While I won’t miss his presence in the U.S. Senate, I am sorry to hear that Tom Coburn of Oklahoma is suffering with cancer and will retire. I hope he makes a full recovery. He is endorsing Rep. James Lankford to succeed him, and that is just a frightening prospect. I took at a look at Lankford’s Wikipedia page and he is wrong on literally everything. I mean everything. I am going to condense it down for you:
Lankford supports simple budget austerity through lowering taxes and reducing government spending. He took the taxpayer protection pledge promising to support no new taxes. He supports the repeal of the income and estate taxes and supports a sales tax to tax consumption and not savings or earnings. Lankford supports prioritizing spending (if the debt limit is reached) and the Cut-Cap-and-Balance Pledge. He supports a balanced budget amendment. He supports compensatory time-off for overtime workers. Lankford wants to loosen restrictions on interstate gun purchases. He opposes Firearm microstamping, a controversial method of imprinting casings with a unique marking to match it with a specific firearm, and would allow veterans to register unlicensed firearms. He supports extending the Patriot Act and expanding roving wiretaps occurring in the US. Lankford supports the prioritization of security, starting with military bases. He supports expanding exploration of gas and oil both domestically and on the outer continental shelf. He opposes the EPA regulating emission standards as he believes it hinders economic growth. In addition to barring the EPA from regulating emission standards, Lankford believes manure and other fertilizers should not be classified as pollutants or hazardous. Lankford has stated his belief that federally funded healthcare is unconstitutional and has made a statement that he will oppose in and all moves for a federal healthcare system. He supported an initiative to allow Medicare choice and also institute budget cuts. Lankford opposes abortion rights. He supports banning all federally funded abortions and believes Congress should recognize life at the moment of fertilization. He opposes any federally funded healthcare or coverage programs that allow for abortion, as well as Planned Parenthood and other similar groups.
On a personal level, Rep. Lankford is rather impressive. For much of his childhood, he was raised by his mother alone in modest conditions, and got a undergraduate degree from the University of Texas at Austin. He followed that up with a master’s degree in Divinity at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. From there he became the program director of the largest Christian camp in the United States. And, of course, he was elected to Congress. He’s not quite 46 years old, and he’s been very successful.
He could be with us for a very long time.
Oh well, the right wing barfs up yet another nutjob. What are ya gonna do.
the very concept of getting anybody decent from a state with an electorate like ok’s, is absurd. no rational point in even hoping.
What it takes to prevent this is a good candidate and 800,000 votes for that candidate. In 10 months. The folks that pull that one off get major props for campaign organization.
I think I know how a Democrat could win down there. I mean pretty much a real Democrat, not a Blue Dog. It would take advocating for things like a $15/hr minimum wage though. Is there anyone with enough guts to do that?
It will make Lankford explain to his base why having more money is a bad thing.
Unfortunately, the majority of the voters in Oklahoma know very well why they don’t have more money – – – their god despises them and punishes them for allowing abortionists to live, gays to marry, and the blahs to collect welfare in all the blue states.
Until they cleanse their sins by taking care to prevent those groups from flouting the religious convictions of our evangelical founders, they not only don’t deserve a higher minimum wage, they don’t deserve clean air, clean water, or public schools that can help their children do better than students in Louisiana.
And they know it because their pastors and corporate masters tell them, daily.
Also sackcloth and ashes to remind them constantly of their transgressions.
Ah the good ol’ “miscarriage is murder by my logic but I can’t say that” toolbag.
Yes, wrong on EVERYTHING.
Re unlicensed guns for veterans: Timothy McVeigh was a veteran and look what he did in Oklahoma!
I’ve watched his act on C-SPAN.
He’s a fucking lunatic.
Always thought Coburn wasn’t nearly stupid and crazy enough for OK. (Technically Coburn isn’t stupid, but willfully blinded by his rightwing partisanship.) Sounds as if Lankford will correct that problem and in the process make the stupid and crazy Inhofe appear not so stupid and crazy.
Nice to know the American Taliban is alive and well.
The odds of finding anyone worse to replace Coburn would seem long in most of the world (i.e., within the Reality-Based Community). But never count out OK in such matters (think Inhofe!). I know, I lived (ok, survived) there 11 looong yrs.
I won’t be around to collect (or pay up, if necessary) but my guess is that his type of foolishness will dominate Oklahoma until the Sun goes supernova.
Oops. Lankford is apparently not sufficiently “conservative.”
Senate Conservatives Fund Declines to Back Rep Lankford.