GOP takeover of state Senate will cause major change, pundits say

By M. Scott Carter

OKLAHOMA CITY -- The e-mail on state Sen. John Sparks' Blackberry was short, just four words:

"Sorry guys, I lost."

The message came from Tulsa; from state Sen. Nancy Riley, who had just been defeated in her bid for re-election. Riley, a Democrat, had switched parties two years ago, preventing the GOP from taking over the state Senate in 2006. For the past two years, the anger from Riley's former colleagues boiled.

On Tuesday, Nov. 4, it caught up with her.

Riley was hammered by her opponent, Dan Newberry, who captured 10,000 more votes to take the seat back for the GOP and give Riley a new title: former senator.

It wouldn't be the only loss Democrats would have.

About 60 miles west of Tulsa, in Stillwater, James Halligan, the former president of Oklahoma State University, outpaced his opponent, Stillwater attorney Bob Murphy Jr., (again by about 10,000 votes) to turn a previous Democratic seat to the GOP side.

Halligan's Senate District 21 seat had been held by a long line of Democrats -- including, outgoing Senate Pro Tempore Mike Morgan, former state Sen. Bernice Shedrick and Robert Murphy Sr.

In an ironic twist -- which could only be written in Oklahoma -- Shedrick defeated Murphy's father, Bob Murphy Sr., for the seat in 1978.

With two additional seats now in the Republican column, control of the state Senate -- for the first time in history -- shifted to the GOP.

And many political observers believe that shift will bring major changes in the way the Senate operates -- and in state policy.

"I expect the Senate leadership will have many different priorities from the previous administrations," said deputy state treasurer, Tim Allen. "The new leadership has been vocal about that."

Allen said he wouldn't be surprised to see more legislation on "social issues."

"Sure I expect more legislation of the social type," he said. "And we'll probably see something on tort reform."

A former member of the Senate staff himself, Allen said he also expected to see some changes in the way the Senate functions but believed lawmakers also will pay close attention to the state's -- and the nation's -- economy.

"As far as tax reduction issues, that remains to be seen," he said. "But, honestly, I don't know where we've got a couple of billion dollars in wasted spending."

State Sen. John Sparks agreed.

Sparks, a Norman Democrat completing his first term, said the power shift gives Republicans "the chance to set the agenda."

"I don't think we'll be in complete agreement on every issue," he said. "But the agenda now belongs to the GOP."

Sparks said he expected Republican leaders to "push many of the issues they brought up during the last couple of years."

"I think we'll see a lot of that," he said. "But everyone should be on the lookout to separate the rhetoric from the substance."

And while Sparks said he wasn't surprised by the announced changes in the Senate's professional staff, he said he didn't expect Senate leaders to behave like former House Speaker Todd Hiett.

"The word from the Republicans, so far, is that they were going to do 'wholesale firings right now,'" he said. "I would suspect that they learned a lot from former Speaker Todd Heitt, when he fired all the professional staff and there wasn't anyone there to take care of business."

But some staff members are already leaving.

Recently, State Election Board Secretary Mike Clingman announced he's moving to the Office of State Finance -- an agency controlled by the executive branch.

Clingman -- who serves a dual role as secretary of the state Senate and secretary of the Election Board -- is the first high profile staff member to leave since Republicans assumed control of the state Senate.

According to an Associated Press story, Clingman will provide budget and policy support to Gov. Brad Henry.

And while Sparks said he's sure Democrats and Republicans can work together, he said he's disappointed by some of the GOP's early rhetoric.

"Unfortunately it looks like their first move is complete spin," he said. "They sent out this big release about how they're saving money by cutting leadership staff, then secretaries salaries.' I guess what really disappointed me was they made a big deal about it, about how much they are saving the state by doing it on the backs of the staff. It's an attempt to make some political gain off of people who have done nothing but show up and worked hard every day."

Sparks isn't alone in his concern.

Arnold Hamilton, a former political reporter for the Dallas Morning News, and the new publisher of the Oklahoma Observer, predicted Republican legislators would want to make major changes to the state's legal system.

"They want to slap a padlock on the courthouse door," Hamilton said. "It's an attempt for them to pursue their No. 1 priority -- tort reform. It's a pure political power move. They don't like trial lawyers because many trial lawyers support Democrats."

Should the GOP succeed in its attempt to change the legal system, Hamilton said Oklahomans won't like the results.

"Joe the Plumber -- who thought this was a great idea, originally -- will realize they have little recourse to be protected," he said.

And while tort reform is expected to be a big part of the GOP agenda, Hamilton said Republicans also will push an "extremely conservative" social policy agenda.

The 2009 legislative session, he said, will be about "God, gays and guns."

"The GOP will be in the position to pass their extreme social policy," he said. "But it will be fascinating to see how they play it."

But even though the GOP is now firmly in control of both houses of the Legislature, Hamilton cautioned the next two years might prove more difficult than expected for the Legislature's new leaders.

"Our economy is artificially buoyed," he said. "It's still a little behind the curve. We haven't seen the decline in full force. And even though, right now, we're seeing a huge uptick in tax collections because of the amnesty program, we are, in all likelihood, going to have a $200 million shortfall that will have dire consequences for many state services."

And those cuts, Hamilton predicted, could cause problems for the new Republican Senate leadership.

"Some of those people who pushed for major tax cuts are going to have to deal with the mess they caused," he said. "And, believe me, they'll hear from their constituents when the schools don't have enough money to send the football team to an away game."

Political consultant Don Hoover said Republicans will now have to govern.

"The GOP has continued to talk about family values," he said. "I suppose it means restriction on abortion -- although I don't know much further they can go in that regard; and I assume it would mean some anti-gay legislation."

Republicans, Hoover said, "probably feel somewhat emboldened by the election."

"But they need to be careful not to overreach. Sooner or later the effects of the national recession will hit home and revenue will start to shrink. And I don't know how far they want to go in that regard."

Yet even with the clash in viewpoints and the potential of dark financial days ahead, Hoover said the success of the GOP's agenda is up to their leaders.

"I think their success will depend largely on how accommodating and bipartisan the new Senate leadership wants to be," he said. "The governor has done an outstanding job of working with Republicans and they could be in control for a while."

But, he added, "nothing is forever."

"Maybe someday that telegraph wire to Oklahoma will get repaired," he said.

M. Scott Carter 366-3545 scarter@normantranscript.com