.Politics » Oklahoma Republican Party

OK Republican Party Chairman Matt Pinnell Gets National GOP Position

Chris Casteel — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 14:31:02 +0000

Matt Pinnell, chairman of the Oklahoma Republican Party, has been named to a position with the national Republican Party. He will coordinate activities between states and the national party. His title will be Republican National Committee state party director, and he will report directly to RNC chairmman Reince Priebus.

“As the RNC moves forward with the recommendations of the Growth and Opportunity Project, I am very pleased to announce outgoing Oklahoma Chairman Matt Pinnell will serve as the chief liaison between the RNC and state parties,” Priebus said Tuesday.
“Matt knows the workings of the state party system and has the vision to help strengthen state parties as we build for 2014 and 2016. In order to achieve success we must continue to foster existing relationships, strengthen field operations, and welcome new members into the party starting at the state level.
“At the RNC, we’re revamping our entire political field operation to be bottom-up and community based. That means the 50 state parties and territories must take a leading role. As a former local and state party chair, I understand the importance of close coordination and collaboration with the national RNC office. The future of all fifty state parties and territorial parties will be Matt’s top priority. He will ensure we’re giving state parties the support they need, so they can in turn support and empower the work of grassroots activists and volunteers. They are the heart of our party, and our political structure should be one that allows ideas to flow from the individuals on the ground up to RNC leaders—not the other way around.”

Pinnell, 33, of Tulsa, has been chairman of the state party since 2010 and had already announced he would not seek another term this year.

Oklahoma Republican Party Transfers $3.2 Million to Florida GOP

Chris Casteel — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 15:31:25 +0000

The Oklahoma Leadership Council, the federal campaign account of the Oklahoma Republican party, transferred $3,255,000 to the Florida Republican Party in September from the money it has been receiving as part of a joint fundraising committee for Mitt Romney’s campaign.
The Romney campaign and national GOP organizations have essentially parked nearly $8 million in the Oklahoma Republican Party’s federal account in the last few months _ money that was expected to be sent to targeted states or races. Florida is one of the swing states in the presidential election.
Other states in the joint fundraising committee with Oklahoma are Idaho, Massachusetts and Vermont. Idaho and Oklahoma are solid Republican states in presidential elections, while Massachusetts and Vermont are solid Democratic states.
According to the Oklahoma GOP’s most recent report to the Federal Election Commission, the state party received nearly $1.8 million in September from the joint fundraising committee; contributions to the committee came from all regions of the country.

Rep. James Lankford to Hold Town Hall Meeting Tuesday; Tom Guild in Charlotte

Chris Casteel — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 15:47:55 +0000

Rep. James Lankford, R-Oklahoma City, has scheduled a town hall meeting in Oklahoma City for 6 p.m. on Tuesday. The congressman, who was in Tampa last week for the Republican National Convention, will provide updates on issues and take questions. The meeting will be held at:

South Oklahoma City Community College
College Union Rooms 2 & 3
7777 S. May Avenue

Meanwhile, Tom Guild, of Edmond, who is Lankford’s Democratic opponent this year, is a delegate to the Democratic National Convention.

An interview with him is available at this link:

http://snd.sc/OUPmGv

Ron Paul Video at Republican National Convention

Chris Casteel — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 12:18:08 +0000

Rep. Ron Paul didn’t speak at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla. this week, but his movement was definitely represented through Oklahoma delegates and followers from other states. Paul’s son, U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, of Kentucky, spoke at the convention Wednesday night, when the convention also showed this video:

…

The GOP Bus Debacle

Chris Casteel — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 15:03:53 +0000

