Bartlett's Transition Pick Fails to Inspire Confidence

We noted with dismay this week that Tulsa mayor-elect Dewey Bartlett named 1st District Rep. John Sullivan to head his transition team.

This is not a good omen. Indeed, it raises serious questions about Bartlett's judgment and for the success of the Bartlett administration.

Besides the fact that Rep. Sullivan is one of the most reliable potted plants in Congress, Rep. Sullivan has no experience in Tulsa city government. None. Zip.

Then there's the fact that Sullivan has other duties—such as spending time in Washington representing the good people of the 1st District, which is what he was elected to do. Instead, as we have previously reported, Sullivan spends a fair amount of time pandering to the Tea Party crowd.

Sullivan told the Tulsa World this week that he will manage his time carefully and work nights and weekends, which sounds like a fine idea for a college student.

But Sullivan's previous record as a public servant has been marred by particular personal problems, including a recent stint at the Betty Ford Clinic in California.

Forgive us for pointing out the obvious, but does this record inspire confidence? Hardly.

GOP Plays the Fear Card to Blame Obama

The Republicans love to rant and rave—that's what they're best at. (Governing, well, not so much.)

It's no surprise then that the GOP plays politics with fear. Elect a Democrat and we'll be attacked, they claim. Obama is soft on terror, they shout. The sky is falling, they insist.

It's baloney, of course, but it is the Republican's signature style, led by the hysterics of Talk Radio and Fox News.

Talking Points Memo has rounded up the latest wave of GOP fear-mongering and posted an informative catalogue of the Top Four Wingnut charges. The details are here.

Wrong Again: PolitiFact Checks Palin's Reagan-Obama Recession Claim

Sarah Palin can't stop talking—or making things up. The former governor of Alaska is promoting her book this week, but her reputation is taking a beating.

Palin may sell a lot of books, but not because she's a zealot for accuracy.

PolitiFact has checked out Palin's claim that the recession of the Reagan years was worse than the one that President Obama inherited from George W. Bush.

Surprise! Palin is wrong. It's simply not true. Read chapter and verse of the real story here.

More Evidence Palin Lives in a Mindless Fantasy Land

As if we needed more proof that ex-Gov. Sarah Palin is a complete nincompoop, she makes this statement to the bozos at Newsmax:

But Glenn Beck I have great respect for. He’s a hoot. He gets his message across in such a clever way. And he’s so bold – I have to respect that. He calls it like he sees it, and he’s very, very, very effective.

And to think: she could have been a heartbeat away from the presidency.

Here We Go Again: Oklahoma Legislator Proposes Hate Crime Opt Out

Oklahoma's conservative politicians don't fare well on the national stage.

Sen. Jim Inhofe has been widely (and rightly) ridiculed for his blather about global warming and Sen. Tom Coburn has been recently pummeled for his hold up of a bill to support wounded veterans.

The Oklahoma legislature is also an especially easy target (think Rep. Sally Kern) , especially the GOP's growing "Tenther" brigade, those wishful thinkers who believe the Tenth Amendment gives states the right to pick and choose which Federal laws they can support.

Now we learn that a GOP Tenther from Del City, Rep. Steve Russell, wants the state to opt out of the recent hate crimes legislation recently signed by President Obama. The trouble, naturally, is protecting gay folks from hate. (Oh, the horrors!)

This opt out idea is making national news, once again marking the Sooner state as hostile to civil liberties and old-fashioned ideas like common decency. The details are here.

Bringing Up the Rear: Oklahoma at the Bottom in State Health Rankings

This can't be good: Oklahoma is one of the nation's unhealthiest states.

Readers of the Tulsa World will find this troubling report on page one. The newspaper quotes state health commissioner, Dr. Terry Cline, who says the state's situation is "appalling."

What's the cause of the state's health woes: bad habits. The World reports that Sooners have high rates of smoking, obesity, and heart disease. Oh, and we don't have enough primary care physicians either.

It's enough to make one think of moving to one of those horrible Blue states like Vermont, which was ranked the number one healthiest state.

The complete list of state rankings can be seen here.

Tulsa Voters Stay Home: Mayor Bartlett's 14 Percent Mandate

Thanks to the Tulsa World's Wayne Greene, Tulsans now know that Mayor-elect Dewey Bartlett Jr. got a whopping 14 percent mandate in last Tuesday's city election.

That's right, Sooner fans, 14 percent.

Greene did the math, which goes like this: Only 31 percent of the city's registered voters actually bothered to vote last week. Bartlett got 45 percent of that vote. The math works out to Bartlett being the choice of a mere 14 percent of Tulsa voters.

This is weak. Really weak. It's hardly a mandate of any kind. Or as Greene put it, "It was shameful."

Why the apathy? Greene speculates that it was the negative campaign: "The nasty, negative nature of the campaign's television advertising…did nothing to further either candidate's cause, and less to further the cause of our city."

