Press Releases

Oklahoma City (January 14, 2010) -  Fifth District Congressional Candidate Kevin Calvey (R-Oklahoma City) today announced a protest of tomorrow’s scheduled meeting of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in the Oklahoma City area.

“CAIR has been identified by several law enforcement sources as a front group or propagandist for terrorists, including Hamas, and CAIR has been frequently denounced by the Anti-Defamation League for their anti-Semitic and anti-American statements” said Calvey, who prosecuted terrorists while deployed with the Army National Guard in Iraq in 2007-2008.  Calvey was awarded the Bronze Star medal for his service in Iraq.

“Oklahomans should be outraged that a group like CAIR is operating in our midst,” said Calvey.  “I urge fellow Oklahomans to join me in peacefully protesting the CAIR meeting tomorrow night.”

CAIR is an unindicted co-conspirator in the US Justice Department’s terrorist-financing case against the Texas-based Holy Land Foundation.  The FBI broke official ties to CAIR a little over a year ago due to concerns about CAIR’s ties to Hamas.  See, e.g.:

http://www.adl.org/Israel/cair/default.asp

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/11/11/fbi-ties-cair-remain-strained-obama-administration/

CAIR, which styles itself as the nation’s largest Islamic advocacy group, announced it will host a “Town Hall” meeting on the subject of airport profiling and security.  The meeting will be held tomorrow, Friday, January 15, 2010, at 7:00 p.m. at Melody Hall, 2280 North Broadway, Moore, Oklahoma.

Calvey urged protesters to arrive early to make their views about terrorism known.  “This is not about protesting Islam.  This is about protesting terrorism.  There are many Muslims who cooperate with America  and our allies in the fight against terrorism,” said Calvey.  “This is about protesting one group that appears intent on pushing propaganda for terrorists and hampering America in the fight against terrorism.

Kevin Calvey is a small businessman and a conservative former State Representative from Del City. Kevin volunteered to deploy to Iraq as a Captain in the Army National Guard in 2007, and his mission in Iraq was to prosecute al Qaeda leaders and other terrorists in the Iraqi court system.  Kevin was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for his service.  Kevin and his wife, Toni, live in Oklahoma City with their baby, Anastasia. 

(January 16, 2010)

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The tax was proposed earlier this month by Democrat Representative Peter DeFazio, Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Highways and Transit. If passed, the proposal would create new taxes on stock transactions, futures trading and options contracts.

“This is typical of the liberal Democrat Congress,” said Calvey. “Rather than cutting out wasteful pork projects and ending frivolous earmarks, the Democrats in Congress want to create new taxes for Americans to pay.  As a taxpayer myself, I’m tired of my hard earned dollars being taxed so the politicians in Washington, D.C. can finance their spending addiction. I oppose this new tax and would vote against it if I was in Congress today.”

Supporters of the tax argue that large investors and financial firms would pay the bulk of the new taxes. However, retail investors and small business investors would be footing the bill as well.

Oklahoma City (November 18, 2009) - “Why are President Obama and Congress killing 500 new health-care jobs and $98,000,000 in free-market health care for Oklahoma City veterans and Tinker Air Force Base personnel?” asked Fifth District Congressional candidate Kevin Calvey (R-Oklahoma City) today. “The President says he wants to create jobs, but his plan actually prevents job creation. Just when I thought his socialized medicine plan couldn’t get any worse, I learn about this.”

Calvey’s concern is focused on Pages 481-497 of House Resolution 3962 and page 175 of the Chairman's Mark for the US Senate's "Healthy Futures Act of 2009," the two versions of ObamaCare currently under consideration in Congress.  The provisions in both bills would effectively prohibit the operation of new hospitals in which physicians are investors or owners. If either of the provisions become law, it would kill the planned January 18, 2010 opening of the new South Campus of the Oklahoma Heart Hospital at I-240 and Sooner Road near Tinker Air Force Base.

The new Heart Hospital is a joint venture between Mercy Hospital and private physicians who will treat patients at the new South Campus facility.  It would create 500 new health-care jobs in Oklahoma City.

“ObamaCare rules applied here will hinder access to health care for the many veterans and active-duty military personnel in and around Tinker Air Force Base,” said Calvey. “Our military personnel and veterans deserve access to the best quality health care available.

“In Congress, I will tirelessly fight against arbitrary rules which inhibit free enterprise and kill jobs, especially when such rules have a negative impact on the heroes who are serving or who have served our nation in uniform.”

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Oklahoma City (Nov. 17, 2009) - 5^th District Congressional Candidate Kevin Calvey (R-Oklahoma City), an Iraq War veteran, today said the recent decision by President Obama’s Attorney General, Eric Holder, to prosecute Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and other 911 terrorists in civilian court will have far-reaching negative consequences that would endanger US troops in harm’s way.

“I have personally come face to face with over 100 terrorists in Iraq, where my mission was to prosecute them in the Iraqi court system.  These terrorists are enemies in war, not common criminals,” said Calvey.  “They are not US citizens and thus are not entitled to the Constitutional and statutory protections afforded criminal defendants in US civilian courts.  Trying these terrorists in civilian courts, rather than in military tribunals, throws out over 200 years of legal precedent.  One of the reasons these kinds of cases always have been tried by military tribunals is because civilian courts are so ill-equipped to handle such cases.

By pushing these terrorists to be tried in civilian courts, rather than in military tribunals, the Obama Administration is throwing out over 200 years of legal precedent to expand the reach of the courts into the conduct of war, an area which civilian courts are stupendously ill-equipped to address.”

Holder announced Friday that five Guantanamo Bay detainees with alleged ties to the 9/11 conspiracy, including Mohammed, will all be transferred to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York for prosecution.

