Thad IS Bad

I opened my hometown newspaper this morning, as I do every Sunday morning, to find that the Norman Transcript had AGAIN published a very large advertisement attacking Democrat Wallace Collins and vicariously supporting Republican Thad Balkman in the race for House District 45.

That wouldn't be so unusual since today is 48 hours from the election, but what is unusual, is that this 3/4 page advertisement, valued at well over $1,000 bears NO attribution. That's right, every other political advertisement in the paper carries the Paid For By statement, but not this one. And it did not carry the Paid For By statement the first time it ran either. Now, one time, it could be a mistake, but a second time? Let's see that would be at least $2,000 spent on behalf of Balkman, without reporting to the Ethics Commission.

So who is responsible for this unethical electioneering? Is it Thad Balkman? Is it another of Balkman's sleazy Republican operatives doing more dirty tricks?

We may never know, because this is how shameful right wing political hacks operate: hit with a cheap shot ad, with misleading attribution or none at all, then run away and hide to avoid being held accountable. It's a familiar Republican technique that we are also seeing in the race for State Insurance Commissioner, where a Texas shadow group calling itself "Just the Facts America" is defying Oklahoma ethics laws by refusing to register with the state. The folks supporting Balkman with distorted ads won't even tell us who they are.

That's DESPICABLE.

So, it's time to hold Thad Balkman accountable - for his poor leadership and lack of ethics. When they go to the polls on Tuesday, voters in House District 45 should remember THAD IS BAD and vote for a change - vote for Wallace Collins for State Representative.

Voters should know who is paying for what, it's the law.

To be continued. . .