The sixth seat
Democratic Party activist Susan McCann (Your Views, Feb. 10) took issue with my analysis in ScissorTales last week that President Barack Obama’s “Hope and Change” message falls flat in Oklahoma. Of course the evidence for this is overwhelming: Obama didn’t win in even the most heavily-Democratic counties in a state in which Democrats held a significant registration advantage over Republicans. I have little reason to believe Obama will do any better the second time around. But the rope of hope is always available for the grasping. McCann said it’s only a matter of time before “progressives” will outnumber conservatives in Oklahoma City. We heard something similar in 2010 from supporters of 5th Congressional District Democratic nominee Billy Coyle, who said a Democrat could indeed win the central Oklahoma seat that hasn’t been held by a Democrat since 1974. That seat was open in 2010, and Coyle was an excellent nominee. But he got less than 35 percent of the vote — and Obama wasn’t on the same ballot. Perhaps it’s only a matter of time before a Democrat will represent Oklahoma City in Congress. It would help if the state would grow enough to restore the sixth congressional seat it lost after the 2000 Census. Were that to happen, redistricting could center the district more in the urban core and less in the fringes. As things now stand, though, Republicans would be in charge of the redistricting. Still, Democrats should hope that the state GOP’s pro-growth policies will lead to a population change that will result in adding a sixth seat. Right now the Republicans are headed by a governor who took 57.5 percent of the vote in the county that McCann says is steadily marching toward a “progressive” majority. The governor’s predecessor, moderate Democrat Brad Henry (a frequent target of scorn from “progressive” Dems) won the county with 63 percent. Yet the moderate Democrat nominated for governor in 2010 got 42.5 percent. Is this really a matter of time? Or is it a matter of values?
Giving it another try
Numerous legislative efforts through the years have failed to put much of a dent in the number of uninsured drivers in Oklahoma. This evergreen topic blooms again with a bill by Rep. Steve Martin, R-Bartlesville. Martin wants suspicion of driving while uninsured to be considered probable cause to make a traffic stop. That suspicion could be piqued through use of the state’s online verification system, which lets police know whether a vehicle they have pulled over is insured. Uninsured vehicles can be impounded after traffic stops — but driving an uninsured vehicle is not probable cause to make a stop. If Martin’s bill were to become law, he said, more vehicles could be cited or towed “without the need for the driver to break other laws at the same time.” It’s worth a try, at least until the next attempt comes down the pike.
Fighting for a cause
Fighting Sioux -- March 22, 2010 AP File Photo
The University of North Dakota’s Fighting Sioux nickname isn’t going away without a fight. The nickname was among several the NCAA deemed “hostile and abusive” in 2006. The NCAA threatened those schools with sanctions if they didn’t change their nicknames and logos. The university dropped its nickname and logo — the profile of an American Indian warrior — last year after the repeal of a state law requiring the school to use them. This week, organizers of a petition drive delivered about 4,000 more signatures than are required to put the question to voters. The university’s president then said the school would resume using the nickname until the referendum process is completed. Good for them. The NCAA was wrong to bully schools such as UND and others. We’re still waiting for it to put the squeeze on the Fighting Irish of the University of Notre Dame. Not hostile and abusive enough, apparently.
Polar opposites
The income tax plan in Gov. Mary Fallin’s State of the State address has drawn opposite reactions from the state’s two leading public policy think tanks. Michael Carnuccio, president of the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs, praised Fallin’s boldness. David Blatt, director of the Oklahoma Policy Institute, said the proposal “would bust a huge and permanent hole in the budget.” The details of the plan must still be worked out, and one think tank leader is optimistic as the other urges caution. “We can clearly see that when the dust settles, Oklahomans will keep more of their hard earned money next year,” said Carnuccio. Blatt wants the governor to get more input on the tax policies so they’ll be “fair to all Oklahomans and adequate to our state’s responsibilities.” We’re hopeful about tax reform this session and encourage the Legislature to take the next steps with a combination of courage and wisdom.
Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin delivers her State of the State address on the floor of the Oklahoma House in Oklahoma City, Monday, Feb. 6, 2012. (AP Photo/Garett Fisbeck)
Fruitful protests
Photo by Nate Billings, The Oklahoman
Although the Obama administration may be slow learners, we give them credit for listening to protests about proposed changes in laws for child farm laborers. The U.S. Department of Labor backtracked on a set of rules that would make many farming chores illegal for children younger than 16. The changes would have had a negative impact on America’s family farms and ranches. “The department’s proposals, though well intentioned, were far too encompassing and limiting to farming youth,” said Ed Luttrell, president of the National Grange, a rural advocacy group. Where common sense is called for, federal regulators usually offer dust in the wind. Thankfully these proposed farm rules were blown away by protests from farm groups.
Exit pols
Early, voluntary departures are taking a toll on Democratic clout in the Legislature at a time when Republican successes at the ballot box have taken a toll on the Democratic head count. Senate Minority Leader Andrew Rice, D-Oklahoma City, resigned from his leadership post and left the state before the term-limit clock ran out. Former House Minority Leader Danny Morgan, D-Prague, says he’ll leave the Legislature before terms limits force him out. Former Senate Democratic leader Charlie Laster, D-Shawnee, is leaving early as well, putting his final three-plus years on ice. We thought term limits 
would change the makeup of the Legislature; we never thought so many lawmakers wouldn’t stay for the whole 12 years they’re eligible to serve. Laster filled the seat vacated by Brad Henry when he left the Senate to become governor in 2003. Henry, by the way, is technically eligible to serve another couple of years in the Legislature.
- Photo by Steve Gooch, The Oklahoman
No more middle man
When managing a tight budget, cutting unnecessary expenses is a good place to start. House Bill 3111, filed by state Rep. Jeff Hickman, R-Fairview, would end the state government’s role in collecting dues for labor unions. Currently, state agencies and school boards use automatic payroll deductions for Oklahoma Public Employees Association membership dues and Oklahoma Education Association contributions. While processing the payroll deductions doesn’t cost the state millions, bank drafts and automatic credit card charges are two alternatives with zero cost to the state. “This modernizes state government and takes advantage of the advances in financial technology that will allow unions to continue to collect dues in an efficient manner without the State of Oklahoma paying to be the middle man,” Hickman said. Taxpayers should appreciate the prospect of anything free, and we hope this effort to join the 21st century finds favor with legislators.
Do as we say…
Graphic by Steve Boaldin
A single adult with one child needs a “living wage” of $16.74 an hour in Oklahoma County, where the state’s Democratic Party organization is based. The party touts itself as “a voice for workers’ rights and respectable wages, at both the state and national levels.” So how much does the party pay its own employees? The lowest wage at party headquarters is $11.63 an hour, which is more than the “living wage” for a single adult but considerably less than the rate for a single adult with one child. Also, in a list of 22 occupations, only three are typically compensated at a lower rate than the party pays. The party seeks to offer “competitively-priced options” for employee insurance. Not only is there a disconnect between what the party pays and what it thinks others should pay, but it seems to like competition in the health insurance field — something that its all-out support for Obamacare doesn’t jibe with.
Not mincing words
The criticism continues to roll in over President Obama’s decision last week scuttling (for now) construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. The 1,700-mile pipeline would move crude oil from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico and would produce thousands of jobs along the way, including here in Oklahoma. In a memo to employees, Bill Klesse, CEO of Valero Energy, shared the statement that the company had issued to media after the decision. The statement called rejection of the plan “absurd” and said the administration’s policies would force companies such as Valero (which has a refinery in Ardmore) to buy more oil from sources outside the United States and Canada. It also said the decision “throws dirt into the face of our closest ally and largest trading partner.” In an aside to his employees, Klesse said the administration’s decision wasn’t about pipelines in potentially sensitive areas of the country. Instead, “This is politics at its worst.” Well said.
Photo by Paul B. Southerland, The Oklahoman
Meal time
State Rep. Mike Reynolds has the right idea with an attempt to keep lobbyists from buying legislators’ meals at the Capitol. Reynolds, R-Oklahoma City, was moved to act after the Oklahoma Ethics Commission voted last week for a proposed rule that would let lobbyists provide lunch or dinner for groups of legislators at the Capitol. The rule also wouldn’t require lobbyists to identify which lawmakers got the meals. Legislators who like the idea argue that a meal here or there won’t sway their decisions on bills. That’s debatable. What isn’t debatable is that lawmakers, many of whom get per diem of $148 per day along with their generous salaries, don’t need free lunches. They can pay for their own, and should.
