Conservative guides for Oklahoma voters

The Oklahoma Family Policy Council has its complete voter's guide online, with background information and questionnaire responses. In addition to the yes/no answers you find in the printed version, the online version has the scanned questionnaires submitted by the candidates, which allows you to read any qualifications or elaborations on their answers.

The section on the statewide judicial retention ballot tells you which governor appointed each judge. It's interesting that, despite eight years of service not that long ago, Frank Keating has only one appointee on the list. (That's E. Bay Mitchell, III, whose ideal campaign slogan should be: "E. Bay: Justice isn't for sale to the highest bidder.") Don't believe that your vote for Governor makes a difference? Look at the number of judges that Brad Henry has elevated to the Supreme Court and the appeals courts in just four years.

Oklahomans for Life also asked candidates to complete a questionnaire, and the results are in their October newsletter. The newsletter also explains the impact of overall control of the State Legislature on pro-life legislation. An individual candidate may be pro-life, but will that candidate vote to give control of the chamber, control of the committees, and control of the agenda to pro-life leaders or pro-abortion leaders? There are a number of pro-life Democrats in the legislature, but the Democratic leadership, particularly in the State Senate, has worked to block pro-life legislation.

The Oklahomans for Life newsletter also singles out Tulsa State Rep. Jeannie McDaniel as a disappointment:

The discredit of having had the most disappointing record of abandoning the unborn child in the Oklahoma legislature this session goes to Democrat Rep. Jeannie McDaniel of House District 78 in Tulsa. Of nine abortion-related votes on the House floor this year, she cast seven pro-abortion votes. A year ago, all six of her votes on the House floor were pro-life. She is opposed in the Nov. 7 general election by pro-life Republican Jesse Guardiola.

This year, McDaniel was one of five state representatives to oppose landmark informed consent and parental notification legislation, bills that had overwhelming bipartisan support in both houses of the Legislature.