OF A NUMBER OF OKC BUSINESSES. AND YOU CAN IMAGINE THE NUMBER OF TIMES THAT KOCO REPORTER HAS FOUND THEMSELVES INSIDE THE STATE CAPITOL BUILDING AT 23RD AND LINCOLN. AS I DUG THROUGH OUR POLITICAL COVERAGE, I FOUND A SERIES OF TWISTS AND TURNS, AS WELL AS CASES OF HISTORY REPEATING ITSELF OVER AND OVER. WE HAVE COVERED ONE OF A KIND POLITICAL STORIES, AS WELL AS STORIES DECADES OLD THAT STILL FEEL FAMILIAR. OKLAHOMA IS ABOUT AS DEPENDABLE A RED STATE AS YOU CAN FIND. THESE DAYS, BUT IF YOU THOUGHT REPUBLICANS ALWAYS RULED THE SOONER STATE, YOU’D BE VERY WRONG. HENRY BELLMON, LONG CONSIDERED AN OKLAHOMA, THE FATHER OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY, KOCO, COVERED THE ELECTION OF HENRY BELLMON IN 1962. THE FIRST REPUBLICAN GOVERNOR IN STATE HISTORY. BUT DEMOCRATS WERE NOT DONE AFTER BELLMON WAS REPUBLICAN DEWEY BARTLETT. BUT THEN THREE MORE DEMOCRATS, DAVID HALL, DAVID BOREN AND GEORGE NIGH, BEFORE BELLMON FOR THE SECOND TIME BROKE THE BLUE STREAK WITH HIS ELECTION BACK TO THE GOVERNOR’S MANSION IN 1986. BUT THE PARTY, FLIP FLOPPING CONTINUED. FIRST, DEMOCRAT DAVID WALTERS, THEN REPUBLICAN FRANK KEATING, AND THEN IN 2002, KOCO COVERED THE TIGHTEST RACE FOR GOVERNOR OKLAHOMA HAS EVER SEEN, AND NO ONE WILL WORK HARDER THAN WE WILL. DEMOCRAT BRAD HENRY, CONSIDERED A MASSIVE UNDERDOG, UPSET FORMER CONGRESSMAN AND FOOTBALL HALL OF FAMER STEVE LARGENT BY LESS THAN 7000 VOTES. THAT’S JUST OVER ONE HALF OF 1%. OH, I CAN TELL YOU THAT. I WENT THROUGH A PANOPLY OF EMOTIONS NOW. EVENING ANCHOR JESSICA SCHAMBACH COVERED STEVE LARGENT’S CONCESSION SPEECH IN TULSA JUST MONTHS INTO HER NEW JOB AS A KOCO REPORTER. REPUBLICAN STEVE LARGENT SAYS HE WOULD HAVE CALLED A RECOUNT ONLY IF HE TRAILED BRAD HENRY BY A THOUSAND VOTES OR LESS. BUT THE FACT IS, IS THAT HE IS GOVERNOR, AND THAT’S THE BOTTOM LINE. HE IS GOING TO BE IN THAT OFFICE. HENRY SERVED TWO TERMS AS GOVERNOR. THE FINAL DEMOCRAT TO HOLD THAT OFFICE. BUT HIS REPLACEMENT WAS ALSO HISTORIC. THAT’S CONGRESSWOMAN MARY FALLIN, THE LATEST TO ANNOUNCE HER PLANS TO FILL CURRENT GOVERNOR BRAD HENRY’S SEAT. I JUST BELIEVE OKLAHOMA NEEDS STRONG LEADERSHIP AND A NEW VOICE AS MARY FALLIN BECAME OKLAHOMA’S FIRST FEMALE GOVERNOR, FOLLOWED OF COURSE, BY CURRENT GOVERNOR KEVIN STITT, NOW SERVING HIS SECOND TERM. HUNDREDS OF OKLAHOMA COUNTY COMMISSIONERS AND SUPPLIERS BEGIN A TRUCK TO FEDERAL COURT. SOME OKLAHOMA POLITICIANS MADE HISTORY NOT FOR THEIR VICTORIES, BUT FOR THEIR SCANDALS. THIS IS NOW, ACCORDING TO THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE. NUMERICALLY, THE BIGGEST PUBLIC CORRUPTION CASE IN THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. MORE THAN 200 WILL PLEAD GUILTY OR BE CONVICTED OF INCOME TAX FRAUD AND RECEIVING KICKBACKS. THE CORRUPTION WAS SO WIDESPREAD, INVESTIGATORS EVENTUALLY TRACED IT BACK TO 60 OUT OF OKLAHOMA’S 77 COUNTIES. THEY DON’T CALL IT CORRUPT. THEY CALL IT THE GOOD OLE BOY SYNDROME. HE’S A GOOD OH, THE JUDGE IS A GOOD OLD BOY. AND THE SHERIFF IS A GOOD OLD BOY. AND THE COMMISSIONERS ARE GOOD OLD BOYS. SO WHEN THOSE GOOD OLD BOYS GET THROUGH, YOU KNOW, RIFLING THE PUBLIC SAFE. OH, THAT’S OKAY. HE’S A GOOD OLD BOY. AND WHEN THEY GET CAUGHT, THEY DON’T GET PUNISHED. BUT THE SOONER STATE POLITICAL HISTORY, OF COURSE, IS MORE THAN JUST THE PEOPLE IN POWER. IT’S ALSO ABOUT THE ISSUES DEBATED IN THE STATE CAPITAL AND AROUND THE DINNER TABLE. THIS IS THE TEN COMMANDMENTS MONUMENT PLACED RIGHT HERE ON PUBLIC GROUND, RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE HASKELL COUNTY COURTHOUSE. DESPITE THE FACT THAT THERE’S A CHURCH RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET, EVEN MORE RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER, A LITTLE BIT AFTER MIDNIGHT, OKLAHOMA EXECUTED THE 12TH DEATH ROW INMATE TO BE EXECUTED. SINCE THE REINSTATEMENT OF THE DEATH PENALTY BACK IN 1977, I WAS HAPPY, HAPPY. HE’S GONE. JUSTICE IS DONE. HE WON’T HURT NOBODY ELSE FROM RELIGIOUS DISPLAYS ON GOVERNMENT PROPERTY. THIS IS THE DEATH CELL AT THE STATE PRISON AT MCALESTER TO DEBATES OVER THE DEATH PENALTY. K-O-C-O’S PAST COVERAGE HAS SIMILARITIES TO CURRENT HEADLINES, AS DOES OKLAHOMA’S CONTINUED POLITICAL BATTLES OVER EDUCATION, WHICH KOCO COVERED AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN. KOCO WAS THERE AS DEBATE OVER EDUCATION INVESTMENT FIRST INTENSIFIED IN 1989. IF WE DO NOT FIND A WAY TO CREATE A MEASURABLY SUPERIOR SYSTEM OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION, WE MAY WELL BE RELEGATED TO A KIND OF DOMESTIC THIRD WORLD STATUS. FIVE MONTHS LATER, 10,000 TEACHERS STAGED A WALKOUT AND CONVERGE ON THE CAPITOL TO PRESSURE LAWMAKERS TO PASS REFORMS. TEXTBOOKS FOR CHILDREN SMALLER CLASS SIZES. PROGRAMS FOR AT RISK STUDENTS. TEN YEARS LATER, THE TEACHERS WERE BACK. A WONDERFUL TURNOUT. I THINK THEY’RE GOING TO HAVE A LOT MORE THAN THEY ANTICIPATED. THIS SHAWNEE STUDENT SIGN WAS RIPPED BY A TEACHER FOR ITS MESSAGE AGAINST THE RALLY. I THINK THE TEACHERS SHOULD BE TEACHING TODAY AND NOT AT THIS RALLY. AND AS WE KNOW, TH