Three-term Mayor Mick Cornett filed his re-election paperwork early Tuesday at the Oklahoma County Election Board, making him the first candidate to enter the race. More candidates are expected to file before Friday’s deadline. Feeling jovial while waiting for his filing to be processed, Cornett joked with election board workers and reporters covering the event. […]
Democrat
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T.W. Shannon throws hat in Senate race
Coburn is retiring. Shannon joins U.S. Rep. James Lankford (R-Oklahoma City) in the race for Republican nomination. Shannon wrote on his official website: “It’s official: Today I announced my intention to run for the United States Senate.” He did also confirm in a letter to House members that he doesn’t plan on stepping down as […]
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OKC mayor to appear on State of the Union PBS special
Co-anchors Judy Woodruff and Gwen Ifill will host live political analysis from Mark Shields and David Brooks as Obama addresses a joint session of congress and the Republican response from Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers. Show analysts include syndicated columnist Shields and New York Times columnist Brooks with panelists Cornett; Scott Smith (R), Mesa, Ariz.; Marilyn […]
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Bridging the gap
He said to David Gregory on NBC’s Meet the Press, “I probably shouldn’t say this, but I seem to have gotten more — well at least as many, maybe more — communications from some of my Democrat friends. … And I’m a pretty partisan Republican.” Even Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) set aside their […]
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Shut ’em down?
Two Oklahoma Republicans — Rep. James Lankford and Rep. Tom Cole — distributed press statements condemning the national health care program while also claiming to keep the government operational through Dec. 15. Some Republicans have said they’re willing to shut down the government if they can defeat Obamacare. Lankford claims he’s “proud” to join his […]
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Mr. Popular
Credit: Brad Gregg On Reynolds’ newly launched website, shannonforcongress.com, he appears to accuse Shannon of everything short of stealing candy from a baby. The Oklahoma City Republican suggests Shannon took a pair of illegal corporate campaign contributions, has a sorry legislative track record and even has played fast and loose with his claim of being […]
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Getting real
Credit: Brad Gregg His reasoning? Well, as much as he’d “love” to kill the omnibus measure, Coburn just doesn’t think it’s sound political strategy. “I’d be leading the charge if I thought this would work, but it will not work,” he said. “It’s a denial of reality mixed with a whole bunch of hype to […]
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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 […]
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Time to inform, not denounce
Attorney General Scott Pruitt continues his futile attempt to have it declared unconstitutional. Gov. Mary Fallin refuses to accept our tax dollars back from Washington, D.C., to cover Oklahomans most in need of health coverage. Insurance Commissioner John Doak calls the ACA a “disaster,” and although his agency has received a federal grant to inform […]
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The good, the bad and the goofy
In other words: situation normal. Thirty-six months from now, you’ll enjoy an average tax reduction of 35 cents a day. Gov. Mary Fallin says that is necessary for Oklahoma to be more attractive to business decision-makers. Thirty-five cents daily more in our pockets with an effective date of 2016 doesn’t meet the smell test. Regardless, […]