James over at Mahatma X Files has an interesting post about demographics and politics in the Oklahoma panhandle. He shows a map that delineates, by country, where the Hispanic population is relative to the national average.

Focusing on the Oklahoma panhandle, you’ll notice that the most populous county, Texas County (it’s the one right in the middle of the panhandle), is running as of 2007 at about 35-40% Hispanic. The counties directly to the east and west of us (Beaver and Cimarron, respectively) are about at the national average, and the rest of the state of Oklahoma - with the exception of a couple counties to the far southwest- is below the national average.

One reason for sharing this with you is simply to give a visual to go along with one of my running narratives - namely that the Oklahoma panhandle really is culturally different compared to the rest of the state. In fact, we seem to be more like the rest of the US Southwest (which I’ll include the southwestern portion of Kansas and southeastern Colorado) than our own state. The trend towards higher concentrations of Hispanic peoples here in the OK panhandle is relatively recent - as I understand it, going back about a couple decades the panhandle was still predominantly White/Non-Hispanic. Although the panhandle is notorious for its affinity for the GOP (in presidential elections, we’re one of the “reddest” areas, and our US and state congressional delegations are uniformly GOP), I’d wager that we’re about to experience some changes.

He predicts political changes coming as a result of the demographics, and makes suggestions of how the Democratic and third parties can take advantage of this shift.

The first suggestion: “Stop ignoring us.”

I know that seems obvious, but unfortunately, the obvious needs saying in this case. But I suspect that the panhandle of Oklahoma will get attention from DC to address its problems before it gets any real respect from OK politicians. Certainly this next term, all their energy is going to be dedicated to poking into the personal lives of women.

I didn’t vote for Al Gore in 2000 and Joe Lieberman, Al’s stupendously stupid VP pick, is why. He was a whiny sanctimonious prick then, and he’s gotten worse every year since. His political assholery is becoming the stuff of legend. Only now, after being rejected by the Connecticut Democratic Party in 2006, he has an “I” next to his name. But he caucuses with the Democrats in the Senate, and, because in the last Congress they needed him in the caucus to maintain majority, he was given a plum chair of an important committee, Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

That means subpoena power.

But he did zilch with that power between 2006 and 2008, despite the Katrina debacle, porous ports, multiple instances of corruption and irregularities in the executive branch, all which should have been investigated by his committee. His counterpart in the House, Henry Waxman, was busy as a beaver, and exposed plenty. But without an ally on the Senate side, nothing much but “sternly worded letters” could come of it all.

So now, after a long campaign season in which Independent Joe Lieberman who caucuses with the Democrats was joined at the hip with Republican presidential nominee John McCain, saying McCain loved his country and Obama did not, now there is a grassroots fueled effort to strip Turncoat Joe of his chair at Homeland Security.

And, what do you know! Suddenly, leading that committee is of utmost urgency to Joe Lieberman. Wonder why that is?

Yet, amazingly, many high-level Democrats are willing to let bygones be bygones and let Lieberman keep the chair, where, it is suspected, he will suddenly find a reason to call his committee to work investigating the new Obama administration. Just as Democratic Senators who should have known better, like Barbara Boxer, went to Conn. to campaign for Joe despite the state party’s distaste for him, now they are letting their “friendship” get in the way of political reality and necessity.

The netroots is calling for accountability for How-Low-Can-He-Go Joe, and have set up several tools to persuade the Senate Democratic Steering Committee to give the chair to someone more deserving and trustworthy.

The Dems no longer need Joe for majority status, and based on his recent voting record, he is not even a “progressive vote” on “everything but the war” any more. He is a vile, bitter, corrupt man. I’d kick him out of the caucus completely, but that’s not what’s being asked. He can leave and caucus with the Republicans if he wants — what’s in it for him? He won’t have any leadership role on any committee and no avenue to re-election.

Call the members of the Steering Committee and tell them: Joe Lieberman must GO!

The whole world is trying to figure out what’s up with us here in Red Dirt land. Last Tuesday, for good or bad, we certainly took a different tack, and everyone wants to know why.

