Dean and DNC Women’s Caucus Chair Reiley Respond to Supreme Court Decision to Limit Equal Pay Cases

Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean and DNC Women’s Caucus Chair Mame Reiley issued the following statement following the Supreme Court’s decision to limit workers’ ability to hold employers accountable:

“Unequal pay has real consequences for America’s hard working families and the Supreme Court’s decision to limit workers’ ability to hold employers accountable for pay discrimination just makes the problem worse. The fact remains that women still earn 77 cents for every dollar men make. Our values tell us that men and women who do the same work should receive the same compensation. Democrats in Congress are keeping their word by taking strong action to remedy the pay gap including passing legislation to raise the federal minimum wage.”

Thank You Oklahoma Democrats

When Gov. Henry asked me to work with him for the Oklahoma Democratic Party in 2005, I was honored to accept his support and committed to running a statewide campaign for the office of state party chair.

After a vigorous campaign, I was gratified to earn an overwhelming majority in the election for chair at the Democratic Party state convention in May of that year.

The challenges we faced were substantial, but we worked hard every day and reached out to Democrats across the state to help us achieve our goals of being fiscally responsible and putting on the right track.

We worked together for two years to stabilize and expand the reach of the state party.

We worked together for two years to organize, mobilize and energize Oklahoma Democrats, making difficult, but necessary, decisions to implement our strategy for success.

We worked together for two years to develop new avenues of communication for our activists, candidates and elected officials.

We started this blog a year ago to enhance our capacity to provide meaningful information to Democrats about the state party and issues of consequence. We were one of the first Democratic state parties to establish a blog written by officers and staff.

We also expanded our email list to provide consistent contact with Oklahoma Democrats. If you are not receiving our email newsletters please let the party know you want to be added to the list.

We worked together to include more and more of our neighbors in the Democratic family. From Broken Bow to Guymon, Miami to Hollis, we reached out to all who believe in the principles of the Democratic party and invited them to get involved in our efforts.

We worked together with the Democratic National Committee through the Partnership Program that brought us three full-time staff members to assist Democrats across the state with training and winning elections.

We worked together to create new partnerships and initiatives to revitalize the party and place it on a solid foundation for the future.

We re-elected Governor Henry by an astounding margin, held our other statewide offices and gained two more.

And, we did all of this while paying our bills and dramatically reducing (by 90%) the debt the party faced at the end of 2004.

Through it all we remained true to our core Democratic values of compassion, accountability, responsibility and equality, and proved that we are a party that is fair, tough and fiscally responsible.

We have shown what the Oklahoma Democratic Party can do when it unifies around the guiding principle of electing Democrats - without prefix, suffix or qualification. For in the end, majority matters and Oklahoma will be a better place with Democrats leading the way.

Time and space do not allow all the thank yous that should be made so this last blog entry from me will have to suffice as A GIANT THANK YOU to all who assisted us in establishing a stronger Oklahoma Democratic Party and electing Democrats.

So THANK YOU, Oklahoma Democrats and best wishes to the new leadership of the Oklahoma Democratic Party!


Lisa Pryor
Chair, Oklahoma Democratic Party
2005-2007

Hoskin: Affordable Healthcare for Oklahomans and Small Businesses Receives Approval


Representative Chuck Hoskin, D- Vinita, released a statement today regarding the passage HB 1225, which expands the ‘Insure Oklahoma’ program.

“The passage of this bill is truly a victory for hard working Oklahomans and small businesses across the State,” said Representative Hoskin. “Senator Sean Burrage, D- Claremore, and I have been working on this issue extensively since the beginning of Session. Not only is the Insure Oklahoma Program essential to relieving the high cost of healthcare insurance premiums from Oklahoma’s families and small businesses, it also provides health insurance to a group of people who can’t afford health insurance.”

Currently, an estimated 600,000 Oklahomans do not have health insurance coverage.

