Agricultural News
Senate Candidate Lankford Wants to Be Seen as a Solver of Government Problems
Fri, 24 Jan 2014 13:50:30 CST
Less than a week after announcing his candidacy to serve the last two years of Tom Coburn's Senate seat, Congressman James Lankford sat down and talked with Radio Oklahoma Ag Network Farm Director Ron Hays about why he is running for the US Senate- and what the guiding principles will be if he is selected as the GOP candidate in June and wins the November general election. (Congressman Lankford is pictured here with his family on the evening of his first general election victory in 2010)
Lankford was elected as the fifth district Oklahoma Congressman a little over three years ago- and he says his entrance onto the political stage was really a "total life interuption." Before running for Congress, Lankford had served in the ministry for 22 years until he felt God's Call on his life to enter politics. After serving one full two year term and the first half of a second term, Lankford feels that call again- this time to move from the House to the Senate. He see the Senate as a place to make a difference in several areas, including confirmation of Judges, oversight of Cabinet Officials as well as oversight of the regulators and the regulations that many believe are choking America's way of life.
Lankford says he is not against government, but believes in limited government and believes that his conservative ideas line up with most Oklahoma citizens and the concerns they have about how they live their life and want government to function. The Congressman said that he wants to not be seen as one who just complains about the issues, but as one who rolls up his sleeves and finds ways to solve the problems facing government.
Earlier this week in Tulsa, he told the Tulsa Rotary Club that the biggest issue facing the nation is fiscal responsibility. "Zero balanced budget, and then start working our debt down," said Lankford.
He said progress is made through grunt work away from cameras, and large bills that often become divisive should be broken down into smaller chunks, which gives conservative ideas a better chance of advancing.
"I don't feel like conservatism is defined by anger, I believe conservatism is defined by ideas," said Lankford.
Lankford said it would be premature to talk about specific Committees that he might want to serve on if elected as Coburn's replacement, but that he would continue to focus on the overspending of federal government as a central part of who Senator Lankford would be.
At the end of the conversation, Hays did talk with Congressman Lankford about the Farm Bill- and he expressed confidence in how Oklahoma Congressman Frank Lucas (Chairman of the House Ag Committee and Chair of the Farm Bill Conference Committee) has directed the multiple years of work to bring lawmakers to the brink of completion. Lankford said he could be supportive of the finished product if it achieves two goals- transistions the federal farm safety net to a mostly insurance based safety net and away from direct government payments- and would offer reforms in how we qualify people for nutrition programs.
You can hear the complete interview with Oklahoma Congressman James Lankford by clicking on the LISTEN BAR.
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