The People Are Excited

Since last Saturday, as I have gone door to door visiting with my constituents, I have seen a new excitement in the eyes of the people as they are once again hopeful that maybe, just maybe, with Governor Sarah Palin's help there might actually be a chance of substantive changes in our government. The people are once again excited about voting and about the prospects for change. I have not seen this type of excitement since I went door to door in 2004 when Dr. Coburn was on the ballot.

I received this email from a constituent who has historically not been very politically involved but was willing to write me a very well written email about how excited she is at Palin's nomination.

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In a nutshell? If McCain wins, it'll be because of the votes she brings. Even if she isn't all that the hype says she is, she has singlehandedly energized the entire Republican party. That's pretty amazing for a previously lackluster campaign.

As a woman? In spite of the fact that I KNOW they're going after the woman's vote ... she is a woman's woman. Strong. Capable. Intelligent. Attractive. Knowledgeable. Do all these things matter individually? Nope. But they make for an excellent package. She is the embodiment, if you will, of what my ideal American woman should be. The unsung heroes. The moms that make everything happen. And I know that's reverse feminism ... but I don't care. I think it's true anyway. :-)

As a single mom I actually swallowed hard a few times last night.

Me. Unbelievable. Even when I knew I was being courted as a woman, I succumbed anyway (grin)

She has a pregnant daughter. That calls to me. She has a special needs kid ... MY favorite line (total and female emotions, I know) MY favorite line was when she spoke directly to the parents of special needs kids and said, "You will have an advocate in the White House." Her sister owns a small business. Her parents were school teachers. I like the fact that (nothing personal) she didn't take her kids out of school, she went to the school and tried to change the system.

To me, that "advocate in the White House" principle applies to everything. To the common people. To the small business owners. To struggling parents. To people who have no use for politics or empty promises of hope and change. Direct. Practical. She KNOWS about the pipelines. What I don't know, she does. I loved her courage. Her humor. Her very intelligent digs at Obama. Humor mixed with honesty was devastating. I loved that she didn't whine and cry about anything at all. Not about the way the media has gone after her. Not about femi-nazis. Not about her child. Not about her daughter. She just said, "We're a normal family like everyone else." Yowza.

She mildly spanked Obama and sent him to the corner. You just gotta love it. I remember watching Obama in the DNC and waiting and waiting and WAITING for the real substance she presented in the first five minutes. If I weren't already leaning, I would change my vote to Republican immediately.

My respect for McCain grew just because he picked her. Huh. I would get involved in politics if she asked me today (maybe not tomorrow when the hype wears off ... but for today? Yep). She gave back a jet and a limo. She doesn't deal with lobbyists. She balanced the budget and she believes in lower taxes. What's not to like?

No doubt we will discover skeletons in her closet. Fortunately I don't expect politicians or movie stars to be perfect. I think everyone's human. And if I'm going to be absolutely honest? She gets an automatic "pass" for the little stuff just for that speech last night. I know someone else wrote it. But if her history proves to be true ... that tells the story of character. I still don't know Obama's history. That was overwhelmingly demonstrated yesterday by the simple telling of hers.

But I think she's great for the job ... and if she's looking for a future and I had to vote today, I would vote for her as President for two terms. Here's hoping she does well on the debates. Too bad they don't have her lined up for a national speech November 3.

Convincing the People to Pay More (Part II)

Last week, I explained how hard government officials will work to meet their funding needs by trying to convince people to pay higher taxes, instead of working hard to make ends meet without passing on the higher bill. Many times, this is accomplished by claiming that any number of Armageddon-type scenarios will most certainly occur if people do not agree to increase taxes.

I also explained how that in my years of watching local, state and federal government activities, I have never felt that any of the many proposed increase have been needed.

This year, for instance, the Oklahoma Senate passed an amendment to a House bill that would increase your driver's license fee by several dollars. The fee increase was to be used to support the funding of driver examination stations all across Oklahoma. The rumor circulated that if the fee increase did not pass, many rural examinations would be closed and prospective drivers from all across the state would be forced to drive many miles and wait in very long lines in order to receive their driver's licenses.

A television station did a report in which they interviewed a driver who indicated that compared to paying the high price of fuel in order to commute to the examination station, surely it would be better to just pay a few dollars more for his driver's license. With a little media attention, the proponents of higher fees appeared set to convince the public that the fee increase was in fact a good deal for people.

