From The Oklahoman: Gubernatorial candidate Jari Askins' opposition to federal health care law is questioned

After watching the debate Tuesday night, went to the Oklahoman site expecting to see them calling Askins on her comments about Obama's Healthcare Plan. Instead the article was about how aggressive she was in the debate. Read it twice and why the comment was made yesterday that I wasn't sure we watched the same debate.

Today's article has the facts which shows Askins was lying. You could say 'stretch the truth' if you want to be politically correct but since this site does not lean toward political correctness, we will call it lying. You don't say in a debate in a snarky kind of way your opponent hasn't been listening to you for over a year saying you were against Obama's Healthcare Plan and not expect blow back. The day after the primary on July 27th, Askins said she was still reading the bill. That's less than two months ago, she still hadn't taken a stand, but in the debate wanted everyone to believe she had taken a stand against it for over a year.

Very happy to see The Oklahoman and Tulsa World print the truth about Jari Askins' debate claims on healthcare. Faith is restored in our print media's ability to get to the bottom of what a candidate said in a debate versus the facts.

Sure explains Askins not having eye contact with the audience during her closing remarks. Wonder who gave her the Talking Points Memo telling her to distance herself from Obama on Healthcare?  

*** In Case You Missed It ***

From The Oklahoman she hadn't made a decision on the bill.

"Honestly, I'm still reading the bill," Askins said.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Mary Fallin on Wednesday challenged her opponent's statement of opposing the federal health care proposal for more than a year.

"In the (Democratic) primary my opponent, when she was running against the attorney general who refused to challenge President (Barack) Obama's health care bill on the grounds of constitutionality, could have said back then that she has a different position, but she didn't," Fallin said after Tuesday night's gubernatorial debate. "I've never heard her say that before about her position on the bill."
Fallin voted against the bill in Congress earlier this year. …

… Askins said she stated more than a year ago that she is against the federal health care bill and would vote for a state question that would allow Oklahoma to opt out of some provisions of the measure. …

… Alex Weintz, Fallin's campaign communications director, said Askins' comments were "a desperate, last-minute attempt" to reinvigorate her campaign.

… Askins' campaign manager, Sid Hudson, said Wednesday he was looking for dates when Askins spoke about her opposition to the measure.

The lieutenant governor's main concern was the cost," he said. "The bill had so much cost in it. ... She's been pretty consistent on that throughout the campaign dating back to the primary and even some of the forums that they had."

Askins after the debate couldn't come up with specific instances.

"For over a year, I've been saying that there are problems in the bill," she said. …

… Askins said she is against the health care law and will vote for State Question 756, a measure on the Nov. 2 ballot that would exclude some provisions of the health care reform law.

News accounts over the past three months indicate Askins was not as strong in her convictions.

The day after she won the July 27 Democratic primary, Askins told "As we have been fearful, the provisions that come into effect in 2014 and put mandates on many of our small businesses are a huge concern to me. ... That's a concern of mine, and I will continue to voice that concern as governor in hopes that we can get changes made, amendments made in those portions before the effective date."

Asked Sept. 10 how she felt about SQ 756, Askins was quoted in the Tulsa World as saying she probably would vote for the measure. …

Excerpts: Read the Full Article at The Oklahoman