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OKPNS reported to you yesterday about the demonstration planned at Rep. Rebecca Hamilton’s fundraiser. As you can see, the demonstraters showed up carrying signs with love quotes like: “Censor Rebecca Hamilton Hamilton” and “Sleeping with the Enemy”. All that aside, we wonder how the fundraiser went?
The Oklahoma Political News Service received the following email today:
Join the demonstration at Rebecca Hamilton’s fundraiser Tuesday evening
The official invitation reads:
Join Mike Lawter, Dr. Jim Muse amd Former Speaker of the House Steve Lewis In Honoring one of our best Democrats Representative Rebecca Hamilton.
May 22, 2007
Lawter Law Offices
3313 N Classen Blvd
Oklahoma City, OK 7311
Reception from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.”
The outrages are:
1. Steve Lewis is Planned Parenthood’s lobbyist,
2. Rebecca mightily angered her House Democratic Caucus members by conspiring with Republicans and giving them her bill to bring back SB-714 through her bill SB -139 (She was the House author). She forced her colleagues to vote AGAIN on anti-choice bills (8 of them rolled into SB-139) which they had already voted on before.
IF YOU CAN JOIN US, PLEASE LET ME KNOW ASAP. BE THERE BY 6:15 AT THE LATEST IF AT ALL POSSIBLE. I’M MAKING APPROPRIATE SIGNS OR BRING YOUR OWN.
THERE’S LOTS OF SPACE AROUND 3313 N. CLASSEN BLVD WHERE WE CAN STAND. I’LL GET A PERMIT FIRST THING TOMORROW MORNING. THERE COMES A TIME WHEN ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!
The Oklahoma Political News Service received the following email today:
Join the demonstration at Rebecca Hamilton’s fundraiser Tuesday evening
The official invitation reads:
Join Mike Lawter, Dr. Jim Muse amd Former Speaker of the House Steve Lewis In Honoring one of our best Democrats Representative Rebecca Hamilton.
May 22, 2007
Lawter Law Offices
3313 N Classen Blvd
Oklahoma City, OK 7311
Reception from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.”
The outrages are:
1. Steve Lewis is Planned Parenthood’s lobbyist,
2. Rebecca mightily angered her House Democratic Caucus members by conspiring with Republicans and giving them her bill to bring back SB-714 through her bill SB -139 (She was the House author). She forced her colleagues to vote AGAIN on anti-choice bills (8 of them rolled into SB-139) which they had already voted on before.
IF YOU CAN JOIN US, PLEASE LET ME KNOW ASAP. BE THERE BY 6:15 AT THE LATEST IF AT ALL POSSIBLE. I’M MAKING APPROPRIATE SIGNS OR BRING YOUR OWN.
THERE’S LOTS OF SPACE AROUND 3313 N. CLASSEN BLVD WHERE WE CAN STAND. I’LL GET A PERMIT FIRST THING TOMORROW MORNING. THERE COMES A TIME WHEN ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!
By Rep. Jason Murphey
This week the Oklahoma House of Representatives took action to again send to the Senate and the Governor an important pro-life measure. Senate Bill 139 (SB 139), authored by Oklahoma City Democrat Rebecca Hamilton, would stop the use of taxpayer money from funding almost all abortions. SB 139 is very similar to Senate Bill 714, which passed both the House and the Senate earlier in the session but was later vetoed by the Governor.
The Senate has twice attempted to override the Governor’s veto of Senate Bill 714, but both attempts fell just one vote short of the two-thirds majority needed. Because the Senate could not override the veto, the bill was bottled up in the Senate and the House did not get to vote on the override attempt.
SB 139 offered an opportunity for those of us in the House to again press the issue that taxpayer resources should not be used for abortions. It is important for us to take action, not just because it is the right thing to do, but because of the groundswell of public support for this policy. I have received more calls in support of Senate Bill 714 than any other bill this year. It is clear that people do not want their tax dollars used to destroy life and they are demanding the government take action. Read more…
This week the Oklahoma House of Representatives took action to again send to the Senate and the Governor an important pro-life measure. Senate Bill 139 (SB 139), authored by Oklahoma City Democrat Rebecca Hamilton, would stop the use of taxpayer money from funding almost all abortions. SB 139 is very similar to Senate Bill 714, which passed both the House and the Senate earlier in the session but was later vetoed by the Governor.
The Senate has twice attempted to override the Governor’s veto of Senate Bill 714, but both attempts fell just one vote short of the two-thirds majority needed. Because the Senate could not override the veto, the bill was bottled up in the Senate and the House did not get to vote on the override attempt.
SB 139 offered an opportunity for those of us in the House to again press the issue that taxpayer resources should not be used for abortions. It is important for us to take action, not just because it is the right thing to do, but because of the groundswell of public support for this policy. I have received more calls in support of Senate Bill 714 than any other bill this year. It is clear that people do not want their tax dollars used to destroy life and they are demanding the government take action.
In order to entice the Governor to sign this measure, authors of the bill have used almost identical language as that in Senate Bill 714, with slight changes in wording. This new language may be instrumental in chipping away support from Senators who until now have been willing to back the Governor’s veto.
