Those of us who haven’t voted by mail will either early vote Thursday through Saturday or a week from today.
At the top of the ticket, we have the choice of Joe Biden’s moderation or Donald Trump’s crony capitalism and corporate socialism. You can vote for economic planning that benefits everyone (Biden) or the continuation of policies that have seen billionaires make $931 billion during eight months of Trump-spurred pandemic ineptitude while small businesses close and workers lose their jobs.
And, of course, if you’re of a religious turn you can endorse Trump’s fascism that ripped more than 4,000 children away from their parents at the border – 545 of which children have been effectively orphaned. Or, you can vote someone who knows not to hold a Bible upside down and backwards (Biden again).
In the U.S. Senate race, we see doddering Jim Inhofe running TV ads against Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren. That is strange since Inhofe has been too scared to debate Abby Broyles. If he’s that frightened of a young woman of infinite potential, he probably runs and hides when he sees Sen. Warren approaching.
Inhofe’s mental capacities show further deterioration when he tries to slur Ms. Broyles as a former member of the liberal media. She was a effective reporter for an Oklahoma City TV station. I know that honest reporting is anathema to GOP liars, but there’s not a liberal TV station or newspaper in this state.
Dim Jim also thinks President Trump has done “a great job” in taking the U.S. to the top of the worldwide infection and death charts for the coronavirus pandemic – with no plans to take any life-saving action.
Inhofe’s unreasoning is dangerous. It’s as if someone thought a snowball were evidence that Earth is not warming toward dangerous, human-threatening levels. Oh, wait….That’s Inhofe, too.
And, just as Inhofe is in lock-step behind Trump, our incumbent, GOP congressman, Tom Cole, has also proven lackey enough to praise Trump’s disastrous and deadly (and lying!) response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Rep. Cole also supported the tax cut for the rich and voted against the Lower the Drugs Cost Now Act – and people are dying because historically- stable insulin prices suddenly sky-rocketed to line Big Pharma’s coffers. No shortage; just greed.
When I was preparing columns on American fascism, I contacted Rep. Cole, an enrolled member of the Chickasaw Nation, for a response “to the president endorsing and encouraging the Proud Boys white supremacist group.”
I received no reply, the good rep evidently suffering from what national columnist Leonard Pitts, Jr., calls “honorary whiteness,” the side effects of which “include cultural amnesia and inability to process reality.”
Trump’s top white supremacist aide, Stephen Miller, and “the very fine people” among Trump’s murderous klanazi supporters consider all non-whites inferior, basically sub-human.
How many oilfield busts have we experienced during Rep. Cole’s 18-years of indifference? And where is the Cole Rural Advancement Plan to mitigate such economic disasters?
I am realist enough to recognize that Democratic candidate Mary Brannon has little chance in our very red congressional district, but she does not condone or deny obvious racism and would protect earned benefits such as Social Security and Medicare while seeking affordable health care for all Americans.
She would be looking out for the 95 percent of Americans – and probably 99 percent of District 4 residents – who do not benefit from Republican corporate socialism.
Stay safe, but vote – for decency. Vote Democratic.
(Gary Edmondson is chair of the Stephens County Democratic Party: scdpok.us or facebook.com/SCDPOK/.)