Oklahoma's political races may turn out to be more surprising than anyone thinks. A seismic shift in the political landscape could be shocking in November. With Oklahoma's primary tomorrow, I thought I'd share my thoughts. I've already surprised myself by coming out for Steve Russell for 5th District Congress. If you had told me that 2 months ago I wouldn't have believed you. More on that below.
Governor -- Dax Ewbank. Government has grown much more expensive, more intrusive and more special interest-driven under Fallin's watch. “Stop It!,”
says this father of seven. Dax is a man of integrity, a pastor, and a
man of strong libertarian principle. I recommend him without
reservation.
4th District Congress --
Anna Flatt. I used to be a great admirer of Tom Cole. But in his
years in Congress, he has played the game well and is now firmly
entrenched in the political establishment. Anna is a long-time
political activist and principled libertarian, with a strong
backbone. I'd love to see her in Congress. She would really shake
things up!
5th District Congress –
Steve Russell. I hadn't really paid much attention this race until I
heard him speak last month. I was impressed by his presentation, his
passion, and his presence. He is a man on a mission to help turn this
country around.
My endorsement is based on
two subsequent conversations I've had with him. Russell is open to
reasoned, factual dialog on the issues. While he has reservations
about some aspects of consistent libertarianism, he is devoted to
Liberty. His favorite economist is Bastiat.
Russell exudes confidence,
intelligence and leadership. A retired Lt. Colonel, he served 3
combat tours. He is aware how the military has been used and abused,
and has a great grasp of history. He is running in response to the
national crisis, not because there is an open congressional seat
needing a new politician.
Based on our conversations,
I believe he will:
* work to oppose further
roll out of the police state by IRS, DEA, NSA, NDAA, etc.
* vote in favor of State's
Rights under the 10th Amendment
* continue his work to
protect the 2nd Amendment
* keep us out of any more
unconstitutional wars
* lead the opposition to
Obama's unconstitutional policies.
I'm not starry eyed with
this endorsement. I've been around politics too long for that. But
based on the short time I've known Steve, I think he could be a great
improvement over what we have. If he is not, be sure you will hear it
from me.
Corporation Commission --
Todd Hiett. Many leaders I respect are for him. Good enough for me. The
problem is that this job is too often used as a springboard to higher
political office or a better paying job. So special interests can be
very "persuasive." As they can be if one stays in that office too long.
Senator (replacing Coburn)
-- Randy Brogdon. Randy has the best guiding political
philosophy, along with both business and legislative experience. I'm
sick of people advancing to Congress whose greatest skill is
political machinations. We need courageous statesmen at a time like
ours.
Senator (Inhofe's Seat) --
Inhofe wins. Time for Jim to come home and enjoy his retirement. While I admire
his courageous work opposing the bogus global warming agenda, he
seems to have no end of support for everything military, as well as
the erection of the police state. Hopefully he is sticking around to
help lead us out of this mess.
State Superintendent of Public Instruction -- Who Knows? I spent 15 minutes with both Barresi and Hofmeister recently. Both were very persuasive about how much they care about education, how child and parent and homeschool-friendly they are, and anti-common core, and how the other is an incompetent person under the thumb of special interests. Too bad Linda Murphy got fed up with politics. Whoever wins, we gotta watch 'em.
Beyond these, please see two excellent articles by Steve Dickson. We disagree on 5th District, but agree on most of the rest: How I am voting and Who I would like to vote for, but can't.
Feel free to share your thoughts in comments and to share this post.