Democrats Debate Rice's Primary Vote

Some of the state's most vocal Democrats are weighing in on Senator Andrew Rice's lackluster showing in Tuesday's Democratic primary for the U. S. Senate, joining coffee shop and watercooler discussion among political junkies.

News & Commentary

Rice got 59 percent of the vote against Jim Rogers, the perennial Midwest City candidate who didn't campaign and spent no money, and lost 19 counties, many of them key Democrat counties, to Rogers.

The Democrat discussion is taking place on the Democrats of Oklahoma Community Forum, http://www.demookie.com/.

The posting thread was opened by a forum administrator, Tim Reese, who posted The McCarville Report Online's original story pointing out how poorly Rice ran in some counties.

That post was met by this, from "mccurtaincountydemocrat" (Jane Luttrell, another forum administrator): "McCarville is...full of shit...." (Jane's no genteel Southern lady, is she? Disappointing...I've thought highly of her.) Other than that, she offered no explanation of how Rogers beat Rice in her own Democrat-dominated county.

Activist (and way-out liberal) Chris Heldenbrand added, "I thought about starting a thread entitled 'McCarville has strange, unhealthy fixation on Andrew Rice', but figured that would just encourage him. I'm not convinced the primary results mean diddly squat. Andrew knew he had an uphill battle for name recognition when he started. 'Jim Rogers' has been on the statewide ballot before, so low-information voters probably figured he was the one they had heard of. Andrew's going to have to work his ass off between now and November to beat Inhofe, but he knew that, too. By the way, McCarville quotes some Republican hack as saying Rice spent $717,000 on his primary campaign. Bullshit! Had he watched the ads, he would have seen they were directed specifically at Inhofe, not Rogers. Andrew's been conducting a general election campaign from the git-go. Just more McCarville BS, as he watches what little credibility he had as a journalist go down the crapper. Personally, I suspect he's a paid shill." (Nice try, Chris; wrong, but nice try. Credibility? Try reading what your fellow Democrats are saying. Even Ivan Holmes agrees with our assessment; he says he thought Rogers would get 20 percent. He got DOUBLE that. And Chris: We quoted no "Republican hack" about Rice's money; the figure came from his own FEC reports.)

More rational posters addressed the Rice issue head on. Wrote "TulsaTrialLawyer" after saying he could care less what appears on TMRO, "giving up 40% of the vote to a dude who did nothing but put his name on the ballot would worry me if I were the candidate. That guy got 77,000 votes. It's hard to attribute that to 'low information' voters just voting for 'a name' or Republicans registered as Democrats. I sure don't know how or why that happened, but if I am the nominee, I see 77,000 of my own people voting for a non-entity and I am shaking up my frickin' staff."

Wrote "boomersun": "...I like Rice as much as you do, but let's be honest with ourselves in saying that Rice should have done much better than he did. Rice, who has spent considerable time campaigning across the state and airing television commercials ran against a person who did not raise any money, spend any money or do any campaigning, yet Rice only received just under 60% of the vote. This is not good. Most of the national political experts have called this senate race as 'safe GOP' seat and I kind of believe it...I really like Rice, but after watching videos of him meeting cowboys at rodeos and diners, I'm beginning to think that many voters just won't be receptive to him."

In a second string of posts on the subject, "dolebludger" wrote, "Another factor may be at play here. Almost all Democrats in this state were convinced Rice was going to win the primary. And in many precincts, counties, and districts, there were few (if any) other primary races on the Democratic ballot. I fear that too many Democratic voters just stayed home and didn't vote, and this fear is born out by the fact that voter turn out was the lowest since 1952! There's a lesson to be learned here by all Democrats. Go vote, even if you think your candidate is a 'sure thing.' You don't just want your candidate to win -- you want that candidate to win big!"

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Democrat Forum Alleges Probe Underway

The Democrats of Oklahoma Community Forum, http://www.demookie.com/, alleges in a post by administrator Tim Reese that an investigation into an aspect of the funding of Republican Corporation Commission candidate Rep. Rob Johnson is underway. No sources are named.

Read the post at http://www.demookie.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=38498.

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Garbage In, Garbage Out: The Lost Ogle Gets It Wrong

Rep. Sally Kern's remarks about homosexuals have spurred numerous attacks on her, including the false accusation that she has a gay son and today, a local blog titled "The Lost Ogle" perpetuates the lie by quoting an out-of-state blog that specializes in publishing garbage.

The assertion that Kern has a gay son surfaced in Oklahoma on the Democrats of Oklahoma Community Forum, http://www.demookie,com/, last week, when posters claimed a court document from Shawnee proved it and attempted to portray Kern as a hypocrite. The 19-year-old document, however, concerns a man who was an adult at the time and not Kern's son, who was not yet even a teenager in 1989, a check of the record (from the Oklahoma Supreme Court Network) shows.

To DemoOkie's credit, administrator Tim Reese finally checked into the assertion (as did TMRO and found it to be untrue) and essentially ended the string by reporting, "I think the OSCN.com link is a different one. I think Sally's son is Jessa A Kern , 31 from Shawnee. The OSCN Link is for a different Jesse Jacob Kern...." To Reese's discredit, he's the one who started the string in the first place by posting the assertion without checking it out.