Greene cites some Bartlett examples, including the bogus child molester nonsense and charges that Tom Adelson was an Obama liberal. Now, Greene says, Bartlett is going to have to prove he's a bigger man than that.

Amen, Brother Greene.

CBS Host Bob Schieffer: Palin Has No Future in Politics

Columnist Brooks on Sarah Palin: 'She's a Joke'

The Palin Media Blitz Not So Welcome

Ex-Gov. Sarah Palin is beginning her media campaign today in support of her new book, Going Rogue.

Meanwhile, Palin's stature and credibility as a political leader continue to suffer. Here are a couple of facts from a recent NY Times story on Palin's political stock:

A CNN poll taken last month indicates that 7 out of 10 Americans now think Ms. Palin is not qualified to be president, and even as ardent a conservative as Charles Krauthammer lamented in September 2008 “the paucity of any Palin record or expressed conviction on the major issues of our time.”

Politifact Knocks Down Another Obama Rumor

Don't you just love the conservative rumor mill on the Interwebs? It's so awesome—you can find out the real, unvarnished facts without the interference of the lyin' mainstream media.

If only life—and the truth—were so simple.

The latest bogus fact: That the Army officer accused in the Ft. Hood shootings was an Obama advisor. That's an email rumor all circulating over the web.

Of course, it's nonsense, as PolitiFact has documented. But the Wingnuts seem to love such "facts," bogus though they are.

The truth, as opposed to Wingnut rumor, is here.

Ex-Gov. Sarah Palin Criticizes NY Terror Trials Despite NY Trail History

In a surprise to absolutely no one, the Republicans are foaming at the mouth about the Obama Administration's decision to try five terrorists in civilian courts New York City.

You'd think that the GOP bigwigs would have more faith in the American judicial system, but no. The Republicans love to play the terror card, insisting that terrorists have no place in the U.S. courts.

Sen. Jim Inhofe, of course, had blasted the administration. So has ex-Gov. Sarah Palin.

Too bad, then, that the U.S. has previously tried earlier terror suspects in—gasp!—federal court in New York City and elsewhere.

It's true. Not once, not twice, but 145 times. But, hey, truth is hard—and the GOP screamers don't do hard. They do hyperbole and hot air.

The details are here.

Listening to Savage, KRMG's Nightly Wingbag

Five nights a week, KRMG graces Tulsa listeners with the sweet words of Michael Savage, a joyous and beneficent radio talker of great thoughtfulness, wisdom and dignity.

As if.

For those of you keeping score at home, Savage is an amazingly bombastic blowhard, apt to say nearly anything if it makes his point—and sometimes he has one.

We were listening the other night to check out the nuttiness when Savage went off on women in the U.S. Navy. According to Savage, these women are more interested in getting pregnant than serving their country. It's all about "the easy life," Savage claimed.

Sure, Michael. Absolutely. Listen to the nonsense here.

Glenn Beck Makes Up Dog Insurance: Lying Again about Health Care Reform

Conservatives have a credibility problem. Actually, they have several such problems, many of whom turn up on Talk Radio and Fox News.

Take Glenn Beck, for example. No matter what you think of conservatives, Beck is bad for the cause. Why? Because he and the other windbags can't seem to tell the difference between fact and fiction. In the world of conservative commentary, truth seems to hold little value.

This week Beck claimed that the Democratic health reform plan will include insurance for dogs. The good folks at PolitiFact checked out Beck's claim and—surprise!—it's isn't true.

In fact, Beck's claim won PolitiFact's dishonorable "Pants on Fire" award as completely bogus. The lie is documented here.

Gov. Rick Perry: Going for Tea Party Cred

Texas Gov. Rick Perry is at it again. The grandstanding Republican leader is conjuring up all sorts of conspiracy theories as a way of shoring up his Tea Party credentials.

That evil socialist in the White House is out to get Texas—so Perry says.

Memo to Rick Perry: You're a broken record. No one with a brain takes this sort of posturing seriously. Grow the hell up.

The story here.

Colorado Conservative Makes the Latest Bonehead GOP Quote of the Day

The wingnut branch of the Republican Party has a gift for overstatement.

They can't just disagree with the president or his policies. Oh no. They have to accuse him of being a Muslim or a Fascist or a Communist or the Anti-Christ or, better yet, all of the above.

Here's the latest example of exaggerated political mumbo-jumbo, courtesy of our fine friends in Colorado:

Colorado State Sen. Dave Schultheis (R-Colorado Springs) posted a tweet yesterday that called for a derailing of President Obama's agenda in a rather bold way.

"Don't for a second, think Obama wants what is best for U.S. He is flying the U.S. Plane right into the ground at full speed. Let's Roll," the tweet reads.

"Let's roll" were the final words of Todd Beamer, a passenger aboard United Airlines Flight 93, one of the four flights hijacked on September 11 and the only one to crash before reaching its intended target. The flight was diverted to Washington, D.C. after it was hijacked, but crashed in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania after passengers tried to thwart the hijackers.