Press Releases

Oklahoma City (October 28, 2009) - Republican Congressional candidate Kevin Calvey today endorsed Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman in the November 3rd special election for New York’s 23^rd Congressional District.

Calvey blasted Republicans who support ultra-liberal Republican candidate Dede Scozzafava in the NY-23 race. 

Scozzafava supported President Obama’s “stimulus” spending law and the infamous “card check” bill which denies the right to a secret ballot in union elections, among many other liberal and “progressive” policies.

“The Republican Party Establishment’s nomination of an ultra-liberal for Congress symbolizes why the Republican Party lost Congress a few years ago,” said Calvey.  “If the Republican Party can’t stand on principle, then it should step aside and allow principled third-party candidates to run.  I will be part of the vanguard in Congress fighting to return the Republican Party to its fiscally conservative roots.  And I have already started, by making a personal contribution to Conservative Party Doug Hoffman’s campaign.”

Hoffman, who will caucus with Congressional Republicans, has become a nationwide symbol for conservatives upset with the failure of Republican Party leaders to fight for conservative principles.

“I am a fighter,” said Calvey.  “Whether it is fighting for lower taxes, spending discipline, and other conservative policies in the Oklahoma Legislature, or serving in uniform in Iraq, I have fought for the principles that made this country great.  And I will continue to fight for those principles in Congress, even when I have to fight the leadership of my own Republican Party.”

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. 

For Immediate Release:
Contact: Trebor Worthen

405-830-1793

October 22, 2009 (Oklahoma City) - Fifth District US Congressional candidate Kevin Calvey (R-Oklahoma City) today criticized the federal government’s ownership of Crossroads Mall in Oklahoma City as a symbol of the failure of the government’s bailout of private businesses.

 

“I used to shop at Crossroads Mall,” said Calvey. “What business does the federal government have owning a shopping mall here in Oklahoma City? Why are the taxpayers effectively subsidizing this mall?”

 

A story published by the Reuters news agency today, and posted as a headline on the popular online Drudge Report, pointed out that Crossroads is among the assets purchased by the Federal Reserve in April 2008 from the failed Bear Stearns investment banking firm.

 

“Government bailouts of private industry are economically inefficient, rife with potential corruption, and a terrible deal for taxpayers," said Calvey. “If a business is failing, whether large or small, it should fail.  Don’t make the taxpayers subsidize the bad decisions made by corporate executives.

 

“Bailouts send a message that the best way to succeed in business in America is not to provide a product or service that people want, but rather just to hire the best lobbyist.  I will not support government bailouts.”

 

For the Reuters story, please visit http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE59K01420091021.

 

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contact: Trebor Worthen
405-830-1793

Oklahoma City (October 15, 2009) - The Calvey for Congress Campaign announced today its fundraising totals for the third quarter of 2009.

The campaign took in a total of $148,235.50 in receipts for the quarter, bringing the total campaign fundraising tally to $419,444.63. The donations came from 1294 individual donors. Of the total amount raised, the campaign retains $374,034.99 in cash on hand.

“I continue to be humbled by all of the generous support I have received from Oklahomans and from grassroots conservatives across the country who want to take Washington back from the liberal special interests,” said Calvey.

“Washington is broken. With spending out of control, socialized healthcare, and a crushing national debt, we need conservative leaders in Washington who will have the right priorities and put America back on the path of prosperity.”

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Contact: Trebor Worthen

405-830-1793                       

The day after liberal Democrats in Congress expanded so-called “hate crimes” legislation, conservative Republican Kevin Calvey strongly criticized their actions.

“Hate crimes legislation is completely unnecessary to begin with,” said Calvey. “Every crime against another human being is a ‘hate’ crime. Legislation that makes some assaults worse than other assaults, or some murders worse than other murders, is simply ludicrous.”

In particular, the new expansion voted on last night would add homosexuals to the protected class of individuals included in the hate crimes statutes.

“Why should a crime against a homosexual be considered more egregious in the eyes of the law than a crime against a child, or a crime against an elderly person?” asked Calvey. “These kinds of distinctions are not good for America, and these kinds of laws don’t do anything to make people safer.”

Calvey, a decorated Iraq War veteran, also objected to the procedural move of attaching the new law to a military spending bill in order to pressure the Congress into supporting the hate crimes language.

“It is abhorrent to play politics with funding for our troops,” said Calvey. “If the liberals in Congress wanted to expand hate crimes laws, they should have let the issue stand on its own, allowing a full debate of the topic. To attach the language to a troop funding measure is playing politics to the extreme.”

