If only it were snow…
How many days of rain have we had this week?
It wouldn’t surprise me if some state officials were quietly thinking, “If only it were snow.”
Yes, snow and a cold winter. That would mean we’d all be running our heaters, mostly powered by natural gas. Folks on the East Coast would looking for oil for their heaters and we’d all be topping off our gas tanks.
Yes…a good long cold winter would help state government clear a revenue hurdle and hopefully have enough money to avoid dipping into reserve funds for normal operations.
In the last revenue reports issued on Tuesday, gross production tax collected on natural gas brought in only $20.8 million. Last year, during the same one-month period last year, natural gas brought in $96.6 million.
That’s quite a difference and we’re feeling it. Apparently the supply of natural gas is plenty and its not as lucrative..so why put a million dollar rig in the ground for a commodity that’s selling low.
In Oklahoma we live and die by the volatile energy market. Not just the state’s bottom line but livelihood of people who work on those rigs, or profit from the increased business on the rigs. It’s a chain, and eventually the taxpayer sees the end result.
Farmers have been telling us for years to eat beef to help out the state’s economy. In the same vein, I guess we also need to be wishing rain was snow and hoping for a long, cold winter.
– JULIE BISBEE, Capitol Bureau
Gumm kickoffs re-election campaign
Sen. Jay Paul Gumm, D-Durant was expected to kick off his re-election campaign this evening at a Durant restaurant.
Gumm is seeking his third term in office and final four-year term in Oklahoma Senate District 6, which includes Bryan, Johnston and Marshall counties and portions of Coal and Atoka counties. The Oklahoma Constitution limits members of the Legislature to 12 years of service. Upon re-election in 2010, the senator would reach the 12-year limit at the expiration of that term in November 2014.
Lt. Gov. Jari Askins was also expected to speak at the event. Askins, a democrat, is running for governor.
Updated Tuesday 10:15 a.m.
Apparently the Gumm re-election kickoff was well attended.
Rainy rallies in Oklahoma
With the president wanting Congress to approve his health care reform proposals by the end of the year, thousands of Oklahomans rallied on both sides of the issue in a steady rain Sunday outside the state Capitol.
Opponents, who attended a so-called tea party made up of people also opposed to higher taxes and what they say is out-of-control government spending, clearly outnumbered supporters in two separate rallies.
A crowd estimated at 5,500 gathered Sunday afternoon on the north steps of the Capitol for an event sponsored by the Oklahoma City Tea Party. About 300 gathered about four hours earlier on the Capitol’s south steps organized by Change Oklahoma, a group made up of many who supported the president’s campaign.
Both sides wanted to show their congressional delegation how they felt on the health care reforms that are of President Barack Obama’s key campaign promises to provide health care to an estimated 47 million Americans who have no medical coverage.
Amber Harrington of Oklahoma City attended the tea party rally and carried a sign reading, “Obama’s real achievements – deceiving the people, mocking the Lord’s word, disgracing our veterans, washing tax dollars.”
She said she’s also unhappy with plans by Obama and mostly Democrats in Congress to change the health care system.
“They are now trying to control what kind of treatment we get,” Harrington said.
Harrington said she doesn’t have health care insurance, but can get treated at a nearby clinic often for $25.
“I want to have the freedom of being able to choose what’s right for me,” she said.
David Perry of Norman was at the rally supporting health care reforms, including a public option.
An owner of a computer business, Perry said he can’t afford health insurance.
“I’ve tried to buy it for two years, I finally threw my hands in and said, ‘Too expensive,’” he said.
Even if he could afford insurance, he said several self-employed friends have told him it’s difficult to get insurance companies to pay claims.
“When it comes time to need the coverage, it’s not there,” Perry said. “We need some sort of public option to keep them (insurance companies) honest.”
- Michael McNutt, Capitol Bureau
Rice says he’ll run for Senate seat again
Sen. Andrew Rice sent a letter to supporters Wednesday saying he plans to seek another term in Senate District 46. Rice was elected to represent the central Oklahoma City district in 2006. In 2008, Rice unsuccessfully sought to unseat Republican U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe’s seat.
In his letter to supporters, Rice the budget shortfall will continue to be an issue for lawmakers and “The new Republican leadership in the Oklahoma legislature has shown little interest in good public policy and instead has stayed focused on their long-standing partisan agendas that further marginalize everyday Oklahomans and divide our communities.”
Rice hasn’t been shy in his criticism on the new Republican leadership and true to form he’s dusting that rhetoric off for the campaign season. Rice urges supporters to help him out and warns that with the palpable backlash against President Obama could mean that Republicans will go after Rice’s seat with a vengeance…”Given the poor approval ratings that President Obama has in Oklahoma, the GOP leadership and their operatives are extremely overconfident about their chances of picking up many legislative seats all over the state in 2010. They will surely come after my seat as well.”
