By Patrick B. McGuigan for CityNewsOKC
His status as a long-term Washington insider makes him a seeming ‘carpetbagger’ in the eyes of his conservative constituents, as they perceive him as being more interested in playing political games and securing votes every two years rather than genuinely advocating for their interests.
Congressman Tom Cole, once hailed as “Oklahoma’s Favorite Son,” is now accused of abandoning the constituents who entrusted him with their voices. Instead of championing the needs of his conservative base, Cole has become synonymous with the political establishment, prioritizing Washington elites over the hardworking people of Oklahoma.
The foreign aid packages Cole voted for closely resemble the Senate’s failed supplemental spending bill that House leadership opposed for months. While their stance appears to have shifted, ours remains steadfast: Conservatives have not, do not, and will not endorse an unaccountable, nearly $200 billion cumulative payment to a foreign nation to fortify its borders while ours remain perilously unguarded.
Even Heritage Action President Dr. Kevin Roberts condemns Cole’s actions, highlighting how this package undermines America’s interests and diminishes our global standing: “This (package) fundamentally contradicts President Reagan’s doctrine of peace through strength. It perpetuates Biden’s ineffective Ukraine-Russia strategy lacking a coherent plan, fails to deter China, our top foreign rival, undermines Israel by channeling billions to Gaza and Hamas, and diminishes America’s global power.”
Residents of Oklahoma’s fourth district have every right to question Cole’s support for re-election.
While Cole spends his time cozying up to D.C. insiders, Oklahoma families are feeling the pinch of skyrocketing grocery prices and the looming threat of illegal immigration.
The concern here is twofold: economic and security.
Economically, the district’s conservative base expects fiscal restraint and investment in domestic problems, significantly when local industries and infrastructure could benefit from federal funding.
While Cole plays fast and loose with our tax dollars, helping fund Ukraine families—for whom I have sympathy — and political corruption, many Oklahomans still struggle to put food on the table. According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, grocery prices have increased by 17% since the pandemic, not including Bidenomics’ effect — food inflation has surpassed overall inflation, as reported by Forbes.
Second: The lack of attention to the U.S. southern border has heightened worries about illegal immigration and the trafficking of drugs and humans. These issues hit home for many Oklahomans, who see the funds directed toward Ukraine as a missed opportunity to strengthen and secure their communities in the face of an all-out invasion across the U.S. border.
Cole’s failure to address these pressing issues speaks volumes about where his priorities truly lie.
It’s time for a change in Oklahoma’s representation.
Cole has become the epitome of everything wrong with career politicians, and his betrayal of Oklahoma values cannot go unanswered. The people of Oklahoma deserve a representative who will put their interests first, not someone who has lost touch with the constituents who put him in office.
The question is not about the length of service. It’s about what has been done with that service over the last half of this representative’s tenure.
Tom Cole has become Exhibit A for Congressional term limits. Even if you don’t support term limits per se, you have the right to make a change.
Cole may have once been hailed by most Oklahomans, but his actions have played out otherwise. Conservatives demand a representative who epitomizes Oklahoma-based values, southwestern Oklahoma common sense, and someone who has NOT spent most of his life running campaigns or seeking re-election for office.
Many conservatives feel his carpetbagging for votes is a slap in the face.
It’s time to start a conversation about real change, beginning with replacing Tom Cole.
