The wall that Jim Inhofe has built around himself is being chipped away.
From the New York Times Tuesday:
Signaling a significant departure from the Southern Baptist Convention’s official stance on global warming, 44 Southern Baptist leaders have decided to back a declaration calling for more action on climate change, saying its previous position on the issue was "too timid."
From Bloomberg news on Monday:
Echoing the concept of the seven cardinal vices -- set to paper by Pope Gregory I in the sixth century -- the new list adds a social dimension, Bishop Gianfranco Girotti, head of the Apostolic Penitentiary, said in an interview yesterday with the Vatican's official newspaper l'Osservatore Romano.
"You offend God not only by stealing, taking the Lord's name in vain or coveting your neighbor's wife, but also by wrecking the environment[."]
(more below)
And, of course, last month, there was this:
[Oklahoma Senator Tom] Coburn's comment came at the beginning of remarks at a weekend town hall meeting in Muskogee.
"I will tell you personally that I think it was probably a mistake going to Iraq," said the freshman senator, who made it clear he did not believe the U.S. could withdraw but had to stay. [...]
Coburn's latest comments on the war clearly surprised his fellow Oklahoma Republican senator, Jim Inhofe.
"No, no, he couldn't have said that," Inhofe said Wednesday when asked to comment.
Inhofe’s comments in recent years have put him in a place far out of touch from Oklahomans – and increasingly out of touch even with his own party. Chris Casteel, Washington bureau chief for The Oklahoman (the major newspaper for Oklahoma City), even referred to him as a "back-bencher" in Congress and a "fringe" Senator:
Jim Inhofe has protected himself and his political career over the years by building a wall of denials, outrage, and special-interest money around himself. It’s kept him safe the last 40 years, since he first entered elected office. But it’s put him out of touch with reality and with real people.
Slowly, surely, he is growing more isolated. He continues to aggressively deny that man has contributed to global warming, yet Republicans, evangelicals, hunters and other conservatives are recognizing that they were wrong before. They are now advocating public policies to help arrest global warming. Inhofe’s colleague, Tom Coburn, now admits that going to war in Iraq was a mistake, yet the senior Senator, Jim Inhofe, recently chided General Petraeus for "understating" the success of America’s Iraq war policy.
Andrew Rice is working hard to force Jim Inhofe into retirement. During his successful State Senate campaign in 2006, Rice knocked on 20,000 doors and since announcing his candidacy for the U.S. Senate last September, he has traveled to half of Oklahoma’s 77 counties to listen to the concerns and hopes of Oklahomans. In his short tenure in the legislature, Rice has already accomplished more on issues like health care, environmental protection, and veterans' issues than Jim Inhofe has in his entire career.
Andrew Rice needs your help now. We won't be able to match Inhofe's special-interest money, but you can help us match at least one maximum contribution of $5,000 from a special interest PAC that wants to keep Inhofe in office protecting them. Take a look at our "Everyday People's Money" page on ActBlue and help us raise $5,000 $10,000 in small donations by the end of this quarter, March 31.
Together, we will leave Jim Inhofe in his bunker of hate and fear and put a progressive, independent-minded Democrat in his place.
Best,
Karina Henderson
Rice for U.S. Senate