The first night of the Republican National Convention here ended punctually, about 10 p.m. central time, but some of the Oklahoma delegates didn’t make it back to their hotel a few miles away until 3 a.m., and it’s not because they were out partying.
Rather, they were waiting for buses or sitting on buses that were supposed to get the delegates from the Tampa Bay Times Forum to the various hotels in the Tampa area.
The system set up was for delegates to catch a shuttle bus from the forum, where the convention is being held, to the nearby football stadium, where they would then catch a bus running to their hotels and others in the immediate area.
If you left the convention a little early, the system worked, though slowly. But once the convention ended and hordes of delegates and guests boarded the shuttle buses, it created a gridlock in the narrow areas that have been carved out by the security people here.
One bus got back to the Oklahomans’ hotel about midnight, but there were others that didn’t arrive until 1:40 a.m. and 3 a.m.
Many of the delegates had to get up to attend an early morning breakfast hosted by Ann Romney and Janna Little Ryan, while others were going to an 8 a.m. delegation breakfast. One of the delegates that was on the 3 a.m. bus made it to the breakfast about 10 a.m., just as it was breaking up.
Oklahoma delegate Linda LePac, who was among those delayed, said the problem stemmed from various security issues, including the need to inspect every bus, sometimes numerous times, during the shuttle process.
Others said a bus had broken down, blocking others that couldn’t get around it.
Pam Pollard, vice chairman of the Oklahoma Republican Party, said some of the people on her bus grew angry and that she tried to calm them down by offering to trade convention pins with them.
On Wednesday, afternoon, two Republican officials sent out a memo to delegates apologizing for the “signficant and unacceptable” delays.
“There is no excuse for what occurred,” the memo said and outlined procedures for delegates to find their buses, which wasn’t a problem that anyone trapped on the buses even mentioned.

Gov. Mary Fallin’s Speech to the Republican National Convention

Chris Casteel — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 01:55:15 +0000

Here is the transcript of Gov. Mary Fallin’s speech Tuesday night at the Republican National Convention. There were some minor changes.

Thank you.

President Ronald Reagan once said that “there are no great limits to growth, because there are no limits of human intelligence, imagination and wonder.”

He believed, like I believe—like Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan believe—that the potential for America is limitless.

We can – and we will – overcome any economic challenge IF government lets go of the regulatory chokehold zapping the air out of the economy and deflating the spirits of our entrepreneurs.

We need a president who will applaud and encourage those who work hard to pursue their dreams … to reach their potential … and, in doing so, make themselves and America better and stronger.

That man is Mitt Romney.

The history of my state of Oklahoma offers a great example of pursuing the American Dream. It was built and settled by pioneers moving West to seek better lives.

During the great the Land Run of 1889, thousands of families rushed to put a stake down on empty plots of land. They built tent cities overnight, they farmed the land and they worked hard. And in 1897, eight years after the Land Run, a handful of adventurous pioneers risked their own money – NOT, the federal government’s – to drill Oklahoma’s first oil well, the Nellie Johnstone.

By doing so, these early-day pioneers changed the future and the fortune of Oklahoma forever, and today Oklahoma is one of the nation’s key energy producers and job creators.

President Obama wants us to believe that Oklahomans owe that success to the federal government: to the Department of Energy, to the EPA, the IRS or maybe even to him.

Mr. President, we know better … as we say in Oklahoma, that dog won’t hunt.

We owe these remarkable successes to the imagination and ingenuity of people like my friend, Oklahoman Harold Hamm. The son of sharecroppers, and the youngest of 13 children, Harold grew up in the small town of Lexington, Oklahoma.

As a child, he helped out on the farm and went to school only after the first freeze or Christmas. While attending high school, he worked for a dollar an hour at a gas station. After high school, Harold took a job cleaning out oil barrels.

At the age of 20, he bought his own truck and began a one man oil field service business. He made enough money to begin taking college level classes in geology and mineralogy. At 26 years old, he drilled a wildcat well that produced 75 barrels of oil an hour … we call that a gusher.

Today, Harold Hamm is the Chairman and CEO of Oklahoma’s own Continental Resources, a top ten U.S. producer of petroleum liquids with nearly 700 employees operating in 10 states and valued at over $13 billion.

Now Harold and his company are helping to power cars, homes and businesses across the nation. Harold and other energy entrepreneurs have completely transformed the U.S.’s energy outlook. And with a President Romney, we’ll reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil even further and create even more American jobs.

Harold’ success story is not one-of-a-kind; it is an American dream that has been realized by countless men and women since the founding of this country. He is just one of the many visionaries and innovators in the private sector that are the true drivers of economic growth and job creation.

And that’s where President Obama just doesn’t get it. He’ll tell you that “If you’ve got a business ‘you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen.’” Well, Mr. President … like who? The IRS? The EPA? Or the federal government?

The president believes that government is responsible for our successes and that’s why his solution to everything is more government, bigger spending, more regulation, and more bureaucratic programs like ObamaCare.

He says his plans are working, but look at the results:
• 42 straight months of unemployment over 8%.
• 23 Million Americans out of work, underemployed, or no longer looking for work
• A nation threatened by nearly $16 trillion of debt

Families feeling pinched not just by a bad economy, but by a President who promised hope and change and left many Americans with no hope and just change in their pockets. President Obama believes the power of a Big Government is the key to American success.

