Clearly the answer is being a hard-working, low-level, phone-answering staffer for either Oklahoma senator, Jim Inhofe or James Lankford. I spoke to two of them – one each – yesterday about their senator’s no vote on the compromise infrastructure bill.

It was a lot of fun.

Let’s begin in Junior’s office. A very nice young fellow answered and gave me the party line that Lankford voted no because the bill was incomplete, that it had not been totally chiseled in stone, that Lankford had not been able to read every word, including the footnotes, etc. etc.

Then the fun began when I told him Lankford votes on hundreds of bills just like that every year, that I had not just fallen off the turnip truck out near Turpen, OK, and had been in the lowly Legislature back here for 28 years, including three as Senate President Pro Tempore.

He then fessed up and said Junior just wanted a very small infrastructure bill that dealt only with highways and bridges. I then said do you mean he is against the broadband expansions in the legislation that rural Oklahoma so desperately needs? He then said, “Thank you for your call and I will pass on your message to the senator.”

I said thank you but doubted Junior would hear of my message. Gave him my name and cell number knowing I’m not going to get a call back.

Then on to Senior’s office which was a little tougher. Same routine with a nice young lady. I said, “If the senator’s no vote was so he could continue discussing what he thinks is very important [which is what he said in the morning paper], infrastructure, and a majority had voted with him – a no vote – instead of the 67-32 yes votes to proceed, that would have killed his chance to have what he says he wants … which is more discussion on infrastructure.”

She said she didn’t understand the point I was making but would be sure and pass on my pointless point to the senator. Knowing she really wouldn’t, I still gave her my name and phone number in order to keep playing our pointless game.

I’ll let you know how the conversations go with either or both of them when they don’t call me back.

I remain,

Cal Hobson

Pointless in Lexington