Dan Boren won't run for Governor in 2018

In an announcement today, former Democrat congressman Dan Boren has decided against running for governor in 2018. This is essentially the Oklahoma Democratic Party conceding the race to the GOP, as Boren was their best (and perhaps only) shot at taking the governor's mansion back.

From reporter Sean Murphy with the Associated Press:

Dan Boren decides not to run for Oklahoma governor in 2018

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Dan Boren, a former four-term Democratic congressman from one of Oklahoma's most well-known political families, has decided not to run for the state's open governor seat in 2018.

Boren told The Associated Press that he opted against entering the campaign after spending the past year visiting with civic and business leaders across the state about a potential run.

"At this moment, it is important for me to spend time with my kids," Boren said late Monday. "My desire for public service has not diminished and I believe some day in the future I will enter public life again."

The 43-year-old Boren said he intends to continue working on business development for the Chickasaw Nation and spend time with his two children, ages 6 and 9.

In an interview with the AP earlier this year, Boren had said he was actively exploring a run to replace Republican Gov. Mary Fallin, who is prohibited by term limits from seeking a third four-year term in office.

Boren served one term as a state representative before running successfully for Congress in 2004 in the 2nd Congressional District in eastern Oklahoma, a seat he held for eight years before stepping down.

His grandfather, Lyle Boren, was a congressman and his father, University of Oklahoma President David Boren, is a former Oklahoma governor and U.S. senator. Dan Boren's first cousin, Janna Little, is married to current House Speaker Paul Ryan, the 2012 Republican vice-presidential nominee.

The Oklahoma governor's seat in 2018 is expected to draw interest from strong candidates on both sides of the aisle. Potential Republican candidates include U.S. Rep. Jim Bridenstine, Lt. Gov. Todd Lamb, Treasurer Ken Miller and Attorney General Scott Pruitt. Lamb, Miller and Pruitt all are term-limited from their current offices, and Bridenstine has said he wouldn't seek a fourth term in Congress in 2018.

Prominent Tulsa attorney Gary Richardson, who ran as an independent for governor in 2002, said Tuesday he is taking a "very serious look" at running as a Republican in 2018.

Possible Democratic candidates include ex-state Rep. Joe Dorman, who won 41 percent of the vote against Fallin in 2014 despite being heavily outspent, and Oklahoma House Minority Leader Scott Inman of Del City.

Senator Lankford Releases “Federal Fumbles” Gov’t Waste Report

Senator Lankford Releases “Federal Fumbles” Gov’t Waste Report

WASHINGTON, DC – Senator James Lankford today released his second annual government waste and solutions report called, “Federal Fumbles: 100 ways the government dropped the ball.” The report represents $247 billion in wasteful and inefficient federal spending and regulations, but also includes solutions to each of the examples of government waste. CLICK HERE to access the report.

“The American people have signaled a bold new direction for Washington with the election of President-elect Donald Trump,” said Lankford. “Although the federal debt wasn’t a major focus during the presidential campaign, it remains a serious impending crisis that must be addressed. In Fiscal Year 2016 alone, we had a $587 billion deficit and our federal debt is now an outrageous $19.5 trillion. To lower the debt, we need to grow the economy, and we must root out inefficiencies, duplication, and wasteful spending wherever they exist. This ‘Federal Fumbles’ report provides specific examples of wasteful spending and unnecessary regulations that are not in the taxpayer’s best interest.”

Lankford released the report during a press conference in Washington, DC this morning. Watch the video below:


Senator Lankford Excerpts from Press Conference:

“This is the way the federal government has dropped the ball, and what we are trying to focus in on, is not trying to pick on one particular agency or entity, but to say we have got to be able to pay attention. We are really dealing with four different main areas as we walk through this; grants that need oversight, regulations and regulators that need oversight, agency bureaucracy and inefficiency, and then a lack of coordination between agencies.

“We are not just trying to raise the problem; we are also trying to raise how you solve it. Whether it is an administration action, whether it is a piece of legislation, whether it is just coordination between the two, or some of those things that have already happened, but we haven’t engaged in it enough to provide the oversight needed to actually get the coordination. Every single one of these identify here is the problem, here is the issue, and here is how to solve it.