During Calvey’s service in the Oklahoma Legislature, he opposed similar hate crimes measures offered by House Democrats. Calvey currently is seeking the Republican nomination for Oklahoma’s Fifth District Congressional seat.

Oklahoma City (September 24, 2009) –  Kevin Calvey, a Republican candidate for Oklahoma's Fifth Congressional District, cited a newly-released Congressional document as further proof that President Obama's plan to socialize the American health care system would be a disaster for average Americans.

"President Obama and his liberal friends in Congress are pushing one of the largest expansions of government in the history of our country, and it will come at a great cost to the American people," said Calvey.

"Obama’s plan is estimated to cost $1.28 trillion in new federal spending over the next ten years, and of course the President and his left wing friends are pushing a tax increase to pay for that record new spending,” said Calvey.

Calvey cited a newly released chart created by the Joint Economic Committee as further evidence of the havoc that socialized health care would create. (The chart is attached.)

“This chart is a perfect reminder of why the government should not run our healthcare system,” said Calvey. “Good luck trying to make sense of Congress’ plan for how to keep your own doctor. An American would get lost in a bureaucratic mess just trying to figure out this basic health care issue. And this is supposed to be an improvement over the current system?

“President Obama keeps trying to talk us into accepting these policies that grow government and do not adequately provide for our citizens’ needs. His plan for health care will increase the tax burden on our middle class families and drive down the quality of our care. This is the wrong approach.”

The chart referred to above can be viewed in .pdf format by clicking HERE.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contact: Trebor Worthen
405-830-1793
 

Calvey for Congress Campaign Surpasses 1,000 Donors

 
Oklahoma City (August 31, 2009) - Kevin Calvey’s campaign for Congress announced today that it has surpassed 1,000 donors in less than eight months of fundraising. 
 
This milestone comes as Calvey already had more cash-on-hand, $259,000, in his campaign at the end of June than any other candidate for Congress on Oklahoma’s Fifth District.
 
Calvey, a former Oklahoma State Representative and decorated Iraq War veteran, said, “I am humbled and overwhelmed by the tremendous support I have seen for my campaign. People from all walks of life have made contributions both large and small because they are tired of business as usual in Washington, and they want a true conservative who will help get our country back on track.”
 
As of Friday, August 28, the campaign had a total of 1,039 donors.
 
Calvey’s donations do not come from lobbyists or powerful special interest groups with business before state legislative committees.  Because of Calvey’s strong conservative record and his military service, he enjoys broad grassroots support from veterans, Republican activists, business leaders, and local and national conservative groups.
 
“My donors are, for the most part, average people who are fed up with the liberal dominance in Washington, and they want a real conservative who isn’t afraid to do the right thing,” said Calvey.
 
Calvey said his more than 1,000 donors will only grow as more people hear his conservative message of less government, fiscal responsibility, and traditional moral values.  This large base of donors also will serve as a group who the campaign can continue to go back to for greater levels of support in the eleven months remaining before the primary election.
 
“I’m going to keep telling people what I stand for, and I believe that will mean more and more support. It’s time for a major change in direction in Washington, and I intend to fight for everyone who believes the same,” said Calvey.

(Oklahoma City)- 5th District Congressional Candidate Kevin Calvey, an Army National Guard prosecutor, said today that the Obama Administration’s recently-announced policies regarding interrogations will result in more deaths of US military personnel and civilians.

In particular, Calvey blasted two Obama policies:  first, removal of responsibility for high-value terrorist interrogations from the CIA to a newly-created White House interrogation team, which apparently will give Miranda-style rights warnings to terrorists before interrogating them; and second, the recent decision by Attorney General Eric Holder to investigate and possibly prosecute CIA interrogators merely for doing their jobs.

“For the Administration to take our Constitutionally-protected rights and give them to foreign terrorists is an insult to all Americans,” said Calvey.  “It is throwing pearls before swine.”

Calvey deployed to Iraq during the troop surge in 2007-2008.  He was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for his mission prosecuting al Qaeda leaders and other terrorists in the Iraqi court system.  Calvey’s job involved working with military interrogators, FBI agents, and Iraqi court personnel to bring terrorists to justice in the Iraqi system.

“I have personally looked into the eyes of over 100 terrorists,” said Calvey.  “They hate us and hate our system of government.  You will not impress them by giving them the same rights as other Americans.   They will merely take it as a sign of weakness.

“This is war, not a US court process.  Our enemies are NOT entitled to the rights protected in our Constitution.  The only rights to which they are entitled are the rights we choose to give them.  Currently their only rights are the due process rights contained in the Fourth Geneva Convention, which are a legal review within a few days of detention to determine whether they are a security threat, followed by a similar review every six months.  Not a trial, not Miranda rights.

