Alex Gray launches his first TV ad of Senate campaign

U.S. Senate candidate Alex Gray is out with his first TV ad, touting his experience as a senior national security advisor for President Trump and name-dropping some prominent past and present conservative Republican officials to draw positive parallels with himself. Gray is one of 13 Republicans seeking to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe.

Lankford, Cruz move to stop Biden ATF's anti-gun rules

Lankford, Cruz, Colleagues Move to Protect Americans’ Second Amendment Rights

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK (April 14th) – Senator James Lankford (R-OK) today joined Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) to announce they will introduce a resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act to prohibit President Biden’s Department of Justice from implementing a new rule to expand firearm definitions.

Sen. Mike Lee endorses Alex Gray in Senate special election

Senate candidate Alex Gray continues with a steady stream of news in the past few days. He announced $100k in fundraising during his first campaign's 24 hours, plus endorsements by two figures in the Trump administration (Ric Grenell and Kash Patel). Gray drops a hint that he has additional endorsements coming soon.

This news was first broken by Erick Erickson, nationally syndicated radio host and commentator.

Lee becomes the third sitting U.S. Senator to endorse a candidate in this race so far. Sen. Jim Inhofe started things off by endorsing of his chief of staff, Luke Holland, when he made his retirement announcement. Sen. Rand Paul has endorsed State Sen. Nathan Dahm. U.S. Rep. Markwayne Mullin has not issued any endorsements, but he figures to be the frontrunner due to his name recognition and deep personal pockets. 

Additional individuals are still rumored to be considering running, including Rep. Kevin Hern, former Rep. J.C. Watts, former Ambassador Kyle McCarter, former State House Speaker T.W. Shannon, and former State Rep. Paul Wesselhoft.

U.S. SENATOR MIKE LEE ENDORSES ALEX GRAY

Oklahoma City, OK – Just a day after announcing his candidacy for United States Senate, former Trump Administration national security official, Alex Gray, has received the third endorsement of his campaign from Senator Mike Lee of Utah in his campaign for U.S. Senate.

Senator Lee is one of the most ardent supporters of President Trump in the United States Senate and understands the importance of electing America First senators across the country to stop the out-of-control Biden Administration's harmful policies.  

“Alex Gray is an America First conservative. We need more proven, constitutional conservatives in the Senate. As one of the key national-security officials for President Trump, Alex helped make America great again. He has my complete and total endorsement in his U.S. Senate campaign!” said Senator Mike Lee in a statement endorsing Alex Gray.

Lankford joins Lee, Hawley, Rubio, and others in introducing "Don't Draft Our Daughters" resolution

It should be pointed out that Sen. Jim Inhofe, who never met military pork (or really, any pork) that he didn't like, has praised the NDAA bill that includes registering women for the draft. He has given the limp-wristed explanation that he voted against the draft inclusion during committee markup, but voted for the overall bill anyway.

There are sadly very few Republicans on Capitol Hill who seem willing to stand up against this issue. Below is a press release from Sen. James Lankford, joining a select few who are likeminded:

Lankford, Colleagues Do Not Want Women to Have to Register for the Draft

WASHINGTON, DC – Senator James Lankford (R-OK) joined Senators Mike Lee (R-UT), Steve Daines (R-MT), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Josh Hawley (R-MO), and Marco Rubio (R-FL) to introduce a resolution expressing that the Senate should not pass legislation mandating the registration of women for the Selective Service System.

“Our all-volunteer military is the finest fighting force the world has ever known,” said Lankford. “Women have shown they are more than capable of fully serving in our Armed Forces, and I commend our brave daughters, sisters, and mothers who serve our nation. There is no reason to add women to the outdated Selective Service System to prepare for a draft. When we have faced national security threats over the past four decades, men and women who love our country have volunteered in massive numbers to protect our nation with great distinction. Women are eligible to serve in any role in our military that they choose, but they should not be compelled to sign up for selective service.”

“Forcing our daughters into the draft creates a burdensome and disproportionately increased risk of injury and fatalities for our nation’s women, as readiness data shows,” said Lee. “This policy change is rushed and unnecessary in our current time of peace, and unduly harms women more than advancing any notion of equality. While American women should be empowered to serve in our Armed Forces, they should not be forced to fight.”

How do you cut the National Debt?

Congressman Ken Buck (R-CO) posted this video on the national debt, also starring Cong. Trey Gowdy (R-SC), Cong. Mia Love (R-UT), Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX).

Senate Conservatives Fund picks Bridenstine for first House endorsement

In one of his most invaluable actions as a U.S. Senator, Jim DeMint, now president of the Heritage Foundation, started the Senate Conservatives Fund. While he led SCF, the Fund played extremely crucial roles in electing Senators Ted Cruz (TX), Mike Lee (UT), Rand Paul (KY), and Marco Rubio (FL). SCF is one of the top conservative PACs currently out there, and has had tremendous success at changing the dialogue in Washington through members who would not have been elected without their help.

