Guys, you could never hold elected office in your life and still be part of the "Establishment." It's all about who you're cozy with. The point (and I'm not agreeing or disagreeing because I know next to nothing about Lankford) is that he's been close to the House leaders who are generally regarded as Establishment forces.
Thank you. It's really not that hard to see.
Yes, someone had to say it.
And why is that a bad thing? Why is it not okay to be close to House leaders for sake of actually, I don't know, getting $#!@ done, but it's perfectly okay to be close to the leaders of the Tea Party-Industrial Complex that exercises far more influence over Republican policymaking than anything that spineless chump Boehner does?
Is T.W. Shannon some lone wolf with no connections to anyone? Do you think he doesn't have his own closed-door meetings with people he owes favors to and will owe more favors to once the election's over and the checks have been cashed?
Please tell me just what far away planet you live on where that kind of "Establishment" is perfectly acceptable to you but James Lankford's isn't.
Lankford panders to the interests of the Congressional Republican leadership. Shannon panders to the interests of the Oklahoma Republican establishment, thus making him the outside voice....technically.
