DON'T BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU READ OR SEE IN THE NEXT TWO WEEKS!

 Weekly Opinion Editorial

SKELETON OR GHOST?

by Steve Fair

As it gets closer to June 16th, the date of the Republican primary, campaign literature has become creative and entertaining.  All of a sudden, candidates who pledged to run their campaign 'on the issues,' abandon that commitment and start slinging mud.  Mail pieces depicting candidates as crooks, desperados, bandits and idiots liter voter's mailboxes.  If a politico has a 'skeleton in the closet,' it is publicly revealed to damage their opponent's reputation.  The vast majority of voters claim they hate dirty campaigning, but like a train wreck, they can't look away. 

First, voters should beware of propaganda.  The reason campaigns throw out false allegations instead of focusing on legitimate policy debate is because sadly voters are lazy, ignorant, and irrational.  Since the goal is to win the election and integrity be damned, campaign pieces paint one candidate as divine and the other as the devil.  The Golden Rule is cast aside for the Law of the Jungle.  Voters need to be diligent.

Second, skeletons rarely stay in the closet.  Opposition research in politics has reached new heights and if a candidate believes their past misconduct will not be exposed, they are sadly mistaken.  Like the Bible says, 'your sin will find you out.'

Without any restraint in campaigns, candidates use old criminal records, DUIs, and past allegations of any type to gain support from voters.  Right here in the Sooner state, several bones fell out of the armoire.  A couple of revelations are concerning.  If the disclosures are true, these candidates has some explaining to do.  What is more concerning than a person having a skeleton is they are so stupid to think they could hide it.

Third, voters should pay attention to the source.  Mailers and TV ads paid for by dark money groups should be taken with a grain of salt.  Those special interest groups go to great lengths to caricature the opponent of their candidate's policy positions and values.  Because these dark money groups do not have to legally disclose donors, they enjoy anonymity candidates do not.    

Dark money needs accountability because secret election spending by wealthy special interests undermines voters' right to know who is trying to influence the elections. Without donor reporting, it is impossible to connect deep-pocketed donors to their political actions, leaving the political system vulnerable to corruption and foreign influence.

In the next two weeks, Oklahoma voters should do the following: (1) Vet the candidates.  Make sure their talk matches their walk.  It is not uncommon to uncover hypocrisy when voting records are checked.  For example: recent revelations in the governor's race have one GOP candidate who voted for the National Popular Vote while in the state Senate.  The NPV is a liberal scheme to undermine America.  That could be a deal breaker for many GOP voters.  (2) Know the difference between a skeleton and a ghost.  Just because a group broadcasts a salacious, scandalous secret from a candidate's past, it doesn't mean it is true.    

There are fifty plus Republicans on the primary ballot on June 16th- a record number.  Voters have their work cut out for them.  Vet the candidates!