Demcrat Brad Carson is running for Senate in Oklahoma against one of my all-time favorite conservatives, Tom Coburn. Carson is a Rhodes Scholar with a goody-two-shoes image–Phi Beta Kappa, White House fellow, Legal Services Award winner, etc.

Carson is also a slimy campaigner. And a punk.

The Oklahoma Democrat made a sanctimonious pledge not to run negative ads. He circumvented his own pledge by running false ads. Last week, Carson launched an ad accusing Coburn–a practicing physician who has delivered about 4,000 babies–of supporting abortion. Coburn is one of the staunchest supporters of life on Capitol Hill.

Carson, a waffler on the issue, has also tried to muddy the waters over Coburn’s clear pro-life record through dirty push-polling.

Oklahoma blogger Michael Bates notes that the tactic “is part of what appears to be a nationwide effort to confuse pro-life voters as to who really stands with them on their motivating issue.” Fortunately, judging from the latest polls, pro-life Oklahomans don’t seem to be falling for it. Soonerpolitics reports Coburn up 47-39 over Carson.

Maybe he should go back to school after the election.