We’ve chronicled Andrew Rice’s persistent use of his brother in his long shot campaign to unseat Sen. Jim Inhofe. Rice’s brother was tragically killed on 9/11. There are those who will say that it borders on exploitation, but it is his brother, and he has every right to do what he deems proper:

“First 30 seconds, Rice is riding in a car talking about losing his brother on 9/11. The next ten seconds, a Democrat activist is surprised that Rice remembers his name…The last 50 seconds, Rice is speaking with another gentleman about - losing his brother in the World Trade Center on 9/11.”

From Daily Kos:

My older brother David Rice was a Democrat. He was killed on the 104th floor of the South Tower in the World Trade Center on Sept. 11th, 2001.

David was killed with Republicans, Independents, and Democrats. On that day, they were not members of political parties, they were Americans.

 A matter has come to our attention that is very disturbing. According to the Green County Values blog, the Rice campaign had been using a picture of a fallen soldier on their website without the family’s permission. It seems they have taken the picture down, but they are still using the soldier’s name:

UPDATE 11:20AM CST - CLARIFICATION FROM ANGELIA PHILLIPS: Although the picture seems to be down, Rice still has Michael’s name on his site, here:

My son’s name is still on the Rice campaign site. I had hoped to speak with Mr. Rice face to face today but he did not show up for the public appearance in my town as he had stated he would…

[And regarding the list of names on Rice’s site, including that of her son, Michael] It’s a “tribute”. If you read my latest blog you will understand why this is insulting to me. Under state law it is the only way our fallen’s names can be used so they call it a tribute and get away with it. Fact is this man has called for a surrender in Iraq and this in nothing more than a death roll to him. A “here is why we need to give up and get out now”.

 Rice needs to honor this grieving mother’s wishes.

Related:

The Hill: Inhofe touts his advantage

Okiepolitics: Does Jim Inhofe only see sepia and grey?

The Oklahoman’s Washington Bureau: Hillary Promotes Rice

“Even long shot Oklahoma state Sen. Andrew Rice (D) rivaled his incumbent opponent’s totals, raising slightly less than Sen. James Inhofe’s (R) $910,000. Inhofe still maintained a $2 million-to-$450,000 cash advantage.”Read more…

 You mean there was another debate last night?

We guess you can make that bold pronouncement when you’re highly partisan and you attend a debate nobody paid attention to. Senator Inhofe was roundly criticized (mainly from the left) for agreeing to this debate. It seems Senator Inhofe got the last laugh since the debate was scheduled on the same night as the presidential debate!

From OkieFunk:

State Sen. Andrew Rice trounced U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe in Tuesday’s debate in Tulsa

In the debate, Rice depicted Inhofe as a Washington insider that has allowed special interests to dictate policy and legislation.

“The middle class has become invisible to Washington,” Rice said, arguing the Inhofe was using the debate to take “political potshots” instead of trying to find solutions to the country’s growing economic crisis. Read more…

Related:

OkiePolitics: Rice still on pace to lose a close race

We have a little advice for our friends over at okiepolitics.com. If you’re going to be masters of the political spin like we are, (tongue firmly planted in cheek) at least choose quotes of ours that can really be open to debate. Here’s an excerpt of what they posted today:

“One simple quote from our friends at OKPNS” is a classic conservative argument to youth: “Would you really want to bet your election on a large turnout of young voters?”

Yes.

In short, instead of providing for a free and fair discussion, our friends at OKPNS perpetuate the conservative talking point: keep the kids away — they might just have a thought outside of our fubar groupthink. OKPNS may as well have said “If you are for Senator Rice — do not even bother to vote.” Will team conservative’s message be able to keep the twenty-somethings away from the polls?” Read more…

Here’s what we actually said this week on lightweight Andrew Rice’s Senate bid and okiepolitics assertion that Rice still “stand(s) a legitimate chance” because he allegedly “polls best with young voters.”

“So what we draw from this analysis is this: if Rice can somehow extend the election for another six months or year, he’ll pull within maybe 10 points of Inhofe???? Would you really want to bet your election on a large turnout of young voters? How motivated do you think they will be if they perceive it to be a lost cause for Obama in Oklahoma?” Read more…

We’re not trying to discourage young people from voting. It’s simply a fact that they historically don’t vote. In addition, it’s not too much of a stretch to say that if Obama continues to be down by plus 30 points in Oklahoma come November, young voters will say “what the hell” and not show up at the polls.

