Conflict Code: Corn claims ‘crisis,’ Coffee claims ‘convenient’

By Patrick B. McGuigan

Published: 16-Mar-2010

Conflict continued today (Tuesday, March 16) between counterparts named for commodities as the Republican Senate President Pro Tem (Coffee, Glenn) criticized a key Democratic caucus member (Corn, Kenneth) for continuing to defend a controversial vote on a contentious resolution.

Corn had carefully characterized his vote against a constitutional proposal as driven by the “current state budget crisis,” saying, “another bailout to wealthy people doesn’t make any sense to me.”

Coffee, in a press release issued today, credited Corn for single-handedly killing Senate Joint Resolution 57 by switching his vote from yes to no “when he remembered Oklahoma voters had already decided the issue.” Coffee said Corn’s late memory retention was “convenient.”  

Corn had said such taxes are already capped for those “who need it.” Coffee countered Corn “apparently wants to stand as judge and jury on which senior citizens in our state he wants to defend.” Concerning Corn, Coffee contended, “Either he’s for slowing the rise in senior taxes, or he’s against it.” Coffee concluded Corn “owes an explanation to this important constituency.”

The two had collided in early March over emergency clauses.

CapitolBeatOK carries these messages, without conclusions concerning the contenders’ characterizations of counterparts.