John Sullivan responds to smears

Congressman John Sullivan, facing his first significant primary challenge since his first election in 2001, sent out the following email Saturday rebutting false claims about his voting record:

Dear Friends and fellow Republicans:

I wanted to take a few minutes of your time to address a couple of issues that have come up in the last minutes of this campaign.

My opponents have sent mail to many of you, making false and baseless attacks on my record of consistent, conservative leadership in Congress.

I wanted to go through a few of the things they've said and tell you the truth.

They say that I "support Planned Parenthood."

Truth is: I have a 100% voting record with National Right to Life. No one is more pro-life and dedicated to the pro-life movement than I am. In fact, I support the Pence Amendment which strips all federal funding from Planned Parenthood.

They say I "voted for the stimulus."

Truth is: I never voted for the stimulus or any stimulus dollars for any federal project. In fact, I have a 91% voting record with the Club for Growth and received the Defender of Economic Freedom Award this year. NO REPUBLICAN IN CONGRESS VOTED FOR THE STIMULUS. PERIOD.

They say I "vote in lock-step with Nancy Pelosi."

Truth is: I have a 100% legislative score with the American Conservative Union. I was honored to earn the Defender of Liberty Award with the A.C.U. this year. That is the highest score in the Oklahoma delegation serving in Washington. I don't support Nancy Pelosi's agenda, I never have, I never will.

They criticize me for checking into the Betty Ford Center last year.

Truth is: I won't apologize for my treatment at Betty Ford. It was the best decision I could make. I appreciate the thousands of you who have reached out in support of me and my family.

They say I "support a national police force" and that I "authored a bill to create a health care bureaucracy."

Truth is: I support small government. I introduced a ground-breaking bill this year to limit the size of the federal government. I don't support nationalization of police forces and I will stand in the way of any efforts to create such systems.

I also voted against the sweeping health care legislation passed by the Democrat controlled House this year. That bill grows the federal government and I believe it goes against the Constitution in its scope and reach.

And lastly, and possibly most ridiculously, they say I "support amnesty for illegal immigrants."

Truth is: You will never find a candidate with a stronger anti-illegal immigration stance than me. I have an A+ rating with NumbersUSA, the foremost advocate on immigration reform in the US. I have worked tirelessly with Tulsa Sheriff Stanley Glanz to establish the 287(g) program which cross-deputizes deputies to rid our communities of the most dangerous criminals on the streets today. This is the most ridiculous and baseless of their lies.

I've never seen the kind of despicable lies told by my opponents as I have seen in this election cycle.

It's disappointing to see members of my own party resort to the politics of personal destruction.

In this campaign, I have never publicly stated a negative word about my opponents. I'm running on my record, they are running on their rhetoric.

The proof will be seen on Tuesday.

Sincerely,

John Sullivan

For more information on my consistent, conservative voting record please visit my website at www.johnsullivanforcongress.com/about/buzz/

Just yesterday I received an email with the subject "JOHN SULLIVAN WANTS TO GIVE OUR CHILDREN AND OUR PROPERTY TO THE GOV.", falsely claiming that he voted for two bills to expand the size and scope of federal government control and power -- the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 (H.R. 146) and the G.I.V.E. Act (H. R. 1338). In fact, he and all the Republicans in the Oklahoma delegation voted AGAINST both bills, which nevertheless passed and were signed into law. (Dan Boren voted against H.R. 146 but for H. R. 1338.)

Here are links to the details:

Major Congressional Actions on Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 (H.R. 146)
House roll call on Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 (H.R. 146)
Senate roll call on Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 (H.R. 146)

All Oklahoma congressmen and senators also voted against the Senate version of the bill, S. 22, which died in the House.

Major Congressional Actions on Serve America Act (aka the G.I.V.E. Act) (H.R. 1338)
House roll call on Serve America Act (aka the G.I.V.E. Act) (H.R. 1338)
Senate roll call on Serve America Act (aka the G.I.V.E. Act) (H.R. 1338)

The Senate version of the bill died in committee.

As I told my correspondent, "Whoever is feeding you this information is either very sloppy with their research or very dishonest."

MORE:

So now, Sullivan's accusers are saying that because he voted for an earlier version of H.R. 1388, he wants to turn our children into brownshirts. Here's the earlier version of the bill that Sullivan and other Oklahoma Republicans voted to approve. It was a lengthy amendment to existing legislation involving existing service programs like VISTA and Americorps. Here is the version that Sullivan and all other Oklahoma Republicans voted against. A quick comparison of the tables of contents of the two versions reveals sections added and deleted between the version that originally passed the House and the final version that went to the president.

Likewise, the original version of H.R. 146 that passed the House (with the support of the entire Oklahoma House delegation) was called the "Revolutionary War and War of 1812 Battlefield Preservation Act," a six-page bill authorizing Dept. of Interior grants to protect battlefields. The version that came back from the Senate was the 446-page Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009, and the entire Oklahoma delegation voted against it.

Sullivan did vote for the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008, but this stimulus involved giving money back to the taxpayers, not spending on pork projects. While making the Bush tax cuts permanent would have been the better path, that wasn't going to happen with the Democrats in the majority. A tax rebate was better relief than nothing at all.

Sullivan voted for the October 2008 TARP bailout, along with 90 other House Republicans. Frank Lucas was the only Oklahoma congressman to vote no, and our two Senators split -- Coburn voted yes and Inhofe voted no. I was disappointed with that vote, it was the wrong decision, and Sullivan, Cole, Fallin, and Coburn should have known better than to be panicked into voting for it. In December 2009, Sullivan called for the Secretary of the Treasury to end TARP and return the funds (including those paid back) to the Treasury for debt reduction, rather than spend surplus funds on a jobs program as the Democrats wanted.

When TARP was enacted, the public debt limit was increased to $11.3 trillion. Since January, the national debt has increased more than $1.4 trillion, and Congress is now set to consider a debt limit increase of up to $13.2 trillion, the fourth debt limit increase since July 2008. Not spending the remaining TARP funds, $246 billion according to the last SIGTARP quarterly report, will reduce the already staggering amount our nation is borrowing.

SIGTARP also reported repayments of $72.9 billion, $9.5 billion from dividends and interest and $2.9 billion in proceeds from sale of warrants. All of these TARP receipts and future receipts must be devoted to debt reduction rather than spent on further government interventions or other programs. While estimates vary on the final cost to the taxpayers from TARP, all estimates are that the taxpayers will lose billions of dollars and that there will be no profit from TARP. Ensuring every dime of income goes to debt reduction reduces the taxpayers' ultimate loss.

The first TARP program, the Capital Purchase Program, offered taxpayers the greatest opportunity to recover their investment. Additional programs added to TARP, such as assistance to the automakers and AIG, carry much less assurance for the taxpayers, and the mortgage modification program will result in no recoupment for the taxpayers. The longer the remaining unspent TARP funds and revenue remain on the table, the more money that will be spent and not recovered. The emergency has ended, and TARP must end as well.