You might have noticed a small slack in long-form writing. I've done a lot more on the Facebook page and a little less here. Part of it has been the shear lack of separation in the candidates. It's a lot easier to write about the differences between apples and bananas than it is golden delicious and red apples.
I thought, "wait until the debate, Michael, you'll hear so many things to write about." It wasn't true. Predictably, I wrote about a lot of the topics that came up in the debate. I haven't written about medicaid expansion in great detail, so I plan to get there.
After the debate, it has put me in even less of a mood to write. I'm a little despondent, fellow Goobers. I need a pick-me-up. I think that the medicine will be writing about the new marriage ruling. I'm going to be doing that shortly (with some insight as a State worker, I hope). Before I get there, I need to bring myself to talk about the debates and the standout moments.
First of all, I covered all of this live on the Facebook page. I'm basically going to be going through that and making it more coherent in case you didn't watch the debates (for shame! they were an hour, go livestream it or something).
Before I get into specifics, I'd like to say that both candidates did horribly. But, if I had to pick a winner, I would say that Dorman hit the most talking points. I'd also give him a slight handicap as a Democrat in Oklahoma and coming against a strong incumbent but he did not flinch.
The reason that I say that they both did horrible is that the questions were so predictable that anyone who watches the news once a month could have written them. They were all taken straight out of the "Idiots Guide to Writing Current Event Questions." This is not the candidates' fault you say? Correct. Their fault comes in the fact that they could not answer a single one of them without falling to a pre-written talking point that may or may not have been tangentially related. I was afraid that someone would ask Fallin her name and she would answer some smart-ass quip about encroaching on state's rights.
Dorman started with a joke thanking "viewers like you" since the debates were on OETA. I laughed my Chardonnay-drenched butt off on that one, but it fell pretty flat with the audience. Fallin opened up with a quip about fighting Washington. This set a particular tone for me. There is not much of a place for national, partisan politics in a state election. There are moments, sure. There are times where approaching a question from an outlook of over-reach is necessary and justified... but to begin that way was just so.. calculated.
The first real question was about a plan for education. I don't have a lot to say here because neither candidate answered the question. They both gave their talking points. The question was, "do we need a statewide plan for education?" This is a yes or no question. Neither gave an answer of that nature. Zero points awarded.
The second question was about Federal funding. About 48% of every dollar in Oklahoma comes from the federal government. Fallin mentioned that medicare, medicaid, social security, and education funding were great for the state. Dorman rebutted with, then why don't we expand medicare? The chill in the room was palpable from her stare. 36.5 points for Dorman.
Third question is about public health and what is the governor's role since our's is so poor. Dorman scores points for saying that being better than Mississippi just isn't enough anymore. Fallin did her best to mention Obamacare a few times. This was a good move politically in Oklahoma. It would get the base revved up. Dorman name dropped Dan Boren, Fallin name dropped Kevin Durant. I'm going to give a net victory to Mary Fallin here. Her name drop was better and she did a good job and connecting Dorman with that hippity-dippity universal healthcare. Since Dorman scored some points here too, her total is 3.375 points.
The next session is on tax code. Fallin suggested that the legislature have one session on budget and one on policy to help new politicians get more familiar so that they could do some real work to get more money in the hands of the taxpayer. Dorman said that she stole it from him. I don't know who is correct. Zero points awarded.
The next question was a sort of continuation. The question was about a consolidation in government services with an increase in tax credits. Dorman mentioned that we are consolidating unnecessarily and that more audits of agencies would suffice. Fallin was very proud of massive consolidations. I have been negatively affected by these consolidations. One of the services consolidated under one department was the state's IT divisions. It has made a difficult task of getting computer work done damned near impossible. Here's to audits if it would have fixed that mess. Dorman receives 13.648 points.
The next session had to do with the Department of Corrections. Fallin did not mention recidivism or women's incarceration at all. Instead, she focussed on a mantra of "smart but tough." Dorman mentioned both of things and said that our system is no longer focussed on correcting anything. Dorman receives a perfect 50 points (don't assume that every question has a 50 point scale or that these are at all scientific, I am making this up as I go).
The next section is on Constitutional challenges which at the time of the debate was an annoyance to me. Now, I see lawsuits through rainbow-colored equality glasses. That will change in a day or so, but let me have it. I can say that I am very tired of the Oklahoma Attorney General position being increasingly political and becoming a conservative activist mouthpiece. Stop spending my money on frivolous lawsuits please and thank you. Dorman didn't really talk about this question and instead heard the word money and decided to talk about the budget. Fallin tried to answer the question and just mentioned that sometimes, they win the lawsuits and moved on to talking points. Since she gave it a sporting try (although, I didn't love her answer), Fallin receives 13.761 points.