“This is not a comprehensive book; this is not trying to list everything in the federal government where there is an issue. We are trying to find some key areas that we can identify, and say here are some problems we have seen, and some things that we find as common ground solutions. This builds on last year’s book.

“We have got duplication issues. We have got problems that are around federal foreign aid, which has been an ongoing issue that we have made recommendations on. When we deal with foreign aid, we should simply deal with foreign aid that is to the benefit of the United States. We don’t think that is an unreasonable request. Instead, at times, we deal with foreign aid, like studying fish bones in Tanzania.”

To do his part to help reduce federal spending in Congress’ own operational budget, Lankford has operated his Senatorial office budget far below the allotted amount for each Senator. Since he was elected to the US Senate in 2014, Lankford has given back $230,000 to the Treasury each year.

Federal Debt Statistics:

• The federal deficit for Fiscal Year 2016 was $587 billion, and overall debt is now $19.5 Trillion, according to the Treasury Department.
• The total federal debt of $19,573,444,713,936.79 now equals about $165,575 per household in America.
• In the eight years of Mr. Obama’s presidency, the federal debt has grown by $9 trillion, nearly matching the total amount of debt accumulated by all of his predecessors.
• According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, the projected federal deficit is expected to be $594 billion in Fiscal Year 2017.
• Annual deficits are projected to increase above $1 trillion within this decade due to America’s aging population. Between 2010 and 2040, the number of Americans age 65 and older will double – from 41 million to 82 million people. 

Five Examples of Legislative Victories From 2015 “Federal Fumbles” Report:

1. Subsidized Wind (page 11) – The Wind Production Tax Credit was originally created as a temporary subsidy to help get the wind energy industry off the ground. The industry is now very successful, yet it receives more than $6 billion in federal tax credits every year. Lankford helped secure a provision in the 2016 Consolidated Appropriations funding bill, which was signed into law last December, to include a three-year phasedown of the wind energy tax credit. 
2. 25,000+ Ineligible Families In Public Housing (page 71) – Last year, more than 25,000 families in America received federally-subsidized housing from HUD, despite not being qualified for the program. More than $100 million was spent on families, like one in New York with an annual income of $497,911, who earned far more than the allowable amount for federal assistance. Lankford secured a provision in the annual Senate Appropriations bill for HUD (S. 2844) that requires implementation of an IG report’s recommendations to ensure only those who are entitled to federal housing assistance actually receive it.
3. Disability is Only for the Disabled (page 119) – The Social Security Administration (SSA) has an enormous backlog in disability cases waiting for an Administrative Law Judge hearing. To expedite the backlog, the SSA created a new system to hear cases, but it was found to be costly and legally uncertain. Lankford confronted the SSA with the cost and risk of that scheme and after threats of a subpoena, the SSA reversed their plan and changed direction. This will save the taxpayer millions of dollars of litigation costs and will speed up the disability process.
4. Caution: Read Before Eating (page 27) – A recent food-labeling FDA rule requires grocery stores, restaurants, and entertainment venues to add more detailed information on each food item sold. While Americans should have information on the food they eat, existing labeling requirements are already very detailed, and this regulation would burden the agriculture industry with more than $1 billion in compliance costs in the first year alone. Lankford helped secure a provision in the 2016 Consolidated Appropriations funding bill, which was signed into law last December, to pause implementation of the rule. 
5. Taxpayers Right To Know – More than 25 pieces of legislation that address an example of waste in Lankford’s 2015 “Federal Fumbles” report have passed a Committee or one House of Congress, and could progress even further during the lame-duck session of Congress, which ends December 31, 2016. One bill is the Taxpayers Right-to-Know Act, which passed the House and has bipartisan support in the Senate. This bill will promote budget transparency, which will result in federal spending that is more accountable to the taxpayer, especially for questionable grants, which make up a significant amount of waste examples in Lankford’s 2015 report.

Music Monday: God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen

This week's Music Monday is the old Christmas carol God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen, sung by the a capella group Pentatonix.

Enjoy!



Click to go below the page break to see all previous Music Monday posts. Do you have a song you'd like to submit for a future Music Monday? Email me at JamisonFaught@MuskogeePolitico.com.

Plenty To Be Thankful For

As we celebrate this Thanksgiving, those of us in America certainly have a lot to be thankful for. We have freedoms most of the world's inhabitants can only dream about. We have security and peace of mind that the vast majority of the world will never experience. The video below is an emotional reminder of the blessings we so often take for granted.

From FaithWire:

The story began back in 2012 when a Sudanese woman showed up in Forth Worth, Texas, pregnant and with her two small children. Her husband couldn’t make the trip, unable to leave the refugee camp because the couple had lost their marriage papers while fleeing war. They had to find a way to prove they were married and that the children were indeed his. The man, Dyan, feared he would never see his family again.

Dyan comes home from Robert Fuqua on Vimeo.

Here's more from the publisher of the video:

This video represents the next chapter in the now near four-year-old story of our church's ministry to refugees in a North Fort Worth complex. A ministry that began with two of our elder wives, Mary Claire and Molly coming alongside the Sudanese woman in this video, now has over a hundred vetted volunteers serving the diaspora in our region. And, hundreds more participating annually in coat drives, back pack drives, and many opportunities through the year to engage with these families around food and fun.

Xenophobia is nowhere in the heart of God. He is all about the nations! And, His people are called to be as well. For me, this video is a testament to what can happen when God's people respond in simple, yet sacrificial obedience to God's call on the Church, His Bride, to engage and embrace people of all tongues and tribes.

There are nuances in this video most people will miss that to me signal the fingerprint of God. One of them for me is the advertising display hanging over the baggage carousel in the background of the shot when Dyan embraces his wife for the first time in four years. Though many ads were looping endlessly on that monitor, at that very moment the ad read, "Where Dreams take their Course". Another special moment for me was when Dyan dropped to the floor overwhelmed in gratitude toward God, and my camera POV inadvertently became the POV of his three children, at times framed by the side of his son's head. In the background of that shot you see Mary Claire and Molly's husbands with their four sons, American playmates of Dyan's children, transfixed on the miracle for which they themselves prayed these past years.

The final image of this video of Dyan embracing His son, is framed by Mary Claire and Molly's tearful faces. In the distant background is an Algerian refugee family who had just arrived with Dyan. The man with them in the maroon shirt is a staffer for World Relief, another refugee ministry in Fort Worth with whom we serve. A piece of the video that remains in my minds eye, yet in the interest of time lies on the cutting room floor, is a moment when this Algerian mom in the hijab goes over to Dyan's wife and embraces her, greeting each of her children with encouraging words offered in a mutual tongue they share, but which I didn't recognize. What I did recognize however was a shared joy emerging from a shared pain and anguish. And that my friends is the ultimate and beautiful paradox of this four minute glimpse into a shared four-year experience. May this video help you share in their joy and worship the Author and Perfecter of our faith, who for the Joy set before Him endured the cross that the nations might come to enjoy Him forever.

To paraphrase the Irving Berlin song sung by Bing Crosby in the movie Holiday Inn, "We've got plenty to be thankful for." Have a happy Thanksgiving.

Watch List: Oklahomans who might get Trump appointments

President-elect Donald Trump is in the midst of picking appointees for his Cabinet and various other top government posts. Among the many names being mentioned for different positions are several Oklahomans.

Gov. Mary Fallin                                Businessman Harold Hamm

Secretary of the Interior

The Department of the Interior manages about 75% of all federal public land, is responsible for conservation of natural resources, and operates numerous agencies including the Bureau of Land Management, the United States Geological Survey, the National Park Service, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and oversees policy in American Samoa, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands.

Governor Mary Fallin and Continental Resources CEO Harold Hamm are being mentioned as possible picks. Fallin met with Trump on Monday, while it appears that Hamm has had no interview yet.

