Okie Candidate Prays For Hedge Of Thorns

(Reproductive rights are crucial for a free society. Be sure to read DocHoc's commentary this week in the Oklahoma Gazette.)

Jantz’s Theocratic Debut

I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness—Allen Ginsberg’s “Howl”

Is there no end to the religious fervor infiltrating Oklahoma politics and government these days? No, and it is only going to get worse if people do not start speaking up and fighting back.

Joshua Jantz, a Republican candidate for the Oklahoma Senate District 46 seat, is circulating a piece of campaign literature that can only be described as a religious tract. “Thank you for praying!” the tract reads, for the following things:

“For God to place a hedge of thorns around the district, & every voter within, that no evil influence prevails, & that voters will know and believe the truth”

“For the voters’ salvation

“For any critics, opposition, or opponents

“For unrighteous candidates to lose interest

“For the voters to elect righteous leaders

“For the personal wisdom & strength, physically & spiritually

“For campaign volunteers & finances”

The senate seat, now held by term-limited Bernest Cain, is typically a safe haven for Democrats so one might write Jantz off as a kooky Bible-thumper with little chance of winning. But it does show the general direction of the Oklahoma Republican Party when you add it to the religious politics of state Reps. Sally Kern, Thad Balkman, and others. Jantz is even listed on the Oklahoma Republican Party’s candidates’ page. The Republicans actually claim him and his hedge of thorns.

The question becomes this: When will such campaign literature become just the usual and normal way of politicking in Oklahoma and similar outbacks like Mississippi or South Dakota? Do not think it will never happen. Be frightened. This is why it is so crucially important to elect people such as Andrew Rice, the leading Democrat candidate for the District 46 seat. Now is the time to get involved with Rice’s campaign.

Jim, What About Unrecorded History?


Meanwhile, our global-warming-is-a-hoax U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe took to the senate floor this past week to argue in favor of the doomed constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. As part of his argument, according to Salon.com’s War Room, Inhofe “whipped out a chart” and said:

"As you see here, and I think this is maybe the most important prop we'll have during the entire debate, my wife and I have been married 47 years. We have 20 kids and grandkids. I'm really proud to say that in the recorded history of our family, we've never had a divorce or any kind of homosexual relationship."

(Watch this Oklahoma spectacle here.)

Can you believe political debate in the United States Senate even allows for such open bigotry and stupidity? You might think Inhofe would get shouted off the floor, but, no, his statement merely means more red-neck support from the folks back home and a wink wink from President George Bush. Maybe “White Trash With Money” Toby Keith can write a song about it all.

Inhofe does, however, embarrass the state considerably with statements such as this. Inhofe also once called global warming a hoax and received much national ridicule for it. He symbolizes the state to the rest of the nation, and his kookiness reflects on us all.

The local corporate media, of course, does not cover Inhofe adequately and gives him a free ride. It does this for the weird Tom Coburn, as well, our other wonderful senator who once said southeastern Oklahoma schools were filled with lesbians lurking in bathrooms. The corporate media does this because it is about making money, not about truth. The corporate media here has completely forsaken ordinary Oklahomans trying to make a living on the prairie. It has sold out to the nuts and kooks who can manipulate people through wedge issues.

It is disgusting, ugly, repulsive, and here it is only June 9, and it is already 100 degrees outside.


Morgan Stands For “We” The People On Budget Issue


Do not believe the sour mash passing as editorial writing in The Daily Oklahoman. Oklahoma Senate Pro Tem Mike Morgan is standing up for regular Oklahomans when he goes mono y mono with House Speaker Todd Hiett, who wants to give away the state to rich people.

The Oklahoman is calling Morgan an “obstructionist” (“It’s child play for Senate Dems,” June 9, 2006) because he and other Democratic Senators want middle-class people here to be able to afford to college. They also want our underpaid teachers to get a halfway decent raise for once, and they want a tax break for average income Oklahomans through a tax deduction increase. Man, that’s just crazy, isn’t it?

The legislature has to meet in a special session to approve next year’s budget, which has to be done by July 1. Hiett and The Oklahoman want a income tax cut that will primarily benefit the state’s richest people like the Gaylord family, which owns the newspaper. The tax cut could mean higher college tuition in a state that desperately needs more college graduates. Governor Brad Henry is trying to broker a compromise, but it is an election year so Hiett, who is running for lieutenant governor, is grandstanding and talking smack whenever given the opportunity.

According to one news account about the issue, Morgan, who is from Stillwater, recently said, “"This is not about padding someone's pockets with a tax cut. This is about making it possible for young people in Oklahoma to go to college, to improve their lives and improve the future of this state. Why is it hard for the Speaker to say yes to those people? Does he hate them that much?"

Good question. Why does Hiett hate people trying get a college education? Is it because his reward-the-rich Republican ideology has blinded him to the real problems facing average Oklahomans?