FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 2, 2012
Contact: Tom Guild, Candidate for Congressional District 5, Oklahoma
Phone:405-921-3811
Web: www.guildforcongress.com
Guild for Congress Announcement February 2, 2012
"I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of the country...corporations have been enthroned and an era of corruption in high places will follow and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until all wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed.” --Abe Lincoln November 21, 1864
Many people have lost faith in our government. The middle class and the working poor are under attack, and it is becoming more and more difficult to achieve the American Dream. The people of Oklahoma,and of our great country, deserve better in outcome and in representation. My name is Tom Guild, I am a Democrat, and today I am formally announcing my candidacy for Congress.
Many people claim that government has failed to help deliver a good quality of life for our people. The national government does some things very well. Our government has kept us safe from foreign aggression. It has made sure that there is a safety net for older Americans by providing Social Security. It has freed our seniors from worry over getting health care in their golden years through Medicare. Additionally, it has passed civil rights legislation, guaranteeing equality of opportunity under the law, to previously marginalized groups. However, there are many times in the past year, when government has disappointed us and fallen short of the mark on the mature and professional behavior and performance we expect from our elected officials.
We all watched in horror when a small group of ideological partisans held our country and its economy hostage in the unnecessary drama in raising the debt ceiling in July and August of 2011. This intransigence led directly to the downgrading of our country’s credit rating for the first time in history and to a steep drop in confidence in general and the stock market in particular. This intransigence negatively affected millions of Americans' retirement accounts. This intransigence led to a series of near misses in avoiding a shut-down of the national government in 2011.This intransigence eroded confidence in Congress, and led to some of the lowest ratings for that branch of government in the history of the United States.
We were disgusted when the U.S. House, with the unanimous support of House Republicans, voted in April 2011 to end traditional Medicare and turn it into a voucher system. We were shaken as we have witnessed the many attacks on Social Security, led by out-of-touch members of Congress calling for the privatization of Social Security. We cringed when many in Congress supported anonymous contributions to Super PAC’s, funded by unlimited donations from mega wealthy donors. When these same members of Congress don’t want to require donors to be publicly identified, we wonder whether they have the common sense necessary to serve as leaders in our country. This flood of anonymous money erodes confidence in our political system and damages our democracy.I strongly favor transparency and legal requirements that such donors be publicly disclosed.
We need to fund public education;this will lead to the creation of good paying jobs and careers. Some want to defund public education; this will damage and ultimately destroy public education. Public education is the great equalizer. Public schools are a great democratic institution. Public education gives all children the opportunity to work hard and a hope to achieve the American Dream. Destroying the public schools by design or by neglect is one of the greatest mistakes our country could make. We need a well-educated people to ensure a strong democracy and to compete in the world marketplace for the best and the highest paying careers for our citizens. Public education is the gateway to a well-educated workforce and to attracting well-paid jobs and careers. When we strengthen our education system, we strengthen our country and secure our place in the world economy. Support for public education will do more to create good careers for our citizens than anything else we can do.
The overwhelming majority of the Republicans in Congress oppose having the wealthiest in our society pay their fair share of income taxes. House Republicans oppose repeal of the George W. Bush tax cuts for the most affluent Americans:singles with annual incomes over $200,000 and couples with annual incomes over $250,000. Repealing these tax cuts and going back to the rates that were in effect during the Clinton Presidency would cut the national budget deficit by approximately $700-$800 billion over the next ten years. The disparity in wealth and incomes is a growing problem in our country and this disparity is harming our ability to pull out of the Great Recession and recalibrate our economy to get it back on an even keel.It is hindering economic prosperity for all Americans—especially the beleaguered middle class and hard-pressed working poor.
Government assistance can be essential and even life-saving and it should and must be used wisely to lend a hand to those who need help. I, myself, benefited when I was very young when our family received badly needed government support. At the age of six, after a turbulent and difficult childhood and living off government commodities, my parents abandoned me. I lived at the Tulsa Boys Home and several foster homes in Oklahoma, until Dr. Carl Guild and his wife Freda adopted me. After moving in with the Guild family, I was placed in cub scouts, I took piano and violin lessons and I was taught to swim at the Downtown YMCA in Tulsa. There was constant emphasis on education, and I was always encouraged to live as a productive and responsible citizen.
I graduated from Bartlesville Sooner High School, then went on to the University of Oklahoma and earned a B.A. in Political Science while on the Robert Dean Bass Academic Scholarship. I then attended law school while on the Maurice E. Purnell Academic Scholarship at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, where I received my J.D. I taught at University of Central Oklahoma from 1979 to 2006 in both the College of Liberal Arts and the College of Business Administration, and I am now a UCO Professor Emeritus. I also taught at Oklahoma City University from 2006-2009 as a Visiting Professor of Legal Studies in the MBA Program.
I established Tommy’s Fund for students at Payne Elementary in Wichita, KS, where I attended kindergarten and first grade. This fund provides four children per year with school clothes and supplies. Payne Elementary was a singular bright spot in my early childhood; I have tried to make it a bright spot for other children as well. I also started the Dr. Carl H. Guild Jr. and Dr. Thomas E. Guild Endowed Scholarship Fund at UCO to honor of my late adoptive father, who was a big supporter of public education and inspired me to get my doctorate. Each year, the scholarship awards one student who plans to pursue a career in law or public service, a scholarship. I helped fund an endowed scholarship at OU to honor my late adoptive mother Freda Mae Meyer Guild, who was the first female to graduate from OU with a degree in Chemical Engineering. This scholarship is awarded to the outstanding female student in Chemical Engineering each year at OU. It is important for those who have prospered by living in our great country to give back and help others achieve their goals and further their pursuit of happiness.
Now, I am running for Congress.I have achieved my American Dream. I have a blessed life of plenty and am grateful to all those who helped me along the way. It is time to give back.
The experiences in my life helped shape who I am today; my character developed as I met and overcame difficult challenges. If you obtain a good education, work hard and persevere, your life can make a positive difference in the lives of other people. I am running for Congress to help ensure that our children can get a good education, can safely rise above difficult circumstances, can have access to good jobs, and will be equipped with the strength to persevere and to achieve their American Dream.
It is time to get to work to restore confidence in our government. It is time to go to work to promote and protect policies that make people’s lives better—particularly the lives of the great American middle class. Democrats have a rich history and tradition of giving Americans a hand to help them achieve their dreams. We need to cherish this tradition and work to protect this heritage and make government work for our people.
I ask all who live in the Fifth Congressional District to join me in representing Oklahoma with common sense in the Congress of the United States. I ask you to join me in building a more compassionate, competent and community-centered government.
God bless you, and God bless the United States of America!
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