Blog search

Primary night at Sullivan HQ

We pulled into the Sullivan HQ parking lot shortly before 9 p.m. on election night. We were just coming back into Tulsa after five days away. We voted Friday morning at the election board, then headed southwest to hear the magnificent final performances of the choir and orchestra at...

Posted by Michael Bates on June 30, 2012 11:36 PM

Retired Lt. Colonel thanks John Sullivan for cutting red tape

Jerry Sullivan, a retired Lt. Colonel in the US Army Reserve and retired special agent for the U. S. Customs Service, sent along a letter in appreciation of the help his family received from Oklahoma 1st District Congressman John Sullivan in dealing with the federal bureaucracy. (Jerry Sullivan is not...

Posted by Michael Bates on June 26, 2012 12:21 AM

Oklahoma primary eve political notebook

People keep sending me stuff. Here's a sampler, with a few thoughts of my own: Pat McGuigan of CapitolBeatOK has a story about State Rep. George Faught's late surge in the 2nd Congressional District. The story notes the Faught campaign's strong cash position going into the home stretch and his...

Posted by Michael Bates on June 25, 2012 12:00 AM

Jim Bridenstine's life-time voting record: 8

A week ago Monday, June 4, 2012, KFAQ hosted a congressional debate between incumbent Congressman John Sullivan and challenger Jim Bridenstine, the two Republican candidates for the 1st Congressional District. Host Pat Campbell came out with guns blazing. The first question to Bridenstine was about his departure from the Tulsa...

Posted by Michael Bates on June 14, 2012 11:00 PM

Sullivan biggest OK cost-cutter on Energy and Water Appropriations bill

In a web op-ed attacking House GOP leadership (or lack thereof) for thwarting amendments to cut wasteful spending in the Energy and Water Appropriations Bill, Richard Viguerie, a prominent leader in the national conservative movement since before the Reagan administration, singled out votes on eight defeated amendments. These eight amendments...

Posted by Michael Bates on June 14, 2012 6:18 PM

New advertiser: John Sullivan for Congress

BatesLine is pleased to welcome a new advertiser: John Sullivan for Congress. First elected to replace Steve Largent in a 2002 special election, Congressman Sullivan is seeking re-election to his sixth full term. His ads highlight his consistent conservative record, as evidenced by ratings by conservative watchdog groups like Numbers...

Posted by Michael Bates on April 23, 2012 9:23 PM

Sullivan wins passage of regulatory relief bill

Yesterday, Tulsa Congressman John Sullivan's bill to provide regulatory relief to the American cement industry, HR 2681, passed by a vote of 262-161. According to an email from Sullivan, the bill "puts the brakes on a costly, overbearing EPA rule that threatens to shut 20% of the U.S. cement manufacturing...

Posted by Michael Bates on October 7, 2011 12:52 AM

Sullivan on Boehner Plan plus Balanced Budget Amendment

After the Boehner plan (as it stood Thursday afternoon) failed to command enough votes to pass, the proposal was strengthened by adding back in to the bill a requirement that Congress pass a balanced budget amendment and send it to the states for ratification prior to any further increase in...

Posted by Michael Bates on July 30, 2011 3:03 PM

What would the Boehner Plan achieve?

Earlier today, I had the privilege of participating in a teleconference, along with a half-dozen other Tulsa area activists, with Oklahoma 1st District Congressman John Sullivan and Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan regarding House Speaker John Boehner's proposal (officially known as the Budget Control Act of 2011) for raising the debt...

Posted by Michael Bates on July 29, 2011 12:35 AM

Sullivan: Encourage domestic production to bring gas prices down

An op-ed by Sullivan appeared in the Sunday, May 8, 2011, Washington Examiner. Sullivan addresses the connection between the price of gas and the obstacles placed in the path of domestic oil and gas exploration by the Obama Administration. He writes: The best way to moderate gasoline prices is a...

Posted by Michael Bates on May 12, 2011 7:27 PM

Sullivan opposes continuing resolution; Coburn proposes cuts of $20 billion

Congressman John Sullivan was the lone House member from Oklahoma to vote against H.J.Res. 48, the latest short-term continuing resolution, designed to continue funding the government in the absence of an actual budget. Sullivan issued this statement: Enough is enough, the American people didn't elect us to continue kicking the...

Posted by Michael Bates on March 16, 2011 8:04 AM

KOTV finds Dahm claims on Sullivan record "misleading"

The News on 6 examined congressional candidate Nathan Dahm's rebuttal of Congressman John Sullivan's debunking of false claims about his voting record. The News on 6 story specifically labeled Dahm's claims "misleading" regarding Sullivan's 2008 stimulus vote and his immigration record: Challenger Nathan Dahm responded with what he calls, "The...

Posted by Michael Bates on July 27, 2010 1:27 AM

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...

Posted by Michael Bates on July 25, 2010 11:09 AM

Sullivan discusses natural gas regulation on CNBC's Mad Money

On the February 9, 2010, edition of CNBC's Mad Money with Jim Kramer, Oklahoma 1st District Congressman John Sullivan discussed the regulatory obstacles to using America's reserves of natural gas to move toward energy independence. Kramer called Sullivan one of the "good guys in Washington when it comes to the...

Posted by Michael Bates on February 18, 2010 2:50 PM

Sullivan town halls in Tulsa and BA Monday

Oklahoma 1st District Congressman John Sullivan will conduct two town halls tomorrow, Monday, August 31, 2009. At 2 p.m. Sullivan will meet with constituents at the NSU-BA Auditorium. At 4 p.m., there will be a town hall in the TCC PACE on the TCC southeast campus at 81st and US...

Posted by Michael Bates on August 30, 2009 4:55 PM

Welcome home, John Sullivan

Monday evening I attended a reception welcoming Congressman John Sullivan back from his month at the Betty Ford Center. Sullivan checked himself into the center for rehabilitation for alcoholism. Since his return, he has made himself widely available for interviews with print and broadcast media about the impact of alcohol...

Posted by Michael Bates on July 6, 2009 11:55 PM

Sullivan checks in to Betty Ford Center

By now you've seen the statement, released Friday afternoon by Oklahoma 1st District Congressman John Sullivan, that on Thursday he checked himself into the Betty Ford Center for treatment to deal with his addiction to alcohol. The announcement was a surprise, as I had never seen anything in his behavior...

Posted by Michael Bates on May 30, 2009 5:04 PM

An "all of the above" energy solution

You'll notice a new advertiser atop the right-hand sidebar. Congressman John Sullivan is calling on 1st District voters to sign his petition asking the House Democratic leadership to schedule a vote on an "all of the above" energy policy, to include exploration within the U. S. as well as the...

Posted by Michael Bates on August 5, 2008 12:14 PM

Fair Tax, Bernest Cain, DelGiorno in a fat suit

I had the pleasure of being Gwen Freeman's sidekick this morning on 1170 KFAQ. Michael DelGiorno was at home, part of a reality TV segment that will run on NBC's Today later this month -- his pregnant wife is being pampered at a hotel, while Michael wears a pregnancy prosthesis...

Posted by Michael Bates on April 14, 2006 4:06 PM