Secretary of Energy

Despite its name, the Department of Energy actually has more to do with nuclear issues than what you typically think of when you hear "energy" (i.e. oil and gas drilling, etc). Over half of the DOE budget is dedicated to managing our nuclear arsenal and cleaning up atomic-related waste. It also runs the Office of Science, which is focused on research. The DOE has some influence on oil and gas policy, as well as energy-efficiency standards.

Harold Hamm is one of the names being mentioned for this position.

Congressman Jim Bridenstine

NASA Administrator

The NASA Administrator is the highest-ranked official at NASA, and serves as the senior space science advisor to the President of the United States. The Administrator oversees day-to-day operations, manages resources, and sets policy and direction for the agency,

Congressman Jim Bridenstine is one of the rpeople being reported as possible appointees (interesting read here on Bridenstine being the "outsider" pick versus the "insider" options). Before being elected to Congress, Bridenstine was the executive director of the Tulsa Air & Space Museum, and helped with the effort to bring one of the retired space shuttles to Tulsa. Space issues have been one of his priorities in Congress.

Secretary of the Air Force

The Air Force Secretary is the head of the Department of the Air Force, and "is responsible for the affairs of the Department of the Air Force, including organizing, training, equipping and providing for the welfare of its more than 660,000 active-duty, Guard, Reserve and civilian Airmen and their families."

Congressman Jim Bridenstine, a former Navy pilot who spent 9 years in active duty and is currently in the Oklahoma Air National Guard, has also been mentioned as being considered for this post.

Matt Pinnell

RNC Chairman

With Reince Priebus being tapped as Trump's Chief-of-Staff, that leaves the RNC chairmanship vacant. While technically the position is elected by the National Committee, the President (or President-elect in this case) will have the real decision making, and the Committee will formally elect his pick. Former OKGOP chairman Matt Pinnell, appointed by Priebus as the RNC's State Party Director, was touted as a frontrunner for the job before the presidential campaign really picked up. Priebus being Trump's chief-of-staff may help Pinnell get the job.

President-elect Trump and T.W. Shannon

Unknown

Former Oklahoma House Speaker T.W. Shannon had a meeting Sunday with Trump and top aides Reince Priebus and Steve Bannon. During the meeting, Shannon said they discussed transportation, infrastructure, poverty, education, and issues related to Western land usage. Watch his interview on Fox & Friends here. UPDATE: rumors of possibly a Bureau of Indian Affairs position?

And for one more Oklahoma, here's what the Tulsa World reports: 'Another Oklahoman, Tulsa Mayor Dewey Bartlett, said last week that he has reached out to Trump with a request that he be named to the new administration’s Cabinet. “I’m trying to be considered with the new Trump administration to be the secretary of transportation or to be in that office,” he said Nov. 15, acknowledging that he has not heard from Trump or his transition team.'

Music Monday: Beethoven's 'Hymn of Thanksgiving'

This week's Music Monday is the third movement from Ludwig van Beethoven's String Quartet in A minor, Op. 132. which he titled "Heiliger Dankgesang eines Genesenen an die Gottheit", or "A Convalescent's Holy Song of Thanksgiving to the Godhead". Beethoven, completely deaf at the end of his life, wrote this piece after recovering from a serious illness.

Enjoy!



Click to go below the page break to see all previous Music Monday posts. Do you have a song you'd like to submit for a future Music Monday? Email me at JamisonFaught@MuskogeePolitico.com.

Maps: 2012 and 2016 Oklahoma presidential results compared

This latest installment in my Election Results Maps series compares the 2016 presidential results to the 2012 presidential results.

Here's the overall picture. In 2012, Mitt Romney beat Barack Obama by 33.54%. Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton by 36.4%, a 2.86% increase:

The vote percentage shifted in the Democrats direction in 7 counties. In 3 of them, Trump got between 72.34% and 78.1% of the vote, while Romney had received between 77.18% and 85.82%. Trump's smallest spread in these "trending"-Democrat counties was still +10.51% in Oklahoma County.

