Rep. John Sullivan Checks Into Betty Ford Clinic

First District Congressman John Sullivan has checked himself into the Betty Ford Clinic to treat his "addiction to alcohol." The announcement was made in a relatively brief email statement that went out from Sullivan's campaign address, not from his congressional office.

The statement and corresponding press release went out shortly before 5 pm on Friday. It is a common Washington D.C. practice to release bad or damaging news just before the close of business on the last day of the week, in order to shorten the press cycle.

The statement stat

es that Sullivan will be taking a leave of absence from Congress, but does not state for how long. It merely states that Sullivan looks "forward to returning to serve and work for [his constituents] in the House of Representatives as soon as possible."

It remains to be seen what kind of impact this action will have on Sullivan's political career. Checking into a clinic for rehab never helps, but is far less damaging than if he had been arrested for an alcohol relat

ed offense. Voters are generally very forgiving of those who recognize a problem and seek help.

However, this development will likely have some of the sharks in the Democratic Party pool swimming a little more aggressively, now that they can smell Sullivan's blood in the water. The next few months will be critical ones for Sullivan. First he must successfully complete treatment. Then, he'll have to go about the process of getting before supporters to explain the situation. If he fails to be contrite, it is likely he will lose the lion's share of support he might have from the conservative base of the local party.

Sullivan was already in damage control mode of late, due to his affirmative vote on the first round of stimulus money last fall.

The following text is the complete statement sent out by the Sullivan campaign to supporters:

A Message to the Constituents of the First District of Oklahoma

Today, Congressman John Sullivan released the following statement:

"Last night, I checked myself in to the Betty Ford Center in California to treat my addiction to alcohol.

To ensure my success in this fight, I’ve decided to take a temporary leave of absence from Congress. I value my relationship with the citizens of Oklahoma’s First Congressional District, whom I am privileged and honored to have served for the past eight years. So, I wanted to be open and honest on this tough situation.

I ask for your continued support and prayers as I face the challenges that lay ahead. I look forward to returning to serve and work for you in the House of Representatives as soon as possible.

My family is going through a difficult time right now and I ask that you respect their privacy and keep us in your thoughts and prayers. With God’s help and strength, I will get through this most challenging time in my life."

# # #

[More] Congressman Sullivan's communication's director, John Tidwell, sent me a copy of the press release that was sent out to the media. The text of the document is identical to that sent to supporters and constituents. The media release was sent out by the congressman's D.C. office. As noted above, the notice to supporters was sent via a campaign account.

Friday, May 29th Edition of TCMS

NEW PODCAST: Listen to my lengthy interview with Charlie Biggs, editor and publisher of the Tulsa Beacon newspaper. We discuss the 2009 Oklahoma Legislative Session and statewide politics. Plus my take on the mayoral polling that is going on in Tulsa. Click the link below or iTunes to hear the latest show.

Click Here:

Mayoral Polling Going On

I got a call this afternoon from a DC area code. Usually I don't pick up such calls from outside area codes, because they almost always end up being irradiating telemarketer calls. But I had a feeling this time it would be political in nature and I was right.

It was a poll.

The call asked if I had a positive, negative or neutral opinion of four of the six Republican Tulsa city councilors; Martinson, Christiansen, Eagleton and Westcott. I was then asked if each of the four were the GOP nominee against Kathy Taylor in the general election, would I vote for the councilor in question, or Mayor Taylor.

I had received word that Rick Westcott was doing polling and would wait for the results to determine if he would run for Mayor this year. It is unlikely that Westcott would be conducting a poll on his own that also tested the electability of three other GOP councilors. So, it appears to me that the four councilors might be pooling resources to see which of the four would be the best candidate to take on Taylor.

I have placed calls to both the Tulsa County Republican chair, Sally Bell, and state chair Gary Jones to find out if either or both organizations are behind the polling. Jones said my call was the first he'd heard of the polling. He also said something intriguing. "You mean those guys still haven't figured out which one of them they're going to run?" Jones asked?

I would very much doubt that the local party would conduct such a poll, since they already spent more a substantial sum on a poll earlier in the year, which is currently a controversial topic inside the county GOP, since no one knows for sure who authorized the expenditure. That poll included the same four councilors as today's polling, with the addition of South Tulsa Citizen's Coalition spokesperson Michael Covey.

The fact that only the councilors are included in this poll, without any other possible candidates, surely indicates that those elements of the local GOP who are happy with the current council's "mamby-pamby," no public disagreement approach. Looking at the four, there isn't a single reformer in the bunch.

