Salon.com > James Inhofe

Coburn calls questions about tornado aid “typical Washington B.S.”

Thu, 23 May 2013 16:04:00 +0000

Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., got heated on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" over questions about a potential bill to provide relief to his state after the devastating tornado. "This is all a game, and it's a crass political game because I was being asked these questions before we even pulled the dead people out of the rubble," he said. "So it's just typical Washington B.S., quite frankly."

Coburn, who has argued that there is no need to pass a bill without offsetting the costs with other cuts, pointed to the funding passed after the 1995 Oklahoma City bombings, which was offset. "It's the lamest excuse in the world when we have at least $200 billion of waste, fraud and duplication to say 'oh my gosh we can't do that we have to borrow the money' against the very kids you're saying you want to help."

He added that "it's morally wrong, it's repugnant to me and it's the lamest excuse career politicians can use, and that's why our country is in trouble. That kind of thinking."

Peter King: There’s “hypocrisy” over aid by Oklahoma senators

Wed, 22 May 2013 13:13:00 +0000

Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., said that there's "hypocrisy" on the part of the Oklahoma senators who voted against federal aid for Hurricane Sandy relief, but who now want aid for their state in the wake of the devastating tornado. But, King said, "we have an obligation to come forward" and help the people of Oklahoma.

“I think there’s a lot of hypocrisy involved here, [Sen. James] Inhofe saying Sandy aid was corrupt but Oklahoma won’t be,” King told Politico. “But I don’t want to hold the people of Oklahoma responsible for what elected officials are saying, for the husband and wife without a home, for the people who lost all their worldly possessions.”

Inhofe, a Republican, said Tuesday that tornado aid is "totally different" from Hurricane Sandy aid. His colleague, Tom Coburn, also a Republican, called for aid to the state to be offset with cuts elsewhere.

Oklahoma senator: Tornado aid “totally different” from Sandy aid

Tue, 21 May 2013 15:12:00 +0000

Sen. James Inhofe, a Republican from Oklahoma, argued that there is no comparison between Hurricane Sandy relief, which he voted against last fall, and aid for his state in the wake of Monday's devastating tornado because the two are "totally different."

Inhofe contended on Tuesday that the Hurricane Sandy relief bill was different because it was filled with pork. “They were getting things, for instance, that was supposed to be in New Jersey," he said on MSNBC. "They had things in the Virgin Islands. They were fixing roads there, they were putting roofs on houses in Washington, D.C. Everybody was getting in and exploiting the tragedy that took place. That won’t happen in Oklahoma.”

Oklahoma senator wants to offset tornado aid with other cuts

Tue, 21 May 2013 13:04:00 +0000

Sen. Tom Coburn, a Republican from Oklahoma, said that he would "absolutely" push to offset any federal relief for the devastating tornado in Oklahoma with cuts elsewhere, Roll Call reports.

"That's always been his position [to offset disaster aid]," Coburn spokesman John Hart told the Huffington Post. "He supported offsets to the bill funding the OKC bombing recovery effort."

Both Coburn and his colleague James Inhofe, also a Republican from Oklahoma, have repeatedly voted against federal disaster relief for various parts of the country, including, most recently, the aid package for Hurricane Sandy victims. Both have also opposed increasing FEMA's funding.

But, as the Huffington Post points out, Coburn and Inhofe have also previously supported disaster aid for their own state:

House GOPer: Obama could be impeached over Benghazi

Tue, 14 May 2013 16:10:00 +0000

Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, said that it's "certainly a possibility" that President Obama will be impeached over the attacks in Benghazi.

"It’s certainly a possibility," Chaffetz told the Salt Lake Tribune when asked on Monday. "That’s not the goal but given the continued lies perpetrated by this administration, I don’t know where it’s going to go. ... I’m not taking it off the table. I’m not out there touting that but I think this gets to the highest levels of our government and integrity and honesty are paramount."

“Impeach Obama! Again!”

Fri, 10 May 2013 19:30:00 +0000

Taking things to their logical conclusion this afternoon, Oklahoma Republican Sen. Jim Inhofe suggested on a conservative radio show that President Obama may be be impeached over Benghazi. “Of all the great coverups in history -- the Pentagon papers, the Iran-Contra, Watergate and all the rest of them -- this … is going to go down as the most serious,” Inhofe said, a tad hyperbolically. “People may be starting to use the I-word," he added.

