Tag Archives: governor

Apr 4 2012

Fallin snubs presidential visit

Chelsea Ratterman, Assistant Editor

Over spring break, Oklahoma had a very high profile visitor. President Barack Obama came to the state to address the Keystone XL Pipeline extension. The Pipeline would go through Cushing on its way from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico.

The pipeline has been a topic of contention for Congress and the White House since the beginning of the year. When payroll tax cuts made their way through Congress, and as a stipulation for renewal of the tax cuts, Republicans insisted that the permit for the Keystone XL Pipeline be passed as well. The Obama administration announced in January that they would halt the project due to the “ rushed and arbitrary deadline insisted on by Congressional Republicans [that] prevented a full assessment of the pipeline’s impact, especially the health and safety of the American people, as well as our environment,” President Obama said in a statement.

On March 22, the president announced in Cushing that he was expediting the permit for TransCanada to build the southern portion of the pipeline. This turnabout in policy may have been prompted from the harsh criticism he faced from Congressional Republicans and governors, including Oklahoma’s own Gov. Mary Fallin.
Mayor Mick Cornett of OKC and Mayor Jack Fry of Midwest City were on hand to greet President Obama along with Tinker officials. Come that night, the question on many Oklahomans’ minds was, where was Gov. Fallin, or any other high-ranking Oklahoma official? There were no state officials there to greet Obama as he arrived at Tinker Air Force Base. Many did have reasons as to why they did not attend, some citing the lack of notice as to why they were unavailable, but such is the nature of presidential travel. Many saw this as an intentional snub by the governor, who they believed to be placing political ideology over respect for the Executive Office of the President. A statement released by the governor’s office later revealed she was in Puerto Rico for a family vacation.

State Representative Mike Shelton responded to Fallin’s comments on Obama’s decision to expedite the permit.
“For the governor and most major state officials to skip President Obama’s visit is insulting to the president and an embarrassment to the state… While the governor did not have time to meet or even greet the president, she did have time to issue press releases attacking him… Today, Oklahomans looked good on energy, but poor on leadership,” he said in a statement released March 22.

With a past of high tension between the two, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer shared an intense exchange in January on a Phoenix runway with the President when he visited her state. Even when they do not agree with their policies, it is seen as a duty of the governor to greet the president and other high -ranking federal officials when they come to the state.

Apr 4 2012

Manners matter even for the governor

By:Chelsea Ratterman, Assistant Editor

Recently, President Barack Obama visited Oklahoma, and to the dismay of many of the state’s population, Oklahoma’s most important elected official, Gov. Mary Fallin, was not there to meet him. Her past remarks have shown certain displeasure with our president. Many believe that this may have been a deliberate snub to our nation’s MVP. If this is true, this shows an extreme lack of respect for an office that should demand the most respect of any.

In a time when many are disillusioned with the government and its leaders, there are still the few who get excited at the simple prospect of a sitting president being in eyeshot, and that is how it should be. They still recognize the prestige and respect the office demands as being the one representative of the American people.

Respect has been lost in the last few decades for the Executive Office of the President. Political views, affiliations, or religious choice should be set aside, especially in matters of state and the duties required. On the campaign trail, candidates running for office are spouting venom at the president for his choices, lack of progress, and just overall demeanor while in office. In each of Gov. Fallin’s press releases or speeches concerning the president she has been nothing but vile in tone.

“I hope that while President Obama is in Oklahoma he takes some time to listen to our citizens, many of whom work for the energy industry which he claims to support,” Gov. Fallin said, in a press release following the announcement of President Obama’s visit. She goes on to accuse him and his party of a supporting an “aggressively anti-energy agenda,” despite the Obama administration’s push for cleaner energy that would decrease our dependence on oil itself.

These practices are unacceptable. There are respectful ways of expressing displeasure in the choices of those who direct our country, and the members of Congress and governors do not seem to grasp this. Sarcasm, accusation and hostility in press release and speech form do nothing but rile the opposition to a similar reaction, which leads to the round robin the U.S. has been experiencing for years now. We need to return to a time where the Executive Office of the President, and other elected officials, still commanded their due respect. Twenty years ago elected officials would not have had the gall to speak in the tones they do now. It is not a matter of freedom of speech, but a matter of manners.