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Is there another longtime Washington insider more pro-big business and with more ties to the financial industry and energy corporations than U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe?
It is not a stretch to claim that taken together-Inhofe's staunch right-wing view that big businesses should dictate government policy and the $1.3 million he has reportedly received from Wall Street-these two aspects of Inhofe's political career clearly show and symbolize how the current financial crisis was created. Big businesses give money to our politicians who then allow them to essentially non-regulate themselves.
Inhofe is not the only Washington politician to lose touch with the vast majority of people he represents, but he may well be the most obvious.
As the stock market declines, the financial crisis especially hurts people near or at retirement age, though the entire fallout will surely be much worse as more jobs and homes are lost.
The crisis has most Inhofe critics, most notably his election opponent state Sen. Andrew Rice, 35, claiming the Senator has his priorities wrong. What about the middle-class people in Oklahoma? Who will speak up for their retirement? At 73, Inhofe could retire right now with a decent government pension and great health insurance. So why would he care about your retirement, right? With his narrow concerns refuting the science of global warming, your retirement is not even in Inhofe's frame of reference.
Frank Keating never should have been governor of Oklahoma for one term let alone two. He would have never won in 1994 if there had not been a strong third party candidate in the race who took away votes from traditionally Democratic southeastern Oklahoma. The Murrah Bombing kept him in office for another term. Once out of office, he has been floundering around to get back in. Bush turned him down as a possible Attorney General when it was revealed Keating had been given a $250,000 "scholarship" from a donor who wanted to promote a scheme to drug prisoners.
Later his wife and son were defeated in their Republican primaries when they ran for Congress and the Oklahoma legislature respectively.
Keating now is a flunkie for the McCain campaign. Recently, he reflected McCain desperate attempt to tear down Obama's character with the following interview with Dennis Miller, comedian and conservative radio talk show host:
"He ought to admit, 'You know, I've got to be honest with you. I was a guy of the street. I was way to the left. I used cocaine. I voted liberally, but I'm back at the center,'" Keating, a co-chair of McCain's campaign, said Obama should tell voters. "I mean, I understand the big picture of America. But he hasn't done that."
"Man of the street"? Frank, don't talk in codes to us. Go ahead and admit that you want to remind us that Barack is black.
Rice, an Oklahoma City Democrat, is trying to unseat the Republican Inhofe in the November election. The debate was televised by KJRH-2, which also streamed it live on the Internet. There was a small studio audience.
During the debate, Rice, 35, repeatedly challenged Inhofe for supporting unwise and sometimes horrendous government policies during the last eight years under President George Bush, one of the most unpopular presidents in modern American history.
The state Senator pounded Inhofe on supporting investment banking deregulation sponsored by "special interests" during the Bush years, leading to the recent $700 billion taxpayer bailout of Wall Street. Inhofe allowed these special interests to essentially non-regulate the financial markets, he charged, and now Main Street is suffering.
Rice argued Inhofe has allowed terrorist cells in other countries to flourish-a real threat to American security-because of his blind support for the Iraq war.
In a statement released after the debate, the Rice campaign said, "Despite what Jim Inhofe said in tonight's debate, our national security has been weakened, not strengthened, by his support for reckless and out of touch policies. By focusing so much of our superior military strength on Iraq, George Bush and Jim Inhofe took their eyes off the ball, failed to capture Osama bin Laden and allowed new threats to emerge."
Rice also argued Inhofe has done nothing to help solve the country's health care crisis.
Meanwhile, Inhofe, 73, offered no new initiatives or programs he plans to undertake in the next Senate, which will almost certainly contain a larger Democratic majority. He offered no real defense of his previous votes, which have favored Bush policies more than 90 percent of the time. He stood by his bizarre statements about global warming that have made him infamous around the world. To his credit, he often agreed with Rice on his positions.
In the debate, Rice depicted Inhofe as a Washington insider that has allowed special interests to dictate policy and legislation.
