Just when I think we’ve plumbed the depths of disgusting and immoral legislation in this state, here comes brand-new Republican state senator Lisa Standridge, who has kicked off her term of office by introducing a bill this session that makes it illegal for towns under the population of 300,000 to provide homeless programs and services, including providing shelters. For reference, that means the only municipalities in Oklahoma who could provide homeless services would be OKC and Tulsa (which only barely clears the bar.)

I’m not entirely sure what problem Senator Standridge is trying to solve here, but I guess that’s the wrong question to ask: governance by cruelty is the new Republican M.O. in the Trump era, especially here in Oklahoma, where our local elected officials are all doubling down as fast as they can to see who can get Trump to notice them first. It’s pathetic, and for a bunch of folks who want to remind us what good Christians they are every chance they get, it’s decidedly anti-Christian to push legislation like this. Those without a roof over their head in this state – about 26,000 of whom are children – have committed no crime that makes them deserving of such treatment. Homeless folks exist outside the metro areas of Oklahoma, and one of the things we owe one another in our social contract is to take care of those going through hard times, by making sure they have a little to eat and a roof to sleep under, especially in a state with such extreme weather swings.

I know the usual right wing response to this kind of thing is that private entities and churches should be doing this work, not the government. But such responses showcase a shocking ignorance about how our services and programs for the homeless work, as well as a completely expected hypocrisy: I doubt whatever megachurch Senator Standridge attends is opening its doors every night in Norman to scores of homeless folks. Churches across the state can’t do this themselves; instead, they look to partner with municipal organizations to provide care and resources for those in need. This kind of legisaltion won’t shift the burden of care to churches and private orgs; it will simply eradicate options for the homeless in 90% of the state. But, again, I understand, that’s the point: governance by cruelty. Make things hard enough on homeless folks, and they’ll move on, and you can go back to pretending they don’t exist anymore.

Any right wing folks out there want to defend this? What are we doing here? Do you enjoy cruelty?

Kevin Drum highlights the completely ignorant policy-influencing of Elon Musk, noting that part of the continuing resolution that Musk worked so hard to kill included reforms to Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs), who effectively serve as middle-men skimming dollars from patients trying to access their prescriptions. The CR included bipartisan language that would reign in this kind of consumer fraud, which Elon was on X last week being typically ignorantly angry about. You know what happens next:

Unfortunately, the bill failed to pass. You, Elon, should know this since you were the one who killed it. It was part of last month’s Continuing Resolution that you mounted a jihad against, demanding that the CR should maintain current funding and absolutely nothing else.¹ This meant ditching PBM reform because it was 500 pages long and you insisted that page count was the proper metric for judging the bill.

So PBM reform died. And now you’re telling us you never even knew what it was?

¹Except for hurricane relief, farm subsidies, the Key bridge, Virginia class subs, and pediatric cancer research.

This is one of the things that really gets my blood boiling when it comes to policy making. Writing policy is hard, complicated work, because the real world is a messy, complicated place. That the PBM bill was 500 pages long likely had little to do with pork barrel spending and more to do with the inane complexity of our health care system and all the tiny loopholes profiteers have found to bilk patients of their dollars. But, for decades now, the GOP has insisted that policies should be simple, two- or three-page affairs, and judged the efficacy of bills on that completely asinine metric. Further, they have thrown their support fully behind ignorant blowhards like Donald Trump and Elon Musk, who run off at the mouth about whatever has infected their brain this week, making real world demands that effect people’s lives and then only realizing after the fact the consequences of their words (as if no one was standing out here trying to warn everyone otherwise.) It’s infuriating. Politics is broken in a lot of ways. This is one of the dumbest. Policy making is hard. It requires thoughtfulness and a measured seriousness. Something Elon and Trump clearly lack. It’s going to be a long four years with these guys in charge.