I have observed that this is one of the oldest tricks in the book for politicians who want to tax us more. Instead of focusing the debate on funding necessary government services with existing money, those who want higher fees make voters choose between terminating the necessary service or raising taxes/fees.

But in all their efforts to raise our driver's license fees, the proponents of bigger government made one small mistake. They failed to take into account the identity of the Representative who controlled the bill in the House of Representatives. As author of the House Bill in question, I had the power to remove the bill from consideration. I was happy to keep the bill from being considered until the fee increase was removed. And just days later, appropriations officials "found" another way to finance the drivers examination stations without an increase in taxes or fees.

Going to whatever ends necessary to convince people to pay more money is a trap that too many public officials quickly fall into. In today's world of high taxes and fees at all levels of government, I believe the first test for any public official seeking election should be if that official has met funding needs with existing resources, or if he/she has given in to the pressure to take more of the people's hard earned money.

It Didn't Have to Be This Way

By Senator Jay Paul Gumm, D-Durant

Hello again, everybody! The biggest battle in the Legislature last session was our fight to require health insurance to cover autism.

Now that campaign season is fully underway, that fight is being played out in campaigns across the state. Dozens of candidates for the Legislature – of both political parties – are announcing their full-throated support for “Nick’s Law,” while those who oppose it are desperately scrambling for any political cover they can find.

Case in point is the dog-and-pony show being conducted by the leadership in the House of Representatives. Keep in mind this is the same leadership team that killed “Nick’s Law” without so much as a vote.

They have commissioned an interim study to look at health care reform. One of their first witnesses was the executive director of a Washington, D.C. group that exists solely to oppose policies like “Nick’s Law.” The term “special interest group” is a pretty accurate description of this organization. This was hardly an unbiased first step for a supposedly fair and balanced study.

It did not have to be this way. The Republican leadership of the House of Representatives made this a partisan fight – and families with autistic children are their victims.

It was not a partisan issue in the Oklahoma Senate, senators from both political parties voted for “Nick’s Law.” In state-after-state, we are seeing elected officials of both political parties put aside partisanship and work together to do the right thing.

Last month, Louisiana’s Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal signed a bill requiring health insurance companies in that state to cover diagnosis and treatment of autism. That new law was written by a Republican and passed the Louisiana Legislature with unanimous support from both parties. Jindal is one of the national Republican Party’s “rising stars,” and he is not the first high-profile Republican governor to sign autism insurance legislation this year. Florida Gov. Charlie Crist signed his state’s autism bill, which was passed by a Republican-controlled legislature.

In Pennsylvania, Republican House Speaker Dennis O’Brien championed a measure – which passed the House unanimously and a Republican-controlled state Senate 49-1 – that will allow parents of autistic children to pay for behavioral therapy and related services with private health insurance.

Here in Oklahoma, House leaders could have been heroes to autistic children; we begged them to do so. Some House Republicans publicly say they will vote for the bill – if only given a chance. It is their leadership that is denying them that chance, and denying Oklahoma’s autistic children with a chance to fulfill their potential.

One thing is clear in this battle, which is now being debated in legislative elections across Oklahoma. The position of Republican leaders in the Oklahoma House is not only out-of-step with Oklahoma values, it is out of step with Republicans nationwide, and it is nothing less than shameful.

Thanks again for reading the “Senate Minute,” have a great week, and may God bless you all.

