By Rick Moore

Many fund-raisers and political events are similar across Oklahoma in that it's a time to reconnect with friends and acquaintances. The Hope Pregnancy Center Fundraiser held at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum was no different. My wife and I first ran into Greg Treat who works on the staff of U.S. Senator Tom Coburn, M.D. I first met Greg and his brother, Brian, during Dr. Tom's 2004 Senate Campaign.

Many stories could be told from that campaign, but the encounter refreshed my viewing of a recent GQ article with a bold title: "The Most Powerful People In D.C." Dr. Tom was listed as Number 28 on this elite Top Fifty list after polling journalists, congressmen, lobbyists, think tankers, and other influence peddlers. Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, describes Dr. Tom in this manner: "He's like Jesse Helms without the accent."

I still remember Dr. Tom's famous victory speech at West Middle School in Muskogee after he had just won his first political race, 52 to 48 percent, and handed Republicans control of the Second Congressional District for the first time since 1921. He said, "I hope tonight starts a trend to make government responsive to us again." Fifteen years later and Dr. Tom is considered one of the most powerful people in Washington!

Donna and I then greeted James Lankford and his wife, Cindy. James is a Republican candidate for U.S. Congress in the Fifth District. Many of you may know James as the Director of the Falls Creek Summer Youth Camp. Falls Creek is the largest youth camp in America with over 150 summer staff and more than 50,000 students and adults attending camp each summer from across Oklahoma. Since James has directed Falls Creek, well over half a million people have participated in a week of camp.

This is where I first met James. He has also coordinated mission and Community service projects in Belize, Malawi, England, Wales, and Germany. James would make an excellent addition to our Republican delegation as a pro-life, pro-Second Amendment, conservative.

"Our goal was to raise $50,000 in the first 30 days after we filed with the FEC and we exceeded that amount," Lankford said. His first quarterly filing with the FEC shows more than $58,000 raised from more than 500 individual contributors to the campaign in 30 days. The quarterly report reflects the period August 31 through September 30, 2009.

If you would like to learn more regarding a specific position or you just want to hang out with James, Cindy, and his two daughters, log on to www.jameslankford.com.

It's truly amazing the miracles that are worked and the lives that are transformed at the two Hope Pregnancy Centers located in Oklahoma City and the one center housed in Tulsa. During 2008 the centers had 3,268 client visits. The Gospel or testimony was shared with 824 clients. Sixty-eight clients accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and 17 clients rededicated their lives. Volunteers prayed with 1,791 clients and gave 304 clients new bibles. The center's medical staff provided 470 ultrasounds; 93-percent of those clients chose life instead of choosing abortion. And, volunteers donated 6,879 hours of service to the centers.

Before the evening program began, we had the pleasure of being seated beside Sen. Owen Laughlin and his wife, Charlette. He is a Republican candidate for State Treasurer. Owen Laughlin is term-limited from serving in the Oklahoma Senate where he finished his final year in the senate (2008) with an 80-percent score on the Conservative Index while the average score in the Senate was 57-percent. This score earned Sen. Laughlin a position on the distinguished Top Conservative Legislators list. Sen. Laughlin holds a 65-percent Cumulative Score for a twelve-year-career.

A former Assistant District Attorney, Sen. Laughlin told me an interesting fact of how a number of contracts are excluded from the competitive bidding process. For example, the Attorney General of the State of Oklahoma is charged by law, with representing all of the agencies of the State. And, yet, agencies continue to spend millions of dollars every day for outside legal counsel. In fact, depending on whose numbers you believe, it may be over one hundred million dollars ($100,000,000) per year. Sen. Laughlin pointed to the Oklahoman, in a front page article, that recently documented over $40 million dollars per year for outside attorneys.

His point being that millions of dollars for outside attorney fees go annually to friends of the AG and agency heads, not to the lowest and best bidder, even though the AG's office should provide the legal counsel in the first place. Sen. Laughlin's goal is to reform the government by making sure its money is spent more efficiently. "We really haven't improved our accountability methods since the 1950s," Laughlin said.

In addition to serving as a state senator, Laughlin's qualifications include 20 years in the banking industry. He was part owner and director of the First National Banks in Higgins and White Deer, Texas. Sen. Laughlin also practiced law for 20 years and stated that experience helped him understand how businesses function. In 1999 the National Republican Legislators Association named him National Legislator of the Year. If you would like to find out more about Sen. Owen Laughlin and his campaign for State Treasurer log on to www.VoteOwenLaughlin.com

After we were introduced to Dr. Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, we were both entertained and enlightened by his keynote speech. Dr. Land referenced the current healthcare debate and compared Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, M.D., ramrod of the healthcare reform like a vampire being in charge of the blood bank. Dr. Land drew gasps when he cited a quote from Dr. Emanuel in which he personally believes in rationing healthcare for the benefit of those people between the age 15 and 40. The Wall Street Journal contains the actual quote in the August 27, 2009 issue:"When implemented, the complete lives system produces a priority curve on which individuals aged roughly 15 and 40 years get the most substantial chance, whereas the youngest and oldest people get changes that are attenuated."

Dr. Land continued to say that the Pro-Life crowd is the last line of defense. He made the stunning comparison of the current healthcare debate to the attack on Pearl Harbor. When the Japanese were celebrating following their surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto prophetically said: "I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve." He prays that the current debate will awaken the Pro-Life Majority to turn the table on the healthcare debate.

If you would like to donate money or volunteer at one of the Hope Pregnancy Centers please contact: 10327 N. May Avenue, OKC, 73120; 1624 S.W. 82nd Street, OKC, 73159; or 13012 East 21 Street, Tulsa, 74134.