CHARLIE’S PICKS, GENERAL ELECTION 2008

Because many of my friends knew of my involvement in politics, they would call to ask my opinion about candidates and issues. It simply got to where there wasn’t the physical time to respond and the requests are much greater now than before. Therefore, over the past several years I have created a "political tip sheet." Differing from those at the race tracks which only attempt to pick the winners, I also suggest the ones I believe SHOULD win. These are simply my own opinions based on my research, interviews with candidates or my having heard them speak at forums. You may have information I don’t have and thus have a different opinion which is just fine. I simply hope these picks are helpful to those who are looking for help in making their choices. Often times people ask if they can forward this to their friends? By all means please do so. Also, anyone wanting to receive the weekly OCPAC e-mail on a regular basis, please send me a request at charliemeadows@peoplepc.com.

MY STANDARD: Generally speaking, when it comes to elected officials who do not necessarily make decisions affecting our lives, setting policy, or determining the level of taxes, I look for the most competent candidate regardless of their party affiliation. Positions such as county clerks, court clerks or county treasurers. However, when a candidate is running for an office that exercises the power to affect our lives, I tend to strongly lean toward Republicans because of the MORE conservative ideological difference between the parties.

In some cases though, some Republicans at both the state and federal level tend to govern more like a liberal Democrat rather than a conservative Republican, in those cases I may not support the Republican. This year I will support all Republican Senate candidates as they are on the verge of obtaining a majority for the first time in 102 years of our state’s history. When is comes to the House, we already have a strong majority of Republicans (57 to 44). We don’t necessarily need a larger majority, we need a more conservative majority. House minority leader Danny Morgan (D-Prague) has said the Democrats will gain 2 to 7 seats on election night. I believe the Republicans will actually have a net gain of 2 to 5 more Republicans in the House. Time will tell who is more accurate.

President: John McCain if I lived in a battle ground state. If I lived in a solid blue state I would vote for Chuck Baldwin. However, we live in Oklahoma, one of the most solid red states in the nation, a state where McCain will win by several hundred thousand votes, therefore those folks who strongly dislike McCain may leave it blank and not affect the outcome. Remember, we don’t elect the President with the popular vote. All McCain has to do is win Oklahoma by 1 vote and he gets all 7 of our electoral votes. Obama is a Gramcian Marxist and the most dangerous person I have ever seen become a nominee for president!

U.S. Senate: Jim Inhofe Senator Inhofe is not perfect, but is in the top 5 best in the United States Senate. His opponent is just another wana-be socialist who would like to be in Washington to re-distribute wealth and work with Obama to usher in a socialist utopia.

U.S. House Dist 1: John Sullivan Representative Sullivan does some very good things for conservatives and then he will also do some things to make them mad, like changing his vote on the bailout. To replace Sullivan and give the Democrats a larger majority would be like jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire.

U.S. House Dist 2: Raymond Wickson Though I think Wickson may be a charlatan, Dan Boren is no conservative, in fact he is becoming more liberal the longer he is in the House. Wickson would help the Republicans numbers which would really help the nation.

U.S. House Dist 3: Your Choice Frank Lucas is not a bad Republican, but he does have a little problem with being too much of a big spender. The independent candidate, Forrest Michael, had been a life long Republican until he became fed up with the corrupting influence of lobbyists on the Republicans in Congress. He makes the point that Congressman Lucas has received large sums of money from Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, Wachovia, Lehman Brothers and etc. Congressman Lucas sits on the over-site committee that was responsible for regulating the financial industry in America. To his credit, Lucas co-sponsored legislation a few years ago to reign in Freddie and Fannie. However, at an event in Stillwater a few years ago, he also praised their ability to put people into homes who could afford to get into them without their help. Mr. Michael is a conservative community banker who understands the financial world far better than Congressman Lucas. He is also tight fisted and would never vote to spend billions in Africa to fight AIDS. Even though I personally like Frank Lucas, I will vote for Mr. Michael because he is more conservative and would make a better congressman.

U.S. House Dist 4: Tom Cole This is going to shock people that have read my e-mails over time as they know I am no fan of Congressman Cole. Tom Cole is not a conservative, he is the model of an establishment Republican and a good deal of the problem with the Republican party, not a part of the solution. I would like to support the independent, but I believe he would not be a step forward but rather a regression.

U.S. House Dist 5: Mary Fallin Congressman Fallin governed much like the other Republicans in the Oklahoma delegation. I really appreciate her becoming a co-sponsor of HCR-40, but I was also disappointed in her vote for the stimulus package as well as switching her vote for the bail-out. Again, the Democrat would be much worse for this country as he would be much more liberal.