Open Door Policy - August 26, 2008

On Tuesday, I had the opportunity to hold an interim study on tuition and fee increases within our university system in Oklahoma. Due to time constraints, it was broken into two meetings, the second of which will conclude next Tuesday at the Capitol at 11 A.M. should you wish to attend.
It was stated by staff from the State Regents that 236,000 students are currently enrolled in the higher education system in Oklahoma. Numbers given by them show the amount for appropriations for financial aid is roughly $91 million for FY 2009, which comes out of our $7 billion budget. Roughly half the state budget currently goes to educational programs. This was an area the committee certainly felt needed to be addressed. We also saw that veterans and military personnel in combat situations are often affected by income caps placed on Oklahoma's Promise qualifications. Oklahoma's Promise is the program used to fund state assistance to students with income needs and who meet certain academic requirements. This was amended this past legislature to fund these scholarships before any other program can be given state dollars. We will be reviewing this since only tuition can be covered through this and no fees are allowed to be paid from this program.
Another event I had the opportunity to attend was the wrap-up breakfast of the Oklahoma State School Board Association and Cooperative Council of Oklahoma School Administration. Governor George Nigh was the speaker and discussed influences in his life and how important it is for educators to be the positive influence with their students. He also pointed out to not let the struggle for perfection interfere with the achievement of excellence. Too often we miss out on getting students to just reach the highest level of achievement possible with testing and other mandates.
This Monday, we had the opportunity to celebrate the grand opening of the first building associated with the BAE Systems-Fort Sill Industrial Park. This was a great day as Sen. Jim Inhofe and Lt. Governor Jari Askins attended the ceremony. Sen. Inhofe helped secure the funds to purchase the lands from the School Land Commission. Lt. Governor Askins helped us with getting the land up for sale at a negotiated rate for the development park. I spent about 13 months working on the sale of the land and I'm very glad to see this project progressing. The next phase will have a building of about 150,000 square feet used to construct the Non Line of Site (NLOS) Cannon.
I also had the opportunity to attend fundraisers for the Apache Sports Boosters Association, the American Cancer Society, and the Mid-America chapter of the Paralyzed Veterans Association of America. Each event was well-attended, but I have to brag a little on the MAPVA. With their first event, they doubled their expected amount of contributions and the credit goes to a great team effort. The event was organized by Ron Black of Wild Oklahoma radio and TV and it was greatly assisted by Rusty Goodman, a real estate agent out of Northeastern Oklahoma. I saw several constituents present and I appreciate their support and volunteer efforts for this important organization.
It is an honor to represent your views at the State Capitol. If you wish to contact me and discuss one of these or another issue, I can be reached at my office in Oklahoma City toll-free at 1-800-522-8502, or directly at 1-405-557-7305. My e-mail address is joedorman@okhouse.gov at work. My mailing address is PO Box 559, Rush Springs, OK 73082 and my website is http://www.joedorman.com/ on the Internet. Thank you for taking time to read this column and I look forward to seeing you soon.

Open Door Policy - August 19, 2008

It has been a busy two weeks around the district, as well as the entire state with school starting back up, both at the secondary level and with our colleges. Good luck to all the students, faculty and staff as they prepare for another school year!
The Rush Springs Watermelon Festival went off very well, as did most of the evenings at the Apache Rodeo. I've still been feeling under the weather from my trip to Central America, but should be back up and around very soon thanks to the doctors. Montezuma's Revenge is something not to play around with and they are serious about not drinking the water down there.
The interim studies are going now at the Capitol. Next Tuesday the 26th at 9:30, I have a study at the capitol dealing with fee structures for colleges here in Oklahoma. I have several administrators from the State Regents, OU and OSU all testifying. This was a study that was requested by myself and the late Rep. Terry Hyman, a colleague that passed away earlier this summer. We both were concerned with the discussion of rising tuition, but very little notice of the fees increasing as well. I hope to gather information showing why these fees also continue to climb and expect to hear good information about the different assessments. This is open to the public and should you attend, please notify my office so I can have seating arranged for you.
Much of the work on studies is done by the House staff behind the scenes. I've been there myself on the seven years I served as a staffer and I know how much work these people do to assist the legislators. I've had Valorie Rodgers, the Director for Research and Constituent Relations for the Democratic Caucus, working on this fee structure study with me. Valorie is originally from our area and her sisters were my age in school, so I've heard wonderful things about her before she was hired. I can say they were all true as she has done a wonderful job working for the members at the Capitol. She and the rest of the staff do not get the appreciation they deserve. Thank you to them and to all the rest of the employees out there that keep the system going.
It is an honor to represent your views at the State Capitol. If you wish to contact me and discuss one of these or another issue, I can be reached at my office in Oklahoma City toll-free at 1-800-522-8502, or directly at 1-405-557-7305. My e-mail address is joedorman@okhouse.gov at work. My mailing address is PO Box 559, Rush Springs, OK 73082 and my website is http://www.joedorman.com/ on the Internet. Thank you for taking time to read this column and I look forward to seeing you soon.