The great blog Down With Tyranny regularly has insightful posts about Oklahoma politics, with some of the best rants against Inhofe for years now, and was a good source of info about the Andrew Rice campaign. Today, a look at what the hell happened in Oklahoma last Tuesday. Leading in to the piece is a photo from the Dust Bowl which still epitomizes Oklahoma’s seemingly hopeless situation.

Can You Guess Which State Was The Most Reactionary In This Year’s Elections? Hint: Think Rodgers and Hammerstein

But the state least connected to the American mainstream and most politically isolated on Tuesday was poor, sad, reactionary Oklahoma, which gave almost 66% of it’s vote, the most of any state, to McCain. While analysts are working on a post-mortem, or autopsy, on McCain’s no longer twitching campaign, Oklahomans must be wondering what’s wrong with the rest of America.

Daily Kos’s most famous and beloved Okie diaries, droogie6655321, riffed off Thomas Frank’s 2005 examination of Kansas politics, with What’s the Matter with Oklahoma?

What I’m not interested in is sweeping generalities about Oklahomans. If you want to call us all ignorant, misinformed, racist or backward, I suggest you do it an upcoming open thread and not here. As unfathomable as it may seem to us, there is a reason why Oklahomans choose Republicans over Democrats, and I want to know why.

Droogie’s question generated 988 comments and was followed by Sooner Kos discussion threads here and here

The traditional media weighed in on the anomaly which is Oklahoma. The New York Times:

Where Tuesday’s Tide Was All Republican

“Oklahoma Democrats, with very few exceptions, are the old-line white Southern Democrats,” said David Ray, another political scientist at the university. “They don’t like liberals or liberalism.”

Indeed, the state has a political landscape closely resembling that of the old solidly Democratic South, especially in its southeastern corner, known as Little Dixie, where many Southerners settled after the Civil War. When conservatives of the Old South began abandoning the party decades ago, Oklahoma’s Democrats lagged behind the historical trend. Further, the state has relatively small black and Hispanic populations, and so the Democrats did not absorb as many new voters from those groups as in the states of the old Confederacy.

These days Oklahoma Democrats dread running for local office in presidential election years, for fear of being associated with liberal nominees at the top of the ticket.

“Being liberal in Oklahoma, with the exception of a few legislative districts, will not get you elected,” said State Representative Joe Dorman, a conservative Democrat.

[...]

But Mr. Gaddie said that perhaps the most important factor in Mr. McCain’s strong showing here was religion. An Edison/Mitofsky exit poll found that more than half of Oklahoma voters identified themselves as evangelical Christians and that a heavy majority of them had voted for Mr. McCain.

Mr. Gaddie, himself a pollster as well as a college professor, said: “A question we always ask in our polls is ‘How often do you attend church services?’ If a Democrat is not going to vote for a Democrat, they are a frequent church attender.”

Another advantage for Mr. McCain was that the state’s economy, based mostly on the oil and gas industry, has been buffered somewhat from the national economic slowdown. Unemployment remains low, the housing market stable.

For all of that, the Democratic Party is far from dead in Oklahoma, especially in the state’s southeastern section, where, despite the social conservatism, many people still talk about the New Deal and revere Franklin D. Roosevelt.

and Washington Post also remarked on the Oklahoma phenom.

As Much of Nation Went Blue, Okla. Applied Extra Coat of Red

Exit polls found that more than half of Oklahoma voters identified themselves as white, evangelical or born-again Christians. Of those, a heavy majority went for McCain.

State Republican Chairman Gary Jones said it was “not so much an issue of race,” but rather of conservative Oklahomans voting against someone known as “the most liberal member of the Senate.”

Jones said the conservative positions of McCain’s running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, helped motivate Oklahoma voters.

One thing all these analysts seem to agree on is that Oklahoma not being so hard hit by the economic downturn played a part in the election results. We just aren’t hurting as bad as Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida, North Carolina, et. al.

Not that there’s anything wrong with that. But in Oklahoma, the pain wasn’t great enough to trump the other ideology (”family values”) and/or misconceptions about Obama as elsewhere in the nation.

