Come on, Christy . . . Really?

The absurdity and hypocrisy of The Oklahoman and its owners continue to stink it up here. When will the Gaylord family do us all a favor and sell the newspaper?

Did Christy Gaylord Everest, pictured right, daughter of the late Edward L. Gaylord and current CEO of the newspaper, actually approve or condone the latest bit of snark on the paper’s editorial page criticizing a “posh” Nichols Hills crowd for supporting Andrew Rice in his campaign against wacko U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe?

That is about as hypocritical as you can get. The Gaylord family has long been associated with the rich enclave in the Oklahoma City area. According to one site about Nichols Hills, E.K. Gaylord was living there in the 1930s during the Great Depression as many Oklahomans fled the state in economic despair. (Look in Chapter V to learn how the E.K. Gaylords opened up their gardens for all their neighbors during this time.)

Here’s the recent snark (“Scissor Tales: Saturday, June 28, 2008”) in its entirety:

$11 a minute
His Web site describes it only as "Fundraising Reception — Nichols Hills.” Looks to us as though those "fat cats” Democrats hate aren't all Republicans. Monday night's reception for U.S. Senate hopeful Andrew Rice takes place at one of the most posh addresses in Oklahoma, with hosts paying $1,000 each to have their names attached. This doesn't mean you aren't welcome if you can't contribute that much. A "suggested” minimum donation to attend is $125 per couple. Location is the $2.2 million home of a trial lawyer who specializes in class-action lawsuits, which is the source of mega wealth for many Democratic candidates. Rice, a first-term state senator, is taking on incumbent Republican Jim Inhofe. Rice is young, energetic, attractive, smart — and obviously ambitious. He will uphold gun rights while railing against Inhofe's ties to the energy industry. You know, the industry where all those "fat cats” work. The class envy rhetoric gets a bit stale when one takes his wine and cheese with folks who can pay $1,000 for 90 minutes with The Candidate.

So let us try to follow the logic here. A young, smart and underdog candidate for U.S. Senate—state Sen. Rice (D-Oklahoma City)—tries to raise money for his campaign in Nichols Hills, but that is bad because only Republicans are allowed to be rich under Gaylordian ideology. No, no, I get it now. It is bad because people who want decent health insurance and better wages—the awful class envy crowd—are supporting Rice, who has fought for health care reform as a state senator. No, that’s not it either. It is all about stale cheese or something like that, right? No. Oh yeah, it is about trial lawyers with mega wealth serving stale cheese when they have the money to serve fresh cheese.

Everest and her wrecking crew have got to be joking. Her family, with their ties to Nichols Hills, is about as mega wealthy as they come, and, well, Everest and her siblings inherited their money. They did not earn it. Everest did not even graduate from college. She certainly did not go to law school. But her “mega wealth” is not open to scrutiny because she owns the largest newspaper in the state and everyone is afraid of her and her family.

These editorial snarks open Everest and her family up for valid criticism. It is a double standard and a misuse of power. Anything the Gaylords support in the Nichols Hills area is fine. Anything that goes against their ultra-conservative ideology in Nichols Hills is open to distortion by writers at The Oklahoman.

It would be interesting to know how many people in Nichols Hills even like the Gaylords anymore. Maybe they will get voted off the island. Maybe it has already happened.

Sure, I know, this is all childish on one level. The Inhofe/Rice election should be about the issues, such as the economy. Instead, Everest and The Oklahoman, as usual, choose the low road. Rice, who has a master’s degree from Harvard, and his wife, Apple, who is a practicing physician in the Oklahoma City area, are the type of people this state needs in order to prosper regardless of what happens in the November elections. This ugly bit of snark tells them and people like them to flee the state at the first opportunity.

So let us hope, for the sake of the state’s and country’s future, that every millionaire in Oklahoma shows up tonight (July 1) at the fundraising reception for Rice and donates to his campaign. Rice will need every cent he can raise to beat the incumbent Inhofe, who has held a 2-1 advantage in campaign money so far. Of course, the editorial does not mention that significant fact. Click here to donate some money to send Inhofe into retirement.