Ryan Walters, Oklahoma’s well known anti-LGBTQ+ State Superintendent of Public Instruction, includes a bid for 55,000 Trump-endorsed bibles on a request for proposals (RFP) on September 26, just days before the State Department of Education (OSED) released the RFP on September 30.
However, the bid is very specific in its requirements. According to the RFP, the bible in request must be the King James Version and include the United States Pledge of Allegiance, the U.S. Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, and the U.S. Bill of Rights. It also must be “bound in leather or leather-like material.”
A sales associate at Mardel Christian & Education tells The Oklahoman that out of the 2,900 bibles they sell, none meet those criteria. However, you know which bible does fit these oddly specific specifications?
The God Bless the U.S.A. Bible first published by the conservative country singer Lee Greenwood back in 2021 and recently endorsed by Former President Donald Trump, who licensed his name and likeness to be used in marketing for the latest edition.
This edition costs $60, making the budget for these 55,000 books $3.3 million. Where the state has the funds for that in its education budget is yet to be explained. The bid excludes much cheaper bibles as an option or replacement, like the $2.99 paperback version of the New King James Version available online.
Drew Edmondson, former Oklahoma Attorney General, tells the paper that the RFP might violate state laws.
He says, “It appears to me that this bid is anything but competitive. It adds to the basic specification other requirements that have nothing to do with the text. The special binding and inclusion of government documents will exclude almost all bidders. If the bid specs exclude most bidders unnecessarily, I could consider that a violation.”
This scheme comes at a convenient time for Ryan Walters, who is apparently hoping to get picked for a cabinet position under the potential future Trump administration.
Alicia Andrews, Oklahoman Democratic Party Chair, says that, “For (Walters) to craft this RFP to specifically identify this Bible, this document that the state taxpayers would spend money on, either is a dereliction of duty, a dereliction of stewardship, or maybe it’s a … signal to former President Trump: ‘Hey, hey, I’m on your team, sir.’”
This isn’t Walter’s first transgression with trying to impose his political beliefs on Oklahoma’s public education system. Most recently, he tried to impose a rule that says schools must teach kids grade 5 through 12 about the Bible and the 10 commandments or else they would “be held accountable” and penalized for not complying.
His so-called “law” was dismissed by the Oklahoma State Attorney General following a lawsuit that called out his directive for violating the separations of church and state.
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