If Obama does a good job as president, which I expect him to do, perhaps Oklahomans will at least drop the latter rationale for not voting for him when he runs for re-election in 2012.

Watch this fantastic video ’song to Obama’

The singer/songwriter is Hannah Friedman. Talented, smart and brave woman. She left a comment on my last post with the link. Thank you, Hannah, for your great heart. I hope it’s not broken, by Obama, or anyone.

The consensus bottom line: This is just the beginning.

Gloria A. Totten, Progressive Majority

The message couldn’t be clearer: voters wanted progressive change. They elected an outstanding progressive as the next president. They put Democrats solidly in control of the Congress. And, they elected 79 great Progressive Majority candidates to state and local office! More results will be coming in as the votes continue to be counted.

The state and local champions Progressive Majority helped elect yesterday will ring in a new era of leadership committed to our progressive values - and they will be a formidable ground force to enact the change we need.

Tim Carpenter and Laura Bonhan, Progressive Democrats of America

At least we know, for the first time in eight years, the person on whom so much planetary security depends has a solid intellect. Former Secretary of State Colin Powell called Obama, “a transformational figure.” We may need no less than that to address the challenges ahead. If tremendous damage has been done to America’s reputation, tremendous healing may come from having as president a man who extolled the need to engage even with one’s enemies, whose extraordinary, world-wide upbringing embodies the maxim think globally, act locally,” and will present a new face to a planet that has become wary of the nation which not long ago was its ideal.

PDA can have a huge role in what is to come. At this year’s annual PDA conference, we were particularly struck to hear John Nichols, Washington correspondent for The Nation, describe Franklin Roosevelt’s less-than-progressive roots, and the degree to which FDR was swayed by the great Fiorello La Guardia and other progressives. This should give us plenty of hope about what is possible in moving an entire administration.

Ron Pollack, Stand Up For Health Care

For those of us fortunate to see, and participate in, this transformative election, our work must not only continue, it must start anew. This election is an opportunity – an opportunity to bring fairness and decency and dignity for those who have yet to share our nation’s bounty.

Our work is far from over.

It’s important we do everything we can to make sure the new Congress and President-elect Obama work together to make quality, affordable health care a reality for all Americans, as soon as possible.

Fred Krupp, Environmental Defense Fund

Elections are about change and this election offers us the
greatest opportunity we have ever had to change course on global
warming.

We must do everything we can to pass climate legislation here at
home and to craft a global compact that unites the world against
the common enemy of rising temperatures, melting ice caps,
erratic weather and the spread of disease.

Here is our post-election campaign memo:
http://action.edf.org/ct/cpq4xAY1Em-Q/. It details the steps
our scientists, economists and policy experts are taking to
seize this historic opportunity.

Frances Beinecke, Natural Resources Defense Council

Hundreds of NRDC attorneys, scientists and policy experts have worked night and day for eight long years to stop the Bush-Cheney juggernaut from laying waste to our public lands, national forests, wildlife refuges and ocean ecosystems. Thanks to your phenomenal support, we have succeeded to an extent that few thought possible.

Barack Obama’s election is a huge win for everyone exhausted from playing defense. Count us among them. It rekindles our hope that environmental protection may be restored to its rightful place as a treasured American value.

On the most important issues of the day — from global warming controls to clean energy solutions to wilderness preservation — President-elect Obama campaigned on behalf of far-sighted policies that NRDC has championed for years.

But hope alone will not turn those promises into reality. It’s time to get to work.

Mary Beth Maxwell, American Rights at Work

One of the most remarkable stories of this campaign season is
how corporate-funded front groups tried - and failed - to use
the Employee Free Choice Act as a wedge issue.

They spent nearly $20 million dollars to smear candidates who
would defend the right to form a union, freely and fairly. And
in almost every race, those candidates beat the lies.

These anti-union groups thought they could scare Americans into
voting for candidates who would look out for CEOs while leaving
the middle class holding the bag. Even Wal-Mart thought it could
bully employees into voting against pro-worker candidates. You
proved them wrong.

