The dominoes that continue to fall have thrown our state politics into a frenzy. At the heart of the resignations and announcements, one question is not being asked: “What about the women?” Our state ranks 48th nationally in female representation in our Legislature and is consistently named one of the unhealthiest places in the country […]
conservative
Posted inNews
The gents of politics
The December magazine lists “Conservatives We Love,” and two of the five are U.S. Sen Tom Cole, Oklahoma deputy majority whip, and T.W. Shannon, Oklahoma Speaker of the House. Of Cole, the mag gushes, “Because he respects people regardless of their political ideologies.” Of Shannon, the magazine says, “Because he believes in investing in infrastructure.” […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Kiss my political buns
Mike Laham, Mike’s Hamburgers Photo: Mark Hancock On the national front, Chick-fil-A and Oklahoma-based Hobby Lobby got their conservative feathers ruffled when it came to social issues that opposed their owners’ personal views: same-sex marriage and birth control, respectively. In both cases, the controversies stirred up sales and customer support. Yet what happens when the […]
Posted inNews
Tom coburn’s gone … liberal?
“I’m now no longer a conservative according to the standards that have been set by the expectations of this process,” he said recently. “It’s a disappointment that we have put a short term goal with lousy tactics ahead lousy tactics ahead of being honest with the American people.” In comments last month, Coburn said he […]
Posted inNews
Unlikely allies
Al Gerhart Credit: Mark Hancock “For us, it’s the concern we have any time we see a prosecutorial process or law enforcement being used to potentially chill speech that is, in our mind, protected political speech,” said Brady Henderson, legal director of ACLU of Oklahoma. “It may not be pleasant speech, it may not be […]
Posted inNews
Left and right
A state representative has organized what he promises will be a bipartisan rally Friday evening at the state Capitol to protest potential U.S. involvement in Syria’s bloody civil war. Rep. Paul Wesselhöft, R-Moore, said he hopes to help spur a nationwide antiwar movement in the wake of President Barack Obama’s announcement that he will arm […]
Posted inNews
Say you’re sorry
Credit: Brad Gregg On June 11, freshman U.S. Rep. Jim Bridenstine, R-Tulsa, took to the House floor to demand — nay, to demand! — that President Barack Obama apologize to Oklahomans for not spending more on weather research. “This president spends 30 times as much money on global warming research as he does on weather […]
Posted inNews
Too red for government aid?
Sens. James Inhofe and Tom Coburn of Oklahoma both voted against the Hurricane Sandy Aid bill, Inhofe saying that the money requested amounted to a “slush fund.” Hurricane Sandy affected a total of 24 states, and the costs have amounted to $50 billion. Now comes the question: What will their vote be concerning these recent […]
Posted inNews
All about Cleta
Credit: Brad Gregg Mitchell, formerly Deatherage, was a liberal Democrat when she served in the state House from 1976 to 1984. For years, however, she has been a card-carrying conservative Republican who isn’t shy about her anti-gay sentiments. In fact, Krohn writes how, in 2011, she was pivotal in ousting GOProud, a right-wing, fiscally conservative […]
Posted inNews
We voted … not
Credit: Brad Gregg The state fell to the near-bottom of voter turnout in a recent study from Nonprofit Vote, a nonpartisan organization that encourages voter participation. Our über-conservative state ranked 49th in the nation. According to the study, 49.6 percent of Oklahomans did their civic duty in the presidential election, beating only West Virginia and […]