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OK-Sen: Divide and Conquer |
More and more, we're seeing that John McCain is confused about what he stands for. Does McCain favor talking to Hamas or doesn't he? Is it 100 years in Iraq, or 4 years (provided we ride to victory on a magic pony)? Add in his confused stances on torture, lobbyists, and the environment, and we realize that he long ago forgot or betrayed his principles.
In a way, it seems, McCain is trying to subtly shift left. He recognizes that Americans are sick of the war, that we care about health care and the environment, that we're worried about the economy. But his insincere moves to position himself near whatever's popular just aren't going to fly this year.
But that's not all. When McCain flips to try and co-opt a more centrist or even center left position, he exposes his colleagues for the right-wing extremists they are.
That's especially true of Jim Inhofe, Oklahoma's global warming-denying Republican senator. Today an email from his challenger's campaign pointed out the hard truths about Inhofe and Republicans:
Jim Inhofe has taken some blows this week – albeit indirectly – from the man who hopes to inherit the leadership of the Republican party. John McCain's recent touting of his green credentials and promises of action on global warming showed how far out of touch Jim Inhofe is from all Americans, even the stalwarts of the Republican party.
From McCain's speech:
"The facts of global warming demand our urgent attention, especially in Washington. Good stewardship, prudence, and simple commonsense demand that we to act meet the challenge, and act quickly."
From Jim Inhofe:
"As I said on the Senate floor on July 28, 2003, 'much of the debate over global warming is predicated on fear, rather than science.' I called the threat of catastrophic global warming the 'greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people[.]' "
John McCain:
"[F]or all the good work of entrepreneurs and inventors in finding cleaner and better technologies, the fundamental incentives of the market are still on the side of carbon-based energy. This has to change before we can make the decisive shift away from fossil fuels. […] And this is the proposal I will submit to the Congress if I am elected president — a cap-and-trade system to change the dynamic of our energy economy."
Jim Inhofe: Inhofe, the top Republican on the Senate environment committee, has vowed to block any bills calling for mandatory actions by industry to curb greenhouse gas emissions.
As we learn from the contrast between McCain and Inhofe, the latter's stances on global warming aren't even in synch with his party's platform…or maybe they are, given how hard it is to tell what Republicans stand for these days.
Inhofe's stances are definitely out of touch with Oklahomans, though. 69% of Sooners believe in global warming, according to research in this DSCC video. Inhofe, in the words of one of his constituents, is "an ostrich with his head in the sand." Oklahomans aren't alone in their beliefs - they join the majority of Americans in being worried about global warming.
All this is bad news for Jim Inhofe. But it's good news for Oklahoma, because thankfully they have a great candidate in State Senator Andrew Rice. Andrew is a leader who will tackle the challenges Oklahoma and America face instead of pretending they don't exist.
The choices are clear in this year's election. John McCain, Jim Inhofe and the GOP are not only confused and out of touch with America, they are also divided against themselves. The Democratic Party offers a clear message of change and problem-solving for America, and Andrew Rice offers that same vision to Oklahoma.



