U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe delivered a harsh assessment of President Barack Obama’s time in office to the Tulsa Rotary Club.
Inhofe told a lunchtime crowd there are seven scandals from Obama’s presidency that will have lasting consequences.
"People say, 'Well, you're not supposed to talk about the president that way. That's wrong,'" Inhofe said. "I've got 20 kids and grandkids that are a lot more important than what this president has done to America through his war on fossil fuels, degrading the military, the over regulations, all the things that are destroying this country."
Inhofe spoke for about 40 minutes. Afterward he weighed in on the 17-candidate field vying for the Republican presidential nomination. He said all of them need to focus on the issues.
"And kind of get away from the tripe that you normally hear, and particularly if they're criticizing the Republican party," Inhofe said. "We went through this before, back in the days when a third party ended up causing us to lose the election. I don't want that to happen again."
Inhofe has not endorsed a candidate. He does, however, think the current fascination with brash billionaire Donald Trump will run its course.
Inhofe also believes his transportation funding bill is close to being passed. It went to the House before Congress went on recess, though representatives passed a temporary measure rather than taking up the DRIVE Act.
A long-term highway bill hasn’t passed since 2005.
"Look around Tulsa. Look around the state," Inhofe said. "You'll see a lot of things that need to be done that we have not been able to do over the last eight years because under Harry Reid and the Democrats, we're unable to get — even introduce — a highway reauthorization bill. It's a big deal."
Inhofe believes the DRIVE Act will pass the House and President Obama won’t veto it.
