Right-wing-nut in Oklahoma may help Dems take Senate
Oh my God, Trilbe! I’ve found a candidate who could be an even bigger wingnut than Alan Keyes! In fact, this guy actually endorsed Alan Keyes for president in 2000. This would be hilarious if not for the fact that former Rep. Tom Coburn, a Republican (obviously) could actually be elected to the Senate in Oklahoma.
Right now, he appears to be running behind Rep. Brad Carson, a Democrat and Rhodes Scholar who has to bend over backwards to convince Oklahoma voters that he isn’t one of those evil “liberal” Democrats found in Blue States. Although Oklahoma Democrats still have some residual advantage in party identification, the state has been effectively dominated by Republicans since 1994, after about twenty years of gradual movement in that direction.
Coburn, a country doctor who improbably won a House seat in 1994, left voluntarily, as he had said he would, after three terms, and was replaced by Carson. Now, the two are vying for the seat being vacated by longtime Sen. Don Nickles. Coburn won a hard fought primary against the Oklahoma City mayor, thereby demonstrating that a plurality of the state’s Republicans are themselves Keyes-like nut jobs.
But Coburn, who once called Oklahoma legislators “crap heads,” may have made a mistake appearing with Carson yesterday in the august setting of NBC’s Meet the Press, coming off as, well, a bigger wingnut than Alan Keyes. Coburn thinks that doctors who perform abortions should be subject to the death penalty. So it’s not inconsistent enough that a right-to-lifer when it comes to abortion is a supporter of the death penalty – we see that inconsistency all the time – Coburn thinks doctors who perform abortions ought to get the death penalty. There’s a healthy respect for life, for you.
Oklahoma is one of three states where Democrats could take open Republican seats. The others are Colorado and Illinios -- where Obama is a shoo-in against Keyes, who was actually at minus 8% in the last poll I saw. The Democratic candidate is also ahead in Alaska. Meanwhile, several southern Democrats are doing much better than expected defending open Democratic seats. As a result, the Democrats currently have a much better than expected shot at gaining the Senate. If current standings hold, the Dems would have 51 seats after the election, along with moderate Vermont Republican Jim Jeffords, who caucuses with the Democrats. Jeffords, however, could be joined after the election by his collleague, Sen. Lincoln Chaffee of Rhode Island, who is making noises to that effect.
Right now, he appears to be running behind Rep. Brad Carson, a Democrat and Rhodes Scholar who has to bend over backwards to convince Oklahoma voters that he isn’t one of those evil “liberal” Democrats found in Blue States. Although Oklahoma Democrats still have some residual advantage in party identification, the state has been effectively dominated by Republicans since 1994, after about twenty years of gradual movement in that direction.
Coburn, a country doctor who improbably won a House seat in 1994, left voluntarily, as he had said he would, after three terms, and was replaced by Carson. Now, the two are vying for the seat being vacated by longtime Sen. Don Nickles. Coburn won a hard fought primary against the Oklahoma City mayor, thereby demonstrating that a plurality of the state’s Republicans are themselves Keyes-like nut jobs.
But Coburn, who once called Oklahoma legislators “crap heads,” may have made a mistake appearing with Carson yesterday in the august setting of NBC’s Meet the Press, coming off as, well, a bigger wingnut than Alan Keyes. Coburn thinks that doctors who perform abortions should be subject to the death penalty. So it’s not inconsistent enough that a right-to-lifer when it comes to abortion is a supporter of the death penalty – we see that inconsistency all the time – Coburn thinks doctors who perform abortions ought to get the death penalty. There’s a healthy respect for life, for you.
Oklahoma is one of three states where Democrats could take open Republican seats. The others are Colorado and Illinios -- where Obama is a shoo-in against Keyes, who was actually at minus 8% in the last poll I saw. The Democratic candidate is also ahead in Alaska. Meanwhile, several southern Democrats are doing much better than expected defending open Democratic seats. As a result, the Democrats currently have a much better than expected shot at gaining the Senate. If current standings hold, the Dems would have 51 seats after the election, along with moderate Vermont Republican Jim Jeffords, who caucuses with the Democrats. Jeffords, however, could be joined after the election by his collleague, Sen. Lincoln Chaffee of Rhode Island, who is making noises to that effect.
posted by JFH @ 5:06 PM
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