Color me skeptical about the whole lot of them.

TCMS: Wednesday, May 27

Hear the latest edition of The Chris Medlock Show...fresh off the uh...the uh...microphone. Topics include the Wall Street Journal implying Oklahoma AG Drew Edminson is involved in a racket, and the growing scandal around the downtown baseball park. Click on the link below to listen.

Click here.

Is Tom Coburn Not Going to Seek Re-Election?

There's been much speculation as to whether or not Oklahoma's junior senator, Tom Coburn, will seek to run for his seat again this year. The one term senator, who also spent six years in the House, has been surprisingly mum about his plans. An announcement made earlier this week, indicated that Coburn would declare his intentions some time in the next couple of weeks.

However, there are interesting indications from other politicos that makes it look like Coburn might return to his medical practice. Word is out today, that J.C. Watts is considering a run for Coburn's senate seat, rather than making a run for Governor as speculated. Also, former governor Frank Keating is said to be eyeing a run for Coburn's seat, as well.

This begs the obvious question. Why would either high profile Republican be considering a run for the Senate, if they believed Coburn was going to seek re-election? As such, it is obvious that rumors that Coburn won't run have reached a level where prospective candidates now feel comfortable letting their interest in a senatorial run leak out to the public.

I for one, will be very disappointed if Coburn doesn't run again. Color me a big fan.

"DJ Jazzy Clay" Clark Is Running for Mayor

No, I'm not putting a picture that I photoshopped of Tulsa mayoral candidate Clay Clark, in order to make him look foolish. The photo to the left is one that Clark himself posted as part of a web site touting his vision for the City of Tulsa. And this isn't one of the more unusual photos Clark's campaign is using to get attention for their candidate.

I met Clark Tuesday night at the meeting of the Tulsa Area Republican Assembly. He seemed like a very likable, if not overly caffeinated young

man, very eager to please and to be seen as a viable and serious candidate for mayor.

Every mayor's race seems to draw the eccentric, with names in the past such as Paul Tay and Accountability "Boss Einstein" Burns ( a candidate with two eccentric names). Currently, the announced field for mayor on the GOP slate is pretty bare. Joining Clark are Dave ("and Chris Medlock's out there running his fat mouth" O'Connor and Kevin Boggs. It remains to be seen if Clark falls into the category of eccentric, out-of-his-league, over reaching, or serious contender.

O'Connor, you might remember led the effort during the recall effort against Councilor Jim Mautino and myself, to recall Mayor LaFortune and the city councilors who were seemingly in support of recall, despite my protestations that such an effort was doomed and would draw resources away from the defense of the two councilors O'Connor purported to support.

Boggs ran unsuccessfully for the District 6 city council seat, with the support and assistance of Mautino. Word I got from those close to the campaign was that Boggs was a less than enthusiastic campaigner who didn't like door knocking and the type of retail campaigning necessary to win a local election. So what better way to top off a failed run for city council than to seek the Mayor's office?

My point is that there is a chasm of difference between running for and winning a city council seat and that of the office of Mayor. In Tulsa's "strong mayor" form of government, the mayor's office replaces the city manager of, say Oklahoma City's governmental structure, as the chief operating entity of the city. While smaller municipalities like Muskogee and Stillwater can get by successfully with teen aged to twenty-something mayor's with little practical or life experience, such an experiment given the power and responsibility of Tulsa's mayor, could prove very dangerous to the well being of a city that is down.

I am well documented as being in favor of a change in our form of government. We should've started years ago the process necessary to change the charter to shift to a Weak Mayor/Strong Council/City Manager style of government like OKC's. But the next mayoral election will put someone into a "strong mayor's" office, and who we elect must be viewed through the prism of that reality. We can't afford to support trendy candidates.

So back to Clay Clark. He certainly seems, if you can get past the schmaltz of his web site, to have credentials that might belie a life experience beyond his tender years (he is, I believe, in his late twenties). But the problem any serious young candidate of such an age has is, well, being taken seriously. When I spoke with Clark on Tuesday, he assured me that he is a serious candidate who believe he can win. Words are cheap. They need to be backed up by actions, and the only public actions Clay Clark has taken to date, indicate he is anything but serious.

Take a look at his web site. It is well constructed by someone who technically knows what they're doing. Technically in the technological sense of the term, not in the political. Does the picture to the right, taken from Clark's mayoral web site, leave you with the impression that the candidate is asking you, "Can I be your next mayor," or "Would you like paper or plastic?" When I see candidates stooping to such a sophomoric level, I find myself wondering if he has a UPC code tattooed on his keester, rather than whether or not we might agree on infill development or police department staffing levels.

