Lament, noun: An act of lamenting, a passionate or demonstrative expression of grief.
Last week, Obama won in Indiana and Virginia, states that no Democrat has won since 1964. Then, Obama won North Carolina, fracturing the Old South, the 11 states that fought on the side of the Confederacy.
Obama made impressive gains among white males, earning 41 percent to McCain’s 57 percent. Democrats typically do poorly among this demographic with Kerry managing 37 percent and Clinton winning 38 percent in the 1996 election.
Voters 18-29 preferred Obama two to one, 66 percent to 32 percent. The only age group that McCain won was voters 65 or older. White voters 18-29 favored Obama 54 percent to 44 percent.
If these numbers look foreign to Oklahomans, they should. Oklahoma made headlines this election as the only state where every county voted for McCain. Oklahoma panhandle voters were apparently so enthusiastic in their support for the McCain-Palin ticket that Beaver Country voted 89 percent for it. In the southeast corner of the state, “Little Dixie,” 74 percent of voters in McCurtain County preferred McCain. Sixty-two percent in Tulsa County cast their ballots for McCain while Oklahoma County voters went 58 percent for McCain.
In those supposedly liberal bastions of academia, Cleveland County, the home of the University of Oklahoma, 62 percent preferred McCain, as did 63 percent of Payne county voters.
When Palin spoke of the “Real America,” she meant places like Oklahoma. I am now more convinced that she meant it as a rallying cry for conservative Christians. While moderate Republicans across the country rejected the unholy alliance between greedy capitalists and the so-called Moral Majority in this election, Oklahoma voters said, “We will take more, please. That will do just fine here.” Oklahoma voters looked at Sally Kern and said, “Yes, we can” as they cast their ballots for the woman who said that homosexuals presented the greatest threat to our country’s national security.
In the New York Times, Oklahoma voter and poultry farmer Bob Cook said, “I just couldn’t vote for anyone who has Hussein in his name.” In that same article, Professor Keith Gaddie (my former professor in Southern politics at the University of Oklahoma), said, “A question we always ask in our polls is ‘How often do you attend church services?’ If a Democrat is not going to vote for a Democrat, they are a frequent church attender.”
According to CNN exit polls, 53 percent of Oklahoman voters described themselves as white, born-again/Evangelical Christians. Seventy-nine percent of those voters cast a ballot for McCain-Palin. And, Oklahoma was one of the few places that saw an increase in the percentage of votes cast for the GOP.
Moderate Republicans exist in Oklahoma. I have met them. One of my dearest friends, a Republican, sat out this election because he could not bring himself to vote for McCain or Palin. Her selection insulted his Republican principles, his belief in smaller government, intellectual curiosity and fiscal conservatism. That Republican brand did not prevail in Oklahoma. When Oklahomans express concern that a person might be the Antichrist or a Manchurian candidate, a secret Muslim sent to destroy God, mom and apple pie, then irrationality trumps reasoning and a rational thought process no longer prevails. When in the midst of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression and evangelical Christians can bring themselves to vote for continued corporate greed, continued corporate welfare, then rational thought no longer prevails. In its place exists unsubstantiated illogical fear. In this election, Oklahomans embraced the absurdity of fear while most of the country rejected it categorically in favor of the audacity of hope.
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Well, James, if you’re so ashamed of Oklahoma, and our values - there are 49 other options for you. As for me, I’m proud to be an Okie, and proud that we are the one state in the United States of America where sanity and common sense still prevail.
Dude, the election ended last Tuesday…
Yeah James I’m with Jenn!!!!… If Oklahoma is known for one thing, its sanity and common sense…..Oh and in addition to sanity and common sense, i would just like to add xenophobia, racism, homophobia, sexism, backwardness, and idiocracy.
Sanity and common sense? Really? There’s nothing common sense about not voting for someone based on the color of their skin or the nationality of their middle name. And there’s nothing common sense about assuming that a candidate is lying about his religion and is actually a Muslim trying to turn us over to “Muslim rule,” as if that could actually happen in the first place… Of coarse these actions don’t speak for all of Oklahoma; I know there undoubtedly were Republicans who did use common sense while voting… But, I can’t say I’ve seen a lot of that happening, and yes; I am ashamed of that. Being a citizen of a country or a state doesn’t mean pretending to be proud of something that you’re genuinely not proud of… So no, I’m not proud of Oklahoma for voting so blindly and I refuse to act like I am.
And as far as sanity goes, they say that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results… At first, McCain was saying that he backed Bush on most of his policies until he realized that said statements were losing him supporters big time. So, basically… electing McCain would have essentially been like electing Bush for another four years… which, in my humble opinion, would be a standing example of insanity.
Why are you here? You apparently think that we are “backwards”, or wait what is the word you liberals use? “Not progressive” thats it. Greedy capitalists? Moral Majority? Get over yourself and go cry to Che loving communist buddies about it.
So what all our counties voted for McCain, all of Vermont voted for Obama. It disgusts me that you Obama supporters act like he is somehow owed the presidency. But alas, that is the beauty of democracy, there will always be more than one option.
Great article James. Some of your criticisms may be better reserved for the dinner table rather than the newspaper, as often blunt words lead your allegedly scared intended audience to take a step back and not a step towards where you are leading them. However, it takes a lot of courage to speak your mind against the majority and your well-written article clearly surmises what is a very interesting and fair argument against the status-quo of Oklahoma politics.
Against corporate welfare eh? I guess all of the support that the president elect has given these bailout bills don’t count as corporate welfare?
Let us compare Oklahoma to Vermont, shall we?
Smartest state ranking: Vermont (1) Oklahoma (36)
Most Dangerous State: Oklahoma (15) Vermont (49)
Healthiest State: Vermont (1) Oklahoma (41)
Most livable state: Vermont (7) Oklahoma (40)
Violent Crime per 100k residents: Oklahoma (497) Vermont (136)
Poverty Rate: Oklahoma 16% Vermont 10%
Uninsured: Oklahoma 18% Vermont 10%
Wow, its like Vermont is an actual decent place to live and Oklahoma is a backwards armpit of decay and idiocy.