Today, SCF stepped into new territory by branching out into U.S. House races with an endorsement of Oklahoma's own standout freshman Rep. Jim Bridenstine. Here's what SCF said on their website about Bridenstine:

SCF endorses Jim Bridenstine for U.S. House

"Today, we are endorsing U.S. Rep. Jim Bridenstine (R-OK) for the U.S. House in the 1st District of Oklahoma. This is our first endorsement for a House candidate and we hope you will help make it a success.

Please take action to promote bold leadership in Washington by making a contribution to Jim Bridenstine's campaign today.

Congressman Bridenstine has a remarkable story that every conservative in America should know.

• Jim Bridenstine is a Navy pilot and combat veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, and lives with his wife and their three children in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
• Jim Bridenstine defeated an establishment RINO in the Republican primary last year with no name recognition and very little money. He ran a grassroots campaign, meeting with small groups of voters in their homes to build the support he needed to win.
• After the election, Jim Bridenstine cast his first vote against John Boehner for Speaker of the House. He knows the GOP needs stronger leadership and he had the courage to vote his conscience even though it could have cost him an important committee assignment.
• Later, Jim Bridenstine led the fight in the House against the FY2013 "continuing resolution" — a spending bill written by Republican leaders that included funding for the implementation of Obamacare. He circulated a letter among his colleagues to build opposition to the bill and he voted against the procedural rule that brought it to the floor.
• Now Jim Bridenstine is leading the fight against a new Internet tax, which would hurt online consumers by giving states the power to force out-of-state retailers to collect sales taxes for them. It's a grossly unfair law that subjects entrepreneurs to over 9,600 different tax jurisdictions. It's being pushed by the lobbyists of large corporations to eliminate competition from small, online businesses.

Congressman Bridenstine doesn't just talk the talk. He walks the walk.

Please make a contribution to Jim Bridenstine's campaign today. Your support will help him continue to fight for conservative principles in Congress.

Supporting Jim Bridenstine is important for two primary reasons.

• First, we need to protect him from the establishment. The Republican leadership in the House has significant power to hurt the fundraising efforts of members like Bridenstine who buck them. We can't let John Boehner (R-OH), Eric Cantor (R-VA), and Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) punish this principled leader.
• Second, we need to elevate more conservative champions to lead the fight to save this country. Congressman Bridenstine is one of these champions. Not only has he stood strong in the House, but he also has the potential to become an outstanding candidate for the U.S. Senate when Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) retires in 2016.

SCF has fully vetted Congressman Bridenstine and he's the real deal. He supports all of our policy goals and has a record of fulfilling his campaign promises, even when it requires him to stand up to the leaders in his own party.

I recently met with Congressman Bridenstine and was extremely impressed. In many ways, he reminds me of Jim DeMint when he was first elected to the House in 1998. Bridenstine is authentic, sincere, and humble — qualities that are very hard to find in Washington these days.

Please help us reach our goal of raising $50,000 for Jim Bridenstine's campaign by making a contribution of $25, $50, $100, or more today.

When you contribute to Jim Bridenstine's campaign through SCF, he will receive 100% of your donation. That is our guarantee to our supporters and it's one the things that makes SCF unique from other political organizations.

Thank you for your support. We will keep fighting.

Matt Hoskins, SCF Executive Director"

Senate passes fiscal cliff bill; House yet to act

At 1:39am New Year's morning, the U.S. Senate passed a "compromise" deal on the fiscal cliff -- with nearly all of the compromise coming on the part of the Republicans.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates the deal to raise tax revenue by $620 billion, while cutting only $15 billion in spending (which is off-set by increased spending elsewhere). That's $41 in higher taxes to every $1 cut. Additionally, only two billion dollars in cuts will take place during 2013 -- which means that when it's all said and done, not a penny will be cut. We've been down this road many times already.

Here are some details from RedState:

The bill raises income tax rates for those taxpayers with incomes more than $400,000 for individuals and $450,000 for couples from 35 percent to 39.6 percent. These higher income taxpayers will also pay higher rates on investment income, with rates on dividends and capital gains rising from 15 percent to 20 percent. Add the 3.8 percent ObamaCare surcharge on investment income — another tax that takes effect in January, and the top rate on investment income would rise to 23.8 percent for those high-income households.

The bill also raises taxes on couples earning more than $250,000 a year and single people earning more than $200,000 by limiting personal exemptions and itemized deductions.

Estates taxes will also be increased, with the top rate raised to 40 percent, with the first $5 million in value exempted for individual estates and $10 million for family estates.

The bill also delays the automatic $1.2 trillion draconian sequester spending cuts for sixty days. The sequester cuts, evenly split between defense and certain domestic discretionary spending, were scheduled to go into effect on Jan. 1, 2013. The $24 billion cost of the sequester delay is allegedly made up with a mix of spending cuts and new revenues from rules changes on converting traditional individual retirement accounts into Roth IRAs.

Worse, the bill actually increases the deficit by including:

• A permanent fix for the alternative minimum tax.
• A five-year extension of tax credits for college tuition and the working poor, which were enacted as part of Obama’s failed 2009 stimulus.
• A one-year extension for unemployment benefits, affecting two million people.
• The long-term unemployed could count on receiving emergency benefits for another year, at a cost of about $30 billion.

