Scissor Tales: Saturday, August 9, 2008

The Oklahoman Editorial

Published: August 9, 2008

THE Oklahoma way of saying what Robert Murphy needs to do is "Fish or cut bait.” There are other ways of saying it (some unprintable), but you get the idea.

Murphy is a former Payne County associate district judge who's running for a Stillwater-area state Senate seat. He resigned his judgeship to seek the office but now says he'd like to be considered for his old post if things don't work out in November.

Although the seat has been held by a Democrat, Murphy faces a formidable Republican foe in former Oklahoma State University President James Halligan. The seat is one of three or four in play this year that could determine if the Senate's 24-24 political party tie is broken.

Murphy has applied to the Judicial Nominating Commission to get his job back if Halligan wins in November. How's that for communicating to voters that he really wants the Senate seat and expects to win it? Senate Republican leader Glenn Coffee is right in wondering why Murphy won't fish or cut bait.

A side issue to this story is the inference by a Democratic Party operative that Murphy deserves to be a senator because his family "has a legacy of public service going back to statehood ...” No! If he deserves the seat, it's because of what he's done, not what his ancestors did.

Otherwise, Republican Dewey Bartlett Jr. would be defending his state Senate seat this year based on his father's service as governor and U.S. senator. Instead, Bartlett isn't in office because he lost in a tight race four years ago to the Democratic nominee.

U.S. Senate candidate Andrew Rice says he wants to "take on the insurance industry” in forcing more mandates down the pocketbooks of Oklahomans. This populist message resonates with those with loved ones who have a condition for which coverage isn't presently mandated in Oklahoma. The rest of us, which is to say most of us, should tell Rice that insurance policies are expensive enough. Rice can't be in favor of mandates at the same time he wants to make health care more "affordable.” Oklahoma already has 36 mandates. The insurance industry doesn't suffer from adding more mandates — the people do. Insurance agents benefit from more mandates because the higher the policy premium, the higher the commission. Does Rice want to enrich them? Even as his rhetoric appeals to some, a fellow Democrat (state Insurance Commissioner Kim Holland) is helping develop a health care policy stripped of mandates to make it more affordable. That, not Rice-style universal health care, is the right approach.

The folks in Hobart are proving that golf carts aren't just for the links anymore. The city council in the southwestern Oklahoma town has agreed to allow licensed drivers to operate golf carts on city streets. This comes in response to a request to let citizens save gasoline money by putting around in electric carts. Meanwhile, the electric cart is gaining popularity in oil-rich Texas, says a report last week in The Wall Street Journal. A California electric car maker says it can't keep up with orders for a vehicle that plugs into an outlet and goes about 30 miles on a single charge. In the wide-open spaces of Oklahoma, carts aren't likely to replace gasoline-powered cars. But they are an option for short-distance driving. Yes, it takes energy to charge batteries on the carts, but that's better than a $50-plus fill-up at the gas station.

As another giving campaign begins for United Way of Central Oklahoma, it's important to remember what the energy industry is contributing not only to the private economy and state revenues but to charities as well. Oil and gas companies are in the bull's-eye these days due to high energy costs. They're hit almost daily by specious charges of "excess profits.” We'll leave that debate for another time and recognize the contributions of the industry to the area's neediest citizens. The energy sector was responsible for nearly 26 percent of giving in the 2007 United Way campaign, an effort (led by Devon Energy Chairman Larry Nichols and his wife Polly) that raised $18 million. Devon, Chesapeake Energy and other oil and gas companies give millions of dollars each year to charity. As they prosper, more is available for the needy.

The retirement of syndicated columnist Robert D. Novak, forced by a recent diagnosis of brain cancer, leaves a significant void in the world of political punditry. Continuously produced for 46 years, Novak's column was the longest-running active work of its kind in the country and appeared in The Oklahoman more than four decades. Initially a collaborative effort with Rowland Evans, the column became Novak's alone when Evans retired in 1993. Until his own retirement, Novak was writing three columns a week, marked by an old-fashioned, gumshoe-journalism approach to politics. The 77-year-old Novak — dubbed the "Prince of Darkness” for his dour bearing, conservative views and penchant for black three-piece suits — is a Washington institution who will be missed.

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