OKLAHOMA CITY -- Rep. Mary Fallin (R) defeated three challengers Tuesday to win her party's nomination in the Oklahoma governor's race.
In November, Fallin will face either state Attorney General Drew Edmondson or Lt. Gov. Jari Askins, who were squaring off in the Democratic primary. With 95 percent of precincts reporting, Askins held a slim lead.
Fallin received more than 56 percent of the GOP vote, easily outpacing state Sen. Randy Brogdon of Owasso and Oklahoma City area businessmen Robert Hubbard and Roger Jackson.
A 20-year veteran of Oklahoma politics, Fallin raised more than $2.4 million for the race, more than eight times as much as Brogdon, and national Republicans hailed her victory. She was the first woman and first Republican elected lieutenant governor in Oklahoma, a post she held for 12 years before running in 2006 for Oklahoma's 5th Congressional District seat.
Showing posts with label Oklahoma. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Oklahoma. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Three years ago Oklahoma got tough on illegal immigration; its low-unemployment economy has been growing ever since
Given the economic damage inflicted on us by the current administration and many state governments, most readers of this column would probably be quite happy to live in a state where:
■The official unemployment rate in March was 6.6%.
■The average unemployment rate in 2009 using the most comprehensive definition was 10.5%, the fourth-lowest in the nation behind three much smaller states, and far lower than the national average of 16.2%.
■The number of people either working or looking for work has actually grown during the past twelve monhs (in most states, the labor force has contracted significantly).
■The economy grew in 2008, and probably did so again in 2009.
Unless you live in Oklahoma, you’re not in that state.
It “just so happens” that the Sooner State passed a strict immigration enforcement measure in May 2007. It went into effect six months later. Specifically:
House Bill 1804 was passed by overwhelming majorities in both the House and Senate of the Oklahoma Legislature. The measure’s sponsor, State Representative Randy Terrill, says the bill has four main topical areas: it deals with identity theft; it terminates public assistance benefits to illegals; it empowers state and local police to enforce federal immigration laws; and it punishes employers who knowingly hire illegal aliens.
Oklahoma is no longer “O.K.” for illegal aliens, Terrill observes. “When you put everything together in context,” he contends, “the bottom line is illegal aliens will not come here if there are no jobs waiting for them, they will not stay here if there is no government subsidy, and they certainly won’t stay here if they know that if they ever encounter our state and local law enforcement officers, they will be physically detained until they’re deported. And that’s exactly what House Bill 1804 does.”
■The official unemployment rate in March was 6.6%.
■The average unemployment rate in 2009 using the most comprehensive definition was 10.5%, the fourth-lowest in the nation behind three much smaller states, and far lower than the national average of 16.2%.
■The number of people either working or looking for work has actually grown during the past twelve monhs (in most states, the labor force has contracted significantly).
■The economy grew in 2008, and probably did so again in 2009.
Unless you live in Oklahoma, you’re not in that state.
It “just so happens” that the Sooner State passed a strict immigration enforcement measure in May 2007. It went into effect six months later. Specifically:
House Bill 1804 was passed by overwhelming majorities in both the House and Senate of the Oklahoma Legislature. The measure’s sponsor, State Representative Randy Terrill, says the bill has four main topical areas: it deals with identity theft; it terminates public assistance benefits to illegals; it empowers state and local police to enforce federal immigration laws; and it punishes employers who knowingly hire illegal aliens.
Oklahoma is no longer “O.K.” for illegal aliens, Terrill observes. “When you put everything together in context,” he contends, “the bottom line is illegal aliens will not come here if there are no jobs waiting for them, they will not stay here if there is no government subsidy, and they certainly won’t stay here if they know that if they ever encounter our state and local law enforcement officers, they will be physically detained until they’re deported. And that’s exactly what House Bill 1804 does.”
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Okies consider militia to combat federal invasion
OKLAHOMA CITY – Frustrated by recent political setbacks, tea party leaders and some conservative members of the Oklahoma Legislature say they would like to create a new volunteer militia to help defend against what they believe are improper federal infringements on state sovereignty.
Tea party movement leaders say they've discussed the idea with several supportive lawmakers and hope to get legislation next year to recognize a new volunteer force. They say the unit would not resemble militia groups that have been raided for allegedly plotting attacks on law enforcement officers.
"Is it scary? It sure is," said tea party leader Al Gerhart of Oklahoma City, who heads an umbrella group of tea party factions called the Oklahoma Constitutional Alliance. "But when do the states stop rolling over for the federal government?"
Tea party movement leaders say they've discussed the idea with several supportive lawmakers and hope to get legislation next year to recognize a new volunteer force. They say the unit would not resemble militia groups that have been raided for allegedly plotting attacks on law enforcement officers.
"Is it scary? It sure is," said tea party leader Al Gerhart of Oklahoma City, who heads an umbrella group of tea party factions called the Oklahoma Constitutional Alliance. "But when do the states stop rolling over for the federal government?"
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