[shad8974]

Thanks a lot Synopsis - i actually was going to say thank you for the compliment that you sent me/havent been on the site for a bit. I am sorry you took it to heart, but i say what i want to say as long as it doesnt offend anyone(at least of recent)lol.

I have no conflict with you. I am on my computer when i can giving some good advice about my state-like you are- i find it fun and people can take it or leave it.

I do feel the thread can go off subject- So, am i the first to address this? From what i have read in these threads/i actually seem to be a bit lame - I am certainly no moderator- thats for sure.

Yes- i am trying to give advice on the OKLAHOMA thread because i believe one should help out if one knows -even a bit of info-if it can help. I believe this is the reason for participation.
If you feel i have a diverse attitude about oklahoma/that should be a positive- diversity is what you SHOULD have in a forum - Sorry but i do have some knowledge, considering i have lived in all parts/ and yes i tend to be a bit more universal on a thread designed for for all of OKLAHOMA. I am trying not to step on any toes. Sometimes people dont even respond to a question by an outsider- so i try to give an opinoin. At least im trying.

this particular question about the MOST(extreme-lol)liberal city in OK. Well it really speaks for itself- I gave obvious reasons why norman would be. I mean come on- Everyone knows Norman is more liberal than most places in Oklahoma.OU. Even outsiders know this kinda stuff. ITS OUR LEADING UNIVERSITY IN THE ARTS-RESEARCH INSTITUTE. Plus i am graduating from here soon with a MFA. So can i be allowed to give an opinion? I probably should have thrown in OSU/but really it is pretty conservative. Parts of Tulsa i forget about- because its been some time. Thats where you come in. U know Tulsa- so give your opinion?!? I have heard TU is liberal.

the Oklahoma City thread- if the subject is something i know- i will give a stronger opinoin. Sorry.

Also - hey dude im a man - sticks and stones.......lets just get along. Everything seemed to be fine. shad

[Synopsis]

I think that some of your posts are way off target, but that's my opinion - that's all. Sometimes you want me to scream though! And of course you can give an opinion Shad. My problem hasn't been with your posts regarding things in OkC; I actually think those are great. My problem has been the continual put down on Tulsa. But again, that's your opinion and you're entitled to it. Just don't be alarmed when I step in to defend "my turf" so to speak.

Cheers, and have a great day.

[shad8974]

I dont blame you for defending your turf or my dirt(lol). Sorry if i came in gunz a blazin'. I actually love tulsa- just dont tell anyone. Because a lot of my friends live there/we play the 'sister city' game. But they love OKC also- because i can show them around. It actually IS VERY healthy for a state to have rivalry. It makes public leaders get off their butts and smell the coffee the other competing city is brewing. It should be a lead- a long one at that.
History is interesting for the sister cities- both always build or do other projects on the same timeline to compete. It goes back to statehood. I really feel Oklahoma will be a serious economic/research/tourist attraction within time. Considering how old we are- we are WAY ahead of many states because of the short distance between T & O. Have a great day also, its pretty early for me but what the heck- Cheers!

[berksco]

I have MANY relatives in OK. Most were "Southern Democrats" but have voted Republican since Barry Goldwater ran for president. Remember him?

Anywhere you go, you will have folks who differ from your politics/ideals.
They would give you the shirt off their backs, any many cases!

[DocGSD]

Originally Posted by jessaka

synopsis,

I have been to Utica Square, and while they have nice stores, what I am looking for is ambiance. I want an old fashioned historic district. I think Cherry Street in Tulsa would be more my liking, which is why somewhere on this board I said that I wanted to see Guthrie. I think Ft. Smith has such a district too, but only time will tell. While Fayetteville has a historic downtown, the shopping is at the mall.

I may be liberal in politics, but I really don't know. I don't really talk about religion or politics with others as I don't wish to get into an argument. So it doesn't matter to me that the Oklahomans are conservative or that many may be fundamentalists. I think what saves me here is that I go to the Unitarian Church where there are more liberals and some atheists, agnostics, etc. They accept whatever you want to believe as long as you don't hurt anyone. Also, they are not well liked by the Christian community, and very few places in Oklahoma have Unitarians, or so I am told.

Ft.Smith's downtown is very limited shoping. For a larger city, it has a pretty small downtown.

[DocGSD]

Originally Posted by Synopsis

Well, there you have it Guru. You can stop looking because Shad has spoken and Shad says that Norman is the most liberal city in the entire state. Shad is THE AUTHORITY on all things liberal, and on all things Oklahoma. Shad also seems to be much the moderator these days by pointing out the original intent of the thread, regardless if the topic has drifted but is still relevant to the subject at hand.

So, Guru, your search is over because Shad has a very diverse attitude about all places in Oklahoma. Norman, Tulsa, OkC, there'll a great places to Shad, just check out her "objective posts" elsewhwere on this forum.

She has no real preference over any particular city in Oklahoma, they're all great - as long as it's Norman or OkC.

Wow.........

[Sparticus]

This thread needs rescuing.

