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And a damned fine fiddle player too. I used to work in a band with him before Gene Stipe (The Dark Prince) took him under his wing. Walt's (and Gene's) district in SE OK is really more of a fiefdom than anything approaching a republic. A bastion for Democrats, for sure, with Gene as the feudal lord, and Walt the young heir-apparent.

As I recall, Walt's legislative accomplishment in Oklahoma included getting the Bob Wills song Faded Love named the state's official "Western Swing Song". That single piece of legislation set Oklahoma's feet on the path to greatness.

Walt Roberts was a personable type. I was running for office at the same time and appeared at a large number of political speaking (a big thing in SE Oklahoma) with Walt. He was a great fiddle player and a pretty good singer. He was a nice enough guy, but he sure wasn't congressional material. He was a straw candidate. Had he won, Gene Stipe would have been the congressman. Everyone who had even an ounce of smarts knew the score on that one. What was amazing was that he beat some pretty good candidates in the primary and primary runoff, before being beat by Wes Watkins in the general. But Gene Stipe was there all along the way. Stipe has been a devisive force in Oklahoma politics for 4 decades. The justice department has gone after him several times, with no success. He has been investigated more than any politician in OK history. Yet he is still there. He is surely made of teflon. Nothing has ever stuck. My only hope in this deal is that Roberts has made some statements that incriminate Stipe. But I doubt it. Since this article reveals that stipe has continued to pay Roberts $3,500 a month until July 2002. That is almost 4 years.
Stipe has run that part of OK forever. Most everyone that is in an appointed state position got it because of Stipe. And a large number of the state employees in the McAlester region got their state jobs because of Stipe. That is why he is so untouchable. Everyone owes him, so no one will rat on him. Truely an amazing story. Would make for a great made-for-TV movie.