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The Red State Blues by Arnold Hamilton the Long National Nightmare Is Over

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The Red State Blues by Arnold Hamilton the Long National Nightmare Is Over $2.50 25,000 Blue Chip Readers VOL. 40, NO. 20 An Independent Journal of Commentary NOVEMBER 10, 2008 Oklahoma Losses Temper Obama Win The Red State Blues By Arnold Hamilton The long national nightmare is over. generate more tax revenue. Shrink- Is Oklahoma’s just beginning? ing revenue [combined with inflation] The political tidal wave that swept results in lousy roads and bridges, Barack Obama into office as the first overcrowded and crumbling prisons, African-American president, and sig- cutbacks in schools, higher college naled the end of George W. Bush’s tuition … and more. eight-year reign of error, didn’t come What the wingnuts who often drive close to penetrating Oklahoma’s Red legislative agendas also fail to under- State fortress. stand is this: while many taxpayers Not only did Sooners give John Mc- are suspicious of government and un- Cain his largest victory – nearly 2-1 convinced their tax dollars are spent over Obama – in the fewer than two- as wisely as they should be, they don’t dozen states he won, but they also want to destroy government. handed Republicans the keys to the They want smart government. They Oklahoma Senate for the first time want excellent services. and strengthened the GOP’s House Several years ago, a dear Republi- majority. can friend confided a sort of crisis- Let the mischief begin. in-confidence. It was during the time A jubilant House Speaker Chris when the GOP revolution ushered Benge – who might not have sur- in by Newt Gingrich’s Contract with vived had Democrats picked up seats America was unraveling. – quickly vowed to pursue his party’s The friend lamented that it was Holy Grail, lawsuit reform, a euphe- much easier – and a lot more fun – to mism for tilting the scales of justice be in the minority, lobbing Molotov completely to Big Business. cocktails and uttering simple election Can new restrictions on a woman’s slogans, than it was to actually make right-to-choose be far behind? Will the hard choices and govern. the nativists be emboldened to pur- As the Oklahoma economy slows, sue more hateful, us-against-them, legislative Republicans will come anti-immigrant legislation? Are even face-to-face with these realities: Oil more corporate tax giveaways in the Democrats were better organized estimated. prices are falling. The state is 31st in offing? – and in some cases, better funded Rice’s name ID is now established foreclosures. Restaurants and retail All that stands in the way of such – than in recent years thanks to the statewide. The battle with U.S. Sen. shops are closing. shenanigans is a popular – but lame- around-the-clock efforts of state par- Jim Inhofe was not so brutal that Tax revenues seem strong, but it duck – Democratic governor and a ty Chairman Ivan Holmes & Co. it left Rice’s image tarnished. More is an illusion. By the time the state reeling Democratic legislative cau- But Obama wisely wrote off the state likely, many Oklahoma voters simply Board of Equalization meets in De- cus left with little choice but to hun- early – almost certainly unwinnable, viewed the 35-year-old first-term state cember to certify the funds available ker down, pick their battles and rally only seven electoral votes – leaving senator as unseasoned. for spending by next year’s Legisla- around the power of the veto. the masses to hear unfettered GOP Traditionally, mid-term elections ture, don’t be surprised if Oklahoma It’s not rocket science. It’s a model talking points from the mainstream are not kind to the party that controls is looking at a $250 million shortfall that former Gov. Frank Keating and a media and the pulpit. the White House. But as 2008 emphat- over current spending levels. Republican legislative minority made Down went U.S. Senate candidate ically reminded, Oklahoma pays scant It doesn’t sound like much, com- famous. Andrew Rice. Down went Corporation attention to national political trends pared to a $7 billion-plus budget. But Is nice-guy Gov. Brad Henry willing Commissioner Jim Roth. Down went these days. remember: the current budget was to play the role of hard-nosed, fully- the state Senate. There are hopeful signs for Oklaho- a standstill, hold-the-line spending engaged confrontationist or will he Is this rock bottom? ma Democrats in 2010: plan that provided few increases. coast his final two years, preferring In two years, Republicans will take • In neighboring Texas, Democrats As costs go up, and budgets stag- the path of least resistance? dead aim at the Democratic domi- managed to all but erase an eight-seat nate, Oklahoma