2 weeks Ago
As Tuesday's federal election nears, the specter of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S.
Capitol looms. The insurrection that day did not arise out of nowhere. It was a mob stirred by rhetoric, lies and exaggerations.
Much of that destructive narrative continues. Political violence remains a fear and a possibility among voters who have become hyper-focused on the presidential candidates. The actions of those serving in Congress at the time — before and after the insurrection — matters.
We need more leaders willing to do the right thing at the cost of their own election. We need more profiles of courage. For Oklahoma's House members, Jan.
6 was a low point of statesmanship by their restrained and sometimes excusatory reactions. First District Congressman Kevin Hern condemned the violence of Jan. 6 but also repeated President Donald Trump's claims that questioned election integrity and mobilized attackers.
Later the evening, he voted to overturn election results. People are also reading..
. A former Sooner will be Mike Gundy's last resort at QB this season $2.5 billion Vinita theme park to be delayed years, but developers say they are still all in More Tulsa County restaurants fail inspections as inspectors strive to reduce foodborne illnesses Berry Tramel's Oxford travelblog: Ole Miss is not the same place it once was Long lines for early voting at Tulsa County Election Board locations Lawsuit claims downtown DGX store is a public nuisance, should be closed POLL CLOSED: Vote for the Bill Knight Automotive high school football player of the week for Week 8 TPS board member E’Lena Ashley defends promotion of anti-immigrant rhetoric New traffic cameras installed in Tulsa aren't for law enforcement purposes, officials say How much time does Brent Venables have to turn OU around? 'People's minds are made up.
' Kevin Wilson’s social media account spars with fans, media, former TU AD after historic comeback Tulsa stuns UTSA with miraculous second-half comeback on homecoming Gov. Stitt-linked dark-money operation spends $240,000 to oust Supreme Court justices State Board of Education agenda put on hold after AG punts outside attorney Berry Tramel: No stretch to say that the Sooners were better with Joe Jon Finley Since his election in 2018, Hern has voted in lockstep with Trump. He has never criticized the former president's divisive, racist comments and defended Trump during numerous investigations.
We believe Hern will win his re-election. Oklahoma is a deeply red state with straight-party voting among a popular choice among Republicans. The last Democrat to win the 1st District was James R.
Jones in 1984. The easy choice would be giving Hern our endorsement. But, election decisions should not be easy.
Sometimes, as in this moment, voters must make principled stands. We are endorsing Democratic challenger Dennis Baker because we want a different, more optimistic tone for our state and country. Baker, a member of the Muscogee Nation, grew up in Okmulgee and Sapulpa, earned a law degree from the University of Tulsa and spent a career in law enforcement, including at the Tulsa Police Department and more than two decades as an FBI special agent.
Baker does not have political experience — just like Hern when he was first elected. But, he has an impressive depth of knowledge of federal policy and cites Jan. 6 as his inspiration to run.
His decision was bolstered by research in Hern's positions, which includes raising the Social Security retirement age, voting against the bipartisan infrastructure bill and inflation reduction act, rejecting raises to the minimum wage and ending support for Ukraine and NATO. Primarily, Baker doesn't like the extremist tenor coming from the federal level. "That is not what Oklahoma is about," he told the board.
Border security is among his priorities, having dealt with the effects of a porous border while in the FBI. Recognizing the state's high poverty rate, he backs bills that would expand school lunch programs, affordable housing and child care. He supports labor union protections in the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act and restoration of women's reproductive rights.
The independent in the race, Mark David Garcia Sanders, is running an aggressive grassroots campaign on populist, working-class themes. An attorney who grew up in Tulsa, Sanders says his experience as a mediator will be a bridge to bipartisanship work in Congress. Voters have a chance to change the course of the national conversation and offer a fresh perspective for Oklahoma's 1st U.
S. District. We are choosing Baker as someone willing to put out the political fires, not stoke them.
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