Sticky Saturday

The Oklahoma political scene is becoming increasingly sticky and there doesn't appear to be any hope in sight for respite. As we make the trek to July, then November, what was supposed to be a marathon has turned into a sprint.  Here are a few stories you need to wrap your head around:

PETTIGREW/SWITZER ALLIANCE TO BUILD NANNY STATE:  Mike McCarville has gathered an amazing set of stories relating to what is called InsureNet - a camera system coming to Oklahoma soon that will electronically verify whether or not you have auto insurance and fine your butt if you don't.  I've written about this before, but this is "through the looking glass" stuff and my question is - where are all the so-called conservatives in Oklahoma who should oppose such a program?  This is a must-read.  Former Represenative Wayne Pettigrew, since being defeated by Marian Cooksey can't seem to get enough of the taxpayer revenue stream...he ran and was defeated for Mayor of Edmond a while back, so now, he's involved in this Big Brother deal to make sure the coffers of government are filled.  Shame, shame, shame.

RYAN LEONARD MUST BE NERVOUS:  Well-liked former State Senator Scott Pruitt came out of the gates with his proposal to sue the federal government to recoup costs of illegal immigration incurred here in the great state of Oklahoma and within a few short hours, the Ryan Leonard camp took a shot at Pruitt, trying to accuse him of being less than aggressive regarding illegal immigration.  Going on the attack so early in the primary season is a serious indicator that there is trouble in the Leonard camp, nervous that Scott Pruitt may have been able to gain much-needed ground on his opponent.

It devolved quickly into Leonard's camp firing out press releases that were tantamount to grade school playground horseplay, attempting to call into question Scott Pruitt's conservative credentials.  Citing and misinterpreting a position on a particular Senate Bill, Leonard's campaign quotes a story from the Tulsa World regarding what they believe Pruitt's position on illegal immigration may be.  Pruitt's response was pretty simple and made sense to the average guy - the bill in question was for "those on the path to citizenship."  This fight will continue...

5TH DISTRICT SURPRISE!  First, Thompson went from the "sure thing" in the GOP primary for the 5th Congressional District to the Where's Waldo candidate.  Then, Kevin Calvey went up on media and stayed up, resulting in significant name reinforcement, catapulting him into front runner status.  And now, it appears as though political novice James Lankford is taking the GOP by storm.  

Lankford's presence has increased and it tells me two things:  The GOP candidates should all be pretty nervous because the sentiment is that most of them are viewed as "incumbents" in a way and have been part of the problems that have gotten us to the mess we're in right now.  Secondly, Lankford's rise in popularity can be directly attributed to the rise of alternative media's strength and the power of social networking tools.  Traditional media just isn't going to be enough in this election cycle because many participants in traditional media have "tuned out."   Lankford called me the other day, checking on the health of my wife and to see how things were going.  You have to respect that on many, many levels - particularly since some of the other GOP candidates were actually people who called themselves "friends" of my wife.  Very interesting indeed.

2ND ANNUAL BLUES JAM AND WAIL:  July 3rd, it's the 2nd Annual Blues Jam and Wail out at Paradise Farm.  Last year, Steven Jones and I put together an evening of food, relaxation and music - all designed to get folks together who had been having a rough year and just enjoy fellowship.  This year, we're doing the Blues Jam to benefit our brothers and sisters at the Mid America Chapter of the Paralyzed Veterans of America.  It will be a non-partisan celebration of our veterans as well as a blues and rock & roll smack-down.  We have a couple bands working on coming as well as the returning Seven of Swords.  Check out the website and get your butts ready to celebrate!