Shannon running for U.S. Senate-2

[TX Conservative Dem]

Oklahoma State House Speaker T.W. Shannon (R-Lawton) made it official. He's running for Coburn's U.S. Senate seat this year.

What do y'all feel about him running for this seat and how do you think he'll fare since the winner of the Republicans primary is effectively the next United States Senator from the Sooner State. If Shannon wins, he'll be the 2nd African American to win statewide office in Oklahoma and the 3rd African American to serve in the United States Senate come 2015 (Tim Scott (R-SC) and Cory Booker(D-NJ) are heavily favored to win reelection to their respective seats).

[tmthforu94]

I read his Wikipedia article the other day and came away impressed. Hopefully he is successful!

[I Will Not Be Wrong]

I read his Wikipedia article the other day and came away impressed. Hopefully he is successful!

Agreed, hope he wins.

[Joe Biden 2020]

I really like Shannon, although I really like Lankford, as well.  I have met both gentlemen in person and either would be great in the United States Senate.  They're both solid, conservative Christian men.  I think Lankford has the upper hand for right now because he is the "closest" to the US Senate working across the hall in the US House.  Lankford probably has slightly more name recognition on account of his position of Falls Creek Baptist Church Camp director for the entire state prior to running for Congress.  He is well known and generally well liked by members of both parties in Oklahoma.  Shannon, I don't think has quite the name recognition that Lankford does, and this puts him at an out-of-the-gate disadvantage, IMO.

[Vosem]

Lankford probably has slightly more name recognition on account of his position of Falls Creek Baptist Church Camp director for the entire state prior to running for Congress. 

I like how this is a more prominent position than speaker of the state House.

[smoltchanov]

I like him a lot. He's got a bright future. While he seems to be a career politician, I certainly think he's more conservative than Lankford.

Even more conservative?? I never thought it's possible. Even in Oklahoma...

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

I like him a lot. He's got a bright future. While he seems to be a career politician, I certainly think he's more conservative than Lankford.

Even more conservative?? I never thought it's possible. Even in Oklahoma...

Ideology is not one dimensional nor a linear plane, you know. If anything it is a infinite, three dimensional object. Infinite because there are numerous issues that arise and change over time.

That is how people who supported the Civil Rights Movement in the 1940's ended up its enemies by the 1970's. The issues of focus were no longer anti-lynching legislation, but equal housing an so forth.

[smoltchanov]

I agree. But i ever thought that Lankford, with his strong "Christian conservatism", is conservative enough even for Oklahoma. On another hand - i have a moderate fiscal conservative streak myself, but no social conservatism...)))

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Think of it like this. If Conservatism is the by word to be attached to. Isn't it in your best interests to seek to label social conservatives as insufficiently so overall by emphasizing their lapses elsewhere? Essentially move the definition to something more accomodating, basically?

[TX Conservative Dem]

I'm pulling for Shannon here.

[Zioneer]

Shannon would be the most interesting candidate, and it's going to be an R seat anyway, so I suppose I support him.

[nclib]

If Shannon wins, then 2/3 of the blacks in the U.S. Senate will be far-right, whereas 90% of blacks vote Democratic. This does not represent very well, and likely shows how the GOP uses token blacks (and other minorities) to avoid being characterized as non-inclusive. I'm hoping Lankford wins to not give the GOP an excuse to present itself as inclusive.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Since when is it a crime for people to vote their best interest? African Americans vote Democratic because many of them are on the outside of soceity and thus a party built around ostensibly uplifting the disconnected are a natural target and thus even if racism were eliminated as a factor as were its resulting partially media driven, partially self imposed taint, is 75%-25% or maybe even a 67%-33% not an unreasonable split between a Liberal and a Conservative party amongst African Americans? Certainly the embrace of the Democrats to the turn of 75%-25% in the New Deal Era based largely around this concept, even in spite of the rather disgusting segregationists both Conservative and Progressive still tolerated within the party and paid lip service to by FDR, shows such is the case to some extent. That said perhaps what the left fears is that the mere perception of inclusivness will reduce that 95% to 90% or 85%, which begins to make things a bit more difficult in Florida, Ohio and Virginia.

When you win 50-50 and you depend upon a monolithic voting block as a piece of that, you will go to any lengths to prevent it from becoming less monolithic. 12% of the electorate means that every five percent lost amonst African Americans translates into .6% being slice from your nationwide PV and thus going down to 85% would take 51% and make it 49.8% and likewise 47% becomes 48.2%. OH is even worse where 51-47 becomes 49.5% to 48.5% 1.7% nationwide and 1.0% in OH as opposed 4 and 4. That is a big shift!). Not that you have any reason to be afraid since the GOP is doing your work for you as it is, but that is the point isn't it. The Democrats have not "settled" when it comes to efforts to ensure unanimity amongst African American's, even when such is totally unnecessary. 

