I don’t presume to tell anyone how to vote. It is the responsibility for each citizen to educate himself or herself and to go to the polls when they are open and vote their conscience.

However, I won’t hesitate to give my opinion on various candidates for two reasons. First, I have unique access to federal, state, county and municipal officials and candidates. Much of my job is trying to keep track of their statements and actions and how that affects life in Tulsa.

Secondly, most of those we endorse are the best choice. In the past, we have made mistakes (fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me) because we were lied to. Some candidates started with great promise and then fell to evil influence while in office.

In this issue, on the editorial page (where it belongs), we have listed those candidates that we would recommend to voters. It is not a perfect list but it is the best I can come up with at this time.

What is the criteria to win the endorsement of the Tulsa Beacon?

Every month, I go to public meetings where candidates speak. I get a ton of press releases from campaigns explaining votes or positions. I have conducted one-on-one interviews with many of the candidates.

Unlike the daily paper, the Tulsa Beacon doesn’t have the resources or manpower to cover every candidate on the ballot. I think we do a pretty good job, all things considered.

There are some minor candidates that we don’t cover. But just because someone can’t win, doesn’t mean we will ignore their candidacy. There are some perennial candidates who think they “deserve coverage” just because they filed.

Newspapers are not (yet) licensed and we are not compelled to be “fair” by covering all candidates alike. Some don’t merit coverage. Sorry, that’s life.

We cover more Republicans than Democrats. That’s not because all Republicans are good and all Democrats are bad. That is not true.

For example, some Republicans are not pro-life while some Democrats (including Lt. Gov. Jari Askins) are. It’s in the voting records.

Some Republicans are liars and cheats and some Democrats are men and women of character.

The Tulsa Beacon supported Rep. John Sullivan when he first ran for the House in 2001. That was a mistake. Sullivan paints a picture of a God-fearing family man who is dedicated to conservative ideology. As time marches on, we have discovered that Sullivan’s drinking problem didn’t end with his teenage arrest and that while he talks like a conservative, he voted for TARP and he has co-sponsored expansion of government with people like Rep. Patrick Kennedy (son of the late Ted Kennedy), one of the most liberal congressmen in the nation.

John Sullivan makes conservative speeches in Tulsa and acts totally different in Washington. I hope he wins his lifelong battle with alcohol but he needs to get off the government payroll and concentrate on getting his life back together.

Bill Clinton set the bar so low on moral behavior that it seems there is nothing an elected official can reveal that would result in public shame and resignation.

Does the Tulsa Beacon favor Republicans?

The truth is, the GOP platform is much closer to the moral and political stance of the Tulsa Beacon than the Democrats’ platform. Smaller government, lower taxes, protection for unborn babies, fewer regulations and expansion of freedom are core principles for me that are not reflected in the Democrat platform.

I have friends who are Democrats who are mostly conservative and vote for Republicans. When I make speeches to civic groups, I tell them I am a Christian, an American, a conservative and a Republican – in that order. I used to be a registered Democrat. Like Ronald Reagan, “I didn’t leave the party – the party left me.”

I have interviewed Democrats and they have universally said that our stories were accurate. Many Democrats (ex-mayor Kathy Taylor and Tom Adelson, for example) refuse to grant an interview or even send us campaign press releases. They complain about coverage when they don’t open their campaigns to public scrutiny and the vetting of important issues. They will, however, give long interviews to the liberal Tulsa World.

Here is my advice for the July 27 primary.

Get informed. Don’t rely on a liberal daily newspaper or a two-minute report on a liberal TV station for your information.

The Tulsa Beacon is printing a sample ballot in this issue. Read that and determine before you go to vote for whom you will cast a ballot. If you are unsure, call a trusted friend, maybe someone from church, and ask their counsel.

It’s not a sin to vote for the wrong candidate. Laziness is a sin. If we don’t pay attention, we will elect more people like John Sullivan and Barack Obama.

And that’s not good for Tulsa or America.

• The late Bob Hope on politics:

“It gave dirty politics a bad name.” – On the Watergate affair

“It’s so cold here in Washington, D.C., that politicians have their hands in their own pockets.”

“I don’t know if the presidential candidates are running for the White House or Animal House.” – On Gary’s Hart’s campaign for president

“Clinton loves to make long speeches. In fact, this will be the first inaugural address with an intermission.”

“(Dan) Quayle thinks Roe vs. Wade are two ways to cross the Potomac.”

“Ronald Reagan is not a typical politician because he doesn’t know how to lie, cheat, and steal. He’s always had an agent do that.”

“I don’t know what people have against Jimmy Carter. He’s done nothing.” – Campaigning for Ronald Reagan against Carter

“Everything Reagan does, Gorbachev does him one better. Reagan wears the flag of his country on his lapel. Gorby wears the map of his country on his forehead.”

“Carter wants to go to Washington. He’ll feel right at home there - he was raised on a nut farm … Every time he grins, someone tries to write ‘Steinway’ on his upper lip.”

“A lot of people were surprised that Ford picked Nelson Rockefeller to run with him. After all, Rocky had tried to get the job of president three times himself. That’s like asking Morris the Cat to watch your tuna salad.”

“I thought Deep Throat was a movie about a giraffe.”

“It’s hard to play a guy who rattles his medals while you’re putting.” – On playing golf with President Eisenhower

“He rules the country with an iron fist - the same way he plays the piano.” –On Harry Truman

“Harry had won by such a narrow margin he might not have made it if Bess hadn’t voted for her husband.” –On Harry Truman’s narrow victory over Thomas Dewey

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 22nd, 2010 and is filed under Columns.