 “Inevitably, liberal activist judges in the federal civilian courts will gradually impose additional burdens on the military’s ability to capture and hold terrorists, such as requiring Miranda warnings and requiring access to al Qaeda-provided legal ‘counsel.’ Access to such ‘counsel’ will be nothing more than a disguised method for captured terrorists to reveal classified material through such ‘counsel’ to their fellow terrorists still at large.”

“Such court-imposed rules will make it harder for our troops to capture terrorists, thus endangering our troops,” said Calvey.

“Also, allowing foreign terrorists access to our civilian courts is not only a huge power grab by the judicial branch at the expense of the military, but also a huge favor to the terrorists,” said Calvey.  “These terrorist defendants will be entitled legally in trial to bring out in trial reams of so-called ‘evidence’ twisted falsely to their own agenda.  It is a propaganda gold-mine for a clever terrorist like Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.”

“In addition, the prosecution in this case will be hampered by the fact that much of the evidence against these terrorists is classified.  To reveal such evidence in a civilian court creates a huge risk that intelligence sources will be compromised, leading to deaths of US agents and others involved in the gathering of intelligence,” said Calvey. 

“The bottom line is, this is not the best way to seek justice for the atrocious acts committed by these terrorists.  They should be tried in military tribunals, which are far better equipped and more experienced at handling classified materials,” said Calvey.

Calvey served with the Army National Guard in Iraq during the troop Surge in 2007-2008.  Calvey’s mission was to prosecute al Qaeda leaders and other terrorists in the Iraqi court system.  Calvey was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for his service.

At issue is a new cell phone handout recently added to a federal program called Lifeline, which subsidizes landline phone service to the poor, and now allows recipients to receive a free cell phone and air time at taxpayer expense. Oklahoma is not yet one of the states covered, but apparently plans exist to expand the program to Oklahoma. 

Details of the program can be found at https://www.safelinkwireless.com/EnrollmentPublic/Home.aspx.

In a recent press release (see attached), Calvey denounced this program, stating, “Taxpayers are hurting during this recession. It’s hard enough for working families to make ends meet with today’s tax burden, including having to pay for unjust corporate bailouts and other people’s health care and housing.  But forcing taxpayers to pay for someone else’s luxury, like a cell phone, just adds insult to injury.  Let those people buy their own cell phones.”

Today, Oklahoma Secretary of State Susan Savage blasted Calvey via email on this topic that was mentioned in Calvey’s recent email newsletter. 

Savage, a former Mayor of Tulsa, claimed Calvey’s objection to the cell phone program is “divisive” and “shameful.” 

Calvey responded this way:  “Something has really gone haywire in Oklahoma when we’re living through a tough recession, taxpayers are being forced to bail out Wall Street, the federal deficit is triple its previous record size, and yet there are still liberal leaders out there who think it’s right to force Oklahoma taxpayers to pay for cell phones handed out to those on welfare.”

Calvey continued, “Now more than ever, Oklahomans need an advocate for the hard working folks who pay the bills.  If I’m elected to Congress, I assure the people of Oklahoma that I will fight against wasteful government spending every single day, regardless of the attacks against me from the far left.  It’s time we returned fiscal sanity to the federal government, from stopping trillion dollar government-run health care all the way down to stopping taxpayer-paid cell phone giveaways.”

Calvey’s press release about the cell phones is attached and also can be found at www.kevincalvey.com.  Savage’s email is reprinted below.  Savage’s email address has been redacted to protect their privacy. 

 From Susan Savage: This email came to my official state site. It is unsolicited and after reading it, unwelcome. "Let those people..."--what kind of divisive, derogatory representation are you proposing to offer? Shameful.

Susan Savage

Kevin Calvey is a small businessman and a conservative former State Representative from Del City. Kevin volunteered to deploy to Iraq as a Captain in the Army National Guard in 2007, and his mission in Iraq was to prosecute al Qaeda leaders and other terrorists in the Iraqi court system.  Kevin was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for his service.  Kevin and his wife, Toni, live in Oklahoma City with their baby, Anastasia. 

Oklahoma City (October 30, 2009) - Republican Congressional candidate Kevin Calvey today denounced a new federal program to provide cellular phones and airtime to welfare recipients.

“Taxpayers are hurting during this recession,” said Calvey.  “It’s hard enough for working families to make ends meet with today’s tax burden, including having to pay for unjust corporate bailouts and other people’s health care and housing.  But forcing taxpayers to pay for someone else’s luxury, like a cell phone, just adds insult to injury.  Let those people buy their own cell phones.”

The new cell phone handout, recently added to federal program called Lifeline which subsidizes landline phone service to the poor, allows recipients of welfare programs to receive a cell phone and air time at taxpayer expense, and at no cost to the recipient.  Oklahoma is not yet one of the states covered, but apparently plans exist to expand the program to Oklahoma. 

Details of the program can be found at https://www.safelinkwireless.com/EnrollmentPublic/Home.aspx.

Kevin Calvey has been a small business owner since 1994, and served in the Oklahoma House of Representatives from 1998-2006.  During the 2003 state budget shortfall, Kevin helped negotiate 7% cuts in state agencies rather than raise taxes.  In 2005, Kevin authored House bill 1547, the largest tax cut law in Oklahoma history, which saves taxpayers over $400 million per year.  Kevin left politics in 2006 and then volunteered to deploy to Iraq with the Army National Guard.  His mission in Iraq was to prosecute al Qaeda leaders and other terrorists in the Iraqi court system.  Kevin was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for his service.  Kevin and his wife, Toni, live in Oklahoma City with their baby, Anastasia. 

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