In other words, a careless assumption that the record involved Kern's son, without determining it to be true, has resulted in a black eye not for Kern but for those who attack her and her family. ~ Mike McCarville

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Democrat Forum Gets It Wrong, Garrett Says

State School Superintendent Sandy Garrett said today she will seek reelection in 2010 despite a report on the Democrats of Oklahoma Community Forum, www.demookie.com, that she plans to retire.

Lealon Taylor, Chief of Staff of the State Department of Education, said he spoke with Garrett after the story saying she planned to retire was posted and she said it is incorrect.

Garrett will mark 20 years in office in 2010 when she faces reelection.

Garrett was elected in 2006 to a fifth consecutive 4-year term and carried 74 of the state's 77 counties in winning reelection.

In 2001, she received the prestigious Silver Beaver Award from the Boy Scouts of America for her work promoting character education.

Garrett is a Muskogee native who graduated from Stilwell High School. She received her bachelor's and master's degrees from Northeastern State University and pursued postgraduate studies at the University of Oklahoma and the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. After 15 years as a classroom teacher and gifted programs coordinator in Muskogee County schools, she joined the State Department of Education as Gifted and Talented Programs Coordinator, then became Executive Director of Education Programs, which included rural education, technology, satellite instruction, media applications, and library resources.

In 1988, she was named Cabinet Secretary of Education by Republican Governor Henry Bellmon.

She was named one of the “Fifty Making a Difference” in Oklahoma by The Journal Record. She was inducted into the Oklahoma Women's Hall of Fame in March 2001, into the Oklahoma Educators Hall of Fame in August 2000, and is a member of the Northeastern State University Alumni Association Hall of Fame. In November 2000, she received the First Lady's Leadership in Literacy Award for her statewide efforts to improve reading instruction for children and expand literacy programs for adults.

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Democrat Blogger Calls For McMahan's Ouster

One of the administrators of a popular blog for Democrats, http://www.demookie.com/, Tim Reese, has called on indicted Auditor and Inspector Jeff McMahan to leave office.

In an editorial entitled, "There Is No Room For Crooks In The Democratic Party," Tim Reese writes, "It’s time for SA&I Jeff McMahan to step down. We were supporters of Jeff during his first campaign we even handed out flyers. We rooted for him he traveled the state, city by city, town by town. We are now so disappointed that a nice guy ended up joining the dark side. Now he’s nothing but a crook. When we first heard of the allegations several years ago, some of us were shocked. We were definitely disappointed. We knew the FBI was snooping around, we knew there was truth to at least most of the allegations and that McMahan was about to be indicted. We even broke the story before the indictments were handed down. We’ve given him the doubt now for several years. Audio Tapes will confirm what we already know. Jeff McMahan is a crooked politician and he’s lucky he didn’t get indicted for some of the stuff that they could have. The Democratic Party has been characterized as the party of the “big tent”, there is plenty of room for everyone, except for crooked politicians. Now get the hell out Jeff and don’t let the door slam you on your behind on the way out the door."

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Another Example Of Blogosphere Political Garbage

There's a new example today of the political garbage that sometimes shows up in the blogosphere. This time, it is on http://www.demookie.com/, a forum for Oklahoma Democrats that has a history of allowing posters to make unsubstantiated allegations.

FALLIN HIRES ILLEGAL ALIENS the headline today on the site reads and the poster ("edwardwhiteokc") immediately confesses, "I don't know that the teaser is true, but the odds are that some of our representatives are currently felons. That is, they are employing illegal aliens. Wouldn't it be nice if they got bit by the snake they let go?"

The administrators of this site, Tim Reese, Jane Luttrell and Calvin Rees, say they don't prohibit such untrue or misleading material because they support the 1st Amendment.

Recently, Reese wrote, "This site is different from a blog, in that we don't censor the stuff initially coming in. WE do try to police it the best we can. This board is the creation of our readers. It's clearly the only two way internet conversation in this state."

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Demo Bloggers: Rice A 'Lost Cause'

Bloggers on www.okdemocrat.com say State Senator Andrew Rice is too liberal to win a U. S. Senate seat from Oklahoma next year. Recent posters offer the opinion, in the words of one, that, "Any money raised for Rice will be a lost cause. He has a big mouth and talks too much about gay rights, abortion rights, and ultra left rights." Bloggers on another party site, www.demookie.com, however, tout Rice as the ideal candidate.

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Do Democrats Plan Cargill Grand Jury Petition?

The administrator of the Democratic blog http://www.demookie.com/, Tim Reese, is trying to spur interest in a petition calling for a grand jury to "look into illegal campaign activities regarding Lance Cargill and the so called 'Victory Fund'." Reese kicked off the effort with a post on the blog today.

Ivan Holmes, chairman of the Oklahoma Democratic Party, apparently has not yet signed on to the effort. He has, however, criticized Cargill, saying, “Despite lip service about family values and morality, the culture of corruption in the Republican Party goes from the State House to the White House. Time and again they have broken the law and violated ethics rules in pursuit of power for the Republican Party, not for the good of Oklahoma or their constituents."