The Insure Oklahoma, or O-EPIC, Program helps small businesses with 50 or fewer employees pay for health insurance coverage for workers. Participating employers and employees pay a portion of their health insurance premiums with the state picking up the rest of the tab. The federal/state government pays 60 percent of the cost, employers pay 25 percent and employees pay 15 percent.

House Bill 1225 expands the program to cover employees earning up to 250 percent of the federal poverty level. Currently, the premium assistance program limits eligibility to employees earning no more than 185 percent of the federal poverty level. The bill also expands the Program to include businesses with 250 or fewer employees eligible for assistance.

“I am committed to providing access to affordable healthcare to all Oklahomans,” said Hoskin. “This is a step in the right direction and allows small business to free up revenue to invest in themselves and Oklahoma’s economy. This bill will go a long ways towards ensuring that Oklahomans who work hard and play by the rules don’t have to worry about losing everything because of an illness or injury.”

42,000 Kids

The State Senate passed the "All Kids Act" Monday to provide healthcare for 42,000 uninsured Oklahoma children. Senator Tom Adelson, D-Tulsa, says that Oklahoma children deserve at least the minimum care that is provided to the state's prison inmates. Read about it here and here.

State Convention Resolutions

On Saturday the delegates to the 2007 Oklahoma Democratic Party State Convention adopted resolutions developed through a process that began with the precincts in March and moved through county and district conventions and committees to the state resolutions committee in May. The state resolutions commitee prepared the resolutions and presented them to the convention delegates in Oklahoma City on May 19th. The delegates approved the resolutions package without amendments.

To read the resolutions visit the State Convention blog here.

Senate Moves Immigration Bill Forward

For a review of yesterday's action in the US Senate on the issue of immigration read today's story in the Washington Post here. The action comes weeks after the Oklahoma Legislature passed an immigration bill that some say will be dwarfed by the federal bill if it passes through Congress and lands on the President's desk.

Congratulations to New ODP Officers

Congratulations to the new Oklahoma Democratic Party chairman Ivan Holmes, elected Saturday at the 2007 State Convention in Oklahoma City. Holmes will be working with newly elected vicechair Kitti Asberry who recently completed a third term as Oklahoma County chair. Jana Harkins was elected as treasurer. Delegates re-elected state secretary Walter Jenny, Jr. for a second two-year term.

Democratic National Committee Chair Governor Howard Dean delivered the keynote address to enthusiastic applause from te 600+ delegates. Dean said the next elections will be won by speaking simply and from the heart to the voters about our Democratic values ---- especially fairness, toughness and fiscal responsibility.

If you were there let our readers know your thoughts about the convention.

State Convention Updates
Click here for State Convention Updates.

Boren Will Host Telephone Town Hall Mtg

Constituents of the Second District are invited to join U.S. Congressman Dan Boren for his first-ever telephone town hall meeting. It is being held tonight, Thursday, May 17, at 6:30 to 7:15 p.m. Dial toll-free 1-866-447-5149 and enter 12913 when prompted to participate in the meeting. Participants will be able to discuss local, state, and national issues. They will also be able to submit their own questions as well as answer questions by way of the touchpad.

Google Nudity

While Google can continue to return thumbnail images of nudity in routine searches, this blog will not publish nude images. Read the story here.

Ann Coulter, George Bush, Lance Cargill, Sally Kern

247,450

That's the number of Hispanics living and working in Oklahoma. Get data here. Hispanics are the fastest growing minority group in the state with a 38% increase since 2000.

How many racists live in Oklahoma? Does the census bureau collect that data?

Senate Immigration Bill Close
Just days after the Oklahoma legislature passed a "draconian" immigration bill that many say is unconstitutional and unenforceable the, US Senate is close to an agreement on immigration. Chief negotiator for the Democrats is Senator Edward Kennedy. Seems that the Republicans want a debate on the issue while Democrats want a solution to the problem. Go figure. Read more here.