Obviously, Clark's site is more fitting for candidate seeking to be student body president, rather than mayor of a city facing one of its worst financial crises in decades. I am left with the impression that Clark and his friends, in an Andy Hardy moment of exuberance suddenly shouted out, "Hey kids, let's run for mayor! Wouldn't that be a gasser?"

The last thing this city needs is someone to come along and try to hijack the electoral process to advance his motivational speaking business. I'm sure adding a bullet item of "former candidate for mayor of Tulsa" might be a great career move on Clark's current career track, but people I know are seriously considering supporting the guy! This morning, KFAQ's Pat Campbell announced Clark as an obviously "serious candidate." Such is the woeful state of the field Tulsa's GOP has to choose from.

Please note the unscientific poll I'm taking in the green inset box on the right of this blog.

Obviously, my five minute conversation with Clark isn't enough for me to truly judge whether or not he could make a good mayor. I offered to spend an hour or so with him, sharing my concerns and advising him on how best to move forward. In that regard, let me suggest the following.

"Pull this web site down NOW! If you're a serious candidate, show that you're willing to run as a serious candidate. Marketing strategies like you're employing at http://www.visionwithoutataxincrease.com/ might be a great way to sell DJ services (a great small business, by the way), but insult the voter and kill any chance you have to be taken seriously. If you're going to run for such an important office, then you have to recognize that your youth requires you to go the extra mile to show the serious side of your nature, not juvenile whimsy."

Until that site is gone and replaced with one more fitting for the endeavor you purport to be on, I will find it impossible to tell people they can trust you with their vote.

____________________________________

More: Is Clay Clark running for Mayor, or running a restaurant? I've heard of "selling the sizzle and not the steak," but the YouTube link below goes too far. More indication that Clark needs advisers that know what they're doing, if he is to be the GOP standard bearer in the Fall.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUwmSEpYhCY

Temporary Blog Look

Recently, I have been having some trouble with template that I've been using for this site. There have been unexplained inconsistancies with fonts and font sizes, as well as difficulty adding functionality that allows me to take donations, or post my podcast links. As such, I've opted to upgrade to Blogger's new layout tool, which will allow me much more freedom to add and edit page elements and gadgets.

So for the time being, those of you that have been frequenting my site will notice a substantially different look to Medblogged. Just pretend you're visiting one of your favorite stores or restaurants where you are greeted by a sign that reads...

"...forgive the mess, we're redecorating."

Jim Mautino To Run For City Council

Former District 6 Tulsa City Councilor Jim Mautino told the Tulsa Area Republican Assembly on Tuesday night that he will challenge Councilor Dennis Troyer for the seat Mautino held for two years.

Mautino, who was defeated by Troyer in a close election in 2006, sat out the 2008 election cycle, choosing instead to try to help get Kevin Boggs elected to the post. An unenthusiastic campaigner, Boggs was easily defeated by Troyer, who won his second term on the council.

Boggs announced at the same meeting that despite losing his race for city council, he was going to seek the Mayor's office this year.

TCMS: Tuesday, May 19th Edition

NEW SHOW: The Tuesday, May 19th edition of TCMS is now up. Very eventful day which is somewhat explained in the last segment kept the show from being out earlier. Topics include the Mayor's race, the OKC NRA employee who shot at an intruder, and the proof that the BOk Center will never pay for itself, no matter how much the Tulsa World spins that it will.

Click here to download show.

Podcast: An Interview with Michael Bates on Downtown Tulsa Issues and More

The latest podcast is up and it includes my first interview. My guest Michael Bates and I talk about downtown Tulsa issues, including his article in Urban Tulsa Weekly on Downtown Tulsa Unlimited. Other topics include the governor's race and Kathy Taylor's "recusal" from any dealings with the new development proposed for across the street from the BOK Center.

To download the podcast click here.

To subscribe to the podcast use

http://medblogged.com/medlockshow.xml

The Second Edition of The Chris Medlock Show

The second ever edition of The Chris Medlock Show is now available for download. Topics include the Governor's race, TPS dropping its law suit against charter schools, Bixby's city manager fight and the Tulsa World's take on all the vetoes Gov. Henry has been filing against GOP legislation.

To download click here.

Hot Rumor: State Rep to Announce for Light Gov.?

The word I'm hearing is that Broken Arrow state representative John Wright(R) is about to drop his name into the race for Lt. Governor. Wright, who is considered by many to be one of the House's most conservative members is expected to make his announcement in the next week to ten days.

Can't wait to hear the Daily Fishwrap begin to refer to him as an "arch conservative."

Pop Quiz: Is the Duncanville, Texas Mayor a Fascist?

Fascist is not a word I throw around lightly. In fact, Godwin's Law states that the first person in an argument to use the word Nazi, loses. But to have a city councilor dragged by the Sherrif from a council meeting while he is trying to discuss his reasons for voting against a project supported by the mayor, Duncanville's Mayor David Green crossed a disturbing line.

I don't care how big a pain in the butt this councilman, Paul Ford is. He is a duly elected official of the city and represents those that elected him. Those citizens that he represents deserve more respect than was shown by this small town tyrant, Mayor Green.

God knows there were a lot of people that would love to have seen me dragged from the City Council chambers during my three years on Tulsa's city council, but even with the famed dissent that our council had, it never came close to the shameful display put on in Duncanville, Texas.

Mayor Green, if you should ever read this, know there is at least one citizen in a neighboring state that believes your actions soil the dignity of our republic. This kind of thing should NEVER happen in America.

You sir, are in my opinion, a fascist.

Medblogged Down for Awhile

I am going to be working on trying to transfer this blog from Blogger's server to that of my service provider for medblogged.com. As such, the site will be potentially down while I'm attempting the move. I've had some difficulty getting this to work, and may need to let the site remain down for several hours to see if it is successful in completing the transfer. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Chris

[Note for Geeks: Blogger appears to be having a well documented problem with its FTP publishing. Cynics would say that it is an attempt by Google to force Blogger users to store all of their content on Google's servers. They're even discussing discontinuing the FTP publishing service. For me, the major problem is I have paid for a website server with GoDaddy. Blogger isn't allowing the Internet to see files that I save on my server. As such, I can't store my podcast files on my own site.

Blogger suggests that I use a third party (one of their corporate buddies) to store my files. That effectively means that I would have to waste a year's worth of hosting fees to GoDaddy. Not going to happen.

So it looks like I've finally been given the impetus to make the switch from Blogger to WordPress, which of course is one more headache I have to work on that will keep me from podcasting and keep me from going to the gym.

So let me just say, for now, GOOGLE SUCKS!!!

Fox 23 Tulsa: Interviewed for Story on Illegal Immigration Process

Kaci Christian of Fox 23 News interviewed me for a story on the process for deporting illegal immigrants convicted of other crimes. I'll leave it to you to watch the segment, but I am amused by our friend, the Rev. Victor Orta, who in one breath says, "the law is the law," and in another breath intimates that illegal aliens should be given amnesty. Do you think he realizes how foolish he sounds?

Iowa and New Hampshire Need to Go

Not from the Union, but as the "first in the nation" tests in the electoral process that leads to the selection of the Republican nominee for President.

Iowa just passed a law legalizing same sex marriage. New Hampshire's governor has a bill that passed the legislature on his desk. Even if Governor Lynch doesn't sign the bill, New Hampshire is a state with a legislature willing to legalize gay marriage. As such, it shows that both states are out of touch with the values of the "red states."

By definition, all of the Republican nominee's electoral votes, come from "red states." Since the goal of nominating a candidate for president is to get said nominee elected to the presidency, why would we want "blue states" that don't vote for Republicans getting to decide which candidates have all the momentum in the process, prior to that process getting to the red states?

Are you following me?

The problem is, the blue state republicans come from states with greater population, for the most part, than the red states. Their size allows them to throw their weight around whenever talk comes around about changing the system.

Such republicans trend more to the center than their compatriots in states that actually vote Republican. In fact, the blue state members of the Republican National Committee are for the most part the very republicans who are currently calling for the national party to move to the middle. They think their reality is the nation's reality. As such, they want the red states to get behind moderate candidates that red staters view as soft, so that we might have a chance to win in the blue states.

But the GOP will never carry New York, Massachusetts or even California. So why do the representatives to the RNC from these states holding ANY sway over the process. They should be deferring to the representatives from the red states, or at the very least, from the GOP representatives of swing states like Missouri, North Carolina, Florida, Ohio and Indiana.

As such, if we're looking for a candidate that can win in a national election, the states chosen to fire up the process and thus get the lion's share of the candidates' early attention should be those very swing states mentioned above. Come out of those states with the lead, and there is a good chance that the rest of the country will be happy to follow suit. Come out of Iowa and New Hampshire with a commanding lead, and thus the nomination, and you're pretty much guaranteeing those states that you count on most come election day, will be less than enthused.