Washington Post 3/4/07 

“With their Web logs, Facebook profiles and college rallies, the 2008 presidential candidates are lavishing attention on a group that displays unbridled enthusiasm early in the campaign but tends to lose interest when the voting starts.

More than half of the people in the United States age 18 to 24 who are eligible to vote typically are no-shows on Election Day. By comparison, some 70 percent of those 45 and older cast their ballots, according to the Census Bureau. Read more…

According to our friends over at okiepolitics.com, pointing out the obvious that Andrew Rice has a lower than a snow balls chance in hell of upsetting Senator Inhofe this November is “attacking” and “reciting talking points!”

OkiePolitics.com: OKPNS attacks okiepolitics, misses point

“With a 4% margin of error, Inhofe’s lead seems to be stable and strong. The overall trend, however, continues to look better for the young dem through time. Not too long ago, Rice was down by about 40. Now he is down by about 20. While it may not be enough to be first-past-the-post this November, it is much closer than many expected.

In light of Inhofe’s low approval numbers, Rice may still stand a legitimate chance to steal this election. Rice polls best with young voters — who will probably turn out large for the Obama ticket. Also, if the economy still worsens, Rice’s largest bloc of issue-voters may pull through… or at least make it fun Tuesday night.”

Our friends at OKPNS, on the other hand, would prefer to recite talking points.” Read more….

So what we draw from this analysis is this: if Rice can somehow extend the election for another six months or year, he’ll pull within maybe 10 points of Inhofe???? Would you really want to bet your election on a large turnout of young voters? How motivated do you think they will be if they perceive it to be a lost cause for Obama in Oklahoma?

Related:

Political Pulse: (OETA)   The Contest for U.S. Senate

By Kirk Shelley

I was reflecting back to 1994. The first two years of the Clinton régime were going about as badly for the Democratic Party as I hoped. The GOP won the special election that brought Frank Lucas into office, the state lottery went down in flames, and Gov. Walter’s had his late night plea deal. It was the perfect storm for a GOP political activist.

I helped recruit and hosted Inhofe’s college and youth coordinator in my office. He was always hard at work running all over the state organizing every campus he could. It may have been the best political environment I’ve ever worked in. I even worked with Brenda Reneau’s campaign, which could only afford one mailing, and she won the Labor Commissioner position anyway.

What made that environment so good? Clinton helped out a great deal. Pushing for Hillary Health Care was a disaster and it was a wakeup call to conservatives about the real agenda of the national Democratic Party. New activists from the Pat Robertson Presidential campaign were no longer treated as outsiders by the GOP regulars, so there was new enthusiasm and new blood in the ranks.

And then there were the issues. The GOP had a solid conservative message and stood as the last bulwark of freedom against those who would tax us and regulate us to death. Dang if it didn’t work with a vengeance.

Now I’m looking at a very different political environment that might be a watershed in the opposite direction.

In just about every special election, Democrats are winning. The enthusiastic organizers at the colleges are the Democrats.

And while Oklahoma voters are never going to vote for Obama, an unknown State Senator is pulling within 9 points of Sen. Inhofe. Two years after an election where Democrats swept every statewide office. Why? What has happened to GOP in the last 14 years?

Issues, intensity, the base, the stuff that fires up supporters.

I keep wondering if the guys running these campaigns have ever been really mad at anything besides petty office politics. Have they ever experienced moral outrage? Have they ever been ready to take up arms because someone had their property confiscated? Have they ever been at the point of ready to riot in the streets because their government policy was wrong?

I still believe that there are still a huge number of people who are just as mad about government meddling in their lives, taking more of their money, giving hard earned tax dollars to bridges to nowhere. But in 1994 we had someplace to channel that energy. I absolutely knew that Jim Inhofe was going to be part of the solution and not the problem. I still believe that he wants limited federal government.

I just don’t believe in the rest of the Republicans in Washington D.C. They were the ones who created the prescription drug benefit. They’re the ones who ran on getting rid of the Federal Department of Education and return schools to local control, but then gave us No Child Left Behind and more federal government control of the local schools.