"The middle class has become invisible to Washington," Rice said, arguing the Inhofe was using the debate to take "political potshots" instead of trying to find solutions to the country's growing economic crisis.
Inhofe downplayed the financial crisis, arguing that Oklahoma has a better economic climate than much of the country as Rice talked about his experiences on the campaign trail meeting people who are suffering financially.
Rice also offered a bipartisan approach to solving the health care crisis by bringing business and government leaders together to reduce health care costs. Inhofe talked about medical malpractice lawsuits.
". . . Jim Inhofe has spent 22 years in Washington gutting health care services for Oklahoma seniors and the state's most vulnerable citizens," according to the Rice campaign in its statement, "while voting in favor of privatization schemes that let big insurance companies decide who will have health care."
On Nov. 4, Oklahomans have a serious question to ask themselves before voting: Do they want to be stuck with two Senators and all but one of their Representatives in the minority party for the foreseeable future, or do they want to be seriously involved in governing this country, solving our collective problems and moving into the future?
Sarah Palin's main strategy was to stick to her set of "talking points" even when they had no relevance to the questions she was asked. It's a common, if deplorable, tactic that allows the responder to stay off areas where she doesn't have a clue.
It can get you into trouble, though, if your attempt to turn the discussion gets you caught in a lie, which is what happened when the topic turned to federal bankruptcy laws. Biden stated that he believed that homeowners facing foreclosures on their first homes should have the right to petition for relief from the principals they owe. He stated:
"[W]e should be allowing bankruptcy courts to be able to re-adjust not just the interest rate you're paying on your mortgage to be able to stay in your home, but be able to adjust the principal that you owe, the principal that you owe," said Biden. "That would keep people in their homes, actually help banks by keeping it from going under.
"But John McCain, as I understand it," he continued, "I'm not sure of this, but I believe John McCain and the governor don't support that. There are ways to help people now. And there -- ways that we're offering are not being supported by -- by the Bush administration nor do I believe by John McCain and Governor Palin."
PBS' Gwen Ifill turned to Palin and asked, "Governor Palin, is that so?"
"That is not so," said Palin, "but because that's just a quick answer."
The Alaska governor then quickly changed the subject to energy. (source: ABC News)
So, Governor Palin, in her haste to get away from a topic she was either unpreped to answer or just didn't want to answer, made a false statement about her campaigns position. When ABC asked the McCain campaign if the governor was right, they had to that Palin "misstated" McCain's position.
Occasionally, I would be caught in a position where I didn't want to get blamed for something I did. I would say whatever parents would want to hear to get me ought of trouble. Later, when the truth came out, my mother's term for my "misstatement" was "Lying."
I don't think we'll be responding to it, so I'll keep my rebuttal to myself, but I want y'all to see the editorial The Oklahoman ran yesterday regarding our scorecard and its conclusions.
Using "cherished" is a bit strong. You'll see in a few paragraphs what I'm talking about. Oh, and Glenn Coffee scored less than 50 percent. Again, keep reading.
I would love to hear your thoughts on this. Leave me a comment or e-mail me at jraymond@okccps.org.
Jeff Raymond
Executive Director
Oklahoma Foundation for Consumer & Patient Rights
The Oklahoman Editorial
Published: October 2, 2008
The Legislature's been out of session since late May, but it's never too late to score a political point by ranking lawmakers, right? An activist group founded by trial lawyers ranked legislators this week on how "right" or "wrong" they were on a range of issues considered important to the group. In our view, the lower the ranking, the better the lawmaker is for business and the average citizen.
Legislative scorecards, rolled out annually by groups all along the political spectrum, are usually good for little more than a one-day splash in the media, no matter who produces them. Voters typically don't consider the scorecards when going to their polling places.
Only one legislator got a perfect score on ratings released by the Oklahoma Foundation for Consumer & Patient Rights. None scored less than 50 percent. In general, Democrats scored better than Republicans.
