Democrats

I expected that Gov. Mary Fallin’s first State of the State address would have been more partisan and ideological than it was given the Oklahoma Republican landslide in November, but a meeting that happened before her speech should worry Democrats more on a couple of levels.

On Monday morning, right before Fallin, pictured right, went through the typical Republican canards of tort, workers compensation and education “reform,” a Senate committee passed a bill that, if eventually approved, would strip the Oklahoma State Board of Education of any real authority.

Some outspoken Democrats have rallied around the board after some members—appointed by former Gov. Brad Henry, a Democrat—questioned the credentials of recent hires by newly elected state Schools Superintendent Janet Barresi, a Republican.

Todd Goodman, head of the Oklahoma Democratic Party, even issued a “Call to arms!” email statement on Saturday about the pending committee legislation, arguing that “no one person can act as a dictator when it comes to educating our children.” This, even after two board members, Tim Gilpin and Herb Rozell, had to apologize for making jokes about the pregnancy of one of Barresi’s hires that they actually did approve at a recent contentious meeting of the board. (Here’s my take on their comments.)

Thus, the real message of the first day of the Oklahoma Legislature’s session this year: If Democrats try to get in the way of the Republican juggernaut with heavy-handed behavior, they can expect immediate and drastic consequences from Republicans.

Perhaps, the state School Board and its meetings could be a place where Democrats can take stands on important issues like education funding and so-called “school choice” and start to win back voters, but it seems unlikely that picking a fight over the people on Barresi’s senior management team is going to generate a lot of enthusiasm and, frankly, even interest. This, too, should worry Democrats. Why did some Democrats here pick this battle when there are so many others to fight?

As I’ve written before, I didn’t support Barresi, and I’m worried about her agenda. I worry, in particular, about the overall Republican push for so-called “school choice,” which could ultimately drain public schools of funding through an expanded voucher system or some hybrid of it. This is an important issue. Education funding here is expected to take at least a 3 percent cut for next fiscal year, and this comes after other recent cuts. This is an important issue. Who Barresi picks as her chief of staff or communications director might be an administrative problem because of institutional rules that can be easily changed, but it’s not an important issue.

Democrats should pick their issues more wisely and try to find ways to reverse their fortunes. That can only happen with messages and candidates that resonate with Oklahoma’s voters. Why fight it out over who is going to write Barresi’s press releases?

Meanwhile, Fallin got through her speech without using much confrontational language. She even threw out the idea of prison sentencing reform, something long championed by progressives. Her main agenda, though, is based on conservative initiatives. The odds are she will legislatively win all her initiatives over the next two years and probably many years after that.

Update: Another overreach among state Democrats on this issue is that somehow the Oklahoma Constitution protects the State Board of Education and its duties.

Here’s Article XIII, Section 5 of the Oklahoma Constitution:

The supervision of instruction in the public schools shall be vested in a Board of Education, whose powers and duties shall be prescribed by law. The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall be President of the Board. Until otherwise provided by law, the Governor, Secretary of State, and Attorney General shall be ex-officio members, and with the Superintendent, compose said Board of Education.

Note the terms “prescribed by law” and “otherwise provided by law.”

Actually, if the state went by a strict interpretation of the constitution, all the board members would currently be Republicans. As it stands now, the Republican Party, which controls the legislature and the executive branch, can do whatever it wants with the board. Also, do some Democrats here think that if the GOP wanted to repeal this part of the Oklahoma Constitution through a vote of the people that it wouldn’t happen?

Update: The use of the word "dictator" to describe Barresi by Democrats is the same as GOP rhetoric that describes President Barack Obama as "socialist."

U.S. Rep. Dan Boren, the Blue Dog Democrat from Oklahoma’s Second Congressional District, continues to draw heat for his ultra-conservative views, which include what some people argue is blatant pandering to big energy companies and the National Rifle Association.

Boren is drawing heat right now because he faces State Sen. Jim Wilson in the Democratic primary for his Congressional seat. Many state Democrats, and rightly so, are upset with Boren’s conservative positions that he argues reflect his constituents’ views but that others argue are most often diametrically opposed to mainstream Democratic political thinking.

As we know, Oklahoma is one of the reddest of red states, but Boren represents a traditional Democratic district, including Little Dixie, that has and will benefit greatly from some of President Barack Obama’s programs, including the new health care reform initiative, which Boren voted against.

