First District Representative John Sullivan (R-OK) sent out a sugar coated e-newsletter today praising fatherhood but does not mention the hard issues the reality-based community must deal with, like skyrocketing gasoline prices.
Sullivan goes on to say the National Fatherhood Initiative finds that the closer adolescents feel to their fathers, regardless of the type of family structure which they live in, the less likely it is that they will engage in the use of drugs or delinquent behavior. Nobody can disagree with that.
What Representative Sullivan doesn't say is that just this week, he voted against a measure to extend unemployment benefits to hard working fathers (and mothers) all over America. Not only that, Sullivan doesn't mention the fact that among people living in single-parent families headed by a working father, almost 28 percent are economically insecure based on their earnings and any public forms of assistance they receive. The Center for Economic and Policy Research defines a family as economically insecure if their income falls below the "basic family budget"-a measure of the basic goods and services needed to "make ends meet"-for where they live.
So where is Rep.John Sullivan's heart on Father's Day? My guess it's still with his corporate cronies. Many hard working Oklahoma fathers aren't buying his sugar-coated words.
Cross posted at the Practical Progressive.