Rain or Shine

Guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, during ongoing Hurricane Sandy.

(photo credit: Tom Dell'Omo)

THRICE DENIED: requests for backup in Benghazi

Fox News broke a major story today on the Benghazi attack of September 11th, which is sure to add to the outrage many Americans feel over how the situation was handled:

Fox News has learned from sources who were on the ground in Benghazi that an urgent request from the CIA annex for military back-up during the attack on the U.S. consulate and subsequent attack several hours later on the annex itself was denied by the CIA chain of command -- who also told the CIA operators twice to "stand down" rather than help the ambassador's team when shots were heard at approximately 9:40 p.m. in Benghazi on Sept. 11.

Read the Fox article here. TheBlaze.com has further details here.

Thomas Peterffy and the Freedom to Succeed

Re-posted from Erick Erickson of RedState.com:

Thomas Peterffy is the founder of Interactive Brokers, an online brokerage firm. But he wasn’t always.

In 1956, Thomas Peterffy, unable to speak English, fled Hungary as the Iron Curtain was lowering on Eastern Europe. By the time Peterffy left Hungary, the communists were in charge. Around 350,000 people, many intellectuals and politicians, were purged by the communists. In 1956, Hungary went through a revolution that pushed out the Soviets until November of that year when the Soviets sent in 150,000 troops killing 20,000 people with a quarter million more fleeing for their lives.

Thomas Peterffy was one of those refugees. He went on to be an American success story. Now, this registered independent voter, has felt compelled to tell the world about the horrors of socialism and how it destroys success and erodes a nation’s work ethic. He has, out of his own pocket, produced an ad of him talking. He is, again with just his own money, running the ad on national news networks and in Ohio.

It is one of the most powerful ads you will see this campaign cycle. A refugee from a communist state has put his money where his mouth is and wants the world to know what happens when a nation punishes success.

OKGOP Launches "Jailbreak Wallace" Website

OKGOP Launches "Jailbreak Wallace" Website

(Oklahoma City) - The Oklahoma Republican Party today announced the launch of a new website - JailBreakWallace.com - to highlight Rob Wallace’s record of offering plea bargains to criminals who later went on to commit further crimes, some including violent crime and even murder.

At a recent forum in which both Second District candidates attended, Wallace continued to lob disingenuous attacks, while Republican Markwayne Mullin continued to tell voters of the 2nd District about his plans to end wasteful government spending and get our economy back on track.

“Rob Wallace is at it again - lobbing attacks against Markwayne Mullin’s successful business to hide from major flaws in his own record,” said OKGOP Chairman Matt Pinnell. “It speaks volumes that Mr. Wallace continues to throw mud instead of explaining to voters how exactly sending someone to Congress to caucus with Nancy Pelosi and continue the failed policies of Barack Obama will help turn our country around.”

Throughout the campaign, Wallace has highlighted his experience as a prosecutor as a reason voters should support his candidacy. However, when Wallace was under consideration to become the US Attorney for the Eastern District of Oklahoma in 2009, the White House abruptly and unexpectedly ceased their vetting of Wallace. Wallace previously denied that it had anything to do with the acrimonious lawsuits that surrounded a failed mining company in which Wallace had a 39% ownership stake.

“Rob Wallace has yet to give a substantive explanation of why he was abruptly dropped as a candidate for US Attorney,” said Pinnell. “Was it because of this remarkable record of offering plea bargains to criminals who went on to commit even more crime? Mr. Wallace’s job as a prosecutor was to punish criminals and help take them off the streets. Much like his repeated business failings, it would appear Mr. Wallace’s record as a prosecutor is one of failure.”

The Oklahoma Republican Party encourages voters to visit www.JailBreakWallace.com to view the records of several criminals Rob Wallace offered plea bargains to, who later went on to commit more crime.

“I’m sure after viewing the criminal backgrounds of these individuals, many voters will wonder just why exactly Rob Wallace let them off easy,” concluded Pinnell.

OKGOP hosting Vice Presidential Debate events in CD2

The Oklahoma Republican Party is hosting 2012 Vice Presidential Debate Community Forum events in the 2nd Congressional District on Thursday, October 11 in Claremore, Muskogee and McAlester, at 7 p.m. CST.  Republicans, Democrats and Independents alike are all welcome to come to these events. High school classes are encouraged to attend and participate, as well.

The format for the evening will include 2 panelists and a moderator for the event. Before the debate each location will be asked a series of questions and will record the audience responses. During the debate’s commercial breaks the moderator will ask for feedback. After the debate the audience will be asked a series of questions to record any change in opinion.

LOCATIONS:

CLAREMORE:
Wings To Go
2002 S Highway 66, Claremore, OK (map)

MUSKOGEE:
Buffalo Wild Wings
1130 W Shawnee St, Muskogee, OK (map)

McALESTER:
Eastern Oklahoma State College Auditorium
1802 E College Ave, McAlester, OK (map)

Fallin photo on Democrat legislator's mailer stirs controversy

A recent campaign mailer from State Rep. Wade Rousselot (D-Okay) has caused a bit of a stir among some Republicans, due to the prominent featuring of Governor Mary Fallin (R) on the mail piece - which can give the implication that Fallin is supporting Rousselot's reelection bid against Republican candidate David Tackett.

The former head of 'Oklahomans for Liberty', Tackett has at times clashed heads with Gov. Fallin and Republican legislative leadership over legislation and policies he considers to be corporate welfare, unconstitutional, or against conservative principles. Rousselot is one of the few Democrat candidates that the Oklahoma State Chamber, a strong supporter/ally of Gov. Fallin, is supporting this year.

Governor Fallin has not officially endorsed in the House District 12 race, and according to Tackett, the Republican State House Committee has not lent him any support, leading his supporters to cry foul. For their part, the Governor doesn't endorse in every race, and the House PAC doesn't always spend money on every nominee.

Nevertheless, when the Democrat nominee uses the Governor's photo in an attempt to 'ride the coattails' of the top Republican in the state (Fallin has an approval rating of 69.3%), the Governor should publicly state her support for the Republican nominee.

Candidates often try to align themselves with popular figures by using pictures of the candidate with the other individual. More often than not, the picture was never intended to be used for campaign purposes, and usually the other person is unaware that they are being used by the candidate. As I have said previously, using a photo like this passes off a false impression, and attributes action to someone who never did what was implied.

As the saying goes, "A picture is worth a thousand words". Usually, when a candidate is shown with someone else on a campaign mailer, that implies an endorsement. When no such endorsement exists, it is unethical to give off the impression to unsuspecting voters, and just isn't commonsense.

I'm sure Governor Fallin never intended for voters to assume that she supports a Democrat nominee over a Republican nominee; however, she can rectify the situation with a simple paragraph expressing her support for the GOP candidate. When a mailer like this has so publicly muddled the truth about who she is supporting in House District 12, Governor Fallin should move quickly to clarify the situation, and join Sen. Tom Coburn in publicly endorsing David Tackett, the Republican nominee.