Let the games begin.
– Julie Bisbee, Capitol Bureau
Schwartz ponders re-election
Rep. Colby Schwartz, who last week dropped out of the lieutenant governor’s race, will make a decision this fall whether to seek a third term in the House of Representatives.
“I want to take some time,” said Schwartz, R-Yukon.
Right now his political plans are undecided, he said.
Schwartz, elected in 2006 to the House District 43 seat, which includes parts of Oklahoma and Canadian counties, cited economic pressures and challenges in raising money for his first statewide race. He could serve eight more years in the Legislature until legislative term limits kicked in.
He said in a statement last week that it has been difficult raising money over the past 90 days.
According to his most recent campaign report, which covered fundraising activities through June 30, Schwartz had $26,432 on hand. He had carried over $16,603 from his House campaign account and reported raising $9,830 and spending $1.12.
Rep. John Wright, R-Broken Arrow, reported having $23,620 on hand, with most of that money carried over from his House campaign account.
Sen. Todd Lamb, R-Edmond, who formally announced his bid last month, reported raising $195,285 between June 12, when he opened his campaign account, and June 30, the end of the reporting period. He transferred $57,761 from his Senate campaign account, giving him a total of $253,046. He reported $413 in expenses, giving him $252,633 on hand as of June 30.
The lone Democrat so far in the race, Sen. Kenneth Corn, D-Poteau, reported having $155,957 on hand as of June 30. Corn reported raising $56,485 during the reporting period and spending $24,342.
Lt. Gov. Jari Askins is not seeking re-election to run for governor. Gov. Brad Henry, elected to his first term in 2002, cannot run again in 2010.
When he announced his intentions to run for lieutenant governor in June, Schwartz said he expected the race would require anywhere between $500,000 and $1 million.
He has been working on campaigns since 1996, including Bob Dole for president, Ed Apple for Oklahoma Corporation Commission and the campaign for U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Tulsa. Schwartz also worked for U.S. Rep. Mary Fallin, R-Oklahoma City, as her legislative and constituent liaison when Fallin served as lieutenant governor. Fallin, elected to the 5th Congressional District in 2006, is running for governor in 2010.
- Michael McNutt, Capitol Bureau
Students, parents react to Obama speech
While politicians traded barbs about President Obama’s speech to students on Tuesday, students had surprisingly mature thoughts and opinions about it. Check out this video:
http://feeds.newsok.tv/services/player/bcpid4659235001?bctid=37913816001
And parents in Edmond protested the showing of the speech.
http://www.newsok.com/multimedia/video/37897777001
Obama to speak to school children at 11 a.m., remarks released
President Obama is expected to speak to school children today at 11 a.m. Oklahoma time. His remarks, which have been released already, include his own personal story of his mother teaching him extra lessons at 4:30 in the morning. He even talks about the first-day jitters some students may have upon starting a new school, or grade.
In most of the released remarks, Obama talks about the need for students to value their education and make the most of it. It’s up to students to do well in school, not teachers or parents at the end of day, according to the released remarks.
Last week, a handful of Oklahoma lawmakers decried Obama’s plan to talk to school children, saying it was way to get around parents and get straight to the young and impressionable minds of children. Rep. Sally Kern, R-Oklahoma City and Sen. Steve Russell, R-Oklahoma City were among the most vocal critics of the plan for Obama to speak to children during the school day, saying a direct message from the president could “create a cult of personality,” or was akin to “indoctrination.”
Incidentally, Kern, is the coordinator for the National Conference of State Legislatures program to get lawmakers into the classroom and engaging with students.
Some parents are talking about keeping their children home today. I’m curious about why parents would go to such extremes. Some are more upset by the proposed curriculum that goes with the speech, than the President speaking directly to student groups.
I get that parents want to be able to discuss and help shape the ideals of their children. But after reading the released remarks, it seems strange that this speech would garner so much negative attention. Isn’t personal responsibility a bipartisan issue?
To watch the president deliver the message live, go here: http://www.whitehouse.gov/live/
– Julie Bisbee, Capitol Bureau
Conservative lawmakers upset by Obama’s plan to address students
President Obama’s plan to address school children on Tuesday is ruffling a few conservative feathers in Oklahoma.
Obama plans to talk to school children in an address that will be streamed live over the Internet on White House Website.
Rep. Sally Kern, R-Oklahoma City, said allowing Obama to speak directly to students is “indoctrination.”
“No president, Republican or Democrat, should interrupt the education process in this manner,” Kern said. “Our children should not be exploited this way for partisan purposes.”
