By ANDREW W. GRIFFIN

Oklahoma Watchdog, editor

Posted: July 20, 2010

andrew@oklahomawatchdog.org

OKLAHOMA CITY — One week remains until Oklahoma’s primary election. We here at Oklahoma Watchdog have been closely watching some of the more interesting races taking place across the state.

And we have attempted to be diligent in following up with certain candidates in our attempt to interview them.

Some candidates, like 5th district leader Kevin Calvey and fellow Republican Mike Thompson have also taken the time to share their views with Oklahoma Watchdog. We also spoke to conservative independent Dave White, who very cordially invited us to his home and gave us a very thorough interview. We also interviewed Republican Attorney General candidate Ryan Leonard last year. We always appreciate candidates taking the time to make themselves available, as Democrat Emily Virgin, running for Bill Nations old seat at the Capitol, did recently.

We made numerous attempts to interview Attorney General candidate Scott Pruitt last week. Within an hour of the publication of our story, “Sources question Pruitt’s constitutional law record,” Pruitt’s spokesman, Tyler Laughlin, contacted Oklahoma Watchdog with a comment, which was reported here. Mr. Pruitt was not made available to this media outlet, however we did do a follow-up story headlined “Pruitt campaign defends candidates constitutional credentials” and gave the Pruitt campaign a chance to explain his positions.

And we note, as of today, Pruitt leads Leonard two to one, according to a press release from the Pruitt campaign and linked at Red Dirt Report.

Some candidates, like Tecumseh Republican Shane Jett, considered a dark horse in the 5th Congressional district race, has not made himself available for an interview even though his campaign contact and wife, Ana Jett, said he would meet for an interview with Oklahoma Watchdog. We are still waiting.

Questions have been asked of gubernatorial candidate Randy Brogdon, the state senator from Owasso. A favorite of Tea Party conservatives and constitutionalists, Oklahoma Watchdog has contacted the Brogdon campaign asking about Brogdon’s support of certain bills in the state legislature that note his “yea” vote in favor of money taken from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, also known as the “Stimulus.”

For instance, Brogdon voted yes for SB 131, the Oklahoma Health Care Authority bill – worth $316, 460,502 – and this money was part of the Stimulus. With a slogan of “No Strings Attached,” meaning attached to federal dollars, Brogdon needs to answer why he voted for this, and other Senate and House bills that were using Stimulus funding, something Brogdon has said he does not favor. We are still awaiting a response.

Kaye Beach, an Oklahoma political blogger, researcher and radio-talk-show host who runs the Axxiom for Liberty blog has been reporting on U.S. Rep. Tom Cole, the Moore Republican representing the 4th District who is the incumbent running for re-election. Beach reported that Cole has traveled the world attending conferences and spending thousands and thousands of dollars on lavish accommodations thanks to financial support from the Aspen Institute, a shadowy globalist organization formerly known as the Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies.

Between 2005-2008, the Aspen Institute (for Humanistic Studies) ranked second, just behind the American Israel Education Foundation, when it comes to top sponsors funding congressional travel, according to OpenSecrets.org.

A report in 2006 showed that Cole was one of the top spenders when it came to these privately-funded trips taken by House members, having spent $78,000. Some reports have noted that these Aspen Institute trips are “little more than pricey vacations – often taken in the company of spouses or other relatives – wrapped around speeches or seminars.”

Beach’s research revealed a June 2010 USA Today report that said “the Aspen Institute, a non-partisan think tank, is among the largest trip organizers” with members of Congress. Oklahoma Watchdog, curious about these trips and these “study sessions,” as one former Iowa Democrat called it, trips that included Banff, Alberta Canada (2009); Dubrovnik, Croatia (2009); Berlin Germany (2007); Krakow, Poland (2006); Montego Bay, Jamaica (2006); Istanbul, Turkey (2005); Punta Mita, Mexico (2005); Honolulu, Hawaii (2004); Rome, Italy (2003).

And while we have been unable to ask Cole directly about these issues – an email was sent to a Cole congressional aide based in Norman – we hope he will defend these trips and explain whether or not attending events sponsored by a self-described “humanist” think tank is something someone representing the 4th Congressional District should do.

Copyright 2010 Oklahoma Watchdog