falls farther behind. Can legislative Democrats embrace nance of statewide offices. But the deficit in the state House even though Many anti-government Republi- a defensive strategy aimed at torpedo- Democratic bench is strong. McCain won handily [55%] as did Re- cans – the kind who want to starve ing the GOP majority’s worst excess- Longtime Attorney General Drew publican U.S. Sen. John Cornyn. the beast and drown what’s left in the es or will they splinter into free-agent Edmondson would be a prohibitive fa- • Across the South, Republicans bathtub – figured they’d be long gone status that focuses on self-interest vorite for re-election, but could opt for have shown uncanny inability to gov- thanks to term limits before their tax- and self-preservation alone? the governor’s race. Popular Lt. Gov. ern once they take control of legisla- cutting chickens [$720 million in re- For Oklahoma Democrats, the state Jari Askins is similarly positioned, tures. cent years] came home to roost. wipeout tempered the euphoria over having traveled the state tirelessly. They still haven’t figured out the It looks like Judgment Day will Obama’s victory and expanded con- State Treasurer Scott Meacham, a for- voodoo in trickle-down economics. come much sooner. Perhaps voters gressional majorities. mer Elk City banker, cannot be under- Let’s make it simple: Tax cuts don’t will take that into account in 2010. Observations Saint Dobson Radio Evangelist James Dobson’s live in middle-income households, ministry asked all believers to pray and one-fifth live in high-income for a storm so that Barack Obama’s households, the report said. acceptance speech outdoors in Den- Oklahoma ranks 40th with the larg- ver would have to be canceled. est gap in the country between infant God thought otherwise and the mortality and a mother’s education. weather was fine, the crowd gigantic. The Oklahoma infant mortality rate Two weeks before the election, Dob- among the least-educated mothers son & Co. put out a lengthy letter op- is 7.6 deaths per 1,000 live births, posing Barack Obama’s election. higher than the 4.7 deaths per 1,000 God thought otherwise. Obama live births among the most-educated won. mothers, the report said. From his point of view, these were The national benchmark: 3.2 deaths perfectly normal things to do because per 1,000. James Dobson thinks he’s God’s side- Oklahoma ranks as having the 34th puff in his bid for governor, promising Without a doubt, this job loss has kick – a spiritual Jerry Lewis. largest gap between child health and to streamline state government. been a hardship for 3.5 million work- We have been warning you for years family income among all states. Yet days before penning his note, ers – be they older workers who have that Dobson is nothing more than a Among lower-income Oklahoma the governor told an audience at the lost their jobs, or younger ones who Bible-thumping demagogue with a families 13.7% of children have low- Commonwealth Club of California have had a hard time finding manufac- sick political agenda. er than optimal health, while 5.3% of not to worry about the state’s budget turing jobs to begin with – and their He has trashed public education for children in higher-income families crunch and to approve $9.95 billion families. years, to no avail. He keeps pushing have less than optimal health, the re- in new debt on the ballot to build a Emerging nations and reinvigorated a rightwing political agenda but those port said. bullet train to connect Los Angeles to old ones will certainty challenge the days may be ending. Experts say there is no innate bio- San Francisco. U.S. in the future. In all likelihood In the primary Dobson said he logical reason that all children cannot Experts say his high-speed rail is there will always be American compa- would vote for Hillary Clinton before be as healthy as those in wealthy fam- a fantasy that has as much chance nies committed to homegrown talent. he would vote for John McCain. Then ilies. Less-than-optimal health refers of delivering on its promises of cre- along came another demagogue, Sarah to children with conditions such as ating 450,000 jobs, vanquishing road Palin, and Dobson fell on his knees asthma and diabetes. congestion and lowering greenhouse Wow! before her. One-third of children in Oklahoma gases as Conan the Barbarian had of Dobson is another reason why the live in households where no one has winning the Oscar. We are among the bellyachers who equal time clause removed by Reagan education beyond high school. He turns out to be just another deplore so little alternative to 1,500 ought to be restored to the media so An additional 36% of children live spend, spend Republican but is op- rightwing radio and TV talk shows.
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