Hey, if Eugene Debs can run a Presidential campaign from a jail cell where he was serving a term for violating the (pretty clearly unconstitutional) Conscription Act, then surely Fred E. Ray Smith can run for the Oklahoma State Senate from his jail cell where he’s doing time for being a deadbeat dad who drives around with an open container of alcohol, right?
Of course he can! And since he’s a Republican and this is Oklahoma, he will almost definitely still win. The best part is how his campaign manager / fiancé responded:
“He is currently still in jail because our money has been going to campaigning, so he will serve the time he needs to serve until we can get funds to get him out,” Smith’s campaign manager, SunShine Fox, said Tuesday. “The fact is we should have found other resources to possibly pay that.”
I really love that she said they should “possibly” pay the fines. Maybe they’ll pay it, maybe they won’t. I guess Potomac County, Oklahoma will just have to wait and see what the Fred E. Ray Smith campaign decides is best.
Smith was supposed to speak at a Tea Party event (Surprised? No? Me neither.) but will now have to send a substitute to speak on his behalf. Anyway, Smith’s opponent had some harsh words:
“Is he qualified for this office when he’s sitting in jail? I can’t help but think rather than running for office, wouldn’t his time really be better spent getting his life in order?”
The same can probably be said of most Tea Party Republicans.
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It’s Pontotoc County, not ‘Potomac County’.