There's no doubt that people will start using the "the I-word" around Benghazi considering they've already invoked impeachment so, so, so many other times. Here's a brief history of threats to impeach President Obama that have gone nowhere, in no particular order:

Inhofe: Clinton showed “forceful attitude” you usually “don’t hear from women”

Fri, 10 May 2013 18:21:00 +0000

Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., said that Hillary Clinton showed a "forceful attitude" not usually heard from women when she blew up in January's Senate hearings on Benghazi, in response to repeated questions about the State Department's initial claims that the attacks were the result of protests.

"I think that she has gotten by with that type of a forceful attitude, something that's not normally accustomed -- that you don't hear from women as much as you do men. And she came out so forcefully, and you could tell that it was orchestrated at the time that she said it," Inhofe said in an interview Thursday on “The Rusty Humphries Show."

Republicans embrace conspiracy theory that DHS is buying up ammo

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 22:25:00 +0000

A conspiracy theory is getting renewed life among Republicans who claim that the Obama administration, specifically the Department of Homeland Security, is buying up ammunition in order to thwart gun owners by taking over the market. Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., and Rep. Frank Lucas, both Republicans from Oklahoma, introduced a bill last week to crack down on the alleged practice.

The Hill reports:

Oklahoma Sen. Jim Inhofe and Rep. Frank Lucas have introduced a bill that would prohibit every government agency — except the military — from buying more ammunition each month, than the monthly average it purchased from 2001 to 2009.

The lawmakers say the Obama administration is buying up exceedingly high levels of ammunition in an attempt to limit the number of bullets the American public have access to on the open marketplace.

Inhofe argued that Obama has been "adamant about curbing law-abiding Americans’ access and opportunities to exercise their Second Amendment rights," and that "One way the Obama Administration is able to do this is by limiting what’s available in the market with federal agencies purchasing unnecessary stockpiles of ammunition."

More GOP Hagel hypocrisy

Thu, 14 Feb 2013 23:22:00 +0000

When Senate Republicans blocked Chuck Hagel’s confirmation to be secretary of Defense this afternoon by voting against a cloture motion to end debate and move to a final vote, they insisted it was not a filibuster. “This is not a filibuster. I realize that's the headline the majority leader would like the papers to write,” Texas Sen. John Cornyn said on the Senate floor while filibustering Hagel.

The cloture motion fell two votes short, securing only 58 of the 60 votes Democrats needed to break the GOP obstruction. Republicans had 40 votes against cloture, and in the crazy rules of the Senate, that wins.

The hold or filibuster, or whatever Cornyn would call it, came as conservatives buzzed about a speech Hagel gave to the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination League (ADC) in 2007. A conservative blog today claimed that Hagel suggested in the speech that Israel controlled the State Department. The former Republican senator has come under fire from Republicans for being critical of Israeli policy in the past and referring to the “Israel lobby,” so the State Department quote would be problematic, if true.

GOP senator threatens to block women from serving in combat

Fri, 25 Jan 2013 16:38:00 +0000

Earlier this week, the Pentagon announced that it will lift the military ban on women serving in combat. This did not go over well among conservatives. But now one Republican senator is taking it to the next level, threatening to block the move with legislation.

Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., said Thursday in a statement:

"But I want everyone to know that the Senate Armed Services Committee, of which I am the Ranking Member, will have a period to provide oversight and review. During that time, if necessary, we will be able to introduce legislation to stop any changes we believe to be detrimental to our fighting forces and their capabilities. I suspect there will be cases where legislation becomes necessary."

He also said: “Because that policy has worked so well for so long, I am concerned about the potential impacts of completely ending this policy."

Republican opposition downs UN disability treaty

Tue, 04 Dec 2012 22:40:00 +0000

WASHINGTON (AP) — Led by Republican opposition, the Senate on Tuesday rejected a United Nations treaty on the rights of the disabled that is modeled after the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act.

With 38 Republicans casting "no" votes, the 61-38 vote fell five short of the two-thirds majority needed to ratify a treaty. The vote took place in an unusually solemn atmosphere, with senators sitting at their desks rather than milling around the podium. Former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, looking frail and in a wheelchair, was in the chamber to support the treaty.

The treaty, already signed by 155 nations and ratified by 126 countries, including Britain, France, Germany, China and Russia, states that nations should strive to assure that the disabled enjoy the same rights and fundamental freedoms as their fellow citizens. Republicans objected to taking up a treaty during the lame-duck session of the Congress and warned that the treaty could pose a threat to U.S. national sovereignty.

"I do not support the cumbersome regulations and potentially overzealous international organizations with anti-American biases that infringe upon American society," said Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla.