| Posted: Wednesday, August 19th, 2009 | Comments (0)

Just One Vote

By: Steve Byas

There was a popular love song that went something like, “Just one look, that’s all it took, Just one look.” At the Republican State Convention this past spring, Senator Tom Coburn defended his vote in favor of the TARP program (the bailout) with a dismissive argument that his vote was just one vote. Coburn was joined in the one vote by other members of the Oklahoma congressional delegation, including Dan Boren, Tom Cole, and Mary Fallin.

As that “one look” led to all kinds of other things as a natural progression, their “just one vote” has brought our nation to the brink of socialism.

So far as I know, all are standing by that one vote. While Fallin, Boren, Cole, and Coburn have argued that their one vote was absolutely necessary, or our economic system was just going to flat-out collapse, fellow Oklahoma delegation members Frank Lucas and Jim Inhofe voted no to the socialistic bailout pushed by the Bush Administration last fall.

Cole, Fallin, and Boren have been rightly castigated for the one vote. But, for some reason, Coburn has largely escaped the harsher criticism of the others. It is almost like some in Oklahoma find out how Coburn voted, and they then proceed to defend that vote as the conservative or constitutionalist vote. In so doing, they deem it necessary to denigrate others who vote differently. In the case of Senator Inhofe’s courageous vote against the socialistic bailout, these Coburn cultists argue, “Well, Inhofe was up for reelection, or I bet he would have voted for the bailout, too!”

This smear on the finest member of the Senate in order to defend Coburn’s one vote is despicable. Certainly Inhofe was up for reelection, but so was Dan Boren, Tom Cole, and Mary Fallin. And, for that matter, so was Frank Lucas, who also voted NO to the socialist bailout.

Let me make it perfectly clear. I do not enjoy writing this column and castigating Cobrun, Cole and Fallin. I have known both Fallin and Cole for years, and like both of them very much. (I really don’t know Coburn, but along with Fallin and Cole, he has voted mostly the right way). But, the one vote that they cast, last fall, began the journey of this nation into full-blown socialism. I cannot let the fact that I have had an amiable relationship with a member of Congress overshadow the fact that my country is in deep, deep trouble.
That one vote started us on that path.

President Barack Obama has built his entire program of socializing America on that one vote from last fall. Any time any one challenges Obama’s latest socialistic thrust, the retort is, “Bush started it with the bailout.”

And Bush had help from Boren, Cole, Coburn, and Fallin.

Forget Boren. He’s a Democrat, and we don’t expect much from him. But, we expected more from Coburn, Cole, and Fallin. Coburn is up for reelection next year. Despite his one vote, Coburn’s Democrat opponent will most likely be some sacrificial lamb who would vote for all of Obama’s program, not just the one vote that started it all. Cole has at least one active primary opponent, R.J. Harris. Cole, despite his one vote, will be heavily favored over Harris, and Cole’s Democrat opponent will almost certainly be some left-wing loon. Fallin is leaving Congress, and running for governor.
In the past, Mary Fallin has been successful with campaigns of glittering generalities: “Faith, family, and freedom.” Well, her one vote was NOT a vote for freedom. It was a vote against the free enterprise system. She has primary opposition in the governor’s race – State Senator Randy Brogdon of Owasso. While Fallin is certainly favored, it will be interesting to see how her one vote factors into her 2010 gubernatorial ambitions.

When Fallin considered running for governor back in 2002, I urged her to make the race. Instead, she deferred to Congressman Steve Largent, who ran one of the poorest campaigns in Oklahoma history. Fallin would have almost certainly won in ‘02. It took Largent’s namby-pamby campaign to lose to the colorless Brad Henry. I have no doubt that should Fallin defeat Brogdon, she would be better than anyone the Democrats would put up.

So, I could very well wind up voting for all three (Coburn, Cole, and Fallin) in November, 2010, but that doesn’t change the fact that their one vote may have set our nation on a path from which we will not continue with a free enterprise system that has given us so much.
Coburn defended his one vote by saying that had he not voted for the bailout, “Your ATM machine would have quit working.” Well, Senator Coburn, I would have rather my ATM machine shut down than my country go socialist. The ATM machine would have started working again. Yes, we would have gone through a rough stretch, but we would have emerged a free country.

Right now, because of one vote, that proposition is very much in doubt.

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