Cole: Town Hall Lessons
Town Hall lessons
BY U.S. REP. TOM COLE
Over the last several weeks in Oklahoma, I’ve had the opportunity to listen to my constituents and learn about what issues concern them the most. I’ve had a very full schedule traveling across the district for meetings with local chambers of commerce, visits with community leaders and officials, tours of local businesses, interviews with local media and some firsthand updates on severe weather damage.
Each week, I also hosted town hall meetings, where I invited my constituents to join me for a legislative update and participate in a forum to ask questions and talk with me directly. This included two telephone town hall meetings from my Norman office and six town hall meetings in Moore, Ada, Chickasha, Ardmore, Midwest City and Lawton. During each and every stop along the way, but especially during my town hall meetings, there were several issues that came up repeatedly.
Clearly, the majority of my constituents remain frustrated with the actions of the Obama administration and lack confidence in the president’s ability to lead in various areas. Most noticeably at this point in time, my fellow Oklahomans are very alarmed by the proposed nuclear deal negotiated with Iran by the administration.
Throughout the two years of negotiations, the president assured the public that any deal reached would prevent a nuclear-armed Iran and block its pathway to acquiring and building a nuclear weapon. Unfortunately, the deal sent to Congress does not fulfill the president’s promise and instead merely delays Iran’s potential development of a nuclear bomb. Further, by lifting sanctions, the agreement dangerously empowers the country to continue funding our terrorist enemies, which jeopardizes the safety and security of our friends and allies in the neighborhood – including Israel.