Far Right Extremists Gresham Barrett (SC) And Mary Fallin (OK) Running For Governor

Governors, who actually have to govern, are generally less extreme than members of legislatures. Jim DeMint, the fanatic senator from South Carolina is the worst extremist in the Senate. His state's governor, Mark Sanford, is nearly as extreme-- and probably the most extremist governor in the nation. In this case we can be grateful for term limits inasmuch as we probably won't have to hear any of Sanford's hypocritical bullcrap after that. There is one drawback-- it looks like his successor will be even worse!

This morning the most radical right member of South Carolina's House delegation, Gresham Barrett, announced that he would like to run for governor. His district, SC-03, takes up most of the western counties of the state, bordering on Georgia, from Aiken in the south to Pickens in the north. While Barrett won re-election in November with 65%, McCain had almost the same percentage (64) against Obama in the district, when has a PVI of R+14-- much better than he did statewide (54%). It's pretty much the reddest part of the state-- a bizarre area where people still have a chip on their collective shoulder about Yankees, alienated from America and from the most vibrant currents of contemporary culture and thought.

Barrett's closest comrade in the House is another radical wingnut, Mike Pence-- who has been blabbering all over today about how he, like Limbaugh, absolutely wants Obama to fail. No one has to ask Barrett. He hates blacks-- and was one of only 33 members of Congress to vote against renewing the Voting Rights Act of 1965. He also hates gays; he hates unions; he hates taxes; he hates peaceniks; he loves nuclear energy.

South Carolina has an even worse unemployment problem than the rest of the U.S. so an anti-working family fanatic like Barrett is the last thing in the world the state needs. His primary opponent is likely to be a mainstream conservative ally of John McCain's and Lindsey Graham's, Attorney General Henry McMaster. Barrett will probably beat him in a primary where it's impossible to be too far to the right.

Though Barrett advisors will portray him as an underdog in the race for governor, other South Carolina political observers say he has a good chance to knock off the two statewide elected officials.

"Barrett's my odds-on favorite to win this primary. Solid conservative, great support base in the vote-rich Upstate, and he connects well with voters on the stump," said Jason Miller, who managed Sanford's successful re-election campaign in 2006. "As long as the money comes in, and he has an excellent fundraising team, he should win this thing."

Democratic state Senator Vincent Sheheen of Camden is the first Democrat to jump into the gubernatorial race.

And speaking of wingnut extremists looking to jump from the House to the state house, Oklahoma City's congresswoman, Mary Fallin-- almost as ideologically out of sync as Barrett-- has let it be known that she's running to replace termed out Democratic Governor Brad Henry. She's a sophomore congresswoman with a robotic right wing voting record across the board but between 1995 and 2007 she was the state's lieutenant governor.

Obama only managed a third of the vote in Oklahoma and the chances of a Democrat winning the governor's mansion is pretty much zero. Dan Boren should run, although the state's current lieutenant governor, Jari Askins is likely to be the sacrificial lamb. There is also a chance that the failed ex-chair of the NRCC, Tom Cole, who's as far right as Fallin, will also jump into the race.