Christmas has come a little early here at The Lost Ogle International Headquarters!
Earlier today, embattled former Oklahoma State School Superintendent Janet Barresi – a politician who was so universally loathed that she finished third in her re-election primary – announced today she is running for U.S. Congress.
From The Oklahoman:
Republican Janet Barresi, a former dentist who served one term as state school superintendent, joined a crowded primary field on Wednesday for the 5th District congressional seat held by Democratic Rep. Kendra Horn.
Barresi, 67, said she was running for the seat “because our values are under assault by radical Washington liberals.”
I have a question here. Are we talking "BMX / Surfer / Ninja Turtle" radical, or just "Crazy Old Lady That Wants To Flunk A Lot Of Third Graders" radical. I think we already know what type Janet is.
I talked to one Ogle Mole about Janet's decision to run. The Mole aptly described it as "incredibly stupid." Just by looking at Janet's past, that seems like an accurate assessment:
Barresi put more than $1.5 million into her unsuccessful reelection campaign for state school superintendent in 2014 and may have the personal resources to finance her congressional campaign.
Barresi was the first Republican elected state school superintendent in 2010. However, her tenure became embroiled in controversy over Common Core _ a curriculum that Oklahoma adopted and then abandoned. In the 2014 Republican primary, she finished third, getting only 21 percent of the vote.
In a news release on Wednesday, Barresi said she had taken on the “liberal establishment” and had “the scars to prove it.” Her 2014 defeat came at the hands of Republican voters angry about her support for Common Core.
Ouch! This woman is such a loser she let the Oklahoma liberal establishment defeat her. How pathetic is that in this sea of red?! And while Janet plays the victim card and whines about her scars, remember that Joy Hofmeister got indicted, and she's still sitting pretty like a kindergarten teacher.
Knowing Janet's past failures, you kind of have to wonder why she's running again. I think I know one of the answers:
A former dentist who now owns an oil and gas company, Barresi said Wednesday, “I’ll defend our Second Amendment rights, and I will stand with President Trump to secure our borders because a strong nation must have strong borders. And I will be an unrelenting voice for the unborn, because by championing life we are defending every child’s right to reach their God-given potential.”
Yeah, she traded in the nitrous oxide for fracking fluid. If I owned an oil and gas company, I'd run for office, too! It's an easy way to make a name for yourself and get a meeting with Larry Nichols or Harold Hamm.
But I think there's another reason Janet may be running.
As we exposed back in 2014, one of Barresi's chief lieutenants when she served as State Superintendent was a local politico named Jennifer Carter. Jennifer is married to a guy named Ray Carter, who at the time just happened to be a writer for The Oklahoman's Editorial Board –a.k.a. the same people who actually endorsed Janet Barresi during her failed re-election campaign.
Here's a picture of the happy couple:
Ray Carter, like most people who worked for The Oklahoman in 2014, is no longer with the paper. He's now the Director of OCPA’s Center for Independent Journalism, which would be like me saying I'm the director of TLO's Center for Legitimate Journalism. There's nothing independent about the OCPA. They are ultra right wing and ultra conservative, and everything they do is driven by their ideology and agenda. Basically, they're a lot like The Oklahoman.
Anyway, guess who is still one of Janet's advisors??? Jennifer Carter! Knowing these connections and past history, I guess we should expect Janet to get a lot of support from allies at the OCPA's Center for Independent Journalism. Hell, maybe that support could even propel her to another third-place finish in the Republican primary.