Mitt Romney believes in the power of the people. Mitt Romney understands that free enterprise and hard work — not government handouts — have made the United States the envy of the world.
And the selection of Paul Ryan to be his running mate is an excellent choice. There are many reasons that Congressman Ryan will be an great Vice-President . . . not the least of which is his wife is from Oklahoma . . . and their two dogs are named Boomer and Sooner—after the Land Run Oklahomans!
They will reverse the tide of decline and promote economic security. They know it is hardworking American families, not a federal bureaucracy that has built our great and glorious nation. Mitt Romney is ready to lead. He has the experience and the vision we need to restore America’s economy and its greatness. I am proud to support his candidacy for president, and as the next leader of the Free World he will make us proud.

Thank you.

Fallin Starts Speech With Reagan and Romney

Chris Casteel — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 00:35:48 +0000

Gov. Mary Fallin came out on the stage at the Republican National Convention in Tampa wearing blue, not the red she was wearing earlier because she’s from the reddest state in the nation, as she and other Republicans love to say.
She got big cheers from the Oklahoma delegation from the back of the Tampa Bay Times Forum.
But the announcer pronounced her name as if it rhymed with Palin.

She began her speech with:

President Ronald Reagan once said “there are no great limits to growth, because there are no
limits of human intelligence, imagination, and wonder.”

He believed, like I believe – like Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan believe – that the potential for
America is limitless.

We can – and we will – overcome any economic challenge if government lets go of the
regulatory chokehold zapping the air out of the economy and deflating the spirits of our
entrepreneurs.

We need a president who will applaud and encourage those who work hard to pursue their
dreams, to reach their potential, and, in doing so, make themselves and America better and
stronger.

That man is Mitt Romney.

Fallin to Speak about Sooners, the Land Run Ones, Not the OU Teams

Chris Casteel — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 23:56:07 +0000

Look for Gov. Mary Fallin to give the national television audience a bit of a history lesson about Oklahoma when she speaks to the National Republican Convention in Tampa here Tuesday night and don’t be surprised if she mentions that Janna Little Ryan is an Oklahoman. The theme Tuesday is that Americans build things without the government’s help; it is a counter to remarks by President Barack Obama a few weeks ago that seemed to suggest otherwise but that he has said he didn’t mean that way.…

Three of Oklahoma’s Delegate Votes Not Counted at Republican National Convention

Chris Casteel — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 22:31:59 +0000

Only 40 of Oklahoma’s 43 delegate votes for president were counted Tuesday night, because of one absence and two supporters of Ron Paul who refused to cast their votes for GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney, even though they were bound to do so.
The roll call for the state was 34 votes for Romney and six for Rep. Ron Paul, who ran unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination.
The six who voted for Paul were Paul supporters who had been committed to former candidates Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich. Because Santorum and Gingrich released their delegates, the Paul supporters were free to vote for Paul.
But two Paul supporters who were required by state law to vote for Romney tried to vote for Paul, and their votes were voided.
James Dunn, an outgoing Oklahoma member of the Republican National Committee, was absent so his vote wasn’t counted. He also supported Paul.
John Bates, of Edmond, was one of those Paul supporters who violated his pledge to vote for Romney.
He said later that he did so because the people that elected him as a delegate were Paul supporters.
“Had I not (voted for Paul), I would have disenfranchised those who voted for me,” he said.
There has been a lot of friction between Paul and Romney supporters in some states and that was evident here Tuesday on the floor of the convention a couple of times.

Fallin Packs a Lot Into Roll Call Speech

Chris Casteel — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 21:54:32 +0000

In announcing Oklahoma’s delegate count at the Republican National Convention here Tuesday, Gov. Mary Fallin packed in a lot of references: Janna Little Ryan, faith and freedom, red state and some other things.
She was standing next to her husband, Wade Christensen.

Gov. Mary Fallin Gives the Roll Call at GOP Convention

Here it is, in rough form:
“A state that believes in faith, family and freedom, a state that has one of the strongest economies in the United States and an unemployment rate of 4.9 percent, a state that in the heartland and is the home of Janna Little Ryan. It’s also the state that is the reddest state in the nation where Barack Obama lost every single county.”
She then cast 34 of Oklahoma’s delegate votes to GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney and 6 for Rep. Ron Paul, who ran unsuccessfully for president.