Eli Pariser, MoveOn.org

Remember back in 2001 and 2002, when so many of you joined MoveOn? When President Bush had an 80% approval rating, when you held candles to stop a war the media was cheering on, when there were few politicians with the courage to stand up for the truth? Back then, a victory like this seemed impossible.

But yesterday you proved that nothing is impossible. If we stand up together and if we fight together and if we believe together, we can change the course of history.

Today, a new day has dawned in America.

Richard Cohen, Southern Poverty Law Center

Around the world, people everywhere are seeing a new face of America, one that is more tolerant and more just. This is a credit to the sacrifices and the determination of millions of people, like you, who have worked so hard to make equality in our country more than just a dream. As President-elect Obama said to his supporters last night, “This is your victory.”

This election, of course, can never erase the ugly stain of slavery and cannot reverse overnight its terrible, enduring legacy of poverty, discrimination and bigotry.

Nor does it mark the end of overt hate and racism. The campaign exposed deep hostility and even rage among some white Americans who cannot yet accept the idea of a black man as our nation’s leader. And many white supremacists believe this election will rally white people to their cause, especially when our economy is teetering on the edge of an abyss.

I hope and believe that they are wrong, that the growing number of Americans who cherish justice and tolerance will drown out the fear and bigotry that have held our country back for too long.

For now, let’s all celebrate the promise of a new era. Tomorrow, let’s get back to work to make that promise a reality.

Kevin Martin, Peace Action

This morning, I’m thinking about two things: the incredible historical achievement of this country electing an African-American president; and, what that means to people of all colors in this country. What an incredible moment - historically, socially and spiritually.

The other thought is more sobering - President-elect Obama is inheriting quite a terrible mess, on so many fronts, and his policies are frankly not so progressive on war and peace issues. However, at this defining moment we have an opening for positive change, after eight long years of Bush’s and Cheney’s all-out assault on world peace.

We in the peace movement, have steadfastly fought against the war in Iraq, successfully (so far) stopped an attack on Iran. We’ve prevented Bush from moving forward with his new nuclear weapons programs. Now, we have the opportunity for a more positive and proactive type of organizing for peace, social justice and disarmament.

Barack Obama’s message last night was that change is not something he will just deliver for his supporters in some consumerist fashion. He called on us to work harder for the changes we want to see in our country, saying “This victory alone is not the change we seek. It is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were.” He said we have to keep organizing for change. I could not agree more and I intend to take up his challenge!

I know that among our more than 160,000 supporters across the country there is no consensus about Barack Obama. Some folks are passionate supporters, others are highly critical of his positions on various issues.

For me, the celebration today is not just about Obama’s victory or the repudiation of miserably failed Republican politics. The celebration is about the tens of millions of Americans who empowered themselves to take the country in a new, better direction.

Larry Cox, Amnesty International

We have a great opportunity. The world faces overwhelming human rights crises. But with your help, we can turn this country’s policies on human rights back in the direction of alleviating, and not contributing, to these crises.

President-elect Obama has promised to restore the rule of law, to repair America’s damaged perception in the world, to close Guantánamo, and to renounce torture.

These promises bring hope. In the coming days, we will need you to help make those promises a reality.

John Sweeney, AFL-CIO

Because of years of work by people of all ages, races, stations
and faiths hungry for change, the political pendulum is swinging
back toward sanity. It took the inspiration of a rare leader to
translate that hunger for change into an election the likes of
which we have not seen in our time.

Barack Obama brings new hope to America’s working families, and
our increased majority in the U.S. Senate means we can translate
that hope into reality. So thank you for your hard work in
educating and mobilizing voters. (Click here to read AFL-CIO
post-election commentary on our blog:
http://www.unionvoice.org/ct/DpqNgjS1VuYS/)

Last night was a time to rejoice, but now it is time to get back
to work fighting for working families.

Cecile Richard, Planned Parenthood:

I’ve been wondering what it would feel like to know that the president of the United States supports women — it’s been a while — and I must say, it feels amazing.