The next session is on storm shelters. This is Dorman's bread and butter. He is the public safety guy. If you knew him before he put his name on the ballot, it was because you lived in Rush Springs or you heard about Shelter our Schools. Dorman should have had so much to say here that his 2 minute response cracked the skulls of the listeners, right? Wrong. He really just sounded smarmy here. He acted like everyone knew his proposals instead of really hammering home his talking points (which would be the one case that this would have been appropriate). Fallin made a really great case for raising bond levels in communities that want to take on this issue. This would help communities who are currently at risk and at their maximum bond levels. Fallin receives 38.472 points.
What is the fracking problem with the next question? Well, there isn't one even though this was a question about large environmental problems in Oklahoma. Dorman's response: manmade dams. Fallin at least talked about water conservation, albeit weekly (and a little insincere since most tribes hate her and her water policies regarding Texas). Fallin receives a meager 8.24 points.
Finally the students come on board and their questions are wonderful. The first is about fracking. They both avoid it like the plague. They both talked about the science in such basic platitudes that one is troubled to remember what the question was really about. Both receive a negative 5.6 points (bet you didn't know that they could get negative points? I didn't either).
The next question spoke to the future of Oklahoma for young people. The student who asked was concerned about being able to stay in Oklahoma after graduating. Fallin talked a lot about the strides that she has made to make Oklahoma more high-tech and to get more certifications in Oklahomas universities and tech schools. Good start, but I don't want to know what she has done, I want to know her plans to improve. Dorman used this time to get out his talking point about teacher salaries. Fallin gets 24 points here.
The next question was about Emergency plans in schools. Fallin tied her bond issue for school shelters to all public safety using this question. Dorman made a good point too about the emergency hotline being cut. Since Fallin was able to take a point that I really thought Dorman had nailed in and make it hers, I give her the edge here. It's small, since I was freaked out about Dorman's point. Fallin receives 11.468 points.
Now, I will score closing remarks. Dorman was very adamant that his administration would be less talk, more action. Fallin's remarks began with a plea for votes. Have I said enough times that I believe that Mary Fallin only knows how to win as a politician and not how to govern? It felt that way yet again here. Let me know why I shouldn't send you packing. Don't ask me not to. Dorman receives 29.46 points.
Point Totals
Fallin: 93.716
Dorman: 124.008
The point difference just isn't enough to unseat an incumbent. According to my nonscientific, completely made-up score card, I think we'll be spending an extra long winter with Mary Fallin. I hope I'm wrong. I'd love to see any regime change at this point.
Thank you for posting this it was very informative. My response to your article is kinda of a worried one. The facts you present and the way you talk about our state officials makes me kinda of confused as to why we have them in these positions; makes me worried that they can't solve problems util they get dire; and it makes me curious as to why they can't answer them. I don't know much about politics but I do know when someone can't perform their job well. I didn't see the debate either but from what it sounds like it was very embarrassing to witness leaders crumble before peoples very eyes. One would think that after the many mistakes that have happened while in office and that the problems that keep presenting themselves, office could come up with a logical first step to a solution (a problem such as fracking). I don't expect one person to have the immediate answers, but when one sees a governor of their own state avoid a huge problem like the plague, one can't help but wonder that maybe fracking is worse than we think and that the problem they keep trying to deal with is how to articulate the problem to the media, rather than solve it entirely. Thank you again for this article.
ReplyDeleteFirst off, thanks for the article. I'm going to have to agree with Ryan on this one. Coming into this, I was a little bit biased seeing as I grew up in a democratic household all of my life. But after seeing not only Dorman's responses to things that were supposed to be his "bread and butter" it made me question it all a little bit. Seeing all of the relatively terrible responses by both candidates really makes me wonder if either of them are even up to the challenge. Personally, I've never followed politics much. But seeing all of the "no points awarded" and the one negative, that also pushed me even more to the neutral zone. (yes, I know it's all for laughs, but it actually helped me follow along a little bit). After this one, I have a feeling all of us have some thinking to do. Again, thanks for the post.
ReplyDeleteI've never been a politics guy but this article is very informative and entertaining. The only plitics ive heard is the typical Fallin bashing that and hear from my liberal friends. However something should be said about Dorman's inconsistency when answering questions. One question he can sound really knowledgeable and then when he receives a question that he should be able to answer confidently he completely falls flat. After reading this, it looks like voters still have a tough decision to make.
ReplyDeleteWell first off thanks for the post i enjoyed reading it since I Don't do the whole politics thing. But i have to say is this honestly any different from what we usually see at these debates? They always walk around the question and somehow manage to bring it back around to their talking points. At one moment we could be talking about teacher salarys and some how we will be reverted back to what ever the strong suits are for whoever is talking. i was worried how ever on the fracking business its becoming a Sirius issue seeing how oklahoma almost doubled its numbers in earthquakes this year compared to last. And yes most are so small that we cant really feel them but are these small ones a warning that a big one might hit soon? Next i was disappointing to know that even though the question about tornado shelters was Dormans main point and he couldn't even answer the question all that well was sad. Also to see that Fallen just seemed to be restating what she had already done when we need to know what she is going to do was nerve wracking as well. All in all is was the same as most of these debates go.
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