Democrat
Hal Spake, USAF veteran and formerly of the US Foreign Service, has announced his intention to run for Congress against incumbent Republican Tom Cole in
Oklahoma's "Fightin' Fourth" district:
Oklahoma military veteran and retired diplomat, Hal Spake, announced today that he is a Democratic candidate for Congress. "The voters of Oklahoma's Fourth Congressional District deserve an alternative to the failed policies of the Bush administration. I believe the voters want real change in Washington, DC. " Spake said. Hal Spake served over 22 years in the U.S. diplomatic service in several international trouble spots. He is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force and the Oklahoma National Guard. He and his wife of 37 years are long-time residents and volunteers in Norman. He is a graduate of Central State University.
Spake is a newcomer to Oklahoma politics, so his stance on quite a few issues remains to be seen, but I like what I see so far in his press release and on his blog. More under the fold:
More from the press release, posted with Spake's permission:
HAL SPAKE SETS OUT HIS CALL FOR A RETURN TO AMERICAN VALUES
The Bush Administration is Undermining American Values. Misrepresentation is not an American Value. We now know that the Administration, shaded, exaggerated, and selectively used intelligence to make an unjustified case for the invasion of Iraq. Now we are engaged in a foreign war costing many American lives and injuries, as well as billions of dollars needed for our country. Today there are nearly 150,000 American troops risking their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan. The voters of Oklahoma's Fourth Congressional District deserve a Congressman who will not rubber stamp Bush and Rumsfeld's flawed war strategies and policies but will instead seek real change in the course of the Iraq War. Clearly we need an exit strategy.
The Bush Administration and our incumbent Republican Congressman have reduced spending for our Veterans Hospitals. While claiming support for our troops, the Republican Administration and our current incumbent Congressman have been abandoning increasing numbers of Iraq war veterans, who have their lost limbs, sight and their health. Failure to take care of our disabled veterans is not an American value.
Republicans praise our homeland defenders for their bravery but cut funding to programs that provide bullet proof vests for police and equipment for firefighters to fund tax cuts for the rich. Abandoning those who protect us is not an American Value.
The leader of the Republican Party stands in the ruins of New Orleans and vows to "do whatever it takes" to rebuild and then returns to Washington to promote tax cuts for the rich and slash the very programs that would help rebuild New Orleans. Leaving cities in ruin, children without schools and people living in pestilence is not an American value.
The Bush administration and our Republican Congressman talk about the need to make America more competitive in a 21st century economy, but then slash student aid programs and undermine science and scientific research. A university education that is within the reach of all students is an American value.
Secret prisons, torture, extraordinary rendition, warrantless wiretaps, attacks on journalists with threats of arrest for espionage for reporting questionable, illegal and unconstitutional activities, are not American values.
The culture of corruption itself is troubling. But, what's truly offensive about these scandals is that they lead to morally offensive legislation that tramples on the values of hardworking Americans.
When Big Oil companies write the nation's energy policy it's no wonder they end up with record breaking profits and billions in tax breaks. High costs of gasoline are forcing hard-working Oklahomans to make difficult choices about basic human needs.
When a Republican Congressional Chairman negotiates a Medicare bill at the same time he's negotiating for a job as the drug industry's lobbyist, it's hardly a surprise when a Republican Congress creates a drug program that benefits the pharmaceutical industry instead of seniors. Exploitation of the elderly is not an American value.
When the people running Washington are accountable only to the special interests, of course they'll cut taxes for their patrons and spend your tax dollars with reckless abandon. Saddling our children and grandchildren with debt from runaway deficit spending is not an American value.
We need leaders who will uphold the rule of law and place no man above that law. We need leaders who will defend our rights of privacy and the free press. We need leaders who have served their country and who will use its military might, judiciously. We need leaders who represent all Americans, not just the lobbyists and their clients. We need leaders who recognize that manufacturing is the lynchpin between national security and prosperity.
Because I believe that the voters of Oklahoma's Fourth Congressional District deserve an alternative to the failed policies of the Bush administration, and because I believe the voters want real change in Washington, DC. I am filing as a candidate for Congress in Oklahoma's 4th Congressional District.
Rep. Cole easily won the 2004 election by a 78-22 margin against his only opponent, Independent (formerly Republican) Charlene Bradshaw. Cole, who is strongly pro-war and anti-exit strategy (and has invoked Godwin's Law at least once,) has got to go.
"My colleagues' fundamental mistake is they want a timetable, not a strategy,'' said [Tom] Cole, who said the fighting in Iraq had made America safer.
"Our troops are engaging those who otherwise would be free to operate to kill Americans'' elsewhere, he said.
As for a withdrawal plan, Cole said, "Setting a date certain sounds more like a surrender strategy than an exit strategy.'' (source)
"We are in a kind of war that is a generation long, like the Cold War," Cole said. (source)
With Governor Brad Henry's (D-OK) approval rating soaring at 76% as of last February, 2006 is a great year to put more Oklahoma Democrats in national offices. It won't be easy, but I strongly believe that a Democrat can win in Oklahoma's 4th. I encourage my fellow Okies to watch Spake's blog for upcoming information on fundraising and volunteering. I'll leave you with a few words about the war from Spake, from today's Norman Transcript:
"Asking that working class American families sacrifice their children as cannon fodder in Iraq while giving tax breaks to the rich is not an American value," Spake said. "Giving special tax breaks, as Tom Cole's Republican Party has, to war profiteers while they make record profits at the gas pump is not an American value... Cutting support to VA hospitals with increasing numbers of returning soldiers seeking assistance to fund tax cuts for the rich is not an American value."