Rep. Kris Steele, R-Shawnee, was graded at just 66 percent despite being the co-author of at least two bills cherished by the foundation. Steele has done more than almost any lawmaker in recent years to advance the cause of health care for lower-income Oklahomans.
He's passionate about improving care and lowering the number of uninsured Oklahomans. Apparently, though, he voted the "wrong" way on too many bills to achieve even a "C" average on the scorecard. By "wrong," of course, we mean bills sought by trial lawyers for their own enrichment.
OKLAHOMA CITY - Lawmakers need a grading curve on consumer and patient issues.
With a number of decent scores but some abysmal ones, state legislators overall did an average job, the 2008 legislative scorecard from the Oklahoma Foundation for Consumer & Patient Rights shows.
The nonprofit Oklahoma City?based group released its annual scorecard Tuesday at a news conference at the state Capitol. The scorecard tracks almost 30 bills important to Oklahomans' personal, financial and medical safety.
"I believe our society will be judged by how we treat the least among us - the poor, the sick, the elderly," Foundation Executive Director Jeff Raymond said.
"During the last session help for cancer patients, children with autism and nursing home
residents failed to overcome powerful, selfish interests. The poor, the sick and the elderly
continue to suffer because of it."
Yet, Raymond said, good things came about as well: Bills to inform consumers when their
confidential information has been breached, require day care centers to carry insurance, and
toughen penalties for elder abuse all became law.
"But the scorecard isn't just about statutes and debates," Raymond noted. "It's about people's lives."
Speakers at Tuesday's news conference explained just how much legislators' actions - or inaction, in some cases - affect Oklahomans who simply are trying to get by.
Monty Collings described his daughter's struggle with cancer and his drive to give her a legislative legacy through Steffanie's Law for Clinical Trial Access.
Steffanie's Law would have required insurance companies to cover routine medical care
associated with cancer clinical trials.
"We need the voice of Oklahomans to be heard - that we should get what we pay for! If we
quit paying our premiums then we would lose our coverage, but we pay our premiums as they tell us
to, so why don't we get what we pay for?" Collings said.
Patients who participate in clinical trials end up costing insurance companies less than those
who don't, he added.
Reggie Cervantes, an EMT whose volunteer rescue work at the World Trade Center on 9/11 destroyed her lungs, spoke about struggling to find affordable health care and
accompanying filmmaker Michael Moore to Cuba for his film "Sicko."
As the Twin Towers collapsed, Cervantes went from a health care provider to a health care consumer. She now has terminal lung disease.
"I attempt to continuously navigate a system which is not consumer?based but is based on
the guidelines insurance companies create. Patients are consumers, but traditionally health
insurance has not treated us as consumers," she said.
"We are consumers when we purchase groceries, electronics, a car, a home or gas. There are laws to protect us from price?gouging and protect us as consumers from being exploited," she
continued.
"There are no laws to protect us from being exploited by health insurance companies
who put profits before people and life."
About the Oklahoma Foundation for Consumer & Patient Rights
The Foundation is a nonprofit consumer and patient advocacy organization whose mission is to
produce and disseminate timely and informative analysis and information on public policy issues
that impact consumer and patient safety. For more information on the Oklahoma Foundation for
Consumer & Patient Rights, please call 800?994?6025 or visit www.okccps.org.
OKLAHOMA CITY - Some Central Oklahoma state legislators need a grading curve for their votes on consumer- and patient-related bills during the last legislative session.
The Oklahoma Foundation for Consumer & Patient Rights will unveil its annual legislative scorecard Tuesday at a news conference at the state Capitol.
Oklahoma City area legislators overall had low-average marks on the scorecard, which tracks almost 30 bills important to Oklahomans' personal, financial and medical safety.
Monty Collings will speak about his daughter's struggle with cancer and his drive to give her a legislative legacy through Steffanie's Law for Clinical Trial Access.
Nancy Thomason, who lost her son to brain cancer and founded the Oklahoma Brain Tumor Foundation, will discuss her experiences.
