The Bryan County Democratic Party met recently for its regularly scheduled meeting. Concerns were voiced about how the current negative political climate is threatening people’s constitutional rights and the country’s financial stability.
The discussion highlighted actions by the new administration, especially on changes being made to many departments of the federal government by unelected Elon Musk, who was appointed a “special government employee” by President Donald Trump. Musk has fired many government employees, about a third of whom are military veterans, and the abrupt firings, as well as other actions by this administration, are resulting in multiple lawsuits (Peter Charalambous, “Trump administration hit with over 100 lawsuits since inauguration,” March 6, 2025, https:// abcnews.go.com).
Many meeting attendees spoke of their concern about threatened changes to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, which many Oklahoma citizens depend on for their income and health care. Social Security, several noted, is an entitlement that recipients have earned by paying into the program through paycheck deductions throughout their working years.
Some attendees also expressed concern about the closing of several government offices that serve citizens, such as the rumored closings of Social Security and NOAA offices in Oklahoma.
The group adopted resolutions as a guide to its planned future efforts, in- cluding: defending public education against efforts to divert taxpayer money to private religious schools; defending public and school libraries against censorship and cuts in funding; defending inclusive school curricula, including women’s studies, African American studies and indigenous history; and defending the right of every qualified voter to vote in all elections.
“People are concerned about the overreach from this administration,” said Pat Notley, BCDP Interim Chair. “From Donald Trump and Elon Musk having access to our personal information and firing people at whim, our members are ready to protest their illegal actions by all legal means. Attendance at our meetings is growing each month. We absolutely do not advocate violence, but we are determined to let this administration and our elected representatives know we won’t accept its unwise and illegal destruction of our government.”
The BCDP meets the fourth Tuesday of each month at 5:30 p.m. at Donald W. Reynolds Community Center and Library. Anyone wishing additional information about meetings may email bryancodemocrats@ gmail.com.