By Theodore King

First, I start with the process of elimination. Congressman James Lankford is a "no go." In 2010, he went to Washington promising fiscal reform, and in a short amount of time he learned to go along to get along. He voted for a pork-laden farm bill last summer which did not pass. Recently, he voted against a slightly scaled down version of that farm bill (which did pass) because he is now, as a Senate candidate, subject to more scrutiny from voters. Lankford also voted against defunding the National Security Agency's program to monitor our phone calls. If and when he comes to your town, ask him why he has so little trust in you. Should he become a senator, those who voted for him will have no one but themselves to blame.

Former State House Speaker T.W. Shannon is a dynamic public speaker. As a legislator he opposed smoking bans on private businesses (which means he's probably a real Republican unlike Governor Bloomberg-Fallin). On the down side he's a part of the Tom Cole political machine. I have to laugh when Shannon talks about "fighting the Republican establishment." I am concerned that too many people will vote for him only because "He's the black guy." They will not weigh all the evidence for and against him. Such voters emotively believe they need to prove to the likes of MSNBC viewers that they aren't just a bunch of racists. That is a fools' errand. The left are going to say conservatives are racists no matter what. Attempting to prove otherwise is akin to discussing philosophy with someone braying at the moon. Former Alaska governor and 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin recently endorsed Shannon. Palin snubbed Randy Brogdon in 2010, endorsing Bloomberg-Fallin for Oklahoma governor. Sarah Palin really isn't very smart. The endorsement by Ted Cruz, however, may seal the deal for Shannon.

I was surprised by Randy Brogdon's switch to the Senate race. Last December, I urged him to run for the Senate, and he told me that he had no intention of running for the Senate because the real problems were here in our state. Should he be able to build the campaign he had in 2010 when he ran for governor, he could walk away with the nomination as Lankford and Shannon fight over the remainder of the establishment vote. He garnered almost 100,000 votes in the Republican primary despite Fallin's big money and endorsements. With Brogdon you know exactly what you are getting; with the others you have to guess, and these days the stakes are way too high to have to guess. If you are a real conservative, you need to vote for Randy Brogdon on June 24th.

Meet the New Farm Bill, Same as the Old Farm Bill

Last June, conservatives in the House rebelled against its leadership that was attempting to pass a farm bill weighed down with food stamps. First district Congressman James Bridenstine was the only Oklahoma delegation member to vote against that bill while Congressmen Markwayne Mullin of the second, Frank Lucas (the bill's sponsor) of the third, Tom Cole of the fourth, and James Lankford of the fifth voted in favor of it. On Wednesday, January 29th, the House by a vote of 251 to 166 passed H.R. 2642, sponsored by Congressman Lucas, a slightly scaled down version of the one voted down last year. This time, Congressman Lankford (now a U.S. Senate candidate) voted against it even though he voted for it last year. Congressmen Bridenstine voted against it -- again, and Congressmen Cole, Lucas and Mullin voted for it -- again.

According to the National Taxpayers Union (NTU), the new bill shaves about nine billion dollars from the food stamp program. Conservatives in the House wanted to cut 40 billion. Any cuts are better than no cuts, and this legislation eliminates direct payments to farmers. However, direct payments are being replaced with crop insurance that the NTU says is intended to lock in returns on commodities at record high prices. This farm bill, now law, is 49 percent more expensive than the 2008 agriculture bill passed when Democrats ran Congress. The Senate passed this new farm bill by a vote of 68 to 32. Senators James Inhofe and Tom Coburn voted no.

Tom Cole - Extortionist

On February 10th, Congressman Tom Cole and liberal Senator Maria Cantwell of Washington sent a letter to National Football League (NFL) Commissioner Roger Goodell threatening the league's tax exempt status if the Washington Redskins don't change their name. Congressman Cole, a member of the Chickasaw nation, wasn't threatening the NFL over the Vikings, Chiefs, or Cowboys. He singled out the Redskins because the word offends him. To the league's credit, they told Cole and Cantwell to take a hike. I wish the voters would follow suit. I should mention the tax exempt status of the NFL is absurd, and Senator Coburn has tried to revoke its tax status. However, when political power is used to threaten businesses, organizations, or individuals, that is extortion. How do you folks in the fourth district like having an extortionist as your congressman?

Putin, America, Gay Marriage, and the Real World

Some on the right, such as talk show host Michael Savage and columnist Pat Buchanan, admire Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. I call him a dictator because he uses the power of the Russian state to suppress his opposition. The right's admiration for Putin stems from his opposition to the gay movement, curbs on abortions, and support for the Russian Orthodox Church. For a KGB officer and former Communist like Putin, these deeds are merely a means to an end. Communism is kaput, and yet people need to believe in something, so why not tie in Russian nationalism with God? Therefore, Putin supports the Russian church. The Russian birthrate has been in decline for decades, why not curb the abortion rate? And gays, well, they don't add anything to the birth rate, and they're weird. The fact is Putin will kill anyone who gets in his way as we are seeing in events unfolding in Ukraine. Putin's tactic to "protect ethnic Russians in Ukraine" is the same tactic used by Adolf Hitler in his invasions of Czechoslovakia and Poland "to protect ethnic Germans." On March 26, 2001, Lady Margaret Thatcher told an audience at Oklahoma State University -- I was there and heard her say it -- that we needed to be wary of Vladimir Putin. We should all heed her wise counsel.

When Russia invaded the Crimean Peninsula of Ukraine in March, United States Secretary of State John Kerry said this sort of thing just isn't done anymore. We are in the 21st century, you see. We have gay marriage and women and gays in combat. We are enlightened people led by graduates of the Ivy League. Sorry, Johnny, the world is now and always has been a place where a bully gets his way by knowing no one will stand up to him. In early March at the U.S. military base on Okinawa, a "drag show" was performed in which homosexual troops sang songs in front of other troops. China and Russia are going to emerge as the dominant military and political forces in the world because they do not tolerate such politically-correct rot. They live in the real world. We no longer do.

Barack Takes a Bow for Tom Coburn

After Senator Coburn announced he will retire early, President Obama released the following, self-serving statement:

"Tom and I entered the Senate at the same time, becoming friends after our wives struck up a conversation at an orientation dinner. And even though we haven't always agreed politically, we've found ways to work together to make government more transparent, cut down on earmarks, and fight to reduce wasteful spending and make our tax system fairer...The people of Oklahoma have been well-served by this "country doctor from Muskogee' over the past nine years."

So President Barack and Dr. Tom worked together to "make government more transparent, cut down on earmarks, and fight to reduce wasteful spending and make our tax system fairer"? This reminds me of what former President Ronald Reagan said at the 1992 Republican convention in Houston: "I heard those speakers at that other convention saying "We won the Cold War' and I couldn't help wondering, just who[m] exactly do they mean by we?"

To read more on this:

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2014/01/17/OK-Sen-Coburn-to-retire-at-end-of-session/UPI-70371389940792/#ixzz2qt3JRHNj

"To obtain religious, as well as civil liberty, I entered zealously into the Revolution … God grant that this religious liberty may be preserved in these States to the end of time."

Charles Carroll of Maryland