Tulsa civil justice attorney Guy Thiessen will discuss how the elderly and their loved ones suffer when nursing homes go without liability insurance.
Reggie Cervantes, an EMT whose volunteer rescue work at the World Trade Center on 9/11 destroyed her lungs, will speak about struggling to find affordable health care and accompanying filmmaker Michael Moore to Cuba for his film "Sicko."
What: 2008 Legislative Scorecard release news conference
When: Sept. 30 at 11 a.m.
Where: Governor's Large Conference Room, Oklahoma State Capitol
Following is a media advisory for the Oklahoma Foundation for Consumer & Patient Rights' annual legislative scorecard.
I would love to see you there.
Anyway, I'll probably send more in the next few days but wanted to give you a heads-up.
Please let me know if you would like to attend. Please pass this on.
Jeff Raymond
Executive Director
MEDIA ADVISORY: CONSUMER GROUP TO RELEASE LEGISLATIVE SCORECARD
OKLAHOMA CITY - Monty Collings will speak about his daughter's struggle with cancer and his drive to give her a legislative legacy during the Oklahoma Foundation for Consumer & Patient Rights' release of its second legislative scorecard.
Steffanie Collings died in March from a brain tumor. She was 18.
The family's ordeal led to Steffanie's Law, which would have required insurance companies to pay for routine health care associated with participation in clinical trials. The Collings were hit with more than $400,000 in medical bills after their insurance company refused to pay their daughter's claims.
The bill passed the Senate but stalled in the House.
Steffanie's Law is one of 28 bills the Oklahoma Foundation for Consumer & Patient Rights has highlighted because of their importance to Oklahomans' personal, financial and medical safety.
What: 2008 Legislative Scorecard release news conference
When: Sept. 30 at 11 a.m.
Where: Governor's Large Conference Room, Oklahoma State Capitol
Food and refreshments will be provided.
About the Oklahoma Foundation for Consumer & Patient Rights
The Foundation is a nonprofit consumer and patient advocacy organization whose mission is to produce and disseminate timely and informative analysis and information on public policy issues that impact consumer and patient safety. For more information on the Oklahoma Foundation for Consumer & Patient Rights, please call 800-994-6025 or visit www.okccps.org.
(In the coming weeks, Okie Funk and Blue Oklahoma will set the record straight when it comes to U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe. This blog will be publishing an open-ended series, "The Case Against Jim Inhofe." The series will comment on Inhofe's political and business escapades, from his earlier lies about when he graduated from college to the insurance company he ran into insolvency to his dirty campaign tactics. It will show how Inhofe has consistently hurt the state's image. It will focus as well on Inhofe's atrocious record on economic, health, energy, environmental, military and government spending issues. Here are the installments published before this post: Part I: "Rice Gains Ground on Inhofe," Part II: "Character Issue Follows Inhofe,"Part III: "When Inhofe Talks, People Cringe,"Part IV: "Iraq Distortions Cast Shadow Over Inhofe Campaign.")
The failed economic policies of the Bush administration and the Republican Party have taken this country close to a complete financial collapse once again.
People around the country are now asking these basic questions: Is my money safe in the bank? Will I lose my job and home? Are my retirement funds safe? Will food and energy prices continue to go up? Will I be able to fill my prescriptions this month? Can I help my children go to college?
In a form of corporate socialism, the Bush/GOP ideology rewards the wealthiest in our culture through tax cuts, business deregulation and other incentives. The ideology punishes most everyone else with higher prices, stagnant wages and inadequate health care.
The recent collapse of several major companies tied to the subprime mortgage controversy has shown, once again, the harsh reality behind the Republican trickle-down theory. In the midst of this man-made muddle, there is much to condemn about the GOP's bogus philosophy that creates the free market as the arbitrator of all American reality.
For those of you who would like to see comprehensive health care reform soon, the answer from Oklahoma's congressional delegation is: "Wait until next year."
