Team Ox

Ahhh...don't you love it when this happens? Let's say, hypothetically, you love elections. And you notice that the opposing side is insistent upon nominating a candidate that has more skeletons in his/her closet than Eminem. What do you do? You jump for joy right? That's what I do. With today's news that Sarah Palin has endorsed Karen Handel, I have spent a little time thinking about the Republican candidates that could potentially be nominated for governor. The obvious frontrunner is Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine...and his team Ox...or team of Oxen...or whatever the proper term might be. We're talking about a man who every time I see him walking around on TV, I'm impressed. Because one would think that the burden of all those ethics violation investigations would wear a man out! But it doesn't seem to. And I've had numerous conversations with many people about how surprised I am that Karen Handel hasn't made these more well known, especially this late in the game.

Now, it's well known that I'm no general election Republican, nor am I a primary Republican, but Karen Handel's story, her demeanor, her grasp of state issues would make her at least a more viable candidate. Coming from nothing, never graduating from college, operating far out of what would be considered her general league for someone with her level of education. I may not agree with her stances in many areas, but I have to at least give her credit for rising from an unhappy home to get to where she is. I know, I know. She's had her own violation accusations thrown at her, but apparently to even be considered in the Republican gubernatorial primary this year, you must meet that standard. So all things considered, the accusations against her are mild. John Oxendine has cornered the market, whether it's using mentally disabled voters for signatures (when he was still a Democrat), misuse of state cars, taking insurance money from insurance companies while holding the office of Insurance Commissioner...not to mention that those companies were in Alabama.

I don't make it a point to agree with or quote Nathan Deal that often, but when it comes to the frontrunner in this year's Republican race, I think he summed it up best; it was about the $120,000 in campaign money from Insurance companies in Alabama that was given to John Oxendine and somehow slipped past him. I'm paraphrasing when I say this, but Mr. Deal said: Has anyone ever given you $120,000 and you didn't know about it? No, Mr. Deal. Nobody has. Ever. So I'd love to see this race go to a runoff. Oxendine vs. Handel. More money, more mudslinging, more weeks for Democrats to prepare. But I can say one thing: if we want Democrats to have a better shot at taking back the Governor's Mansion, let's all sign up to bat for Team Ox!