The bill passed 89-8. Three Democrats voted no: Sens. Bennett (CO), Carper (DE), and Harkin (IA). Only five Republicans voted no: Sens. Grassley (IA), Lee (UT), Paul (KY), Rubio (FL), and Shelby (AL). 40 Republican senators voted for the measure, including Oklahoma's Jim Inhofe and Tom Coburn.

As of this moment, the House has yet to act on the bill.

One thing is for certain - Republicans in both houses of Congress need new leadership. Far too often have GOP leaders in D.C. betrayed the trust that grassroots conservatives have placed in them.

Jim DeMint retiring to lead the Heritage Foundation

U.S. Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) has announced that he will be resigning from the Senate at the end of this year to take over the helm of the Heritage Foundation. The longtime president of Heritage, Ed Feulner, is retiring after 35 years of leading the nation's premier conservative think-tank.

The move comes as a surprise, and has sent shock waves through conservative circles and Capitol Hill. DeMint had been the de-facto leader of the conservative "resistance" in the U.S. Senate's GOP caucus, and played a major role in getting conservative members like Marco Rubio (R-FL), Mike Lee (R-UT), Pat Toomey (R-PA), Rand Paul (R-KY) and Ted Cruz (R-TX) elected.

With his pending resignation, conservative South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley will appoint a replacement Senator, who will fill in until a special election is held in 2014.

Reactions from conservatives across the nation

Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs: "We at OCPA could not be more pleased with the selection of Sen. Jim DeMint as the next president of the Heritage Foundation. Known for his commendable courage of conviction and principled commitment to federalism, Sen. DeMint is a staunch defender of liberty with a reputation for the strictest possible integrity. As such, he is perfectly poised not just to maintain Heritage’s impeccable record as the premier think tank in the country but also to lead the organization and the entire free-market movement into a new era – one in which policy is grown from the ground up. Sen. DeMint has already indicated that he intends to work closely with state think tanks – like OCPA – to translate policy papers into concrete demonstrations of what works.

Erick Erickson (RedState): While my initial reaction was one of sadness that we are losing the clearest voice in the Senate for conservatives, the upside on Jim DeMint’s departure from the Senate is mind boggling. [...] Jim DeMint’s power in the conservative movement just grew exponentially. A man who was going to retire in four years anyway, will now be leading the conservative movement from its base of operations for years to come.

Without Jim DeMint we would still have a conservative movement that is part and parcel the Republican Party in name, word, and deed. DeMint showed the Republican Party can be challenged from within and that conservatism can be distinctly voiced from within the party moving it right, not moving with it.

The more I think about it, the more I think this is a great thing. Just yesterday, John Hayward noted Jim DeMint may just be the leader of the resistance within the GOP on the fiscal cliff deal. But DeMint has replenished the bench of conservatives within the Senate. As long as he remains there, the new conservatives will be in his shadow.

Jim DeMint is, like Ed Feulner, not indispensable. But his ideas are. It is time for the tea party senators he brought to the Senate to stretch their legs and prove they are Jim DeMint’s ideological heirs. In the meantime, he will be on the outside providing them the support and intellectual ammunition they need.

Ed Morrisey (Hot Air): Frankly, I’m disappointed by the move, although this gives Heritage a big boost.  I had hoped to see DeMint act as a conservative leader in the Senate for the next four years, especially with Democrats taking a bigger majority after this past election.  Haley will make a wise appointment, I’m sure, and other Republicans in the chamber will get an opportunity to fill his shoes. However, considering the fights ahead of us, it would have been much better to have DeMint as a stalwart on the inside rather than an activist on the outside.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY): "I thank Senator DeMint for his uncompromising service to South Carolina and our country in the United States Senate. Jim helped provide a powerful voice for conservative ideals in a town where those principles are too often hidden beneath business as usual.  There is no question in my mind that he raised the profile of important issues like spending and debt and helped galvanize the American people against a big government agenda. I am confident that he will continue to advocate for conservative principles in the next chapter of his service to the American people."

U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL): "Senator DeMint is one of the main reasons why I’m in the U.S. Senate. When I ran for the U.S. Senate two and a half years ago, no one thought I had a chance to win. Jim DeMint was the first person in Washington that believed in me and invested in me, and I’m eternally grateful. Of course, we’re going to be sad that he’s not going to be with us here in the Senate every day, but we’re excited for the new opportunity that he has to lead the limited government, free enterprise movement from outside the Capitol at the Heritage Foundation. We’re just excited about that and look forward to working with him in his new capacity."

Club For Growth: “Senator DeMint has done more to advance the cause of freedom and liberty in Congress than anyone else since his election,” said Club for Growth President Chris Chocola. “Senator DeMint is a champion of economic freedom, a defender of free markets, and one of the strongest allies the Club for Growth has had in the United States Senate. We wish him nothing but the best in his new role at Heritage.”