I think it is rather fitting that states with bad histories of racial injustice are finally willing to elect minorities. It shows that such people now prioritize their principles and positions over color. Isn't that progress in and off itself, even if rather slow? Is it racist for them not vote for a liberal African American when most would also have not vote for John Kerry or Howard Dean? Granted you have the trends in LA, AR and KY and WV to be considered, just shows there is more work to do. You are talking single digit shifts between swing adjusted Kerry and Obama numbers, maybe teens at best.

One of the big problems with the left in general is that it has turned injustice, of all kinds, into being the product of an alien culture that is to be ostracized or irradicated. Racism is the product of fear and ignorance and the potential is there in all humans who lack universal understanding and knowledge (which is just about 100% of the species I would reckon). Arrogance produces its own form of ignorance and misunderstanding and surely the former action is in and of itself such, for if not, I know not what is.

[Zioneer]

If Shannon wins, then 2/3 of the blacks in the U.S. Senate will be far-right, whereas 90% of blacks vote Democratic. This does not represent very well, and likely shows how the GOP uses token blacks (and other minorities) to avoid being characterized as non-inclusive. I'm hoping Lankford wins to not give the GOP an excuse to present itself as inclusive.

Then I would say the Dems electing qualified African-American Senators to match the GOP's numbers would be a good move.

[Zioneer]

If Shannon wins, then 2/3 of the blacks in the U.S. Senate will be far-right, whereas 90% of blacks vote Democratic. This does not represent very well, and likely shows how the GOP uses token blacks (and other minorities) to avoid being characterized as non-inclusive. I'm hoping Lankford wins to not give the GOP an excuse to present itself as inclusive.

Then I would say the Dems electing qualified African-American Senators to match the GOP's numbers would be a good move.

Who cares what color a Senator is? That shouldn't matter one bit. Being one race doesn't preclude someone from representing another race fairly in Congress. Why does it seem like Democrats care so much about race?

That's why I said qualified. As America is more diverse than it's politicians would seem to indicate, I would like qualified politicians who happen to be diverse. While politicians of one race can represent politicians of another race fairly in Congress, it doesn't mean that if we have two equally qualified politicians, that we can't pick the more diverse one.

[hopper]

Who cares about the politicians race in elections? What I care about is what comes out of his or her mouth not their color or ethnicity.

[CatoMinor]

If Shannon wins, then 2/3 of the blacks in the U.S. Senate will be far-right, whereas 90% of blacks vote Democratic. This does not represent very well, and likely shows how the GOP uses token blacks (and other minorities) to avoid being characterized as non-inclusive. I'm hoping Lankford wins to not give the GOP an excuse to present itself as inclusive.

A Senator is to represent the state they come from, not any individual race or gender. OK is a conservative state, therefor he will likely represent the state well.

[Maxwell]

Bridenstine was my hopeful, but I suppose Shannon is better than Lankford.

[badgate]

I just found out that Shannon and I share an alma mater.

[Zioneer]

Who cares about the politicians race in elections? What I care about is what comes out of his or her mouth not their color or ethnicity.

I just think that a more diverse politician class (not just in race, in opinion, and in pre-politics profession) is more likely to consider unorthodox solutions to problems, and less likely to succumb to the "beltway" logic.

EDIT: And I just like diversity, is that so wrong?

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Think of it like this, if whoever OK elects is going to be insane on issues you care about (and really probably the only difference between these two candidates is who is closer to whose circle of friends), at least with one you get to add some diversity and make some history in a state blighted with racial strife in the past.

As for "qualified", he was a state legislator and a Speaker albeit for a short time. And it is not like Lankford is a long term incumbent member of the House either.

I can understand if one was electing Alvin Greene or that guy who Obama trounced but whose names escapes at the moment, simply because of their color, but that isn't the case here.

[Maxwell]

I hope there is someone more exciting for the seat. T.W. Shannon is obviously better than Lankford, but I kind of wish there was a Coburn type running.

[badgate]

I hope there is someone more exciting for the seat. T.W. Shannon is obviously better than Lankford, but I kind of wish there was a Coburn type running.

Aren't the Lt Gov or AG looking at a run?

[Maxwell]

I hope there is someone more exciting for the seat. T.W. Shannon is obviously better than Lankford, but I kind of wish there was a Coburn type running.

Aren't the Lt Gov or AG looking at a run?

I honestly think Todd Lamb would be dead in the water. Lankford and Shannon are heavy weights, Lamb is not close to their name recognition or political skill. the AG already said no.

[Joe Biden 2020]

I hope there is someone more exciting for the seat. T.W. Shannon is obviously better than Lankford, but I kind of wish there was a Coburn type running.

Aren't the Lt Gov or AG looking at a run?

I honestly think Todd Lamb would be dead in the water. Lankford and Shannon are heavy weights, Lamb is not close to their name recognition or political skill. the AG already said no.

Yeah, Todd Lamb, as great of a Lieutenant Governor as he is, would get laughed out of the building by Shannon and especially Lankford.