This November: Part 4
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Give me Liberty
Rodger Williamson
Again, picking up from where I left off from last week, I continue with my thoughts regarding the candidates for governor of Alabama.
Dean Odle is a pastor. Dean Odle did qualify to be a candidate for the position of governor of Alabama. Odle also believes that the earth is flat, that the moon landing was faked by NASA, that QAnon is real, that there is someone who knows about the arrests of a group of secret criminals that will lead to the re-installation of Donald Trump as president, and that Pizzagate was a real child pedophile ring being run out of a Washington, D.C., pizza parlor. If Odle were to be governor of Alabama, or even a legit candidate, the media would have a field day with him.
Dean Young is a businessman who was raised in rural Mississippi. Young dropped out of high school at age 16 in order to enroll into the University of Southern Mississippi, where he would graduate at age 20. His career experience includes working as a businessman in both real estate and in marketing.
Young ran for Congress in Alabama’s 1st District in 2013 and in 2016, losing both times to Bradley Byrne. He then served as an Orange Beach Planning and Zoning commissioner. Young also worked as an aide to former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore, which would explain his zeal for the Ten Commandments Constitutional Amendment.
To me, this puts Young into the category of politicians who apparently are unable to separate their religion from their politics. (Note: I am not bashing anyone’s religion, I just believe that politics are, and should, be secular, while religion is theological and should focus upon the spiritual needs of mankind.)
Young has also called for an amendment to prohibit tolls on interstate roads and bridges. This is a response to the Ivey administration’s plan for a toll to support construction of an Interstate 10 bridge and bayway in Mobile. While that plan was dropped because of loudly voiced opposition by the citizens of south Alabama, Young’s amendment, if passed, would prevent that sort of thing from being attempted again.
Dave Thomas, our final Republican that I am reviewing (and my personal favorite), is the current mayor of Springville, Alabama. Thomas had previously served two terms as a state legislator from 1994-2002, and he has attracted attention for his stance in favor of marijuana legalization.
“I believe we ought to legalize it and decriminalize it,” Thomas said. “It has been part of holistic medicine for over 3,000 years. It’s proven now. People used to say there’s no scientific evidence of its medical benefits. There’s plenty now. It’s helped with the opioid epidemic.”
His stance on marijuana reflects his emphasis on personal freedoms.
“It’s illustrative of a passion for liberty,” he said. “My liberty is not someone else’s to grant. They can ruin your life over a natural substance that requires no processing whatsoever.”
Thomas believes he’ll connect with people on issues such as marijuana decriminalization and his call to abolish grocery taxes and the state income tax as several neighboring states have.
While Thomas has not to my knowledge made any statements regarding his Libertarian leanings, his Libertarian leanings are obvious to this Libertarian.
… As I wrap up the Republican candidates and switch over to review the Democrats, I feel safe in saying that the likelihood is the winner of the Republican primary in May will be Alabama’s next governor.
Again, because of the limitations of space available for a weekly opinion column, I must stop here, and I will begin to sort through the Democratic Party candidates for the position of governor of Alabama in next week’s “Coosa County News.”