Everything gives way to the uncertainty of presidential elections every four years. This year, it's doubly so because of the Obama-McCain contest.
I concluded a three-day trip to Washington, D.C., Wednesday. While there I met with consumer groups and staffers from the offices U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Tulsa), U.S. Rep. Dan Boren (D-Muskogee) and U.S. Rep. John Sullivan (R-Tulsa). Although we didn't limit our conversations to health care, the subject dominated.
I sensed a common consensus developing over health care, even if the election-year standstill will push back large-scale reform efforts until the next administration measures the drapes in the Oval Office - if health care reform comes up at all.
The Associated Press had this to say:
WASHINGTON (AP) - As Congress returns from summer recess, lawmakers are expected to continue needling pharmaceutical makers and health insurers with investigations, while holding off on major health care reform until next year. Click here to read the rest of the article. http://news.moneycentral.msn.c...
Not all health care reform is polarized, however. Piecemeal reforms, such as expanding insurance coverage through innovative use of Medicaid funds (the Oklahoma Health Care Authority's Insure Oklahoma/O-EPIC program is a frequently cited examples of this) and increased use of electronic medical records to cut costs and errors, seem agreeable.
Unfortunately, permission to the Oklahoma Health Care Authority from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to raise the income level to cover more people under Insure Oklahoma/O-EPIC appears stalled for now, the staffers said.
They also stressed their bosses' support for prevention and education, and the need to better reimburse physicians who treat Medicare patients.
The Foundation can't disagree with either point, even if the details are sketchy. Congress this summer overrode a presidential veto of a bill to stall a 10.6 percent Medicare fee cut. In the House, U.S. Rep. Tom Cole (R-Moore) was the only member of the Oklahoma delegation to vote against the override. In the Senate, both U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Muskogee) and Inhofe voted against the override.
Many Republicans support increasing health insurance coverage by giving tax credits to employers who provide coverage; McCain has proposed this. Allowing greater choice of health plans and permitting small businesses to form regional (or larger) cooperatives to have better purchasing power are also common-sense possibilities.
These aren't the large-scale reforms the Foundation believes are necessary, but they're a start ... and that's something.
Jeff Raymond
Executive Director
Oklahoma Foundation for Consumer & Patient Rights
The following article appeared in The Norman Transcript on Thursday, September 11, 2008. President George Bush will be in Oklahoma City Friday raising money for John McCain. It has now been published in the The Tulsa World on Sunday, September 14th.
Looking for the truth?
My son died in Iraq one year ago and it has made me study the reasons we went to war, as any parent would do looking into the loss of their child.
George W. Bush is coming to Oklahoma City today to raise money for John McCain. I think for a donation of $5,000 you get a picture with Bush at a beer distributor's house.
My son joined the Marines to help this country do good. I tried to talk him out of joining, but after 9/11, lots of young men and women joined. One day before his final signing, I thought he was having second thoughts, but Bryan looked at me and said he already gave them his word.
I was worried, but proud that he was a man of his word.
As time went by, I've seen that George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and others were not men of their word. They will lie straight to your face. Most people will lie or stretch the truth for one reason and that is money.
I will be there today but not to get a picture taken with him, but to ask some questions:
How can our government pay $800 to $1,000 a day to Halliburton, KBR, Blackwater employees, which Dick Cheney has ties to, and only pay our troops $70 to $100 a day? Is it true, Blackwater, who has cost taxpayers billions to provide security in Iraq, has given generously to your campaign? Was Enron your largest contributor? Did a Texas oil company, who gave to your campaign, drill in the Kurdish region yet? Did you read the report sent to you in August 2001 about an attack in America coming soon?
Did you pay $5 million to a man from Iraq so he would not talk about weapons of mass destruction? Did you ignore Iran's offer to infiltrate Al Qaeda after the 9/11 attack? Why did you ignore Joe and Valerie Wilson's true knowledge about WMDs and Al Qaeda in Iraq? How many military leaders, CIA, and others have resigned since you have been President? If you collect enough money, pull a good looking rabbit out of the hat, and McCain becomes President, do you get a pardon from these questions?