Show me the money

Check it out....684 Oklahomans have already contributed nearly a million dollars to the 2008 presidential candidates and most of that has gone to Democrats! Get the details here.

DNC ANNOUNCES DATES, MEDIA SPONSORS AND LOCATIONS FOR SANCTIONED DEBATES

The Democratic National Committee in partnership with six state parties today announced the dates, media sponsors and cities for the six DNC sanctioned debates. Additional details regarding specifics for the individual debates including additional media partners and logistics will be announced at a later time. The DNC sanctioned debate schedule will be:

DNC SANCTIONED DEBATES:

July 23, 2007: YouTube/Google and CNN in Charleston, SC

August 19, 2007: ABC in Des Moines, IA

September 26, 2007: NBC News/MSNBC in Hanover, NH

October 30, 2007: NBC News/MSNBC in Philadelphia, PA

November 15, 2007: CNN* in Las Vegas, NV

December 10, 2007: CBS in Los Angeles, CA

"Our strong field of Democratic candidates have been working hard, talking about the issues the American people care about and laying out a positive vision for America’s future," said DNC Chairman Howard Dean. "We are grateful to the media sponsors and our state parties for their role in providing important, diverse settings for the American people to hear directly from our candidates."

Dean Will Address Colbert Nation

DNC Chairman Howard Dean will appear on Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report" tonight at 10:30 pm. Governor Dean is scheduled at 10:45 pm. The show will re-air tomorrow, May 17 at 9:30 AM, 1:30 PM and 7:30 PM.

Alaskan Bribery Conspiracy Spreads through the GOP Ranks

Two executives from the Alaskan based oil company Veco have plead guilty to federal bribery, extortion, and conspiracy charges. Founder and Chief Executive Bill Allen and Vice President Rick Smith have taken a plea agreement on the charges which requires them to disclose full details of the bribery and extortion they have been engages in with Republican legislators so they would vote favorably for them. Veco and it's employees have given more than one million dollars to Republicans since 1990. Twenty-four thousand of those dollars went to President Bush's campaigns. Bill Allen even served as Bush's 2000 state financial co-chairman during the campaign.


The two executives admitted to bribing one current Alaskan representative, Vic Kohring, and two former representatives, Pete Kott and Bruce Weyhrauch. The legislators have all plead not guilty to federal bribery and extortion charges. Veco was looking for favorable changes in Alaskan tax laws and other legislation. The company repaid thousands of dollars in bonuses to employees for making "donations" to both state and federal Republican candidates. Both Allen and Smith could possible face up to ten years in prison and have to pay 750 thousand dollars in fines. However, since they are cooperating their penalties could be substantially reduced. More and more Republicans are being implicated in this bribery scandal as the investigation continues.

For updates and more information check out http://www.adn.com/news/politics/fbi/

Convention Rules

Rules of the 2007 State Convention are posted on the State Convention Blog. Click here to read the rules.

Get Your Democratic Gear
At the ODP Convention Friday night. Tigereye will have a booth with candidate and party logos and photos.

Join us for the 2007
Oklahoma Democratic Party
State Convention
Friday- Sunday

For details call the ODP HQ at 405.427.3366

Interdenominational Faith Service Planned

The Oklahoma Democratic Party (ODP) will host an interdenominational faith service Sunday May, 20 at 8:00 a.m. inside the Bricktown Events Center in conjunction with its 2007 State Convention.

ODP Faith Committee Chairman Rev. Jeff Hamilton said the service “is an interfaith gathering integrating an inclusive spiritual community with music and word.”

It will bring together readings from the New Testament and the Koran, as well as Hebrew scripture and Buddhist prayer and meditation. There will also be live music and a reading from a Dr. Martin Luther King sermon.

ODP Chairman Lisa Pryor said, the service is a unique experience for people from all faiths, to come together in respect for personal faith.

“By bringing these varied groups together, we hope to spread knowledge and create a greater since of tolerance throughout our Democratic family and our state,” Pryor said.