There are liberal parts. Our beloved liberal Democrat governor won every county in the state except for three, the Panhandle. If you look at a map, all of Oklahoma is predominantly blue, except for the Panhandle... that's okay though, because the Panhandle is just a miserable, dusty plain.

There are some extremely liberal parts of OKC, even Tulsa. OKC is more conservative than Tulsa but the inner parts of OKC are full of liberals. OKC really is the next Austin, with 2,500 downtown residential units planned or under construction, I suppose also include the ones that have been finished in the last two months.

OKC is moderating, I wouldn't even be surprised if they were able to get gay marriage passed and the cries for minimum wage increase have been growing. Light rail seems to be at the tip of everybody's tongue right now.

There's a new state legislator, Andrew Rice, whose district includes inner north side neighborhoods like Uptown, Jefferson Park, and Crown Heights ... he's probably one of the most liberal politicians in the country. I have a fiend, Drew Dugan, that ran against him (in the Dem primary). Now, my friend Drew is a really liberal person and I kid him about it all the time, but in this district he was blasphemed as a "conservative" just for working for the OKC Chamber.

There's your Berkeley-liberal right there.

Tulsa has the highest per capita percentage of homosexuals in the nation. Midtown Tulsa (the area between Downtown Tulsa and I-44) is also the home of the nation's largest gay-friendly church.

Norman is about typical for a college town. I would say politically it's not as liberal as Austin, but it's not near as conservative as College Station or Stillwater ... probably the two most conservative of the nation's big college towns.

Don't go to Guthrie if you want a liberal haven. Our state's first capitol has the state's highest % of GOP members. In fact, that's a leading reason why it was moved to OKC. This goes with a historical rift between Western OK and Eastern OK. They were two separate territories and in fact, Eastern OK had previously applied for statehood as the State of Sequoyah and was rejected for two reasons: Indian majority, and 95% Democrat (Teddy Roosevelt was a Republican). Oklahoma Territory (Western OK, led by Guthrie at the time) was 60/40 with a Republican tilt. When Oklahoma eventually became a state and ever since the Democrats have had the majority ... in fact, we've only had two or three non-Democrat governors in our state history, the Republicans now control the House for the first time in 70 years, too.

The Senate in Oklahoma City is split evenly but the Lt. Guvna is a democrat, which paints the Senate blue with Guvna Henry.

[ukyankee]

I guess you could call me a moderate liberal. In OK I have found that it is not the political views that you talk about, but rather the actions you take that determine how people respond to you. I moved from California, Berkeley area. The people there talk a good political game, but they don't live up to it. As my Okies friends say "talk is cheap and easy". I would trust an Okie conservative before I would a California liberal. Oklahomans tend to be honest about who they are and what they believe. They live up to thier beliefs. That is not what I found in California.

[StillwaterTownie]

I think a strong case can be made that Stillwater is the most liberal town in Oklahoma, not Norman. In 2002 the Democrat candidate, Henry, for governor won Stillwater. In Norman, the Republican, Largent won. Then in 2006, Henry won by a larger margin in Stillwater than in Norman. In another political area, Stillwater has a Democrat state senator, Mike Morgan while Norman's state senator is a Republican. Until the ouster of Norman's state rep. Thad Balkman, all state legislators representing Norman were Republicans.

I suspect there is more liberal activism in Stillwater. It is home to the Drug Policy Forum of Oklahoma (dpfok.org). People there believe in reforming drug laws to make prohibited drugs, like marijuana, legal. I'm not aware of any movement or interest in Norman wanting drugs made legal. There's even a retired doctor in Stillwater supporting making medical marijuana legal in Oklahoma.

There is also an anti-war organization in Stillwater called Concerned Americans for Stillwater. Many members and non-members demonstrate against the Iraq war every Wednesday outside the courthouse. Is this done at the Cleveland County Courthouse?

If you look at the O'Collegian and Stillwater News Press, you'll find on the editorial page liberal viewq well represented along with the conservative viewq. OU has a professor who's infamous for thinking like Sen. Inhofe, that global warming is a hoax while publicly taking other less than liberal stands. I don't think OSU has anyone like that out in the open.

As a previous poster said getting with the Unitarian church in Oklahoma is one good way to find people of like mind and Stillwater has one.

Admittedly, though as highly conservative as Oklahoma is, it makes more sense to ask which is the least conservative town in Oklahoma, not the most liberal one.

[JD.]

ATTN Sparticus:

Even though I am not yet residing in the Panhandle, I feel it needs to be defended. I understand that this site is free for opinions but keep your mean spirited ones at the door. I don't claim to know all that much about the Panhandle, in fact I posted a question about it on this board, but I will say from the time I've spent down there it is not a 'miserable, dusty plain'. Perhaps the state overwhelminly voted for a Democratic Governor, but last time I checked President Bush carried ALL 77 Oklahoma counties, INCLUDING the counties OKC and Tulsa are in. Agree with Stillwater Townie, better to ask which area is less conservative. JD