In other words, Iowa and New Hampshire need to go.

Michael Savage Ban An Obama Strategy?

The bizarre ban against radio talk show host Michael Savage which precludes Savage from being able to enter Great Britain, has got a lot of people scratching their heads. Why would a man who is admittedly opinionated and bombastic, be lumped into a category with racists, terrorists and killers?

To anyone who has ever listened to Savage's show, the announcement by the British Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, that country's top homeland security official, that Savage's rhetoric exemplifies "the sort of things that mean you won't be welcome in this country," seems to indicate that Britain has fallen over a precipice of political correctness. Smith explained her actions by citing that entry into Great Britain is a privilege.

"Coming to this country is a privilege," she said. "If you can't live by the rules that we live by, the standards and the values that we live by, we should exclude you from this country and, what's more, now we will make public those people that we have excluded."

What is dangerous about Smith's inclusion of Savage is this talk of values, standards and rules, as a criteria for admission to a supposedly free nation. It is consistent with the move away from the rule of law toward the rule of arbitrary opinion that seems a favorite tactic of the left. For me, this decision is a major stain on my personal perception of a country I have always thought of as America's best friend in the world.

But what if it is more than political correctness gone mad? What if it is a well thought out tactical move in a game of cynical politics? What if the inclusion of Savage was based less on what Savage in particular has said, but rather on what conservative talk show hosts as a group have said, and will say in the future? Think about it for a second. It's not so far fetched.

Both the United States and Great Britain are currently governed by the left. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown seemed overly solicitous of Obama during the President's recent trip to England. Earlier snubs by Obama when Brown was in Washington, D.C., seemed to fan the desire of Brown to gain Obama's public acceptance.

But aside from the relationship of the two top guys, it is easy to conclude that the staffs of the two world leaders would have a lot of common ground to talk about. It isn't hard to imagine that the "political" types from each administration have put their heads together to discuss some of the strategies and tactics they might pursue to further the cause of progressivism throughout the world. If you don't think such talks occur, then you need to get out in the real world a bit more.

So imagine one meeting where in the spirit of quid pro quo, somebody from Obama's team asks somebody from Brown's team if they could get some help making the case for the re-imposition of the so-called "Fairness Doctrine."

"Gee, what could anyone in Britain do to aid in such an endeavor," they might be asked?

"Well, if you could determine that one of America's right-wing talk show hosts was too dangerous to enter your country because of the hate he spews," they might respond, "then I think it would go a long way in assisting us in convincing the independents and moderates of our country that what is being said on Talk Radio is dangerous in our country, too."

Of course, going after Limbaugh, Beck or Hannity would be too obvious. Better to target someone near, but not at the top of the radio world. Seems more credible that way, you know.

Who knows what the British liberals might want in return? Perhaps it could be something as simple as a better gift for the Brown's than a bunch of DVDs in the wrong format to be viewed across the pond. Who knows?

But this action by Brown's subordinate needs to be viewed with a very cynical eye, and should not be tolerated by the American public.

The Chris Medlock Show First Podcast

Better late than never. Audacity rendered it as a huge stereo file and I had to compress it for size, but here it is, just a little over an hour late. But still within a year to when the first show on KFAQ was STILL ON THE AIR. My excuse and I'm sticking to it.

The Chris Medlock Show Inaugural episode. Download here.

A Slight Delay

I have finished recording my INAUGURAL podcast edition of The Chris Medlock Show, and Audacity is now rendering the MP3 file. Much to my chagrin, Audacity has the audacity to be taking its sweet time in doing so. The rendering time is nearly as long as the show itself!

Obviously, I have yet another thing to learn with regard to being a podcast producer.

Long and short of it is, once the file is available, I will upload it so that everyone can download it. It's looking like it will be some time between 2:15 and 2:30, unless I encounter another life lesson in technology's limitations.

Thanks for your interest and your patience.

Innugural Chris Medlock Show on the Internet

Despite the loss of our dog early this morning, I'm still planning on uploading the first ever Chris Medlock Show podcast Tuesday, May 5th at 2 PM. The show will not stream, but will be in the form of an .mp3 file, which can be listened to on your MP3 player or on your computer.

I'm not sure at this time how long the show will be, but know it will be at least forty minutes, which will make it about the length of an hour of my old show on KFAQ. As I climb the learning curve and also address some technical issues with my hosting service, bandwidth restrictions, my blog provider and a myriad of other things, I will hopefully begin to do more and longer shows.

Hope you will take some time Tuesday, when you get the chance, to "tune in." I'm looking forward to it.