30 Plus Days

Just a tick over 30 days from right now, it will time for you, the Oklahoma voter, to go to work. All the candidates, whether statewide, district wide, or county level, are heading into the home stretch to see who is gonna be the next office holder, from D.C. on down to the county courthouse. I would hate to guess how much money has been spent in the last few months but I think it has been in the millions. Everyone is trying to convince you, the voter, that they are the next great hope and that they are either going to change the world or finish what they started and basically go to work for you. It can be an ugly business. It can be tough on families and hard on bank accounts. Having been in this business for over eight years, there are days when I feel like I have been able to make a difference. There are other days when I think “who in the heck would want to do this”?

Not having a race this round, I have been able to watch with great interest as many candidates have jockeyed for votes. As always, it is interesting to hear, especially the new ones, tell you what they are about and their plans for changing everything that is wrong and their proposed ‘fixes’. Your job, Mr. or Mrs. Voter, is to sort through the clutter, cut through the rhetoric and make a decision. I want to say a couple of things about that. Number one, your vote matters. In the Democratic Primary for Governor, the winner of that primary was decided by less than three-quarters of a vote per precinct. That is mighty thin! That could be the difference between low turnout and just average turnout. So yes, your vote does make a difference. In addition, there is a full page of state questions that also need your attention, one of which maybe the most important state question in 20 years. That is State Question 744. We have discussed it at great lengths and I think you know by now that even Governor Brad Henry has come out in opposition to this very contentious, and potentially damaging state question. State questions are nothing new, but as an old cowboy friend of mine from Jackson County said, “this one has the makins’ of a wreck”. If Governor Henry opposes it, that is pretty loud and tells a whole lot of the true story. Your state needs you, your chosen candidates need you and for this election cycle, more than ever, you need to do your civic duty and vote.

Between now and November 2, everybody’s campaign will ramp up. There will be a great deal more money spent and a lot more noise through the media channels and you are gonna think that if those dudes are as bad as the other guy says, why aren’t they in prison? It is interesting what I have learned about negative campaigning. We all say we do not like it but, interestingly enough, it works. In fact, a friend of mine would say “negative campaigning only works if you are ahead, even, or behind in a race”. We may not like it and we may get tired of it but it is a very effective tool and almost every race will have a degree of it. We have a new dynamic in Oklahoma politics because we have two women in the race. I hesitate to use the term but they will be “slugging” it out to see who will make history and become the first female governor of Oklahoma. It is ground that we have never plowed before and it will be interesting to see the voting public’s perception of what may look like roller derby by the time it is over. We have learned in our state that people get a little defensive when a guy hits a girl in a political contest. It will be interesting to see how we respond to two females attacking each other. One thing we do know is that negative campaigning works, unfortunately. As unpleasant as it may be, I think we will have a chance to watch a lot of it as this cycle heads to the finish line in November. It does not lessen the responsibility of the voter to study both candidates and issues and the state questions. As one of my old high school teachers use to say “you drag your carcass to the polls and do your job” which is to vote. So, put on your flak jacket and take your tornado safety precautions because it is gonna be a whirlwind. It is gonna get ugly but we know that mud washes out.

“The most important political office is that of the private citizen”. ~Louis Brandeis