Gallup: Oklahoma is Sixth Most Conservative State
Gallup poll puts Oklahoma as 6th most conservative state, based on how respondents identified themselves.…
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Schedule for President Barack Obama’s Inaugural Ceremony on Jan. 21
President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden were formally sworn in to their second terms on Sunday in separate private ceremonies attended mainly by family members and friends. They will repeat their oaths on Monday before hundreds of thousands of people gathered in Washington.
Here is the schedule of events, scheduled to begin at about 10 a.m. central time:
Prelude: The United States Marine Band
Call to Order and Welcoming Remarks: Sen. Charles Schumer
Invocation: Myrlie Evers-Williams
Musical Selection: The Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir
Oath of Office for Vice President Joe Biden, administered by Associate Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor
Musical Selection: America the Beautiful, by James Taylor
Oath of Office for President Obama, administered by Chief Justice of the United States John G.…
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Reps. Tom Cole, Markwayne Mullin Oppose Executive Action on Gun Control
Rep. Markwayne Mullin, R-Westville, said Thursday that it would be “absurd” for President Barack Obama to use executive orders to limit gun ownership. Mullin was responding to a statement made Wednesday by Vice President Joe Biden that the “president is going to act” on gun control, possibly using executive orders.
Mullin said, “What the President and the Executive branch are trying to do on gun control is absurd. The President’s use of executive orders to limit Second Amendment rights is only a tactic to bypass Congress and force untested laws onto the American people.…
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Sen. Jim Inhofe Comments on Nominations of Hagel, Brennan
Sen. Jim Inhofe, the new ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, declined on Monday to express approval or disapproval of Chuck Hagel to be secretary of defense. The committee will hold confirmation hearings on Hagel.
Regarding Hagel’s nomination Inhofe, R-Tulsa, said:
“I have worked with Secretary (Leon) Panetta for many years, and during his tenure as Secretary of Defense, he has done an excellent job outlining the devastating impact defense budget cuts will have on our nation’s military. In the months and years ahead, the Defense Department will be confronted with significant challenges from budget issues to Afghanistan policy.…
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New Republican Rep. Jim Bridenstine of Tulsa Refuses to Back Boehner for Speaker
Rep. Jim Bridenstine, a Tulsa Republican sworn in for his first term on Thursday, refused to vote for House Speaker John Boehner. He voted for House Majority Leader Eric Cantor instead.
Bridenstine said in an interview before the vote that he would have trouble voting for Boehner, in large part because of the debt ceiling deal struck in 2011.
“The challenge is no one is running against (Boehner)” for speaker, Bridenstine told the Oklahoman. “So what does a guy like me do?”
What he did was vote for the second ranking Republican in the House _ Cantor, of Virginia _ who has split with Boehner on some issues, including this week’s fiscal cliff deal.…
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Rep. Tom Cole Named to Powerful House Rules Committee
Rep. Tom Cole, R-Moore, has been named to House Rules Committee, which determines the framework of debate for major pieces of legislation. The Republican members are picked by House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio. The selection of Cole comes after the Oklahoma lawmaker became a prominent voice in the fiscal cliff debate last month, arguing that Republicans shouldn’t hold 98 percent of taxpayers “hostage” to automatic tax increases to protect tax cuts for the wealthiest.
Cole has served on the committee before.…
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Rep. James Lankford Only Oklahoman Voting Against Fiscal Cliff Deal
Rep. James Lankford, R-Oklahoma City, was the only member of Oklahoma’s congressional delegation who voted against the fiscal cliff deal on Tuesday. Both of Oklahoma’s senators supported it, and four of the five House members voted aye late Tuesday night.
Among the four House members supporting it were outgoing Reps. Dan Boren, D-Muskogee, and John Sullivan, R-Tulsa. Both of those members will be leaving the House on Thursday, when their replacements will be sworn in.
Rep. Tom Cole, R-Moore, said Wednesday, “This agreement is far from perfect, but preventing the largest tax increase in history and making tax cuts permanent for 98 percent of taxpayers is a major victory for American workers and for the economy.…
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One Oklahoma judicial nominee headed for confirmation; another still being stalled
Senate Republicans have agreed to a vote on one of the federal judicial nominees from Oklahoma but are still holding up proceedings on another.
Republican senators have been blocking votes for nearly six months on Robert E. Bacharach, a U.S. magistrate judge in Oklahoma City who has been nominated for a seat on the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals; and John E. Dowdell, a Tulsa attorney nominated for a federal district judge position in Tulsa.
Republicans will allow a vote on Dowdell, expected to come Tuesday afternoon, but they still haven’t agreed to a vote on Bacharach.…
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Oklahoma Secession Petitions Removed from White House Web Site
The two petitions filed on the White House web site last month seeking Oklahoma’s peaceful withdrawal from the union have been removed for not garnering enough support in 30 days. The rules for the We the People petition site require that a petition get at least 25,000 signatures within 30 days. One of the petitions seeking Oklahoma’s withdrawal was started on Nov. 10 and the other was started on Nov. 11. At one time after the Nov. 6 election, there were petitions from all 50 states.…
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James Taylor’s Favorite Song That He Wrote: Sweet Baby James
Just in case you ever wondered, James Taylor’s favorite self-penned song is “Sweet Baby James,” which he wrote for a nephew named after him.
Taylor appeared Friday at a National Press Club luncheon, where he sang and talked politics and music and thoroughly entertained the crowd.
The appearance, recorded by C-SPAN, will likely be shown again. It is now on the station’s home page.
Taylor, who campaign for President Barack Obama and sang at the Democratic National Convention in North Carolina, is a self-described liberal but said he sees the need for a strong Republican Party.…
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