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By Kirk Shelley
I was reflecting back to 1994. The first two years of the Clinton régime were going about as badly for the Democratic Party as I hoped. The GOP won the special election that brought Frank Lucas into office, the state lottery went down in flames, and Gov. Walter’s had his late night plea deal. It was the perfect storm for a GOP political activist.
I helped recruit and hosted Inhofe’s college and youth coordinator in my office. He was always hard at work running all over the state organizing every campus he could. It may have been the best political environment I’ve ever worked in. I even worked with Brenda Reneau’s campaign, which could only afford one mailing, and she won the Labor Commissioner position anyway.
What made that environment so good? Clinton helped out a great deal. Pushing for Hillary Health Care was a disaster and it was a wakeup call to conservatives about the real agenda of the national Democratic Party. New activists from the Pat Robertson Presidential campaign were no longer treated as outsiders by the GOP regulars, so there was new enthusiasm and new blood in the ranks.
And then there were the issues. The GOP had a solid conservative message and stood as the last bulwark of freedom against those who would tax us and regulate us to death. Dang if it didn’t work with a vengeance.
Now I’m looking at a very different political environment that might be a watershed in the opposite direction.
In just about every special election, Democrats are winning. The enthusiastic organizers at the colleges are the Democrats.
And while Oklahoma voters are never going to vote for Obama, an unknown State Senator is pulling within 9 points of Sen. Inhofe. Two years after an election where Democrats swept every statewide office. Why? What has happened to GOP in the last 14 years?
Issues, intensity, the base, the stuff that fires up supporters.
I keep wondering if the guys running these campaigns have ever been really mad at anything besides petty office politics. Have they ever experienced moral outrage? Have they ever been ready to take up arms because someone had their property confiscated? Have they ever been at the point of ready to riot in the streets because their government policy was wrong?
I still believe that there are still a huge number of people who are just as mad about government meddling in their lives, taking more of their money, giving hard earned tax dollars to bridges to nowhere. But in 1994 we had someplace to channel that energy. I absolutely knew that Jim Inhofe was going to be part of the solution and not the problem. I still believe that he wants limited federal government.
I just don’t believe in the rest of the Republicans in Washington D.C. They were the ones who created the prescription drug benefit. They’re the ones who ran on getting rid of the Federal Department of Education and return schools to local control, but then gave us No Child Left Behind and more federal government control of the local schools.
What is becoming obvious to me is the people running most of the campaigns are just losing touch with people who really have to think about giving a $50 or $100 contribution to a campaign.
I miss the 1994 Jim Inhofe who was fighting to win. The 2008 campaign is just fighting not to lose and that’s why Rice is within 9%.
Mr. Shelley is President of Shelley Strategic Services. His consulting for pro-business organizations has included successfully completed projects in Iowa, Oklahoma, Indiana, Kentucky, Nevada, New Mexico, Mississippi, Arizona, Louisiana and Alabama. As a general consultant, Mr. Shelley has worked on 142 state and national campaigns. Mr. Shelley lives in Oklahoma City with his wife and four children.
From a DSCC press release:
Oklahoma Democratic Senate candidate Andrew Rice has narrowed Republican Senator Jim Inhofe’s lead from twenty points two months ago to nine points today, according to a new poll conducted for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and the Rice campaign. Inhofe now leads Rice only 50% to 41%, down from a 53% to 33% lead in June. Only 46% of Oklahomans say Inhofe is doing an excellent or good job, with 47% saying he is doing only a fair or poor job.
“Andrew Rice is showing real momentum, and with the general election beginning in earnest, he has put this race into play,” DSCC spokesman Matthew Miller said. “After 22 years in Washington , Oklahomans are tired of Jim Inhofe putting politics ahead of getting things done, and they are ready for a leader who will change Washington .”
The poll of 600 likely voters was taken August 12 to 14 by the Benenson Strategy Group and has a 4% margin of error.
Excerpted Poll Questions:
In the November election for U.S. Senate if the candidates were …[READ LIST]… for whom would you vote?
Democrat Andrew Rice………………………….41
Republican James Inhofe…………………..50
Don’t know…………………………..…….9
Do you generally think that things in the country are headed in the right direction or are they on the wrong track?
Right direction……………………………23
Wrong track……………………………. 62
Don’t Know…………………………. 11
How would you rate the job James Inhofe has been doing as Senator?
Excellent……………….11
Good…………….……35
Fair………………..…..31
Poor……………..…….16
Related:
RealClearPolitics: “Inhofe’s job performance numbers aren’t stellar, with 46% saying he’s doing an excellent or good job and 47% saying he’s doing fairly or poorly. But an incumbent who reaches 50% remains in strong position. Given Inhofe’s electoral history, it’s not surprising that the race looks close; while Inhofe has bested his previous two opponents by a wide margin, he’s never attracted the support of more than 57% of Sooner voters.” Read more…
“Geniuses” to seek Ahmadinejad endorsement?
When we told you that Republican Oklahoma County Commission District 2 candidate J.D. Johnston had fired his second team of campaign consultants and hired a third batch, we also suggested that the former Bethany Mayor would be tempted to go silly negative in his uphill battle to catch Brian Maughan.