Open Door Policy - August 4, 2008

This past week, we saw the party primary elections in Oklahoma come and go without much interest. I made sure to cast my vote early so as not to get too busy on election day and miss it. Oklahoma is one of the states that makes it easy to vote and ensures your vote will count. In our state, you can vote absentee through the mail, you can vote at the county courthouse on Friday, Saturday and Monday before the election. You, of course, can also vote the old-fashioned way at your polling place (which I can say is run by three wonderful ladies in my hometown). Also, you have the right to cast a vote even if there might might a problem with your registration thanks to the provisionary ballot status that allows for a verification from the state to ensure the registration is accurate (I authored this law several years ago to make sure no voters are disenfranchised).
There were several interesting races around the state, which included many county offices, a few legislative races and the primary race for U.S. Senate. There was a sharp decline in interest by the voters for this election, and depending on who you ask, the hot weather, gas prices, or just disinterest kept voters away from this decision-making.
I had the chance to serve as a commentator on the elections at OETA on election night and saw the returns as they came in. I was surprised to see that we had the lowest recorded statewide vote since 1952, with only about 328,000 voters, or just over 17 percent of the registered voters, taking opportunity of their right to vote.
We have a primary runoff coming up on August 26th, though many areas of the state will not have a race in their area. The general election will be on November 4th, and the State Election Board expects a high turnout due to interest in races at all levels, including the Presidential election. I hope each of you that has the right will take advantage and vote in the upcoming races. After what I saw from my recent trip, the best way people have a voice in their government is to send the best candidates to the elected office. We need more good people elected to do the best job possible of representing the people, whichever office it might be.
It was a busy week outside the elections as Cyril had their rodeo this past weekend and Anadarko has their Indian Exposition going on this week. I also had the chance to attend the arts show for students at the Museum of the Great Plains and also the engagement party on Saturday of Katherine English, the granddaughter of Ada Mae English of Rush Springs. Ada Mae was the first Watermelon Queen of Rush Springs, which leads into my invitation to each of you to attend the Rush Springs Watermelon Festival on Saturday, especially the seed-spitting contest at noon. It will be a great time as always! There is also a tackle show on Friday and Saturday in Duncan with Karl White, an antique tackle appraiser at the Stephens County Fairgrounds that will attract a lot of our local fishermen.
It is an honor to represent your views at the State Capitol. If you wish to contact me and discuss one of these or another issue, I can be reached at my office in Oklahoma City toll-free at 1-800-522-8502, or directly at 1-405-557-7305. My e-mail address is joedorman@okhouse.gov at work. My mailing address is PO Box 559, Rush Springs, OK 73082 and my website is http://www.joedorman.com/ on the Internet. Thank you for taking time to read this column and I look forward to seeing you soon.

Open Door Policy - July 28, 2008

I have finally concluded my trip to Central America with the American Council of Young Political Leaders. It was an amazing experience, but I am certainly glad to be back in our great state!
As distressing as the conditions were in Nicaragua, I felt much better about the accomplishments of El Salvador. The first meeting we had was with a group designed to help local businesses prosper. The meetings throughout the week dealt with governmental programs to assist business and the citizens, visits with elected officials and candidates, opportunities to tour areas of the nation and two debates held at universities. The goal was to teach the citizens of El Salvador about US policies and also for us to learn from them about their culture.
While the nation is still quite poor, El Salvador does rise above the rest of Latin America with their opportunities. Programs similar to agritourism and enhanced food processing to add value to crops were very much in line with what we see here in Oklahoma. I also had the chance to visit with several elected officials and candidates about tax increment financing districts which could develop much of the areas considered blighted. I hope to apply some of the ideas to legislation to benefit Oklahoma this next session.
The connections I established on this trip will hopefully benefit the United States on improved relations. The knowledge I acquired certainly makes me appreciate our system, even with all the flaws that we occasionally see. The ties and friendships I made will last a lifetime and I hope to use them to benefit the state of Oklahoma through improved trade relations, issue exchanges and possible development of tourism incentives for agriculture much like what I experienced through their development.
The critical point I saw was the need to maintain a stable government. I have now seen what can happen when radicals take too much power from the citizens. I hope each of you voted in our primaries on Tuesday and will continue to pay attention to which candidates are the best for Oklahoma and the United States.
It is an honor to represent your views at the State Capitol. If you wish to contact me and discuss one of these or another issue, I can be reached at my office in Oklahoma City toll-free at 1-800-522-8502, or directly at 1-405-557-7305. My e-mail address is joedorman@okhouse.gov at work. My mailing address is PO Box 559, Rush Springs, OK 73082 and my website is http://www.joedorman.com/ on the Internet. Thank you for taking time to read this column and I look forward to seeing you soon.