OK-Sen: Brad Carson campaign stop in El Reno
Thu Oct 28, 2004 at 02:04:25 PM PDT
I went to a lunchtime campaign stop by Brad Carson in El Reno. It was very well attended -- not enough food or chairs. Good mix of people.
My purely personal take on the event follows. Bottom line: I left reassured that Brad is solidly Democrat, even if a lot more conservative than I'm used to voting for.
Brad started off talking about, and really made it his major point, the honor of the office, by which he meant that the person in the office should serve as a model of the type of person in the state. Implying -- well actually coming right out and saying -- that Tom Coburn would not lead the nation or the world to think that Oklahomans are very smart or responsible people. He went over some of the best known of Coburn's wacko statements, and said that was just the tip of the iceberg. He also emphasized how bad Coburn's record in the House was, how he did absolutely nothing for the state. "I'm not saying he could have done more," Brad said. "I'm saying he didn't do anything." He said unlike Coburn, he would not go to DC to promote his own agenda or mission, or think that he was right and the folks back home were wrong. He also quoted Coburn saying how getting more and better jobs for Oklahoma was not his (i.e., an elected official's)job. Jobs and roads are two big issues here.
He talked about the campaign being negative, with attack ads on both sides. He seemed sincerely to regret this, but said proudly "We gave as good as we got."
He highlighted how close the race was, and how we needed to talk to everyone about the stark contrast between the candidates. He talked about his mother who was a Yellow Dog Democrat, who only voted for a Republican once in her life, for Nixon instead of McGovern. Using her as an example, he said Republicans who wouldn't otherwise vote Dem should consider their vote carefully this year. They'll tell their grandchildren that they always voted GOP except in 2004 when for the good of the state they voted for the Democrat. This tickled folks in the audience quite a bit.
During the q & a session, a woman told a story about her sad situation, as an elderly widow of a recently deceased veteran who won't be eligible for his SS for five years, and who has to live on $550 a month. She's got a mental disorder and her treatment at a nearby health center has been dehumanizing and there's no monitoring of the services, which are not good. She started crying and so did a lot of the audience, including me. Brad listened carefully and promised he would do everything he could to help her situation. He went to her and hugged her before moving on to other questions.
Iraq, US intelligence gathering and security, health care coverage and jobs were other topics raised by questioners. He spoke on all of them briefly, but displaying understanding of the issues and concern. The last questioner asked if he would be strong enough to stand up to the idealogues -- on the left (Barbra Streisand and Steven Spielberg were her examples). Obviously he answered in the affirmative, but in a way that to me seemed to imply that he understood the question from another perspective (maybe I was reading into it??).
Quite a few folks wanted to take literature and yard signs with them as they left. They used all the yard signs they had brought and were giving people the signs that had been taped to the walls of the room.
As I walked across the parking lot to my car, I passed a white truck with Carson stickers and "Support our Troups" stickers on it. I thought, well, good, he's pulling in the ultra-patriotic conservative crowd. After almost two years here in Oklahoma now, I should have known better (99% of Oklahomans fit that description), but apparently I'm still thinking like an East Coast liberal. As I got in my car, I saw Brad walking alone to that truck, and getting in the driver's seat.
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