We were right, and it’s curtains for Johnston’s reputation.
Sources tell OKPNS Johnston hired a gaggle of undistinguished operatives known mostly for poorly orchestrated dirty tricks. The so-called consultants have been tied to the catastrophe that was the campaign against Rep. Randy Terrill in the District 53 Republican House primary. Insiders says some of the faction that instigated the lawsuit against the State of Oklahoma for not offering driver’s license tests in the Iranian language were donors to the ill-fated anti-Terrill campaign. Johnston’s new “advisors” participated in that epic bungle, which was replete with slimy dirty tricks. They also have been tied to failed slimy behavior against State Rep. Jason Murphey. Heck of a resume’, huh?
“From what I’ve seen, they’re who you want handling your campaign if you’re running for dogcatcher or some local yokel office, but basically they’re awful,” one county insider says about the new advisers. And on Thursday, as predicted, a fecal flinging e-mail circulated. Here are some excerpts:
“The extremist groups, those that have Republican sounding names, are
blasting me and it is my belief this is a sure sign of the weakness and lack of experience my opponent has and how desperate they are to elect another Stan Inman/Brent Rinehart clone to county office they can control with
their anti-government agenda.”“There are some in both parties who are admitted libertarians that oppose all government. Inman/Rinehart earned the endorsement of these groups because of their extremist, out-of-the-mainstream, Republican-sounding ideas that pander to the lowest common denominator.”
“My opponent may have an endorsement of a ‘Republican sounding group’ but he has a lack of experience. We need an experienced leader, not an unproven former county worker who, much like a ghost, has left no footprints of leadership anywhere he has worked in political-based jobs.”
“I’m a grown up, I have a lifetime of experience and will serve the
voters full-time as county commissioner that is my goal. I’m interested in
serving the county I have lived and worked all my life. My opponent, endorsed by extremist groups that have brought ridicule to Oklahoma County, meets the requirements to file for office, but lacks the experience to effectively serve the people of our great county.” (Click here to read entire email)
We’re glad to know Johnston is a “grown-up”: after the hire of the “geniuses,” we were a little shaky on that. And labeling the 69% of Republicans who didn’t vote for him as “extremists” is really a clever way to gain support, huh?
The imbecilic e-mail slandered activist Republicans and, in an attempt to fool all the people all the time, attempted to link Maughan to the man he defeated in the July 29th primary, Brent Rinehart. Maughan far outdistanced Johnston, 47% to 32%, in the race. Maughan’s entire campaign was based on getting Rinehart out of government, and he had publicly declared that in the event he finished out of the money, he (Maughan) would endorse Johnston.
So now Johnston has violated his promise to run a positive campaign on the issues by either sanctioning the dirty trick or by being asleep at the switch as his team of campaign miscreants executed a ridiculous political scam. Whether he was too clever or too clueless, it was an incredible political miscalculation. Either way, it was a very, very bad week in the political career of J.D. Johnston. After this idiotic move, with the consultant’s ties to him, getting the Iranian President’s endorsement won’t seem like such a silly idea after all!
The confusion and chaos in the J.D. Johnston Oklahoma County Commissioner District 2 campaign exploded to the surface Thursday, according to sources familiar with the situation.
Brian Maughan came close to winning the three-way Republican race with 47% of the vote. Johnston finished second and made the runoff, but had only 32%, and most political observers say the lead is next to impossible to overcome, especially since Johnston has virtually no political organization on the ground and Maughan sports a formidable grassroots operation.
On Thursday, as the reports of Johnston firing his second group of campaign advisors circulated, rumors began to surface that Johnston has hired yet another set of operatives. These sources say that if true, Johnston is bringing on board some campaign ‘experts’ who seldom win yet are versed in the art of the dirty trick, including one who was deeply involved in management of Randy Terrill’s primary opponent.
Also on Thursday, Johnston circulated an e-mail that appeared to, among other strange items, exploit his wife’s cancer in an effort to attract support, ala Elizabeth Edwards. It was simply sad and pathetic, and combined with the day’s other news, appears to indicate the Johnston campaign has gone completely off the tracks, and trains running off the tracks can do a lot of damage. He’s publicly pledged to run an upbeat, positive campaign emphasizing his business and government experience, but if Johnston has chosen to go silly/stupid negative, and it appears he’s loaded up on consultants whose only talents are for sleaze, his reputation will be ruined. As we’ve pointed out before, bad consultants get you bad results.
OKPNS received this email from J.D. Johnston today:
A message from J.D. …
Hello! I’m J.D. Johnston and I am a candidate for Oklahoma County Commission, District 2. I want to thank the voters of District 2 for your unwavering support and trust in sending me into a run-off in this important election for County Commissioner for District 2.
This campaign has been difficult for me and my family personally. Shortly after I announced my candidacy, my wife of 28 years, Pam, was diagnosed with cancer. I have been spending much time caring for her during and after her treatments of this dreaded disease, which has limited my time on the campaign trail. However, we are committed to this race, the race for District 2 and the race to beat cancer! We ARE in it to win it!!
