This Good Ol' Boy is Ready for Voter ID

Is anyone tired of the "good old boy" factor in Oklahoma politics?

Sure, I understand it. So-and-so is a "good old boy" and though hardly anyone knows what his real values are, or to whom he owes allegiance, he gets lots of votes from the real good old boys. Now there's nothing wrong with being a real good old boy: they are the backbone of this state and nation. They have bedrock values, work ethics, and you don't want to ever piss 'em off by letting them know you've been fooling them.

Which is why I'm amazed at how Gov. Brad Henry has managed to get elected twice and still maintain a good popularity level. Sure, luck enters into it. Steve Largent obviously thought he could win the governor's office on name recognition alone, and "phoned in" much of his campaigning effort. Henry out-hustled him. (Does anyone even remember who ran against Henry the second time around? Oh, yeah. Ernest Istook. Good man, but he doesn't come across as a good old boy.)

What has Bad Brad done for Oklahoma? Well, casinos have done really, really well.

What else? Well, casinos have done really, really well.

He's also done a good job of protecting the incomes of trial lawyers by making sure that tort reform stays south of the border.

Now he's protected someone else: by vetoing the "Voter ID" law passed by the Oklahoma Legislature, he's making sure that ACORN and other "community organizing" groups can meddle with the integrity of Oklahoma elections, just as they are throughout the United States. We sure wouldn't want these low-income "volunteers" (who get paid) to have to ply their trade elsewhere, would we?

Naturally, Bad Brad and his spokesman, Paul Sund, are outraged that the Legislature would even think of submitting Voter ID to a statewide referendum of We, the People (WTP).

Quoted Sund: "They're obviously gambling they can convince Oklahoma voters to trust the Legislature more than the League of Women Voters."

I don't know about you, but the legislators are elected by us. The League of Women Voters are not. There was once a time when I would trust the League of Women Voters, but that was quite some time and a lot of "progressive" ideas ago. I trust We, the People (WTP) to make reasonable decisions based on logic and perceived benefits or threats. There is an ongoing threat to the integrity of the voting process throughout the country. There are groups that want to dilute your voting strength through intimidation and fraud. Voter ID would solve that issue.

Bad Brad was quoted: "A small but still significant minority of registered voters, many of whom are senior citizens or the working poor, do not have easy access to an official form of identification and, therefore, could be discouraged from participating in the electoral process by the restrictions contained in Senate Bill 4."

So what would be wrong if some outfit, for instance, the League of Women Voters, went to nursing homes and helped people get their official Voter ID cards, photo included?

And the working poor? How do these folks get to work in the first place if they don't have a driver's license? How much more difficult to get a Voter ID? And if they aren't smart enough or willing enough to do so, do we really want them helping us decide who represents us?

Or are we really talking about undocumented workers? You know, the ones that aren't supposed to be here in the first place, but who just might show up and give a precinct worker the name of someone who should have been purged from the voter rolls?

Admittedly, these incidents are a "small but still significant minority" of those who participate in our elections, but the numbers are growing. Indeed, there is a movement growing nationwide to subvert our electoral system.

I think "We, the People," are quite fed up with it. I think even the Good Old Boys are fed up with it. In fact, I talk to Good Old Boys day in and day out and they tell me that they are.

Some of them have even told me that they wish Bad Brad could run for a third term, just so they could vote against him this time.

That won't be possible, but Oklahoma will have the Voter ID question on the ballot, and we can let the governor know exactly how we feel about his attempt to protect those who would pervert our election system.