The Political Wind Changing in Oklahoma City

If “all politics is local” the Republican Party in Oklahoma should pay close attention to what is happening in large minorities in Oklahoma City and Tulsa.

The late, great Thomas “Tip”  O’Neill  Jr., former  Speaker of the House is credited with the phrase “All politics is still local.” But credit goes to his father who explained to TIP that he lost an election to the city council because he did not pay attention to his own neighborhood.

In the next six to eight years or sooner, the political pendulum will swing from the right back to the left. From the governor down to the lowest elected Republican in every community should be aware of the  change in the political wind.

If they are not scared they should be.

The growing number of Hispanics and Latino businesses is possibly growing faster than small businesses being opened by whites. Take a drive down 29^th street from Shields Blvd. to Walker and count the number of small business. 

It is busy night and day. The question is how many people in that community are U.S. citizens.

The answer could be resolved after the presidential election.  Precinct tallies within the community will show the number of registered voters who actually voted. That bumped up against Census numbers should give an indication of the Hispanic voting power.

When, not if, the community becomes a political force,  Republicans, especially those who have targeted the Hispanic community are going to lose power as their base continues to shrink. First to go will be the city councilman, then the state representative and last the state senator.

The same swing in power in Oklahoma City will probably occur in parallel with Tulsa politics.

Gov. Fallin will be history by then and probably most of the current state legislature so they probably don’t care about future elections  

Oklahoma is considered a red rock for the Republican party in national politics But when the south side wind prevails the rock is going to turn blue.