Closing In OK?

A new DSCC poll out today shows Oklahoma State Senator Andrew Rice down only 9 points, 50-41, to global warming denialist James Inhofe, after being down 22 points in the same poll just two months ago. Inhofe is right at that magic 50% barrier and still maintains a higher name ID than Rice, so this is only on the cusp of the danger zone for Republicans. But if Jim Inhofe can't cruise to victory, then suddenly a lot of Senate seats are going to be close, and the NRSC just doesn't have the money to defend them all. Right now the conventional wisdom is that the Democrats will pick up 5 seats - I wouldn't be at all surprised to see that number stretch to 8 or 9. I think Minnesota (where Al Franken is closing the gap) and Oregon are better targets than Oklahoma, but I've had the pleasure of meeting Andrew Rice and he's an impressive young man and a fine candidate. This ad, which may have contributed to the moving numbers, is top-notch:



Nothing would be better to beat a nutjob denialist like James Inhofe.

UPDATE: Another pretty amazing result - Jim Martin is within 6 points of Saxby Chambliss in GEORGIA. And the difference here is that this is a state where Barack Obama is competing strongly.

McCain's Bipartisanship Results In Nothing

This week, on the same day that veterans groups rallied in support of the Webb GI Bill, James Inhofe, who was browbeaten into supporting the bill, quietly dropped his name off the co-sponsor list. This is a direct consequence of John McCain's twisted vision of bipartisanship. Because in his mind, no bill can pass muster without his support, he had his minions construct a competing bill (talk about passive-aggressive) and suddenly, conservatives who were won over to the concept started splitting off. The end result is that no veteran will end up receiving increased education benefits, because the two camps will splinter and the whole thing will devolve into a typical Washington clusterfuck. And the only man responsible will be John McCain.

This is the legacy of John McCain's "leadership" - real people suffer.

For their part, Oklahoma veterans have taken him to task.

"Senator Inhofe is undermining America's heroes, as they reach for the American dream," said Miranda Norman, a veteran of the war in Iraq, from Norman, Okla. and a state captain for VoteVets.org. "It’s insulting and a slap in the face. Not only has Senator Inhofe turned his back on legislation backed by every veterans’ group, but he signed on to a sham bill, because he thinks veterans are fools who won’t be able to tell the difference." [...]

"A fair education benefit is a sacred promise made to America's military after World War II," added Norman. "That promise has been allowed to become outdated and tarnished. Only the Webb-Hagel bill will restore its luster. And, for that reason, it is the only acceptable bill to America's veterans. By removing his name from that bill, Senator Inhofe has made it clear. He does not support our veterans, and we will make sure all Oklahomans are well aware of that fact."

There's a better sway for Oklahoma - Andrew Rice for Senate.

Rice For America

It occurs to me that I never wrote about my meeting with Oklahoma Senate candidate Andrew Rice at a house party in Venice last weekend. Apparently the Oklahoma GOP is calling it some kind of dark secret, but somehow I found out about it and I'm not invited to anything. Furthermore, they claimed that Dianne Feinstein and Henry Waxman were on hand, which isn't true. I did see my state Senator Sheila Kuehl, my state Assemblywoman Julia Brownley, and LA City Councilman Bill Rosendahl. But I guess they aren't big enough to term the event "a “Who’s Who” list of the most liberal Democrat’s in California." On the plus side, I suppose I'm one of those "liberal Democrat's" (jeez, they're a political organization, can't they hire a copy editor?).

Rice is a 35 year-old former divinity student (he has a Masters in theology from Harvard) who wasn't all that involved in politics until after 9/11, when his brother died inside the World Trade Center. Afterwards he devoted his life to social causes and became drawn into the world of public policy. He worked in the grassroots for a few years, behind the scenes on such projects as ensuring the creation of the 9/11 Comission. In 2006 he was elected at the age of 33 to the Oklahoma State Senate from Oklahoma City. In his speech he emphasized his proud Democratic ideals (though I'm a little upset that the word "Democrat" isn't on his fliers, I know it's Oklahoma but at some point we have to be proud of the signifier), particularly in the areas of ethics reforms, economic justice and fairness, and renewable energy solutions for Oklahoma. That last bit is significant, because he's going up against James Inhofe, public enemy number 1 for the environmentalist crowd. Inhofe's delusional rants denying the existence of global warming, which he called the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on Americans, has generated notoreity and publicity, but not the good kind. In fact, both of Oklahoma's Senators, Inhofe and Tom Coburn, are from the grandstanding, angry, wackadoo school of Republican politics. That state REALLY lost the lottery on this one.

However, even Coburn has come out and said that the war in Iraq is a mistake. Inhofe, when asked about it, said that "he couldn't have said that," moving him even further to the fringe than... Tom Coburn. At the gathering, Rice noted that Inhofe has been an elected official for 41 years - "that's six years longer than I've been alive." The nutball quotes from Inhofe over the years could fill a book, but my favorite was a story I heard at the event from an Oklahoma local. Howie Klein heard it too.

Someone I met from Tulsa told me a very interesting story about Oklahoma Secretary of State Susan Savage. Well, actually the story is about Oklahoma's crazy U.S. Senator, James Inhofe. And it isn't another "crazy Inhofe" story. This one is a "nasty Inhofe" story. I mean everyone I've ever met from Oklahoma has been polite and courteous; so this one kind of surprised me.

While Susan was mayor of Tulsa her daughter Emily's 8th grade class went on a school trip to Washington, DC. The school had arranged for the kids to meet a member of the Oklahoma congressional delegation. It turned out to be Senator Inhofe. When he came forward to address them he asked if Emily Savage could raise her hand. Nervously, she did.

"Emily's mother is the mayor of Tulsa," the senator told her classmates. "I try to work with her and do what's right for the people of Tulsa but Emily's mother believes in killing babies."

When Emily got home and told her parents what happened they thought she must have misunderstood Inhofe. Susan called the teacher who had chaperoned the trip and was aghast to learn that Emily didn't misunderstand anything. She called Inhofe and told him that if he ever came near her daughter again or said anything to her she would seek a restraining order in court. Which is exactly what the long-suffering folks in Oklahoma should do in November.

Inhofe's grandstanding and outrageousness has hurt him in Oklahoma. His approval ratings are below 50%, and Rice keeps him under 50 in a head-to-head matchup, too. That's the danger zone for incumbents. If the environmental groups see promise here, you know they'll jump in hard as well. Plus, you have to love a guy whose wife is named Apple. That's right, Apple Rice. Which I believe I've gotten at Thai restaurants from time to time.

Expanding control of the House and Senate is going to be very important this year, although it's getting almost no attention thus far. Rice is obviously a long-shot, but in a map-changing scenario anything is possible. I'll be posting a lot more on Congressional races as the year goes on.