The Oklahoma Ethics Commission reportedly is conducting an investigation into the handling of donations in past campaigns.

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Doc Hoc's Dark Vision For America, Oklahoma

Kurt Hochenauer (self-described as "Doc Hoc"), God help us all, is a University of Central Oklahoma English Department professor whose vision is dark and dangerous. The following is a small sample of the garbage this ultra-liberal moonbat pedals on his blog, Okie Funk: Let me take you into your very possible future. It’s September 19, 2009. Fred Thompson is president and the House and Senate on both the federal and state level have clear Republican majorities. The Iraq occupation drags on with no end in sight, and now we’re fighting in Iran, too. Every aspect of our private lives—our phone calls, emails, personal conservations (sic)—is scrutinized by Republican government operatives. More people are without health insurance than ever. The richest one percent of Americans own even more of the wealth and land in the country. American and foreign prisoners are routinely tortured on the slimmest evidence of wrongdoing. In Oklahoma, government has become completely privatized. Our bridges are collapsing and huge potholes on our highways go unrepaired, causing accidents that kill and injure. Gasoline is $10 a gallon. National Guardsmen patrol state borders and make sure everyone has a long-list of required documents proving they are citizens. If you do not have the required ten documents then it is off to jail with you for some good ol’ American torture complete with sexual humiliation and waterboarding that may or may not result in your death.

Hochenauer's wild rants have made him a conservative target. Here's an example, from Red State: "For those of us on the right, it comes as no surprise considering the lies, rhetoric and hatred for America that moveon.org, Daily Kos, Okie Funk and their ilk have spewed for the past 7+ years, but to most Democrats it will come as a complete shock and awe when that venom is spewed at them. Target: Former San Francisco Mayor, US Senator Dianne Feinstein (D) CA- Described by Okie Funk as extreme rightwing and a patsy for the Bush Imperial Presidency along with a long list of Democrats Okie Funk has targeted for 'un-election' are now in the crosshairs. Okie Funk is calling to break up the Democrat party at the same time he urges all Democrats to come together in order to prevent what he frighteningly describes as 'a new totalitarian America' which he claims without any evidence whatsoever is certain to come if Republicans win in '08."

Here's another example, from http://www.redoklahoma.org/: "Just in case you think the controversy over MoveOn.org’s 'General Petraeus or General Betray Us?' ad is something all Oklahomans can agree is inappropriate and disgusting, think again. According to a certain leading liberal voice here in state, the advertisement 'should be commended, not criticized.' Those words are from none other than Kurt 'DocHoc' Hochenauer, who frequently posts on a liberal blog site. But he doesn’t stop at commending the ad, he goes so far as to predict a future in which General Petraeus becomes dictator: 'The government, under continued neoconservative rule, will surely become a bonafide fascist/military dictatorship. Heck, in a few years, Petraeus will be dictator.'"

(The original posting of this article prompted an illogical outburst from another liberal Democrat, Tim Reese, one of a few dozen regular posters on a local blog, http://www.demookie.com/. Reese accused TMRO of attacking "bloggers" and opposing free speech: "McCarville's blog is basically an 'unofficial' wing of the Republican Party. He has apparently run out of Democrat Politicians to criticize so he has begun attacking bloggers. Be careful of expressing your ideas... apparently Mike has been made chief of the 'Idea Police' and he doesn't like any ideas that don't fall in step with his own. This is a mere follow up to the organized attack on Moveon.org.")

From His Profile: Hochenauer teaches modern British literature courses. He teaches a course on the Beat Movement with a focus on American authors Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac and William Burroughs. He teaches the online courses Writing For The Web, Advanced Composition, and Blogs: New Independent Media. He has published academic articles on a wide range of authors, including Henry James, John Steinbeck, Jack Kerouac, and William Shakespeare. He has published articles related to writing pedagogy. He has published short fiction and poetry and presented numerous papers at academic conferences and read fiction and poetry at public readings. He's a contributor to the Oklahoma Gazette, The Oklahoma Observer, and The (OK) Progressive Voice. His populist blog, Okie Funk: Notes From The Outback, critiques current political issues and has been featured on national sites such as the Daou Report on Salon.com.

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Brent Rinehart Forced By David Prater To Remove Detailed Jail Floor Plan From Web Site

A blog for Democrats, http://www.demookie.com/, broke the news that a floor plan of the Oklahoma County jail has been removed from the Web site of Oklahoma County Commissioner Brent Rinehart at the insistence of District Attorney David Prater, who said the posting of the floor plan on Rinehart's site was a "security breach."

Rinehart says he saw no problem posting the floor plan because it's a public record that was presented to the commission during an open meeting.

Prater says the issue isn't about open records or Rinehart's right to post the document. He says the issue is security in light of a recent near-successful jail break.

Prater took the action after Sheriff John Whetsel brought it to his attention; Whetsel says the public and law officers are at risk because the plans could guide people in assisting or directing escapes from the jail.

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