Mary Fallin in Alva

Here are some photos from Mary's trip to Alva on Feb. 5:

Mary touring the facilities at the Value Added Products plant.

Mary speaking with folks after the meet and greet reception in Alva.

Mary stopped by to visit at the Woods County Sheriff's office.

Country's Economic Freedom Ranking Falling

I wanted to share with you this article from The Heritage Foundation, titled "U.S. Can’t Lead on Economic Freedom When It’s Retreating."

It details how the United States continues to drop in the "economic freedom" rankings which measures things like job creation and economic growth.

I've always fought for policies as a congresswoman that keep our taxes low, decrease government spending and eliminate stifling government red-tape.

As governor, I will continue that fight in Oklahoma.

Fallin Statement on State of the State

OKLAHOMA CITY – Congresswoman Mary Fallin, a Republican candidate for governor in Oklahoma, released the following statement after Governor Brad Henry’s State of the State speech:

“I appreciate Governor Henry’s positive outlook during these difficult times and I fully agree with him that, despite a difficult recession and an ongoing budget crisis, Oklahoma will prevail and continue to move forward. That said, we have some serious work ahead of us. With our economy faltering and more and more Oklahomans worried about their futures, our state government needs to focus on measures that will promote job growth and economic stability. We can start by addressing the skyrocketing workers compensation costs and legal fees that hurt business, further developing and educating our workforce, and addressing the rising cost of healthcare which continues to stifle job growth and chip away at our pocketbooks. All of these measures will encourage job creation and leave us with a more prosperous state.  We also need to immediately get down to the difficult job of trimming waste in our state budget and dramatically improving government efficiency. Emptying the state's 'savings account' by draining the Rainy Day fund amounts to kicking the can down the road and will make future cuts deeper and more painful. The time to seriously reduce unnecessary spending is right now.

“Governor Henry is right to encourage our legislators to move forward immediately, but it’s important to remember the problems we face now did not develop overnight. Our current budget deficit has been a long time in the making and we have now been operating in an economic downturn for over a year. If I have the honor of being elected our next governor, you can be sure that I will lead an energetic, forward thinking state government that anticipates these crises and acts earlier to protect our families and our businesses.“

Getting our Economy Moving Again - the Right Way

Dear Friend,

As I listened to President Obama's first State of the Union speech last night, I was not surprised to see his political makeover - no doubt in response to the deflating defeat Democrats suffered in the Massachusetts senate race.

Even though he campaigned against the idea, the president talked about a spending "freeze." What he failed to mention is that, according to a recent Heritage Foundation report, the president's spending "freeze" will only last three years, will not start until 2011, will only apply to a $447 billion slice of the federal government's $3.5 trillion budget, and will not apply to any of the unspent $862 billion stimulus plan, his health care plan or the House of Representatives' additional $156 billion stimulus plan.

It's clear President Obama and his liberal allies in Congress don't get it. Americans are fed up with the liberal, big-government agenda. They want Congress to spend less in all areas of the budget. They don't want the government to keep spending money like a drunken sailor, further adding to our $12 trillion national debt. That's why I'll continue fighting the president's proposal for government-run health care, or any attempts to put forward a second stimulus bill.

Right now, Americans are concerned about the economy. But they aren't looking to the government to solve their problems, as President Obama would have you believe. Rather, Americans want our government to get out of the way. They want small business owners and entrepreneurs freed up from bureaucratic red tape to lead us out of this recession. They want to keep more of their hard-earned money, and they don't want their health care costs increased through proposals like "ObamaCare."

As governor, my top priority will be getting our economy moving forward again. I will ensure our state continues the progress made by conservative policies enacted in recent years. And I'll work to free Oklahoma small business owners, the backbone of our economy, from high taxes and overregulation so they can get to work creating more and better jobs for Oklahoma.

God bless,

Mary Fallin

An Historic Win in Massachusetts

Just like me, I'm sure many of you watched with great interest the special election to fill the vacant U.S. Senate seat in Massachusetts. With the historic election of Republican Scott Brown, it's clear that 2010 is going to be a great year for conservatives across the country!

Senator-elect Brown promised to vote "NO" on "ObamaCare" and his stunning victory clearly shows the American people don't support the president's liberal agenda. Oklahomans also have said they agree with me that government-run health care is not the answer.

Liberal Democrats facing re-election (or election to a higher office) are trying to distance themselves from President Obama. But one thing's certain: those who supported candidate Obama in 2008 will have to answer to voters in 2010 for President Obama and his big-government agenda.

Another lesson from Massachusetts is that Senator-elect Brown successfully focused on the things Americans are concerned about now: creating more jobs and lifting our country out of a recession. I know Oklahomans worry about those things too and are looking to the next governor for leadership during this difficult time.

I've spent the last 19 years helping our state overcome the obstacles standing in our way to economic progress. And should I be fortunate enough to be elected governor, I will go to work again leading our state out of a budget crisis while continuing to create more and better jobs.