Oklahoma State Senate
Senator Mike Morgan
President Pro Tempore
Senate District 21
Payne, Logan and Lincoln Counties

Print Article

For Immediate Release: September 30, 2005

Senate Leader Says Republicans Should Apologize
For Republican Administration Official’s Comments

Senate President Pro Tempore Mike Morgan called on Republicans in the State Senate Friday to denounce a statement by former Education Secretary William Bennett that links the crime rate and the abortion of black babies. Bennett served as Education Secretary under former Republican President Ronald Reagan and served as Drug Czar under George H. W. Bush.

Morgan demanded that Republicans in the Senate call their radical right wing allies in Washington and ask them to stop appointing such questionable leaders to positions that control the destiny of so many Americans.

“For Mr. Bennett to suggest that black babies could be aborted in order to lower the crime rate is probably the most offensive and unethical statement I have heard from a politician since the dark days of the Jim Crow laws,” Morgan said. “Republicans in the Oklahoma State Senate owe Oklahomans an apology for aligning themselves with people who think this way.”

“This is a moment of truth for Republicans in the State Senate. Do they stand with Oklahomans and our values, or do they stand with the likes of William Bennett and the other national Republicans who seem to be so drunk with power that they continue to leave behind the values and morals of every day Americans.” Morgan said.