Oklahoma County is at an important crossroads. We are growing and preparing for our next century of residents. I understand the importance of maintaining a sound infrastructure that will ensure our friends and neighbors safety within in the community. As a businessman, I believe in fiscal responsibility that will secure future generations prosperity.
If you are looking for an elected official with integrity, honesty, and one who will use your tax dollars prudently, I invite you to be apart of our campaign. Please visit our website at www.johnston4county.com for more information.
I’d also like to ask for your vote on August 26th, 2008. Together, we can continue to build and maintain a unique quality of life and make it the best it can be for today and future generations.
Most Sincerely,
J.D. Johnston
The Associated Press reports:
She won’t back down. Hated by the press and the left, the straight talking Sally just keeps on keeping on.
From The McCarville Report Online Blog yesterday:
Bullet-Proof: Republican Rep. Randy Terrill, having survived an all-out assault in the primary over his sponsorship of the state’s new immigration law, is now viewed by many as politically bullet-proof. Said a GOP consultant: “His enemies shot their wad in the primary and he killed ‘em. He’s got bigger bullets than they do. So what’s next: Terrill for governor?”
It’s pretty clear that the attempt by the pro-illegal alien lobby to rub out State Rep. Randy Terrill has failed. Terrill’s beaten his opponent in the November election twice before, with the Democrat failing to break 30%. It’s over: as we’ve stated before, Randy Terrill, love him or hate him, is going back to the House of Representatives as Chairman of the Revenue and Tax Committee.
But what about the cabal of characters that attempted to push a button on Terrill? The chamber of commerce/Chesapeake/Devon/Express Personnel/Fast Eddie Kelley gaggle did indeed try to ruin Terrill’s career. They were even joined by some of those involved in that ridiculous lawsuit against Oklahoma over driver’s license tests not offered in the Iranian language. Although hapless and incompetent, (that last-minute spin on Terrill’s bankruptcy by Kelley and other liberals was just awesome, huh?) they did try to politically assassinate Terrill, using his words.
So what now? All eyes will shift to Speaker Chris Benge. Up until now, groups attempting political harm to a member of the legislative leadership are usually called into the woodshed. But there is some suspicion that may break tradition and not punish the conspirators. Why? The promise of campaign money, perhaps?
One year ago at this time Benge was the Chairman of the powerful Appropriations and Budget Committee, but not seen as a potential political leader in former Speaker Lance Cargill’s team, and was not even the second choice for speaker when Cargill resigned as a result of the campaign finance scandal revealed by OKPNS and News9’s Stacey Cameron. Some insiders say he may be too timid to do what’s right: punish those who tried to harm one of his leaders. If he doesn’t there will be repercussions from members, and there are plenty of Terrill supporters in the House Republican Caucus.
This story bears watching, and we will.
Developing…
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Video: Behind the Scenes at “Your Vote Counts”
*Your Vote Counts can be seen on News9 each Thursday during the 4:00 newscast or here on the web.
Related: Your Vote Counts Blog
 Democrats Out of TouchMessage by Chairman Gary Jones Whether it’s hundreds of thousands of dollars sent from the Democrat National Committee to the Oklahoma Democrat Party each year or the latest scheme of collecting contributions from clients, many times without their knowledge, Oklahoma Democrats continue to devise new ways to funnel money to their candidates. As to whether the contributions are legal or ethical doesn’t seem to matter.There is another problem with out of state money that many overlook. With Oklahoma Democrats focused on out of state money and enamored by Obamamania, they are losing touch with Oklahoma voters. One only needs to look at State Senator Andrew Rice’s list of out of state contributors to see who Oklahoma’s new Democrat leaders are answering to. It’s not conservative Democrats, I can assure you of that. There is a reason Rice received less than 60% of the vote during the Primary. He, along with his Democrat colleagues, are out of touch with what Oklahoma voters believe in.As Republicans, let’s listen to conservative Oklahoma voters and win big this November. |
Political observers say the runoff campaign for the Oklahoma County Commissioner District 2 Republican nomination is picking up where it left off: with leader Brian Maughan returning to old-fashioned retail politics and runner-up J.D. Johnston back with paid media.
As promised: Based upon the returns, and combined with the campaign expenditures as reported in the media through July 14th, Maughan raised approximately $58,000, or $13.71 per vote; and Johnston approximately $180,000, or $64.10 per vote. These are not precise numbers, and the cost per vote will increase when the final figures are in, but it does demonstrate a stark difference in how the campaigns were managed.
With Maughan failing to reach a runoff by only a few percentage points, it’s no wonder he’s returned to the tried and true retail approach. But it’s puzzling why Johnston, a highly-qualified and experienced candidate, would return to an expensive and thus far ineffective method. Some are pointing to the former Mayor’s a large payroll of ineffective consultants, pollsters and paid workers as the main culprit for his expensive and poor showing at the polls.
It goes without saying that the former Bethany Mayor, who is now touting his extensive business experience, should show the Republican voters how he would manage county government: operate a lean and efficient operation, and rid the rolls of those who bring nothing but increased costs to the table.
You think his campaign advisers would see the irony in that message?
