner state, but the global attention this issue is garnering makes it one of the worst.

Fortunately, most of Stitt's fellow Republicans — except for about a dozen-odd racists in each house of the Legislature — are either distancing themselves from him, or uttering sound bites of outright hostility for his selfish and futile attempts to crush tribal sovereignty. Among those voting to override his veto to extend tribal compacts are all six of the Cherokee County contingent: Sens. Dewayne Pemberton, Blake Stephens, and Tom Woods, and Reps. Bob Culver, David Hardin and Chris Sneed.

After the Senate on Monday decimated his veto by a bipartisan supermajority, Stitt called it the product of "illegitimate process." But his accounting degree from OSU didn't imbue him with the legal savvy to make that judgment. And even if it did, a man whose company was dubbed by Business Insider as one of the shadiest lenders in the government-backed loan industry ought to think twice before pointing an accusatory finger at anyone else.

Oklahoma Senate Pro Tem Greg Treat and Attorney General Gentner Drummond are more concerned with the state's future than assuaging their bruised egos or lining their pocketbooks. Both have issued blunt and scathing statements about Stitt's public tantrums, proving that Stitt knows not of what he speaks.

Drummond took the unusual step of filing an entry of appearance in the dispute between tribes and the state over the gaming compacts. He, unlike Stitt, got the message handed down by the U.S. Supreme Court in McGirt v. Oklahoma. And here's what Treat had to say: "The governor has wasted untold amounts of taxpayer money on these lawsuits that have been an abject failure. Continuing them does nothing but alienate our tribal partners and undermine the goals that the governor says he's trying to achieve."

Treat may not be a huge fan of McGirt or the Hooper decisions; few mainstream politicians are, since those cases forced them to cede some of their own power to tribal chiefs. Nevertheless, they're smart enough to recognize tribes as "partners" rather than enemies. Treat also pointed out Stitt brought in out-of-state attorneys from the East Coast to force tribes into "illegal" gaming compacts. We'll give you three guesses as to who is paying the bills of the carpet-bagger attorneys — and the first two don't count. The governor is skinning the rest of us to prop up his "personal agenda," as Treat said. It will be interesting to see the silk purse Stitt stitches together from his relentless sow's-ear attacks.

Stitt apparently didn't take time to read Justice Neil Gorsuch's opinion in the McGirt case, or he wouldn't have humiliated himself with this statement: "I am trying to protect eastern Oklahoma from turning into a reservation. ..." Got news: Eastern Oklahoma is a reservation, and it's about time he acknowledged it.

GOP voters erred by not choosing former Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett over Stitt in the primary back in 2018. Cornett made incredible progress for his city and the state, and did so without malfeasance. Or, they could've held their noses and voted for Drew Edmondson, whose family has long had a pioneering role in Oklahoma's successes, which are rapidly being overshadowed by blunders of Stitt, former AG Scott Pruitt, and others.

Perhaps after Stitt terms out, Oklahoma will get a leader who appreciates the unique characteristics of Oklahoma, and the sovereign nations within its borders. Let's hope he doesn't manage to inflict too much more damage before he's put out to pasture.