Where are the Democrats in CD 5?

Jan 06 2010 Published by Dr. Havel under Congress, Oklahoma Politics

We’re now 11 months out from election day 2010 and Democrats have yet to find a credible candidate for Congressional District 5.  According to the FEC, there are 6 candidates officially in the race–all Republicans.  Is the current political environment for Democrats so poisonous the party can’t convince anyone to jump in the race?

Rumors swirled that State Senator Andrew Rice or former Corporation Commissioner Jim Roth would run, but time is quickly running out.  They’ll be far behind in fundraising and organization.  Both candidates will have other issues to overcome, too.  Rice is a very liberal state senator who was recently trounced by Senator Jim Inhofe as he challenged Inhofe for his Senate seat.  The damage done to Rice in that race by a very adept Inhofe campaign is still fresh in the minds of many voters (and probably Rice, too).  His negatives would immediately start off high.  Roth, on the other hand, is known to be a bright, well-spoken individual, who could moderate his liberal views to be more in line with the district.  He has experience winning races in Oklahoma County, after all.  But he is also viewed by some as a puppet of the energy industry after his stint on the Corporation Commission and the massive resources Chesapeake put into his failed campaign against Dana Murphy.  The energy industry and their connections would likely be his primary source of fundraising, but they already have their candidate in the race, Corporation Commissioner Jeff Cloud.

Add to this the fact that the Oklahoma Democrat Party is leaderless and in disarray, much like the national Republicans after 2006.  They’re constantly in debt and their influence is waning by the day as moderate and conservative Democrats are being pushed out of the party by the more liberal wing of the party.  Though registered Democrats have been increasing in Oklahoma County, it’s still an overwhelmingly conservative, Republican-friendly district.  The party probably doesn’t want to expend resources in a losing effort while focusing on a competitive governor’s race.  Still, it’s pretty sad when one of the major parties can’t even draft a semi-credible candidate for Oklahoma’s most important Congressional District.  It just goes to show you how damaged the Democrat brand is right now, in Oklahoma and nationwide.

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Transparency – No We Can’t!

May 04 2009 Published by admin under Good government

smokefilledroom

One of Obama most oft repreated campaign promises was that he would provide transparency in his administration. Either Obama isn’t much of a leader or his top partisans here in Oklahoma must have a lot to hide – or maybe it’s both. Less than a year after Obama first pledged to be transparent, the AP reports today that Democratic Governor Brad Henry and the state’s lone Democrat in Congress, Dan Boren are refusing to share the names of those Oklahomans being recommended to President Barack Obama’s administration for federal posts.

In the past, the recommendation process has been open, with Oklahoma’s Congressional delegation sharing with the media the names they recommended to the President for the half a dozen or so federal posts here in Oklahoma. Rep. Boren’s and Governor Henry’s break from tradition to a more secretive apporach is not the only change in this process. In the past, federal appointees were recommended to the President by federal officials – i.e. members of the US House and the US Senate. But given that Oklahoma has only one Democrat in its federal delegation, Governor Henry has been enlisted. Although a little odd, the Governor’s involvement in the federal recommendation process is not nearly as eyebrow raising as the fact that both Henry and Boren are refusing to share with the media and the public any of the names, citing the state’s Open Records Act. But that law only applies to state jobs, not federal jobs, so it’s a bogus argument.

What do they have to hide? Are they hoping to slip a few Obama -style liberals under our noses? Frankly, given the lack of Democratic leadership here in Oklahoma, perhaps they are both trying to buy some time with the “open records” excuse so they can either find someone in the state, or more likely – import another Jim Roth-style liberal from somewhere else.

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