Rice, Inhofe defend stands on bailout and economics at U.S. Senate

Journal Record, The (Oklahoma City), Oct 15, 2008 by Kirby Lee Davis

In potential fallout from the $700 billion federal bailout program, both Democrat Andrew Rice and Republican Jim Inhofe seemed on the defensive during The State Chamber's U.S. Senate candidate forum.

Rice, elected to the state Senate in 2006 from Oklahoma City, said he would have voted against the bailout because it failed to fix the regulatory problems that allowed the nation's financial meltdown.

Inhofe, one of Oklahoma's two U.S. senators since 1994, defended his negative bailout vote because of provisions that could have saddled banks with additional costs down the road.

Only independent Stephen Wallace took an aggressive stand on the nation's economic band-aid. He also blamed the lack of regulatory oversight, using it as a call to arms for his key issue, reviving the independent counsel act to seek out the "rampant fraud" from the debacle.

"We definitely saw three very different candidates today," Tulsa Metro Chamber President and Chief Executive Mike Neal said with a smile.

With a warm handshake, Rice walked from table to table Tuesday, meeting each person in the pro-business audience at Tulsa's Crowne Plaza Hotel.

"No, I don't see this as a hostile crowd," the state senator said before taking the podium to present his economic proposals and accept questions. "Although obviously there are quite a few people here that have supported my opponent."

Rice outlined actions and positions he'd taken while serving on the state Senate committees for Health and Human Resources; Business and Labor; Criminal Jurisprudence; and Public Safety and Homeland Security. He pointed with pride to the Insure Oklahoma health insurance program and others that he helped pass with Republican senators.

Calling himself a "centralist," he said that ability to work beyond partisan politics would give Oklahoma an advantage in a U.S. Senate projected to fall into the Democrats' hands after Nov. 4.

"It is important to have someone who understands Oklahoma's economy in the majority," he said. "Senator Inhofe will be in the minority."

Under question from chamber members, Rice stood up for potentially unpopular decisions on tort reform. With a physician as his wife, Rice said he could agree with moves to limit frivolous lawsuits. But when such proposals mushroom under the political process, as Rice said the state's last major tort reform effort did to include collaterable sources and other points he could not accept, Rice voted against it.

"It's about finding balance," said Rice.

If Inhofe felt himself in front of a friendly audience, he didn't readily demonstrate it. Arriving just a few minutes late, Inhofe rushed to explain successes from 14 years on key Senate armed forces and public works committees. Now the ranking majority leader on those panels, Inhofe noted a long series of economic benefits to Oklahoma, from improved highway construction funding to preserving and strengthening its military bases and water resources.

"No other state can say that," Inhofe said of bringing jobs to Oklahoma's bases. "I'd like to take credit for that, but it's really community support."

Even the coming final closure of Oklahoma City's General Motors plant promises an economic boon, said Inhofe, who can use its 3.8 million square feet for growing military programs.

Inhofe then launched into his energy policies, pointing out that until this year, no Democrats had voiced support for domestic energy programs.

While he agreed somewhat with Rice that Afghanistan needed more attention, hinting at other problems in that region, Inhofe said the war in Iraq was improving across the board.

Only then did Inhofe discuss his break from the president on the bailout bill.

"I didn't take it lightly," he said, telling how he made his decision after speaking with more than 200 community bankers across the Sooner State. That identified Section 134 in the proposal, which would place a financial burden on banks if the national problems needed more funds in five years.

To support the bailout, Inhofe tried to eliminate that provision - "and we could not do it," he said.

As a third of the chamber audience departed, Wallace outlined his key platform issue: reviving the independent counsel act. Founder of the Independent Justice Institute, a for-profit company said to specialize in taxpayer demand petitions, Wallace said he also would seek a forensic accounting of the mortgage crisis and settlement of the Palestinian issue.