Rice Takes On Billboard Bully

(Isn't it time Oklahoma college students get a break on rising tuition rates? Read DocHoc's commentary this week in the Oklahoma Gazette.)

“It would have been naive to think we could have permanently transcended our differences as Americans out of 9/11, but it is not too idealistic to hope that we could have found common ground on how to protect our country and preserve our common values.”—state Sen. Andrew Rice.

State Sen. Andrew Rice, a Democrat from Oklahoma City, has written a courageous response to a Florida man who has put up billboard advertisements with the message “Please Don’t Vote for a Democrat” beside an image of the burning World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.

Rice’s bother, David, was killed in the attacks on the World Trade Center.

Rice, 35, pictured right, who is running for the U.S. Senate this year against incumbent Jim Inhofe, 73, criticizes Mike Meehan’s “divisive and desperate attempt to scare Americans” with his right-wing attacks.

“There are those in politics who will continue down this road because they simply have nothing else to offer,” Rice writes on the The Huffington Post. “They have no coherent policy to marginalize extremism in the Middle East. They show no willingness to ask Americans to commit themselves to the shared sacrifice that is needed to deal with the climate crisis and transform our energy policy. They have no message except to demonize their political opponents and, in turn pollute America's faith in our otherwise inspiring democratic process.”

You can read the full post here.