In order for SB 139 to pass the House, it faced the difficult hurdle of two procedural votes requiring approval from two-thirds of the members of the House. Tony Lauinger, State Chairman of Oklahomans For Life, stated that these were the most important pro-life votes of the year. Each vote passed by a margin of one vote and I was pleased to cast my vote to help insure passage.
During the upcoming two weeks, your continued support of ending the policy of taxpayer funded abortions will be vital to the success of SB 139. Thank you for calling my office with your concerns. Please continue to contact the Governor and your Senator as well.
As always I may be contacted on the web at www.housedistrict31.com or on the phone at 557-7350.
The evenly divided Oklahoma Senate fell one vote short today of the 32 votes needed to override Gov. Brad Henry’s veto of a pro-life bill after Democrat Senator Charles Laster of Shawnee flip-flopped by voting against an override motion after voting 3 previous times in favor of the legislation this session – once in committee and twice on the Senate floor.
But Senate Bill 714’s author, Sen. James A. Williamson of Tulsa, said he will press on with future attempts to override Henry’s veto.
“Today’s vote is just the beginning. Our fight on behalf of unborn Oklahomans will continue for as along as necessary until we override this veto,” Williamson said.
“Sen. Laster’s flip flop on this life-and-death issue is surprising and disappointing. Sen. Laster will likely be hearing from many pro-life Oklahomans in the coming days. There will be a lot of prayers that he will have a change of heart on the next override vote,” stated Williamson.
“Sen. Laster’s explanation for changing his vote on SB 714 involves the same arguments that were used against this bill during every previous vote, yet Sen. Laster still voted for the bill every time until today,” he said.
Senate Bill 714 is a pro-life bill that prohibits the use of state funds, facilities, and employees to perform abortions. It also requires abortionists to file paperwork with the state showing they are following laws requiring informed consent of patients and the notification of minors’ parents before abortions are performed.
Williamson noted that Democrat Sen. Nancy Riley of Sand Springs, who switched parties in 2006, has also changed positions on the abortion issue.
“In the past, Sen. Riley consistently voted pro-life as a Republican. She never told pro-life supporters that rape and incest exceptions were important to her. As a Democrat, she even voted for SB 714 in committee before opposing the bill on the floor,” Williamson said. “Sen. Riley’s waffling on the issue of life is extremely disappointing.”
Williamson said he will continue to bring up his motion to override Henry’s veto of SB 714 “as many times as necessary” until the end of next year’s legislative session.
Senator John McCain has picked up the endorsement of former governor Frank Keating, despite McCain’s “nuance” of his abortion position since his last presidential run in 2000. McCain is now claiming he is pro-life, and to prove that claim to social conservatives, he will speak at a teenage abstinence rally in South Carolina later today.
Keating, who is Catholic, signed a bill in June 2001 to prevent teenagers from having an abortion unless they first received the consent of their parents.
The measure also held abortion practitioners liable for “physical and emotional injuries” suffered by a minor if they do not notify or receive consent from a parent prior to performing an abortion on a girl under 18 years of age.
Keating also signed a bill in May 2002 authorizing the state’s “Choose Life” license plates
As we wrote above, McCain’s position seems to have changed decidedly since 2000:
By Tina Cassidy, Globe Staff, 2/25/2000
“At one point in the campaign, McCain said he would not support the repeal of Roe v. Wade because it would force women to have ”illegal and dangerous operations.” And during a swing through New Hampshire, he told reporters that if his teenage daughter got pregnant ”the final decision” about whether to terminate ”would be made by [her].”
In both instances, McCain later said he misspoke.”
This commentary appeared in a slightly different form on nationalreview.com, February 7, 2001:
“John McCain is hawking a book of pro-abortion propaganda to his colleagues. Surprised? Don’t be. He’s the hero of the story.
Richard North Patterson’s novel Protect and Defend tells a familiar story: Mean-spirited conservatives, Republicans, and Christian Right anti-abortion fanatics in Washington, D.C., vs. the pro-choice, anti-gun, pro-campaign-reform forces of light.
Senator Chad Palmer is twice a hero: once for enduring being kidnapped and held hostage by Islamic extremists, and now for supporting campaign-finance reform even though he’s a Republican. Palmer used to be pro-life, until his teenage daughter was able to start turning her life around by getting a legal abortion. And now he has to vote on a controversial nominee to be chief justice of the Supreme Court. The previous one, a hateful old conservative, died of a stroke while giving the oath of office to the new Democratic president. The president names a feminist judge.
During her confirmation hearings, this judge writes a decision letting a 15-year-old girl abort her hydrocephalic fetus at seven and a half months over the objections of her parents, who are tyrannical religious zealots. She is bitterly opposed by anti-abortionists with names like Mace and Harshman, as well as by a group called the “Christian Commitment.” Eventually a sleazy Washington lobbyist exposes the abortion in Senator Palmer’s family. His daughter, distraught, drinks a bottle of wine, gets behind the wheel on an icy night, and dies. So guess who casts the deciding vote in the Senate? And guess which way he votes?
Last month, real-life Senators John McCain and Barbara Boxer jointly sent a copy of this book with a letter to every member of the Senate. This evening, McCain and Boxer are hosting a reception and book-signing party for Patterson in the United States Capitol. “