Mike Mass Wants His Seat Back

According to the Daily Oklahoman, Mike Mass of Hartshorne told Oklahoma City radio station KTOK he plans to run again for the District 17 seat in the state House. He gave up the seat to run for Congress but lost to Brad Carson. Now he wants his House of Representatives seat back. I know Mr. Mass is intelligent, but he likes to play the Pa Kettle role of a down home farmer - perhaps a Will Rogers wannabe. This doesn't help with Oklahoma's image.

The first time I saw then-State Representative Mass was at a reception in Oklahoma City. He was the only person there with a straw hat on - the kind you see on the stereotyped hillbilly. I thought it was a joke - but it soon became apparent that the costume wasn't. On another occasion he addressed a group I was in - while dressed in overalls and holding his straw hat. Now, he was kind enough to replace another speaker at the last minute and I cut him some slack for having to come in off the farm. Surely he has a farm to come in off of? Seems like a nice fellow but please, Mr. Mass, don't play the role others like to stereotype Oklahomans into. There's a difference between Norman Rockwell's image of the wise American agrarian and the cartoon hillbilly.