In a release sent out today she said: “To many parents, it looks like children are going to be held ‘accountable’ if they don’t propagandize on behalf of the Obama administration,” Kern said. “I’m sure those involved are well-meaning, but the appearance here is very troubling…The purpose of our government schools in a constitutional republic is not to force a captive audience to establish a bond with the president. Such an action would be appropriate for Cuba but not the United States of America.”
Kern said parents concerned about the issue should contact their local school principal, superintendent and school board members and state their disapproval. If school officials will not listen, she noted many parents plan to keep their children home that day and “could make their voices heard at the next round of school board elections.”
Sen. Steve Russell, R-Oklahoma City, also weighed in on the issue. Russell, a decorated Army veteran, compared the President’s plan to speak to school children to indoctrination programs in communist countries and Nazi Germany.
“I’m concerned parental rights are being usurped by this,” said Russell. “This is akin to something you would see in North Korea or under Saddam Hussein’s Iraq. It attempts to create a cult of personality and goes directly against our personal liberties.”
Russell, who home schools his two of his five children, said Obama’s address will not be on the family’s lesson plan that day. His two other children that attend a public high school are off on Tuesday as part of an extended Labor Day weekend holiday.
Russell said many voters were not aware of the president’s plan to speak the children and the plan has caught them unaware. Russell said he doesn’t think any elected official should use their political position to “use a bully pulpit” to speak to children, and not their parents, who can vote.
Republican withdrawls from lieutenant governor race
Citing economic pressures and challenges in raising money for his race for lieutenant governor, Rep. Colby Schwartz, R-Yukon, has dropped out of the race. Schwartz said he will continue to represent his district which includes Yukon and Mustang.
“I remain as passionate about Oklahoma and its future as I did when I entered this campaign; but I understand the political reality that an effective statewide bid for public office requires sufficient funds to communicate my message to the entire state.”
His campaign sent out a statement this morning saying:
“Over the last 90 days it has become obvious to me that the current economic climate has hindered my ability to raise the needed financial resources to effectively fund a statewide race for Lt. Governor. Therefore, I am removing my name from consideration for the Republican nomination for Lt. Governor of Oklahoma. During my past campaigns for the Oklahoma House of Representatives, my support has always come from everyday, hard-working Oklahomans. It is these same supporters who have felt the pinch of the economic downturn the hardest; and now have less disposable income to contribute to a political campaign. … As a fourteen-year Republican Party activist, I look forward to fully supporting the Republican nominee for Lt. Governor, as well as the other slate of Republican candidates.”
Two Republicans remain in the race Sen. Todd Lamb, R-Edmond and Rep. John Wright, R-Broken Arrow. So far, Lamb remains the front runner in fundraising, according to recently filed campaign reports.
Lt. Gov. Jari Askins, a Democrat, is seeking the governor’s seat. Gov. Brad Henry, also a Democrat, has served two terms and cannot run again.
– Julie Bisbee, Capitol Bureau
To stream or not to stream?
The live feed that streams audio and video from a Senate committee room must be more popular than I thought. Initially today’s meeting of the health insurance mandate review task force wasn’t streamed live on the Internet site that Capitol junkies are used to visiting to listen in on Senate committee hearings.
Sen. Cliff Branan, R-Oklahoma City, said it was his decision not to broadcast the meeting. He said he had notified people of the meeting. The folks central to the issue where there, the press was there, he didn’t see the need to stream it. And it’s his first time to command a task force.
“Virtually 100 percent of the presentation was broadcast,” Branan said. “All that people really missed were the introductions. Once there was a request to broadcast it on the Internet, we turned it on.”
It’s not a lie to say that the health care/insurance debate in Oklahoma has become political. Branan says it shouldn’t be. But Republicans have been skeptical of additional mandates for coverage and Democrats have pushed for expanded coverage. Access to health care may not be a political issue, but when either party picks a side, it becomes that way.
By looking at Twitter, it’s clear Democrats thought broadcasting the meeting was issue and raised the question as to why the meeting of a predominately Republican task force wasn’t broadcast for public scrutiny. Offering audio and video feed is optional. The House doesn’t have live streaming audio or video in its committee rooms.
It wasn’t an official committee meeting. Policy wasn’t being voted up or down. And frankly the meeting was more about educating lawmakers on health policies more than it was about creating policy. In fact, it wouldn’t be too bold to say the meeting was somewhat dry to the average citizen.
However, is there an expectation that meetings of lawmakers should be broadcast if they can be? Even if no one was listening or cared, isn’t incumbent upon elected officials to strive to make information available to constituents, especially when it’s as easy as flipping a switch?
