Governor Fallin Rewrites History at Republican National Convention
Mary Fallin Ignores Education, Healthcare, and Native Americans
Oklahoma City – In Tampa, Governor Mary Fallin and Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett failed to tell the whole story about the situation in Oklahoma during their speeches at the Republican National Convention. She began by telling the controversial beginning of our statehood by claiming that the area was settled by pioneers who “rushed to put a stake down on empty plots of land.” Her narrative about the creation of our state completely demeans and ignores the real history of Oklahoma, without mention of the various Native American tribes that were here for many years beforehand, and those who continue to call this land “home” to this day. Oklahoma Democratic Party Chairman Wallace Collins said, “I’m very proud of the fact that about 30 percent of our delegation to the Democratic National Convention is Native American, which is more than any other state.”
Mayor Cornett proudly talked about his fiscally conservative policies, but he is quick to forget that Interstate-40, which runs parallel to bricktown and downtown Oklahoma City was funded with millions of federal money. In addition, he mentioned the success OKC has seen with the MAPS programs and had the audacity to say that “we paid cash.” He leaves out the fact that it was actually paid for by taking out bond money and leveraging funds with a sales tax increase. Chairman Collins commented, “That’s like going to the bank, getting a car loan, and telling your friends you paid cash!”
The Governor’s speech went on to put corporations ahead of people, and her economic plan is the same as Mitt Romney’s. She is going to continue to give tax cuts to corporations and people that do not need them, while leaving the bill with the middle class. However, tax cuts for the wealthy will not raise the standard for our education system which is ranked 48th in the nation for per pupil spending. Tax cuts will not help our healthcare system in which President Obama kept his promise to the American people by getting the affordable care act passed. Governor Fallin responded to the ACA by turning away $54 million dollars that could have helped struggling Oklahomans because she was afraid of the backlash from extremists in her own party.
“After watching and listening to her speech, I couldn’t help but wonder what world does she live in?” Chairman Collins continued, “Oklahoma ranks near the bottom in areas like teacher pay, mental health, veteran’s benefits, and other vital social programs, which does not provide a good basis for cutting taxes for the wealthy. We should not be proud of these things and Governor Fallin is going to completely erase them in the history book she is writing.”
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