For a hot minute, I thought I may be wrong about all of the hard work I put into Will Boyd’s Senatorial campaign in the fall of 2022 as a participant in donating, contacting radio stations and setting out yard signs. I even got into an online tiff with a prominent political pundit from a non profit newspaper when we agued about how qualified Katie Britt was after she won. This, after an article he published stating she could be the state’s first Vice President one day. There was a time I felt it best to write him and apologize. There were the newsfeeds I’d discover concerning how some progressives across the state were giving her their endorsement. How Mo Brooks accused her of being an asset for the Alabama Democratic Party. How some even in the state’s environmental rights quadrant were justifying her public service. Then the rebuttle happened and I knew my gut instinct from 2022 was much more primed and primal than I ever gave it credit for. It made me remember the complaints Michael Durant had against her campaign for supposedly nefarious activity. He never specified what that behavior was, yet endorsed ‘nut bag’ Mo Brooks. Which said alot. Mo Brooks was too tired to sip jello out cup in a local nursing home.
Like a lot of people last week, I went from wanting to rage online on one of her social media apps – especially toward her dishonest and incompetent spokesperson, if this is the same clown who ran her campaign then he certainly could use a spanking, to realizing it’s sophomoric to beat a dead horse. In the time I could’ve piled onto the ‘Britt’ grave I gladly walked away from an opportunity so many in Alabama probably didn’t, I used it as a time of introspection. I realized in that place that there are so many more to blame than the Republican Party or even Katie Britt.
As we bend toward at least 35 – 40 % of America adopting theocratic authoritarianism, March’s rebuttle was bound to manifest such a paradigm. Why not in a state where this type of sentiment is as strong as anywhere, even compared to other ‘red’ states? What happened last month has everything to do with the reality of a large segment of America unwilling to adhere to the principle of ‘separation of church and state.’ Even as a Christian myself, I see the merits of such a principle and see it as founding Christians centuries ago realizing the dangers of such an invention being trangressed. The rebuttle was a moment that shamed Alabama beyond what we can recover from for years to come, but also evangelical Christianity in general. And let’s be clear, both entities are at a point of shame, distrust and disdain by outsiders because of no ‘demarcation of limitation’ in how far down the hole of insanity both institutions will go.
Sure the madness of MAGA, the tragedy and banality of Trumpian strategy; it was evident Trump could have endorsed Britt, even two years ago with having her in mind for his ticket, brought us this national embarrasment as well. All from a man who would not have even been on any ticket in a more sane social climate as recently as twenty years ago. Yet, factions of the Alabama Democratic Party are less but more strategically to blame for the fallout as much as religious fanaticism or Donald Trump. The reality of the ADP being a numbers minority or a ‘perception’ liability in the state hasn’t seemed to be a point of concern to the party’s black caucus leader, Joe Reed, the ADP’s current cancer and puppet master. Why should it matter to anyone who has had their time in the sun and is now selfishly enjoying their golden years in the madness of made up victimization while trying to conjure up accomplishments of a bygone era? A time when any southern progressive movement contained black southerners and white northerners, only. All encapsulated into a mindset of believing every democratic southerner is still a ‘dixiecrat’ in disquise. While sucking the life out of funding for the party like a malignant tumor hurting decent candidates who’d actually represent the state well. And scaring off more decent candidates, donors and voters through it all. In the end, causing atrophy for the party. With ‘guns ablaze’ could Will Boyd have won two falls ago? Even with a democratic party in unison and hitting on all cyclinders, the outcome would have been different numbers wise, if not final results wise. Possibly 15 to 20 points closer. Yet, a healthy, Joe Reed less party would have galvanzied hope for the next term. And the terms after that!
With the Alabama Republican Party proving they are at an historical ‘low tide’ in the type of candidates they are churning out, it’s a historical fumble the Alabama Democratic Party is not going to be capable of taking advantage of to ‘win the game’ any time soon. And that’s what is so damn tragic about the situation. And who knows maybe next presidential campaign term, the GOP’s next mad man or woman can promote another Alabama federal rep to give a rebuttle from a garage or maybe even a bathroom while sitting on toilet. Because, which ever one it’d be………it wouldn’t be any less tragic than what has become of the Alabama Democratic Party and how it treats it’s progressive faction the states independent voters…..who only want to stop this crap! Four years from now, I hear that toilet flushing already. If it’s from a bathroom let’s just hope it’s a rebuttle against Biden again. Because we can’t handle four years of Trump. Nor even four more hours of Joe.
-J
#JoeReed
#KatieBritt
#SOTUrebuttle