2016 added a new element in that we had a third-party candidate for the first time since 2000. As a result, both the Republican and Democratic nominees received lower vote percentages than in 2012.

This map shows the increase and decrease in county percentages for Donald Trump compared to Mitt Romney's 2012 showing:

Trump had lower percentages than Romney in 15 counties, with the biggest decrease in McClain County (-7.72%). Of the counties with the top 20 highest increases, 16 came from counties in the 2nd Congressional District.

This map shows the changes in county percentages for Hillary Clinton compared to Barack Obama's 2012 figures:

McClain County was the only place where Clinton bested Obama's 2012 percentage, increasing by 3% (from 14.18% to 17.18%). She fell by double-digits in 19 counties, with the largest coming in Mayes County (-16.3%).

Music Monday: Hymn to the Fallen

This week's Music Monday is Hymn to the Fallen from the film Saving Private Ryan, composed by John Williams.

Enjoy!



Click to go below the page break to see all previous Music Monday posts. Do you have a song you'd like to submit for a future Music Monday? Email me at JamisonFaught@MuskogeePolitico.com.

Election Results Map: Presidential Race

Continuing with my update to the Election Results Maps series, here is the presidential race.

Obviously, Donald Trump crushed it in Oklahoma.

Trump's worst counties and Clinton's best counties:

• Oklahoma: Trump 51.69%, Clinton 41.18%, Johnson 7.13%
• Cleveland: Trump 57.14%, Clinton 35.48%, Johnson 7.38%
• Tulsa: Trump 58.40%, Clinton 35.55%, Johnson 6.05%

Trump's best counties and Clinton's worst counties:

• Cimarron: Trump 89.32%, Clinton 6.50%, Johnson 4.18%
• Beaver: Trump 88.82%, Clinton 7.87%, Johnson 3.31%
• Ellis: Trump 88.17%, Clinton 8.49%, Johnson 3.34%

Johnson's best counties:

• Payne: 8.36%
• Cleveland: 7.38%
• Oklahoma: 7.13%

Johnson's worst counties:

• McCurtain: 2.50%
• Dewey: 2.67%
• Atoka: 2.78%

Hillary Clinton received single-digit percentages in 8 counties (all in northwestern Oklahoma). Donald Trump got over 80% in 17 counties (mostly western Oklahoma plus Atoka and McCurtain in the southeast). His smallest lead was still a healthy 10.51% in Oklahoma County.

I'll try to get around to comparing these results to the 2012 results sometime soon.

Election Results Map: State Question 790

Continuing with my update to the Election Results Maps series, here is State Question 790.

The 'Yes' vote won only 10 counties (average 'yes' vote of 51.56%), all west of I-35 and mainly in the northwest. 61 counties rejected the question (average 'yes' vote of 44.65%). Opposition was strongest in the southeast and the OKC/Tulsa metros.

Election Results Map: State Questions 780 & 781

Continuing with my update to the Election Results Maps series, here are State Questions 780 and 781.

First, SQ780:

31 counties voted in favor ('yes' vote average of 55.29%), while 46 voted against ('yes' vote average of 43.72%). Support was primarily confied to the areas with moderate-to-large cities, with the top three counties being Oklahoma (69.88%), Cleveland (65.92%), and Tulsa (64.68%).

Now, SQ781:

Just 21 counties voted in favor (average vote of 55.52%), while 56 counties opposed (average 'yes' vote of 44.22%). Once again, the top three counties were Oklahoma (66.42%), Cleveland (63.28%), and Tulsa (62.40%).

This was the most indecisive of the state questions, as the 'yes' vote in 42 counties ranged from 45% to 55%. The far northwest and the southeast were most strongly against, while the metros were the only areas of strong support.

Election Results Map: State Question 779

Continuing with my update to the Election Results Maps series, here is State Question 779.

The 'Yes' vote won only 8 counties (average 'yes' vote of 51.55%), and those very narrowly. 69 counties rejected the measure (average 'yes' vote of 38.62%). Opposition, while widespread, was strongest in central and northwestern portions of the state.