My son died in Iraq Sept. 6, 2007. Does my asking these questions make me not patriotic? Did my son die for my freedom or did he die so you could pump money through private contractors and please your campaign contributors?
I'm sure standing on a corner today, outside the fundraiser, will not get these questions answered. But maybe the right person will hear the message. I do know that doing nothing will produce nothing.
With the recent signing of "Demarion's Law" by Gov. Brad Henry, Oklahoma parents may feel a tad bit more secure in leaving their children with a day care.
The law requires all child care facilities "in order to maintain or obtain a license, to carry a minimum of $200,000 of liability coverage for each incident of negligence that leads to any injury to a child that occurs while the child is on the premises or in the care of the child care facility."
Three-year-old Demarion Pittman's life was irrevocably altered the day in August 2007 that a child care worker left the young boy in a hot car for several hours after an outing. The child suffered extensive brain damage and his medical costs already have climbed past the $1 million mark.
His case brought out that the state Department of Human Services did not require child care facilities to carry liability insurance. It's an almost unheard of oversight in this litigious age.
House Bill 2863 by Rep. Mike Shelton is a great start in rectifying this situation for all Oklahoma parents who must use child care facilities.
But the Oklahoma Foundation for Consumer & Patient Rights recently brought up this point: Why don't legislators extend the same legislation to nursing homes?
"When it comes to child care centers and nursing homes, a person's age determines whether they can be mistreated without financial consequences," stated Jeff Raymond, executive director of the nonprofit consumer advocacy group. "How can that possibly be right? Why wouldn't we offer the same protections to our elderly, who need just as much care and assistance?"
We agree with Raymond. He notes that a bill with similar requirements for nursing homes passed out of the Senate last year but was killed in committee in the House.
As Demarion's case clearly shows, if something tragic happens, medical costs can mount quickly. The $200,000 liability insurance for day cares is a good start, but we have to ask the state why our children and seniors are worth so little?
We believe businesses should be required to carry $1 million in liability insurance. These days it doesn't take much to reach those heights in medical costs after a tragedy.
(In the coming weeks, Okie Funk and Blue Oklahoma will set the record straight when it comes to U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe. This blog will be publishing an open-ended series "The Case Against Jim Inhofe." The series will comment on Inhofe's political and business escapades, from his earlier lies about when he graduated from college to the insurance company he ran into insolvency to his dirty campaign tactics. It will show how Inhofe has consistently hurt the state's image. It will focus as well on Inhofe's atrocious record on economic, health, energy, environmental, military and government spending issues. Here are the installments published before this post: Part I: "Rice Gains Ground on Inhofe," Part II: "Character Issue Follows Inhofe,"Part III: "When Inhofe Talks, People Cringe.")
(A different version of the below post was first published May 7, 2007.)
"Our intelligence system has said that we know that Saddam Hussein has weapons of mass destruction -- I believe including nuclear. There's not one person on this panel who would tell you unequivocally that he doesn't have the missile means now, or is nearly getting the missile means to deliver a weapon of mass destruction. And I for one am not willing to wait for that to happen."--Jim Inhofe on Meet The Press, 2002)
U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe's bizarre comments last year on the Iraq occupation completely contradicted what he said during the time period leading up to the invasion.
In a Tulsa World article ("Vice President Visits Tulsa: Cheney, Inhofe blasted Democrats' plan for Iraq," April 27, 2007), Inhofe claims the reasons for the gruesome Iraq occupation initially had nothing to do with finding weapons of mass destruction. Inhofe actually blamed the press for the so-called "mischaracterization."
This was not simply political spin on Inhofe's part. This was a calculated lie by an angry warmonger intent on rewriting history to cover his errors and misjudgment.
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