Howie Klein, who blogs at Down With Tyranny, published a post on The Huffington Post recently that pointed out Boren’s ties to Big Oil. Klein writes:

Since 1990, Big Oil has invested around $144 million in the careers of congressmen, almost all conservatives. Almost 70% of the payoff have gone to Republicans. And among current members of the House there's only one Democrat in Big Oil's Top 10: Dan Boren ($565,460). As you can see, Big Oil is, by far, the biggest source of cash for his political endeavors. What you haven't been able to see, until Fox caught it on tape, is that Boren, who bragged about not voting for Obama and who has voted against virtually every piece of Democratic legislation since Obama has become president, has never found anything in the oil industry's agenda that he didn't get behind.

The Fox to which Klein was referring isn’t Fox News but Josh Fox, a filmmaker, who recently filmed Gasland, which is appearing on HBO. The film critiques the hydraulic fracturing drilling process, which some people argue leads to water contamination. In the film, Boren is depicted as a toady to the energy industry. (Go to the 1:30 mark on the film’s trailer posted above.)

Klein also dissects a recent Boren political ad, which shows him holding a rifle and touting his excellent rating from the NRA. The ad could have been easily produced for an ultra-conservative Republican. Here’s that ad:

Wilson has a difficult battle against the well-funded Boren, but many Oklahoma progressive Democrats think his campaign is worth it to show just how conservative Boren has become in recent years. Some might argue it’s not worth risking the chance the seat could be picked up by a Republican, but if we eliminate the expression of progressive views entirely from Oklahoma politics, what then?

You can contribute to Wilson’s campaign by clicking here.

It’s probably an understatement to argue that this has not been a great year for progressive Oklahoma Democrats so far.

No viable Democratic candidate has emerged to challenge U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn. Both Democratic gubernatorial candidates, Lt. Gov. Jari Askins and Attorney General Drew Edmondson, trail U.S. Rep. Mary Fallin in polling. The Republican-dominated legislature continued its destructive, ideological spree at the state Capitol pretty much unabated and sometimes helped by conservative Democrats.

So it was fantastic news for progressives to learn that state Sen. Jim Wilson, a Democrat from Tahlequah, has announced he will challenge Blue Dog U.S. Rep. Dan Boren in the Second District Congressional Democratic primary.

Even more fantastic is this: Wilson, in the words of one blogger, Howie Klein, who interviewed him, won’t be running as “another Republican-lite reactionary.” This means he could challenge Boren on his Republican-like stances on issues such as health care reform and taxation during the campaign. Wilson is a viable candidate who could make Boren respond to criticism that his conservative votes have not always been in the best interests of his constituents.

This is what Wilson had to say in a recent press release about the relationship between medical record management systems and health care reform:

For years, the debate on true health care reform has not been fact-based. It has been fear-based, driven by the greed of those who profit most from a broken system. As a result, hundreds of thousands of working Oklahomans have not been able to afford insurance. Even those fortunate enough to have it often find that after years of faithfully paying premiums, the companies will do everything in their power to avoid providing the care patients need. With proper reform, there will be no additional cost to Oklahoma, but the benefits will be innumerable.

Boren, of course, voted against the recent federal health care bill, arguing it costs too much money. Wilson argued the federal government was forced to step in to do something about health care and that any costs to Oklahomans “could be easily offset by eliminating waste, fraud and utilizing better management of medical records.”

Wilson, a Vietnam War veteran who served in the Marine Corps, is going to draw a sharp distinction between himself and Boren on the campaign trail. This alone is good news for progressives.

The Second District encompasses 24 counties in the eastern part of Oklahoma. Some of the major cities in the district are Durant, McAlester, Muskogee, Tahlequah, Claremore and Miami. It includes the Little Dixie region in southeastern Oklahoma.

There’s little doubt that Wilson faces a real battle to win against an incumbent with huge family name recognition. Boren is the son of University of Oklahoma President David Boren, who is a former Oklahoma Governor and U.S. Senator. His grandfather, Lyle Boren, was a former U.S. Representative as well.

But with enough financial support and a good ground campaign, Wilson can win, and he can win without siding with the fear mongering and corporate worship that defines the current GOP and conservative Democrats, such as Boren. Wilson also has his own Oklahoma credentials and following in his Senate district and surrounding areas. He has also served in the Oklahoma House.

You can contribute to Wilson’s campaign by going to the Bad Dogs page on ActBlue.