People around here are finally exhaling, after eight long years. Just think, the massive amount of time, energy, and resources that the Planned Parenthood community had to spend shielding women and teens from the harm caused by the Bush administration can now be directed to expanding women’s access to the reproductive health information and services they urgently need.

Not only that, we also defeated anti-choice ballot initiatives by decisive margins in California, Colorado and South Dakota.

Nancy Keenan, NARAL

Thanks to your hard work, Barack Obama is on his way to the White House! In the House of Representatives, the election of at least 16 new pro-choice members means we have more support to protect a woman’s right to choose. And we moved five Senate seats out of the anti-choice column, with four more still being counted. Check our website for a complete list of winning pro-choice candidates.

http://action.prochoiceamerica.org/site/R?i=UnHIZBYJ_btoJeVxyQoxzg..

South Dakotans - thanks in large part to the efforts of NARAL Pro-Choice South Dakota and its allies - rejected another attempt by the anti-choice movement to ban abortion by referendum in the state. With the help of NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado, voters in that state also rejected an anti-choice initiative. And while California’s anti-choice ballot measure is too close to call, the results are promising.

And the advocacy to our new president-elect begins.

Jerry Fowler, Save Darfur Coalition:

A champion for Darfur in the Senate has been elected as the next president of the United States.

President-elect Obama has been a consistent voice for Darfur. But now it is time for more than strong words—we need strong action to end the suffering.

Our voices together can compel the next president to act. …

Presidential leadership can end the genocide. Click here to send your postcard and Be a Voice for Darfur today.

I absolutely believe that thousands of voices, united as one, will compel President-elect Obama to act. That’s why we set a goal of 20,000 new voices by Election Day—and met it. And, that’s why we’re setting a new goal: 100,000 online postcards signed by Inauguration Day.

Nancy Duff Campbell and Marcia Greenberger, National Women’s Law Center

The nation has no time to spare in providing guaranteed, affordable health care for all, passing essential legislation that provides basic fairness in the workplace, like the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, and undoing some of the onerous restrictions on women’s access to reproductive health that were imposed by the Bush Administration.

A first order of business is to pass and implement an economic recovery plan that addresses the needs of women and their families, including by extending unemployment insurance benefits and by increasing nutrition, energy, housing, child care, and Head Start assistance. In addition, the plan should provide fiscal relief to the states to avert cuts in education, Medicaid, child support enforcement, and other critical services.

We’re eager to begin working with the Obama Administration and the new Congress to expand opportunities for women and their families. And NWLC has developed A Platform for Progress with concrete proposals to address the unmet needs of women and their families in the areas of education, employment, basic economic security, health, and legal rights: www.nwlc.org/platform

I don’t know if this blog is really written by an 82 year old woman living in Texas writing to her friend in Maine, who had to have her blog thingy set up by her grandson so they could talk to each other about politics and life in America, but DAMN, it’s funny and brilliant.

These two “Best Friends for Sixty Years and Counting…” definitely have thing or two to say about the campaign for president.

I was just watching CNN  and I couldn’t believe what I heard.  Even if McCain loses this election, many in the Republican party will see Governor Moose Meat as the candidate who almost saved McCain.  In other words, it wasn’t her fault - he would have been nothing without her.  The reporter then took that to a horrifying conclusion - Palin in 2012.

Has everybody gone mad?  Dear Lord she is like a cockroach.  We’ll never be rid of her!  I tell you after the scare of that report my hair went from a lovely silver, just like that sweet Anderson Cooper’s, to stark white… completely devoid of color (my hair not Anderson Cooper).

and they don’t apologize for expressing their opinions. At 82, they’ve earned the right, or something.

New rules:

I will stop calling George Bush a jackass when he stops calling me a terrorist: Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists.

I will stop calling John McCain an ass when he stops calling Barack Obama a socialist at every dog and pony show on the Straight Talk Express tour.

I will stop calling Sarah Palin a bitch when she stops calling Obama a terrorist sympathizer.  And I will stop calling Sarah Palin a bitch when she stops calling the parts of the country where I don’t live more Pro-American than the part of the country where I do live.    And I will definitely stop calling Sarah Palin a bitch when she stops acting like a bitch.

