Coburn Not Mulling Prez Run
With all of the candidates running for president, why not an Oklahoman?
Former Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating, a Republican, flirted (very briefly) with the idea but decided against it and is now campaigning occasionally for Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona.
Now comes a rumor passed on by the conservative American Spectator magazine, and repeated by a blog connected with the Libertarian Reason magazine, that Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Muskogee, is “mulling” a run for the White House.
Coburn, elected to the Senate in 2004 and a U.S.…
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Vacation plans
With legislators gone and no special session for the first time in four years, Oklahoma’s first family is making summer vacation plans.
Gov. Brad Henry plans to attend a summer meeting June 10-13 of The Council of State Goverments in Puerto Pico. Henry is president of the organization.
The governor and the first lady, Kim Henry, plan in late June to go on a mission trip with the former pastor of their church, the First Baptist Church in Shawnee. They will be distributing treated mosquito nets to children and pregnant women in Ghana, Africa.…
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Coburn versus (A Different) Carson
Another week, another Oklahoma senator in the spotlight for alleged wayward views on heroes of the environmental movement.
Usually it’s Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Tulsa, whose skepticism about man-made global warming have made him the anti-Gore.
Now, however, it’s Sen. Tom Coburn. The Muskogee Republican is taking on Rachel Carson, the late scientist and author who is widely credited with inspiring the modern environmental movement with her book “Silent Spring.”
Carson’s book, released in 1962, warned of the dangers of widespread and indiscriminate use of pesticides, including DDT, a chemical that was ultimately banned in the United States ten years after the book came out.…
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Rumors fly as talk of session ending today picks up steam
The Capitol is always a rumor mill the last week of session. Well, it is a rumor mill period, but especially as the final details are sorted out and lawmakers start to feel a sense of urgency.
The Legislature has to be done by 5 p.m. tomorrow. But many are talking about finishing a day early. This would give lawmakers something to brag about. They finished their work not only on time, but early.
There are still dozens of bills in conference, and several even already on agendas.…
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Traveling man
Ivan Holmes, the new chairman of the Oklahoma Democratic Party, is planning to get to know Democrats across the state.
Holmes, elected Saturday to a two-year term, pledged to go to each of the state’s 77 counties to help recruit candidates for every state House and Senate race.
Holmes, 69, said he realized the need for state party officials to work with local party officials while he worked as campaign manager Lloyd Fields in his successful race for state labor commissioner.…
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Family feud
Daniel and Frank Keating may be twins, but they clearly have different opinions on who should be the next president.
Daniel Keating, a Tulsa businessman, is behind former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.
Frank Keating, Oklahoma’s governor from 1995 to 2003, is supporting U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona.
Romney and McCain each are seeking the Republican Party’s nomination.
Daniel Keating said he supports Romney because of his successes: Romney helped businesses grow and improve their operations; he helped turn around the 2002 Winter Olympics’ debt; and as governor, he balanced the budget every year of his administration, closing a $3 billion budget gap he inherited when he took office in 2002.…
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Coburn: No Confidence in Congress
Sen. Tom Coburn has no confidence in U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. He told the embattled AG last month at a public hearing that he should resign.
But Coburn, R-Muskogee, has a problem with the whole Senate expressing no confidence in Gonzales.
In a letter sent to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, today, Coburn said he wants to be notified before there is any agreement for senators to offer a resolution on a no-confidence vote on Gonzales.
Gonzales has been under fire for months now because of the way the Justice Department handled the dismissals of at least eight U.S.…
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New Boss for Inhofe
A major change is occurring in Sen. Jim Inhofe’s D.C. office. Inhofe’s press secretary, Ryan Thompson, is taking over as chief of staff.
Thompson is replacing Glenn Powell, who has been Inhofe’s chief of staff here for about seven years and is going to work for a Pennsylvania-based pipeline company that has holdings in Oklahoma.
At 27, Thompson is Inhofe’s youngest chief of staff ever and is easily one of the youngest chiefs of staff on Capitol Hill, if not the youngest.…
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Immigration Deal Panned
The latest immigration deal, forged by Senate Democrats and Republicans with the White House this week, is already getting a bipartisan thumbs-down from Oklahoma lawmakers.
Rep. Dan Boren, D-Muskogee, and John Sullivan, R-Tulsa, both said it included “amnesty” provisions for the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States.
The reaction is hardly surprising.
All of the Oklahoma lawmakers hear constantly from their constituents about the issue, and most of that feedback comes in the form of complaints about the number of illegal aliens and the fact that the federal government hasn’t done enough to stem the flow or punish employers who hire undocumented workers.…
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"Have a Great Day"
Witnesses who appear before congressional committees typically end their testimony by saying something like this: “I want to thank the committee and I’ll be glad to answer any questions.”
But Albert Sochor, an insurance company executive from Oklahoma City, had a novel, if no less courteous approach, before the Senate Special Committee on Aging.
Sochor, who gave impassioned testimony about how some elderly people in Oklahoma have been hoodwinked into buying Medicare plans they don’t need and can’t afford, urged the committee to do something to protect them and to give them an opportunity to get out of plans they didn’t mean to join.…
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