Carson Clothespin

Lessons of 112

Democrats need to define their positions based on clearly stated principles*, rather than a grab bag of issues. These principles should be defined in moral terms more than in logical terms. Everybody has principles they think are worth fighting and even dying for, and people want to know what ours are. Until we can explain them, they will never trust us. Until we can prove to them that they share those principles, they will not vote for us.

To my Republican Friends in the OK 1st District

Sometimes it really IS just about voting for the best guy.

Doug Dodd, like me, is a Democrat. You probably don't agree with his positions on a number of the issues. I'm not going to try to convince you that he secretly agrees with you, or try to convince you to change how you think about such issues. Instead I want to convince you to vote for him in spite of those differences.

Why? Because sometimes it's just about choosing the better candidate. Who is going to best be able to look out for our shared interests and represent our shared values?

Protest Vote?

Before I came up with the Clothespin concept, I sought out alternatives. Despite my disdain for Ralph Nader's divisive tactics, I don't discount the validity of voting for third party candidates. I sought information on OK Senate Green Party Candidate Sheila Bilyeau. I didn't want to "throw away" my vote, but voting for someone I could believe in would be better than not voting at all. The story of Ms. Bilyeau's candidacy was not encouraging. While I respect her right to run for office and in fact agree with many of her positions, I simply find her lack of qualifications and more-than-erratic behavior make it impossible for me to support her candidacy.

Should we shut up?

I received the following thoughtful reply from a correspondent who clearly seems to agree with us on the issues. I hope you will give it -- and my response -- your full consideration.

While I understand well your position, I will respectfully decline to participate in the clothespin exercise. And Tom Coburn is dead set against all those positions you say you support. The difficulty, of course, is that if Carson came out for any of those positions, he would go counter to the positions and philosophy of about 2/3 of Oklahomans. Carson would get about 1/3 of the votes cast, as has many a doctrinaire liberal in this state. We must face the fact that most Oklahomans believe differently from us. Doesn't mean we have to give up, but it does mean that we must try to sway the minds of other people, not just pick on politicians. I witness for the viewpoint whenever I have the opportunity to do it without being obnoxious, i.e. if someone else starts the argument or discussion by presenting the conservative viewpoint, I never sit silently.

What if Only Gays Could Marry?

Letter to the Tulsa World:

In his October 24 letter, W. D. Carson asks, “what would happen if ‘same sex marriage’ was the only type of marriage?” Think about it. What a twisted world that would be!

A woman whose husband (er, “male life partner”) died might find the courts had awarded their family’s home to his “normal” gay relatives, since she had no marital right to inherit it. A widowed father might find his children placed with the mother’s “normal” gay relatives, as he would have no legal rights of parenthood. If you were the child of a hetero couple, your mommy or daddy could be fired just because their “normal” gay coworkers just didn’t feel comfortable working alongside them. Straight activists who protested such discrimination would be accused of advocating that extremist groups be given special rights. “Heterosexuality,” the politicians would say, “is a choice.”

Absurd? Yes. Unfair? Absolutely. But that is the world that gay families live in today. That is the kind of discrimination that State Question 711 would have Oklahomans write into law. What a twisted world that would be indeed.

Keep Hope Alive

Mining the rich soil of my newest, most favorite Republican website, I find this truly helpful link: http://www.bradcarsonisaliberal.com/.

How liberal, you ask? Plenty.

• He has two gay friends!


• He's an agnostic -- about raising the federal gasoline tax


• He opposes religious liberty -- for faith based groups that want government money


• Despite being a memberof the NRA, he does not own a gun

Hey, Viva Che, Brad!

Post/Antipost

Read this exchange I had with a recipient of my message that wants me (and you, I guess) to vote for NOTA on Nov 2. Learn about the secret discovery I made after your responses started rolling in!

Quotes From Your Votes

Here are some of the comments I've gleaned from the people who have responded:

Grassroots Activism at its BEST!!!

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I’m plugging my nose and voting for Carson.... I will take the edited version of my message to Brad Carson in person.

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It is very important that you act swiftly on this, like now. Read the instructions carefully, please. (this is not stupid chain mail!) This only works if we all send it too all the democrats we know as soon as possible.

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Clothespins for Carson – Theory and Practice

Why Carson Needs to Win
Brad Carson needs to win the Senate Race in Oklahoma. Despite the fact that most voters in the state are registered Democrats (reflected by legislature’s Demo majority), Carson has been the only Dem representing the state in congress, as the 2nd District Representative. Now, the least objectionable of our two Republican Senators is retiring, and Carson stands a good chance of turning the seat over, and moving us toward a Senate Majority.

Why Voting for Carson is Problematic
The problem is, while Carson has been, arguably, a good house member, he has run hard to the right in his Senate campaign. I’m not talking about the folksy equivocation that all thoughtful democrats need to invoke from time to time. I’m talking about coming out with first quotes in favor of the US Anti-Marriage Amendment (the one that only serves to prevent minorities from marrying), then raising that invective to the point that his campaign staff stuffed anti-gay flyers under windshield wipers at a hate-filled Anti-Marriage rally sponsored by Tulsa’s Republican mayor and featuring national leaders in the anti-gay movement.

First Volunteer

An anonymous donor (no we're NOT paranoid, those W-ites are really out to get us) donated the cool new logo that appears at the top of the page.

I had suggested that we hoist the Oldenberg clothespin and balance it on Thomas Jefferson's Mount Rushmore nose for a photo, but Fed-X from Philly to Sioux Falls was a little steep. Silly putty was more in our price range, and perhaps a bit more apropos, considering some of the things we're catching wind of in this campaign.

In a Nutshell

"Liberalism is trust of the people, tempered by prudence; conservatism, distrust of people, tempered by fear."

William Gladstone