Don’t miss the Cafe Press store. I think Helen is the artist.

Mccain and Palin and their ilk don’t laugh. They patronize. They don’t smile, they snicker. They don’t debate, they denigrate. They don’t talk, they condescend. They don’t argue, they ridicule. There is a nastiness, a mean-spiritedness, a smug certitude, and a profound and baseless arrogance seething from both of them. These aren’t leaders. They’re not even grownups.

A friend changed her email sig with this quote, which I tracked down to Michael Seitzman: John McCain Naked.

Of course, it also reflects the general tone of the Republican Party these days. Except, when it gets even worse.

Anyway, I’m featuring it in the sidebar for the next couple of weeks.

It also crystalizes my post category “The Great Divide.” I’ll be so glad when we can start healing that divide, very soon.

I am SO excited about and looking forward to this movie. Harvey Milk, the first openly gay person elected to a major political office in the U.S., is a huge hero of mine. Now a whole new generation will learn about his vision and his courage. And maybe some will even internalize some of the truths that Harvey gave his life to share with the world.

In the preview video — which took my breath away — Sean Penn’s Harvey and Josh Brolin’s Dan White are so realistic it’s scary. And there aren’t a lot of directors that I would trust implicitly to bring Harvey to life, but fortunately one of them, Gus Van Zant, made this picture.

If you are not acquainted with story of this martyred civil rights pioneer, you should use the time until this fictional account comes out (sometime in November) to check out the biography written by the late Randy Shilts, The Mayor of Castro Street, and the Oscar winning documentary film, The Times of Harvey Milk. I’ve watched that film over 20 times, and I still cry every time. The silent vigil down Mission Street on the night of his death is something every citizen should see, and every activist should study. It symbolizes the very best of America in response to the very worst.

Some works of art are timed perfectly, either by accident or design, to provide an emotional and social lodestone in a culture. If Barack Obama wins this election, and he seems poised to do so, I think we can begin a new, positive and exciting chapter in the American story. Harvey Milk opened such a chapter years ago, and the film can help provide a reference point, a political roadmap of sorts, as we go forward into the future with our first black president.

Harvey talked repeatedly about the importance and power of hope, but it was more than just talk — which is why he was successful as a leader. Just like Obama. Opponents criticize such collective energy at their peril, now, as then.

Update: I’ve reworked this post to be a letter to the editor of the Oklahoman. I tried to shorten it, but after much editing, cutting and added, it ended up exactly the same number of words. But it was a lot better. I’ll post the new version in a few days. I don’t want to jeopardize getting it published in case they Google and find it here. (Though of course, the chances of them using it are negligible.)

Original version:
On Nov. 4, Oklahomans have a serious question to ask themselves before voting: Do they want to be stuck with two Senators and all but one of their Representatives in the minority party for the foreseeable future, or do they want to be seriously involved in governing this country, solving our collective problems and moving into the future?

Because, unless something unexpected happens before, or something illegal happens on Election Day, the Democratic Party is going to control both houses of Congress — probably by a considerable margin — as well as the White House, come January 20, 2009.

Members of the minority party, meanwhile, simply will be keeping their seats warm, having have no real power.

If Andrew Rice, the Democrat who is challenging Republican Senator Jim Inhofe, is elected, he will be part of that national majority, and able to represent Oklahoma’s interests in Washington during the next six years, which I happen to think he will do very well. But even if you disagree with him on many issues, at least you will be able to contact a member of the ruling party to influence legislation. The other option is to send Inhofe back, where he will continue to suffer the precipitous decline of his status and influence to shape anything other than the cushion of his chair. In the latter outcome, Oklahoma will have no serious voice in the world-changing debate and decisions that are looming before us — in security, the environment, energy, the economy, et. al.

It’s really that simple.

I hope Oklahomans will think about whether they want to have any participation or power in making the changes that are coming. This election could be their one chance for that to happen.

The Oklahoma deadline to register to vote in the Nov. 4 election is Oct. 10. Check here for how to register, or to confirm your registration.