Democrats learn about candidates

By D. E. Smoot
Phoenix Staff Writer

January 11, 2008 12:40 am

— House Republicans clamoring for a streamlined and more efficient government were chided Thursday before a crowd of more than 50 Muskogee County Democrats.
The party faithful gathered during a regular business meeting at the Muskogee Public Library to hear pitches from state representatives of the Democratic presidential hopefuls. Those pitches, however, temporarily took a back seat to comments about what is expected to be a “contentious legislative session.”
Rep. Jerry McPeak, D-Warner, who attended the meeting to speak on behalf of presidential hopeful John Edwards, scoffed at House Speaker Lance Cargill’s recent claims of fiscal responsibility and government efficiency.
“He’s so cotton-picking efficient he’s had to double his staff and increase the amount of money it takes to run the House,” McPeak said about Cargill to an enthusiastic and receptive audience. “They (House Republicans) spent $1.6 million on new furniture I didn’t want — I would have rather given that money to the children and the schools.”
According to a press release issued by House Democrats earlier Thursday, the legislative appropriation to the House of Representatives has increased 6.1 percent since the Republicans became the majority party, from $18 million in 2004 to $19.1 million in 2007.
With regard to Cargill’s plans to streamline state government, McPeak referenced the state’s chief medical examiner’s plan to quit performing autopsies in Tulsa. That plan was postponed, but McPeak said it is indicative of what’s happening at the state level.
“They want to move the services away from the people,” McPeak said.
Sen. Earl Garrison, D-Muskogee, said recent tax cuts and increased spending has hurt the state’s fiscal outlook.
“We are digging — we have dug — ourselves into a hole,” Garrison said. “Oil has saved our economy, but it’s hurting Oklahomans when they pull up to the gas pump.”
While state lawmakers attending the county meeting railed against their Republican counterparts, county Democrats did get to hear a little about presidential politics.
Former U.S. Rep. Brad Carson, who was scheduled to appear on behalf of U.S. Sen. Barak Obama, D-Ill., was unable to attend. Kay Floyd of Oklahoma City spoke in support of U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., and McPeak made a pitch for former vice presidential nominee and U.S. Sen. John Edwards.
Floyd said Democrats must pull together or risk losing the White House to another Republican president. She said she is optimistic about Clinton’s electability.
“She is about solutions,” Floyd said. “She has 35 years of experience as a problem solver — she was working on health care before it was popular.”
Floyd said Clinton has experience with foreign affairs and has solutions for problems presented by the global economy. To those who think Clinton cannot win the presidential nomination in Oklahoma, Floyd says, “She’s not running for president of Oklahoma, she’s running for president of the United States.”
Floyd said Clinton is “an agent of change” who can “build support from both sides of the aisle.”
McPeak, making a plug for Edwards, said he supported the candidate’s first presidential bid in 2000 and is supporting him again in 2008.
“The reason I’m backing him is because he was the best then, and I think he is the best now,” McPeak said. “If you’re riding a good horse, stay on that horse.”
McPeak said he sees Edwards as the working-class guy, a person who can relate to Oklahomans and from where they come.
U.S. Rep. Dan Boren, D-Muskogee, also made an appearance at the Muskogee County Democrats’ meeting. Boren, who has yet to draw an opponent, said he is planning to open his Muskogee campaign office during the next month.
While Boren didn’t advocate for any particular presidential candidate, he said he was proud of the field of Democratic hopefuls.
“Whoever your candidate is, I think we should feel lucky about the field we have,” Boren said. “All these people bring great things to the table.”
Reach D.E. Smoot at 918-684-2903 or Click Here to Send Email