I saw my first Moore for Governor bumper sticker on Monday. Moore, for those of you who’ve had better things to worry about the last couple of years, is the “Ten Commandments Judge” who is challenging Alabama Gov. Bob Riley in the 2006 Republican primary. I confess that my reaction was, “How could anyone here be stupid enough to vote for him?”
“Here” is an affluent suburb of Birmingham, where the primary concern of most people I know is the maintenance of a truly excellent school system. That’s why we live here. Sure, they are Republicans (well, not all of them), but they’re not Roy Moore Republicans. Church membership might be tantamount to a residency requirement, but these folks aren’t about to sacrifice a science curriculum that will help their kids get into medical school in order to support intelligent design. They are Republicans because they are pro-business and pro-America and they’ve been convinced that the Republican Party embodies those values. And aren’t all upper middle class white people Republicans? (The answer to that question is NO, but I concede that most are.)
So why on earth would anyone here support Moore? I wish I knew, so I could figure out a way to change their minds. Roy would be an unmitigated disaster for this state, making us even more of a joke than we already are in the eyes of most Americans. Alabama needs a progressive governor who will push for constitutional reform (our current one has been amended 772 times and counting), tax reform (state income tax kicks in when a family of four makes $4,600 a year, while out of state landowners pay pennies per acre in property taxes), adequate funding for all public schools in the state, and a state-of-the-art regional public transportation system. We don’t need to have the Ten Commandments posted on schoolhouse walls, “God Bless America” squeezed onto our license plates, intelligent design taught in our schools, gay adoption banned and gay marriage re-banned – but all of these are being proposed by a Legislature full of pandering blowhards whose primary concern is re-election.
So far, none of the candidates for governor has shown the ability to lead the people of this state into the late 20th century, much less the 21st. Right now, the Democrats have a crook and a nonentity, and the Republicans have a pretty decent incumbent (who was badly burned in his first term when he pushed for real reform) and a religious demagogue. Can’t we do any better than this?
I think you underestimate the “nonentity” and the “pretty decent incumbent.” If a miracle were to happen, we would have the (for the first time in my 22 years in Alabama) pleasure of voting for one of two quality individuals with different visions for leading the State.
You do not, however, underestimate the electorate. The “crook” will absolutely get the Democratic nomination. And the Grand Cyclops with Oak Leaf Cluster of the Christian Jihad (”the demagogue”) will likely get the Republican nomination.
And everybody will try to out-Jesus each other. In a related story, Jesus wept.
Almost makes one ponder the possibility of an all Christian state, where they can all live together and take care of one another and discover that not all fellow believers were created equal.
Imagine a state run specifically under the Ten Commandments: can the state commit murder?? and what would constitute “coveting a neighbor’s ass?”
What did they say about Santorum? One of the greatest minds of the 13th century …
You have got to admit that this guy would provide blog material for years to come. However, all of you would have to move.
Barring some unforeseen stupidity on Bob Riley’s part, I don’t think Moore’s got the mojo to win the primary now, not compared to what he had in 2003 when the 10 Commandments rock circus was happening.
On the Dem side — who the hell knows? Baxley SHOULD be able to whip Siegelman, but….? Cynicism says: this state will probably elect a washed-up under-indictment man over a qualified woman. We loves us some testosterone (men only) in our leaders…
I still predict Riley beats Moore in the R primary; that means he can probably win re-election, though it might be close.
Bill, I’m with you — Jesus is weeping.
Earl, I wonder how long even the most conservative Christian woman would last in a state where she is defined as her husband’s property and included in the same category as his ox and his ass 8).
Yeah, Blogenfreude, we might be calling you for help with the job search in NY, but you’re right about the blog fodder.
Jeff, I hope you’re right about Riley. I can’t understand why any Democrat in the state would vote for Siegelman, but Baxley hasn’t (so far) done a very good job of defining herself. I’d guess many people in the state recognize her name, but they know nothing about her politics. Siegelman appears to be a shoo-in for the nomination right now.
As I’ve said before here, I don’t agree with Riley on lots of issues, but I respect his efforts to pass tax reform and his response to the hurricanes and the evacuees. He seems to be a man of integrity, efficiency, and compassion — and those are not words I generally use to describe politicians, especially not Alabama politicians.
I’ll say this for Roy: he has a loyal following. The lady behind him in the photo appears to have taken time out of childbirth to attend his rally (sorry, being from the state in question, sometimes all you can do is laugh–or weakly attempt to).
I agree with Bill that the “nonentity” may hold some promise, but we’re at T minus 1 year now. It’s time to step up and lay out a platform, especially if she’s wanting to show up Siegelman’s sudden pathetic display of what (I assume) he considers manhood. Sadly, that stuff sells here. Time to come out of the wings, Lucy. You’ve got 200 years of sh*t to call these men on.