Angry senator drops accidental truth bomb in debate tirade

This week, two state senators from different ends of the Republican caucus plainly told the truth about the stakes of this year's Republican primary election: it's about who gets to control the Oklahoma State Senate going forward. Will principled conservatives hold the reins for the first time, or will the establishment moderates continue their reign of power?

Senate Majority Whip Bill Coleman (R-Ponca City) absolutely erupted in anger at a Senate District 10 candidate forum in Ponca City this week, dropping an accidental truth bomb in the middle of a tirade against Senate conservatives.

Coleman said: "This election is about who is gonna control the Oklahoma State Senate, and I do not want it to be the Freedom Caucus."

Oklahoma Legislature formally elects new 2025-2026 leadership

Earlier this week, the Oklahoma Legislature met for the constitutionally-required Organizational Day, where both legislative chambers formally elected their leadership and passed the rules package by which their respective bodies will operate for the next term.

Amid dustup over Treat's insults, Sen. Deevers advocates for Golden Rule, fair Senate reforms

Deevers Continues to Advocate for the Golden Rule Amidst Pro Tem's Insults

OKLAHOMA CITY (March 20th) — Sen. Dusty Deevers, R-Elgin, released the following statement concerning comments made by Sen. Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City, at a press conference on Tuesday.

“On Tuesday, during an interview with KOCO 5, Senate Pro Tem Greg Treat attempted to crawl out of the ad hominem hole he dug by calling Senator Nathan Dahm and me ‘terrorists’ for lawfully advocating for our constituents. His chosen shovel was another defamatory term, ‘toddlers.’

“I had hoped for a higher level of professionalism and decorum rather than resorting to name-calling. Such a leadership style only exposes its own immaturity. Also, it’s important to note that Governor Stitt supported our efforts.

Lankford announces run for Senate Republican Conference Vice Chair

Lankford Announces Run for Senate Republican Conference Vice Chair

WASHINGTON, DC (March 20th) – Senator James Lankford (R-OK) today announced he will run this November for Vice Chair of the Senate Republican Conference:

“The Senate Republican Conference Vice Chair plays a vital role in serving Republican Senators and their staff as they communicate the conservative policy ideas that make our nation stronger. As Senators, we were elected to do hard things and to solve problems by doing the right thing, the right way. It is my desire to serve our Conference in every way I can as we work together to solve the challenges our nation faces.

Sen. Dahm issues statement responding to Treat’s ‘toddler’ and ‘crazy bills’ comments

The saga continues (see Monday's post, Dahm and Deevers discuss Tyrannical Treat's 'terrorist' tirade after Senate filibustering):

Dahm issues statement responding to Treat’s ‘toddler’ and ‘crazy bills’ comments

OKLAHOMA CITY – Sen. Nathan Dahm, R-Broken Arrow, on Thursday released the following statement in response to Senate Pro Tem Greg Treat’s continued name-calling and contention that Dahm’s legislation is “crazy.”

Senate GOP caucus elects McCortney as Pro Tem Designee

State Sen. Greg McCortney came out on top in the internal Senate GOP vote to determine the presumptive Senate President Pro Tem for next term (NonDoc rundown of the vote here). Handpicked by outgoing Pro Tem Greg Treat, he was the most moderate of the senators vying for the job.

Pro Tem Treat Announces Sen. McCortney as Pro Tem Designee

OKLAHOMA CITY – Senate Pro Tem Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City, today announced the Senate Republican Caucus convened and voted for Sen. Greg McCortney, R-Ada, to be the Pro Tem Designee after Pro Tem Treat terms out of office in November of this year. 

Oklahoma Voice: GOP political fight brewing over who will be the next OK Senate leader

The below article from Oklahoma Voice is a good synopsis of the battle to be the next leader of the Oklahoma State Senate going on this week. The three Republican candidates are moderate Sen. Greg McCortney (one of the leaders who has killed measures to abolish abortion), conservative Sen. David Bullard, and Sen. Casey Murdock (somewhat in the middle of the two).

As a sign of how very concerned big corporate money and dark political money interests are about McCortney losing this race, they sent out mass text messages Saturday urging people to "thank" McCortney for being "conservative to the core" (he's clearly not). A Bullard win would be a huge deal for Oklahoma conservatives.

OK Senate Republicans elect new caucus chair, vice chair

Senate Republicans elect new caucus chair, vice chair

OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma Senate Republicans have elected Senator Dave Rader caucus chair and Senator Greg McCortney caucus vice chair, the President Pro Tempore’s Office announced Wednesday.

The elections were necessary due to the resignation of Senator Jason Smalley, who previously served as caucus chair.

Rader, R-Tulsa, previously served as caucus vice chair. McCortney, R-Ada, recently was appointed chair of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee to fill a vacancy created by the resignation.

“Caucus chair and vice chair are important leadership roles, and I know Senator Rader and Senator McCortney will do a great job on behalf of the Senate Republican Caucus,” said Senate President Pro Tem Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City.

Treat announces new Senate HHS committee chair, other leadership changes

Senate Pro Tem Greg Treat announces new HHS committee chair, other leadership changes

OKLAHOMA CITY – Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Treat on Friday announced leadership changes made necessary due to the recent resignation of a member of the Senate.

“With a new legislative session drawing upon us, I am making these changes so the Senate can seamlessly move forward with our role in the legislative process. I am very confident in the members stepping into these new leadership roles and know they will do a great job for the Senate and the people of Oklahoma,” said Treat, R-Oklahoma City.

Treat said he has named Sen. Greg McCortney, R-Ada, to serve as the new chair of the Senate Health and Human Services (HHS) Committee to replace Sen. Jason Smalley, who had served as chairman but has resigned from the Senate effective January 31. Treat has named Sen. Paul Rosino, R-Oklahoma City, to replace McCortney as vice chair of the HHS committee. McCortney previously served as chair of the Rules Committee but will relinquish that role to serve as the new HHS committee chair.

Treat has named Sen. Darcy Jech, R-Kingfisher, the new chair of the Senate Rules Committee. Sen. Mark Allen, R-Spiro, will remain vice chairman of the Rules Committee.

Sen. Brenda Stanley, R-Midwest City, will fill the vacancy on the Senate Education Committee, Treat said.

Additionally, Treat announced the appointment of Sen. Lonnie Paxton, R-Tuttle, as an assistant floor leader to replace Sen. Stephanie Bice, R-Oklahoma City, who has stepped down from that leadership position. Bice will remain chair of the Senate Finance Committee.

The resignation also created a vacancy in the position of Republican Caucus chair. Treat said Republicans will hold an election in the coming days to select a new caucus chair.

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.

Unbelievable: Murkowski keeps GOP leadership post

After Senate GOP leaders like Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and John Cornyn (R-TX) said that Lisa Murkowski (R?-AK) would likely be stripped of her ranking membership on the Energy and Natural Resources committee, since she is now running as a write-in candidate against Alaska Republican senatorial nominee Joe Miller (who defeated Murkowski in the primary)...

... they decided to let her keep the post.

As Michelle Malkin said, another head-banging-against-the-wall moment for the still-don't-get-it GOP leadership.