Update: Two days later, it's beginning to look like Sen. Rice is bringing a knife to a gun fight.

Troglodyte Sen. Jim Inhofe has started running ads attacking State Sen. Andrew Rice, his Democratic opposition. Inhofe says Rice is just like Obama (playing upon Inhofe's own racism which he hopes is latent in all Oklahomans), using a picture of two men on top of a wedding cake while his announcer reads the word "liberal" as if it were the word "cannibal."

(Keep in mind that even though Sen. Obama lost the Oklahoma Democratic primary by 24 points, he still got more votes in this state in that one election than Gov. Sarah Palin has in her entire political career.)

Inhofe also says Rice "voted to raise your taxes," listing a string of votes where Rice agreed that the state should pay for state services, and where Rice voted against the idea that women should be forced by law to bear children.

Inhofe is known for his outrageous attack ads that have no basis in reality or in the values of Oklahomans, and he probably thinks his cheap racism and misogyny will scare people into voting for him again.

Is he right? That depends on Sen. Rice. Four years ago, Tom Coburn won running as a Republican because Democrat Brad Carson ran as "Republican-Lite," attracting no support from conservatives and not much from liberals. Andrew Rice has a compelling personal narrative founded in his Christian faith and a stated belief in the equality and dignity of all people, including those who can't afford a meeting with Jim Inhofe.

So now the ball is in Senator Rice's court. If he merely "responds" to this ad by being outraged, or insulted, or doesn't respond at all, it's game over. Inhofe wins by 18 points. Rice can't just stand there and take Inhofe's low blows (the only kind Inhofe knows how to deliver, explaining why Oklahoma fares so poorly with Inhofe's representation).

No, Rice has to attack Inhofe now, right between the eyes, with the full load of truth that the Oklahoman and the local TV "news" refuse to air about Inhofe. Rice has to hit back hard with TV ads that demonstrate Inhofe as the lying, unethical, out of touch, bought-and-paid-for, intensely stupid trainwreck of a Senator that he is.

A good place to start? Maybe ads airing on Thursday (September 11) reminding Oklahomans that in March 2002, Inhofe said this on the floor of the United States Senate:

One of the reasons I believe the spiritual door was opened for an attack against the United States of America is that the policy of our government has been to ask the Israelis, and demand it with pressure, not to retaliate in a significant way against the terrorist strikes that have been launched against them.

As I noted previously:

Make sure you got that: [Inhofe] says God allowed terrorists to attack the US on September 11, when previously He would not have, because He is upset about the US's Israel policy.

Whether with this abomination or any of the thousands of others, Rice has to punch Inhofe in the face, now, or this race is over. Inhofe's anti-American agenda affects the entire country, so people from around the country have been donating to Rice to help defeat Inhofe (just as oil companies from all over the country have long poured tens of thousands into Inhofe's campaign to keep his unwavering anti-consumer vote in the Senate). An attack ad punching Inhofe in the face would fire up enough donations to get it on the air. Oftentimes, small-dollar donors are reluctant to give to untried candidates until they see that those candidates can mount effective campaigns. If Rice can show not only that he won't back down from Inhofe but that he'll return a slap to the face with a 2X4 to the side of the head, donors will pay attention.

In my opinion. To repeat my previous position: if you vote for Rice because I said so, you're an idiot. If you vote for Inhofe because I oppose him, you're an idiot. Don't take my word for anything. I'm some guy on the Internet with opinions. Make up your own damn mind. Read about Inhofe, read about Rice, read about elections. Get involved. Get your friends involved. Learn enough to decide who will do a better job, and then get off your ass and vote for that candidate, whoever he or she may be in any race. I may be wrong. Read about the issues and go find out.