Short Term Corporation Commission: Dana Murphy Dana is supremely prepared to serve in this capacity, she is honest, regardless of what Jim Roth’s TV commercials say. Perhaps the most important item, is that I don’t believe she can be bought by the powerful central planners who like to run the state of Oklahoma for their personal benefit. Jim Roth is not only a flaming homosexual who aggressively promotes their agenda, he is also a flaming liberal. I believe he is not more than a lap dog for the central planners. I do not believe his primary interest is for the people of Oklahoma, though he does an excellent of pandering to them.

Full Term Corporation Commission: Jeff Cloud I personally like Jeff, but I am still very disappointed with his vote against the best interests of the people of Oklahoma when he voted against the Red Rock utility plant up by Ponca City. However, I believe it is better to re- elect Jeff Cloud than turn this seat over to Mr. Gray.

STATE SENATE - I am only going to high-light the close or interesting races.

S.D. # 7: Kenny Sherrill, This Republican may be the surprise of the night on Tuesday. This is Gene Stipe’s old seat currently held by Stipe’s successor, Senator Lerblance. Sherrill runs the sale barn in McAlister and is well known in the district. Lerblance ranks number 48 on the Conservative Index or in other words he is the most liberal Senator for 51st legislative session. We will see if he is just too liberal for the people of that district?

S.D. # 21: James Halligan, the former President of OSU is running for Mike Morgan’s term limited seat. While I don’t expect Halligan to be very conservative, this is a seat the Republicans believe they can win to take control of the senate. The district runs from Stillwater down through Langston and into about half of Guthrie.

S.D. # 27: Bryce Marlatt This is an open seat covering from Woodward throughout the panhandle. Republican Owen Laughlin held this seat for many years and is now term limited out. The Democrats have a strong candidate in the son of the State Secretary of Agriculture. He is also a well known bull rider. However, the Republican registration in the district is too strong as Republicans aren’t as likely to vote for a Democrat as the other way around. I don’t know how conservative Marlatt is as he didn’t come for our interview.

S.D. 31: Don Barrington While Don is a social conservative, he is the next to the most liberal Republican in the Senate. This Lawton seat is one the Democrats hope to pick up. The Democrat candidate is the same person Don beat 4 years ago. It was very close then and is expected to be close again. This district has a very strong Democrat majority in registration and Senator Barrington (former Lawton fire chief) may be the only Republican who could win this seat?

S.D. 33: Gary Casey This Tulsa race between the Democrat Senator Tom Adelson and Mr. Casey is truly a David and Goliath race. At one point in time Adelson had raised more money than any other candidate for a senate race. Casey on the other hand, has raised only a minimal amount in comparison. Casey is a true conservative and Adelson is a true liberal. Casey is an outstanding individual and has had a good grass roots campaign. While I believe Adelson will win, it will be most interesting to watch as the district barely has a Democrat majority in registration.

S.D. # 37: Dan Newberry Former Republican Senator Nancy Riley got her panties in a wad when she didn’t win the Lt. Governor race two years ago and switched to the Democrat party. That kept the Republicans from controlling the Senate these past two years. That switch will be her un-doing as the Republicans found an excellent candidate in Dan Newberry. As their highest priority race, the Republicans worked to make sure he has the resources to win. While Newberry didn’t come for the OCPAC interview, Tulsa conservatives indicate he is a real conservative. For Riley to win, she must get every Democrat vote, every independent vote and 1 out of every 5 Republican votes. I predict that just isn’t going to happen. This will be a great win for the Republicans in a seat with a strong Republican registration majority.

STATE HOUSE Again, I am only going to highlight the close or interesting races. However, almost every election cycle there are one or more surprises.

H.D. #5: Hopefully Democrat Kelly Kerr will defeat the Republican incumbent Dr. Doug Cox of Grove Oklahoma. Representative Cox is the most liberal Republican in the House out of 57 lawmakers. In fact, for the 51st legislative session, 25 House and Senate Democrats have scored higher than Cox on the Oklahoma Constitution Newspaper’s Conservative Index. He was this year’s winner of OCPAC’s RINO (Republican In Name Only) award. With a 57 to 44 majority we can easily give up this seat which would improve the Republican majority and still keep control of the House.

H.D. #14 George Faught This Muskogee seat was unexpectedly picked up by Republican George Faught 2 years ago in a district with a heavy Democrat registration majority. Representative Faught is an outstanding conservative and is in a re-match with his same foe from 2 years ago when it was an open seat.

H.D. #25 Todd Thomsen Two years ago in an open race, the Republican Thomsen lost this Ada area district on election night by about 3 votes. He filed for a re-count and ended up winning by 1 or 2 votes.
This is another re-match of the same candidates. The district has a heavy Democrat registration so this will be a hotly contested race.