“And to prosecute CIA interrogators merely for doing their jobs will chill our nation’s ability to continue to collect intelligence on the terrorists who would destroy us.  It’s questionable enough that the Administration wants to inhibit future interrogations, but it is a betrayal of loyal Americans to seek prosecution of those who were merely serving our country as CIA interrogators.”

Oklahoma City (August 13, 2009) - Congressional candidate Kevin Calvey today made a pledge to Oklahoma’s 5th Congressional District voters that he will forthrightly oppose the terribly wasteful congressional earmarking process, if he is elected to Congress.  Like Oklahoma’s junior U.S. Senator, Dr. Tom Coburn, Calvey signed the “No Pork Pledge” offered by Citizens Against Government Waste, the nation’s most prominent taxpayer watchdog on government spending. 

 

“As Dr. Coburn puts it, earmarks or pork projects are the gateway drug to Congress’ spending addiction,” said Calvey.  “Dr. Coburn is a hero in the fight against wasteful government spending, and I am honored to join him in pledging that I will not support the corrupt and wasteful earmark system. I will not seek any earmarks.”

 

An “earmark” is a local spending project designated for federal funding by a particular congressman, usually slipped into bills without proper oversight by the full Congress and without anyone looking after taxpayers’ interests.  The most notorious earmark rip off is the “Bridge to Nowhere” in Alaska, which received $300 million of taxpayer funds to build a bridge to an island with fewer than 50 residents. 

 

“The earmark system is a terrible deal for Oklahoma taxpayers,” said Calvey. “Sure, a go-along-get-along congressman could bring home a few crumbs in Washington pork projects and make himself look good.  But what he doesn’t tell us about is the thousands of other pork projects all across the country that he is making our local taxpayers pay for by playing the earmark game.  I’ll protect our taxpayers by opposing the earmark system.”

 

Calvey fought hard against wasteful spending throughout his time in the state Legislature.  In 1999, he brought a Constitutional challenge against the Legislature’s raid on the Waste Tire Recycling Indemnity Fund, from which the Legislature took funds intended for cleaning up tire dumps and instead spent it on pork projects.  In 2003, Calvey helped trim state agency budgets by 7% as the budget negotiator for the House Republicans. 

 

Calvey left the Legislature in 2006 and deployed with the Army National Guard to Iraq, where he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for his mission prosecuting al Qaeda leaders and other terrorists in the Iraqi court system.

 

“I am honored to serve Oklahoma taxpayers by pledging to oppose the wasteful and corrupt earmark system,” said Calvey.

Oklahoma City (August 11, 2009) - Congressional Candidate Kevin Calvey today became the first candidate in Oklahoma’s 5th Congressional District to make a commitment to oppose tax increases.  Calvey signed the “Taxpayer Pledge” offered by Americans for Tax Reform, a prominent nationwide taxpayer advocacy organization.

 

“Taxation is a necessary evil at best,” said Calvey.  “When the taxation funds government programs that are not necessary, then that taxation is merely evil.  We don’t need more government, so we don’t need more taxes.”

 

Calvey signed a similar pledge to his constituents during every one of his elections to the state House of Representatives.  Calvey, a conservative Republican, served in the state House from 1998-2006 and chaired the state House Revenue and Tax Committee in 2005-2006, the first term in which Republicans had a majority in the state House. 

 

As a legislator, Calvey authored House Bill 1547, the largest tax cut law in Oklahoma history, among many other tax reduction measures.

 

Calvey left the Legislature in 2006, and deployed with the Army National Guard to Iraq, where he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for his mission prosecuting al Qaeda leaders and other terrorists in the Iraqi court system.

 

“I am honored to serve Oklahoma taxpayers by pledging not to raise their taxes,” said Calvey.

Oklahoma City, OK, June 26, 2009 - Kevin Calvey, candidate for Congress in Oklahoma’s Fifth Congressional District, made the following statement today urging Congress to oppose President Obama’s cap and trade legislation:

“The cap and trade legislation proposed by President Obama very well
may be the most economically devastating bill ever considered by
Congress. If passed, it will be the equivalent of a multi-trillion
dollar tax increase on American businesses and families, and will kill
millions of jobs.

“As Americans, we certainly need to break our addiction to foreign
oil—but cap and trade is the wrong way to do it. Congress should
defeat this poorly crafted bill and instead explore other options to
lessen our dependence on foreign oil.”

The U.S House of Representatives today voted 217-205 to advance the Cap and Trade tax bill to the House floor.