What is becoming obvious to me is the people running most of the campaigns are just losing touch with people who really have to think about giving a $50 or $100 contribution to a campaign.

I miss the 1994 Jim Inhofe who was fighting to win. The 2008 campaign is just fighting not to lose and that’s why Rice is within 9%.

Mr. Shelley is President of Shelley Strategic Services. His consulting for pro-business organizations has included successfully completed projects in Iowa, Oklahoma, Indiana, Kentucky, Nevada, New Mexico, Mississippi, Arizona, Louisiana and Alabama. As a general consultant, Mr. Shelley has worked on 142 state and national campaigns. Mr. Shelley lives in Oklahoma City with his wife and four children.

From a DSCC press release:

NEW OKLAHOMA POLL SHOWS RICE CLOSING GAP WITH INHOFE

Inhofe leads Rice by 9, down from 20 two months ago

Oklahoma Democratic Senate candidate Andrew Rice has narrowed Republican Senator Jim Inhofe’s lead from twenty points two months ago to nine points today, according to a new poll conducted for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and the Rice campaign. Inhofe now leads Rice only 50% to 41%, down from a 53% to 33% lead in June. Only 46% of Oklahomans say Inhofe is doing an excellent or good job, with 47% saying he is doing only a fair or poor job.

“Andrew Rice is showing real momentum, and with the general election beginning in earnest, he has put this race into play,” DSCC spokesman Matthew Miller said. “After 22 years in Washington , Oklahomans are tired of Jim Inhofe putting politics ahead of getting things done, and they are ready for a leader who will change Washington .”

The poll of 600 likely voters was taken August 12 to 14 by the Benenson Strategy Group and has a 4% margin of error.

Excerpted Poll Questions:

In the November election for U.S. Senate if the candidates were …[READ LIST]… for whom would you vote?

Democrat Andrew Rice………………………….41

Republican James Inhofe…………………..50

Don’t know…………………………..…….9

Do you generally think that things in the country are headed in the right direction or are they on the wrong track?

Right direction……………………………23

Wrong track……………………………. 62

Don’t Know…………………………. 11

How would you rate the job James Inhofe has been doing as Senator?

Excellent……………….11

Good…………….……35

Fair………………..…..31

Poor……………..…….16

Related:

RealClearPolitics: “Inhofe’s job performance numbers aren’t stellar, with 46% saying he’s doing an excellent or good job and 47% saying he’s doing fairly or poorly. But an incumbent who reaches 50% remains in strong position. Given Inhofe’s electoral history, it’s not surprising that the race looks close; while Inhofe has bested his previous two opponents by a wide margin, he’s never attracted the support of more than 57% of Sooner voters.” Read more…

KSWO: Poll shows Rice within single digits of Inhofe

Taking a page out of the campaign book of past challengers who are hopelessly far behind in the polls, Andrew Rice is asking his supporters to contact Senator Inhofe to try and force him to agree to six town hall style debates:

I believe that Inhofe must be held accountable for his extreme, 22-year voting record in Congress but I need your help. I am challenging Inhofe to a series of debates across Oklahoma so voters can make an informed choice this November.

Our internal polling shows that when voters are given the chance to compare us head-to-head, we win.

Today, I sent Inhofe a personal letter asking him to engage me in at least six debates this fall. You can help convince him by signing on to my challenge today.

Internal polling that they won’t release! Thank you for our laugh today Senator!

Related:

And if you need further evidence of Senator Rice and his minion’s increasing desperation, a self described “gay troublemaker from Tulsa, OK,” produced the following video with clips from a floor speech Senator Inhofe gave on gay marriage. In the opening scene, standing behind a picture of his family and numerous grandchildren, the “gay troublemaker” edits the scene after the senator says, “maybe I’m the wrong one to be doing this since I come with such a strong prejudice…”

Below is one of the more humorous emails sent to the tipline lately. A reader is concerned about Oklahoma blogger Mike McCarville’s digestive health and his almost obsession with Andrew Rice:

“I am considering sending some rice casserole laced with laxatives over to McCarville so he can get that sh*t out of his system….Rice this and Rice that.”

The McCarville Report Online Andrew Rice Posts (7/29-8/2)

And yes, it does mention his brother being killed on 911.