H.D. #28 Ron Sheppard This Seminole county seat has a heavy Democrat majority in registration. However, Mr. Sheppard is a former Democrat State Representative who could no longer stomach the liberalism of the Democrat party so he switched to the Republican party. He has worked very hard to defeat Ryan Kiesel who ranks as the 97th most liberal lawmaker in the House.

H.D. #34 Aaron Carlson This Stillwater seat was held by 2 time RINO award winner Terry Ingmire. I don’t know if Carlson is conservative but it would be hard to be more liberal than Ingmire, who is term limited (may I hear some applause). Ingmire goes out with the distinction of having the lowest lifetime score on the conservative index (a paltry 41). This is expected to be a close race.

H.D. # 36 Eddie Fields Mr. Fields barely lost in this Pawhuska area race 2 years ago to the Democrat Scott BigHorse. The only House member more liberal than BigHorse is the openly homosexual McAffrey. With an ultra-liberal voting record for BigHorse and in a Presidential election where Republicans normally do better in Oklahoma, this may be one seat the Republicans will pick up.

H.D. # 37 Brent Colle The Republicans had held this Ponca City seat for many years. As an open seat 2 years ago it was lost to the Democrats when the Republican candidate had some serious problems.
This is a district with a Republican majority and while the Republican Party has helped some, the Republican House PACs have been absent. Mr.
Colle is a true conservative and would easily make a top 10 lawmaker.
With more help this could have been a pick up seat for the Republicans. Mr. Colle may still win this race.

H.D. # 45 Aaron Stiles With the exception of one election cycle out of the past 8 or 10 this Norman area race is usually decided by 150 votes or less. This may be the most contested seat in the state on a consistent basis. The Republicans lost this seat 2 years ago by about 80 votes. I would say we would likely pick it up in a Presidential election cycle, except this year, the college kids have no sense about them as they have become cult followers of Obama. There are a lot of OU students in this district and probably no one knows what they will do down ballot. Mr. Stiles is a good candidate and I believe he has the possibility to be in the top 10 best if elected.

H.D. # 47 Leslie Osborn This Chickasha to Mustang seat was held by Susan Winchester. Everyone was surprised when she announced a few days before filing that she wouldn’t run again. The Democrats hope to pick this one up, but I believe Leslie will win it. I don’t know how conservative she happens to be.

H.D. # 48 Pat Owenby This Ardmore area seat became vacant when Greg Piatt announced at the last minute he would not seek re-election. This is a difficult district and Owneby is running against the current mayor of Ardmore. This one may be close and another one the Democrats hope to pick up.

H.D. # 50 Dennis Johnson Former Democrat Senator Daisy Lawler needs 2 more years in office to get her retirement so she has filed against the freshman House member Dennis Johnson. Johnson is one of the best, but represents a district with a strong Democrat majority in registration. We can’t afford to lose Johnson as he has a great deal of wisdom. This should be a very close race and another one the Democrats hope to pick up.

H.D. #51 Your Choice Ray McCarter was term limited out of this Marlow area seat and it is expected to be a close race. The Republicans hope to pick this seat up but I don’t see much difference between the 2 candidates. They both seem to be breaking their necks in an attempt to promise to throw the greatest amount of taxpayer dollars down the black hole of the government schools as possible.

H.D. # 52 Charles Ortega The Altus area has been trending toward the Republicans over the past few years. This is one the Republicans hope to pick up. This could be another close race. I have no idea how conservative Mr. Ortega happens to be.

H.D. # 57 Harold Wright This Weatherford, Clinton area seat has been close in every Presidential election for several years. With James Covey term limited out, this is a seat the Republicans hope to pick up. I believe Mr. Wright is fairly conservative.

H.D. # 84 Sally Kern This Bethany - Warr Acres area race won’t be close but it is interesting as the homosexual community got behind a fellow who proclaims to be a conservative and a Christian. Of course he can’t determine what is proper behavior from perversion and his support for OBAMA gives him away as "confused" at best. There are a majority of good voters in this district, able to spot a chamaeleon. Mr. Marlett should be embarrassed by what will be his poor showing. It is so hard to try to be all things to all people. Sometimes you just have to take a stand for what is right.

H,D. # 87 Jason Nelson This Northwest OKC seat was formerly held by Trebor Worthen who chose not to run again. This seat has been trending toward the Democrats though it has been in Republican hands for at least the past 20 years. Nelson won a tough primary and given the fact he has been a lobbyist for the past few years may make it hard for him to keep this seat from going to the Democrats who hope to pick it up. His Democrat opponent almost upset Worthen 2 years ago. The fact that it is a Presidential election might make the difference for Nelson. If he doesn’t win, conservative Republicans will be after this seat in 2 years.

H.D. # 93 Mike Christian Two years ago Mike came within 80 votes of defeating the long time incumbent. This year the seat is open and if the independent in the race doesn’t adversely affect the outcome, Mike will pick up this Democrat seat for the Republicans. Mike is an outstanding conservative candidate.

H.D. # 94 Kyle Coulter Kyle is an outstanding young man who will easily be in the 10 ten conservatives if he can win. We lost this Del City area seat 2 years ago when Kevin Calvey ran for Congress. Kyle’s biggest problem is that he hasn’t lived in this district all his life like the incumbent Democrat. Also, his funding has lagged behind the Democrat. However, he has worked hard and this could be a pick up for the Republicans.

H.D. # 96 Lewis Moore This Eastern Edmond through Luther area seat was formerly held by Lance Cargill who surprised some when he did not file for re-election. The Democrat is the wife of the former Democrat State Chairman and her husband was also the opponent of Mary Fallin 2 years ago. She has put an enormous amount of her own wealth into the campaign and Mr. Moore has been underfunded. However, he is still expected to win, we just don’t how close it might be. Mr. Moore has all the conservative instincts. If he fully develops a conservative ideology he will likely be in the top 10 conservatives.

THE OKLAHOMA STATE SUPREME COURT We have a huge problem with our Supreme Court. I believe this is the worst court since we began the process to either retain or reject Justices, a practice dating back to the 1950s. We have never rejected any judge on any of the 3 appellate courts over the past 50 years. They have no fear of losing their jobs and I believe the retention process is badly broken. These judges need to stand for election, though that in itself will not solve all the problems with bad judges.
The Justices recently ruled without dissent against a suit filed by an Jerry Fent claiming the Oklahoma Constitution forbids the legislature from declaring an amnesty on obligations owed to the state. Rather than adjudicating by the Constitution, the court pointed to a flawed decision on the issue from the 1930s. This is an example of case law "judicial activism" rather than ruling on the law itself. In another decision regarding the state legislature’s unconstitutional practice of "log rolling." The court could have stopped the practice but refused until the funds were spent. Then they ruled it was wrong and warned the legislature not to do it again. The court said this is your 3rd warning and we will not be so nice if you do it again. They sure ignored their oath to up-hold the constitution on that one. Another ridiculous decision was throwing out the petition to demand 65% of the funds spent on education must be spent in the classroom. Their decision was based on a subjective opinion about a technicality. Their rulings on petitions have become so ridiculous that it has almost become impossible to get one to a vote of the people, that is unless in my opinion it is an ISSUE the Justices agree on.
Justice John F. Reif Vote NO
Justice Tom Colbert Vote NO
Justice Joseph Watt Vote NO

Justice Watt may be the worst person on the Court THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS One of the worst travesties of justice ever to occur was in the Ricky Ray Malone SENTENCING trial in 2007. Because slain Highway Patrol trooper Nikky Joe Green’s widow showed emotion and used the word "God" during her testimony, 4 of the Justices ordered a re-trial with 2 dissenting.
Justice Charles Johnson ruled for a retrial, vote NO and throw this bum off the court.

Justice Gary Lumpkin dissented, vote YES. Sources tell me he is the best Justice on this court.
OKLAHOMA COURT OF CIVIL APPEALS I was simply not able to find out any information on the 4 judges on the ballot on this court. This is your choice.

STATE QUESTIONS

SQ 735 Vote YES This is the only one I have any concern over and the part I am concerned about is the exemption for a surviving spouse. I do not believe this will have much impact as most counties have already opted out of paying PERSONAL property taxes.
SQ 741 Vote YES I believe this is just about bringing order for certain processes.
SQ 742 Absolutely vote YES The RIGHT to hunt and fish needs to be
embedded into our constitution as a protection from possible future federal government interference into Oklahoma laws. We don’t know how much the "animal rights" wack jobs across the nation will gain control over federal government policies.
SQ 743 Vote YES This is not about drinking or not drinking, but rather about breaking up a monopoly and allowing legal Oklahoma wineries to have a more free market with which to sell their wines. They won’t have to go through a middle man.

I hope some of these ideas have been helpful, or if you print this out you can keep score as to how I picked them on election night. If you are not currently receiving the weekly e-mail from OCPAC but would like to, just send me an e-mail with your request and I will add you to our list. The weekly e-mail will have the agenda of our weekly meeting, other announcements and conservative commentary and insider information about Oklahoma politics, government and the culture war.

The information is designed to inform as well as cause you think about issues.
My e-mail address is charliemeadows@peoplepc.com.

Charlie Meadows