I am grateful to live in a nation and a state that do not compel civic-minded, independent-thinking voters like me to join one of the political cults in order to exercise my right to vote for my preferred candidate, at least for the time being.
But I’ve lived through enough cycles to know that even when it seems the folks I don’t care for have won, there’s always another day and another election, at least for the time being. Over the past decade, however, I’ve had to accept that if we don’t choose leaders with the wisdom and humility to recognize the inherent danger that power brings with it, and the courage to confront its corrupting influence, free and fair elections in our country could become a thing of the past. Leaders who truly know how to fight the corruption that threatens our democratic republic don’t spend so much time searching for their adversaries’ corruption with a magnifying glass that they stop looking for the most dangerous corruption, the kind revealed only by the mirror of truth.
But politics uses a different kind of mirror, a magic mirror like the wicked witch used in the story of Cinderella, one that shows only what it wants us to see. It sets passions aflame and spreads deception like wildfire, leaving behind anger, contempt, and resentment. The leaders I admire most are not politicians in the traditional sense. I often wonder if they are becoming extinct. They build their campaigns around the prime elements of justice: truth and love. Unfortunately, few political campaigns have the time, discernment, desire or wherewithal to do so. And even if they did, it would be unnatural, counterintuitive and incredibly risky in today’s political environment.
But I believe that in rare circumstances it can still happen, with the right kind of supernatural interference. We can begin to understand how the ugly powers of this world work against the spirit of justice by taking a long look at the political machinations that took Jesus from the center of a parade in his honor to hanging on a cross in less than a week. But I’m glad the story doesn’t end there.
I guess that’s enough preaching for now. I just wanted to scatter a few seeds before wading into the political fray currently underway as a prelude to the upcoming showdown on May 19. There are so many constantly evolving variables that political prognosticating with any precision is impossible. Professional pollsters can provide a decent barometer of public opinion at a specific point in time, but unforeseen black swans, often with little or no direct connection to the candidates or offices involved, can suddenly shift public opinion and alter the outcome of a closely contested race. Attempting to gauge public opinion in a highly propagandized political environment can be like trying to paint a portrait of a spinning kaleidoscope.
A poll of likely GOP primary voters in the Alabama Senate race, conducted at the end of April by a reasonably reliable polling firm, seemed to confirm my gut feeling that a huge number of voters, 40 percent, remain undecided despite millions of dollars in campaign spending, most of it concentrated among the top three candidates: Congressman Barry Moore, 23 percent; Jarod Hudson, 19 percent; and Attorney General Steve Marshall, 14 percent. Those numbers make perfect sense to me and line up with a multitude of underlying factors that would probably bore the average voter. But there are black swans lurking off the conventional political radar.
All three frontrunners have given their solemn word to support the current president, and I have no reason to doubt that any of them will bend over backward to do whatever is demanded by the current occupant of the White House. I don’t believe any of them are bad people, but as a political dinosaur whose palate cannot adapt to the Trump-centered MAGA diet, none of them strike me as possessing the wisdom or tenacity to place the interests of the people of Alabama ahead of the whims of the billionaire who presently reigns over the government of the United States. Of course, now that I’m mostly a political outsider, all I really have to rely on is vapid campaign propaganda and media reports with a limited perspective. I don’t get to see these candidates up close and personal the way I once did.
The big question I believe the frontrunners are ignoring is this: How many of those 40 percent of undecided Republican primary voters yearn for the days when Ronald Reagan framed the central message of the Republican Party around hope, growth and opportunity instead of the spirit of bickering, blaming and boasting that seems to hover over it today? I strongly suspect a sizable portion of undecided voters are weary of the drama and ready for something less like professional wrestling and more like statesmanship. But are there enough of them, and are they fed up enough to move the numbers? I don’t know, and I don’t think anyone else does either.
As a moderate conservative who became obsolete within the Republican Party when right-wing populism and the MAGA movement took it over, the candidate who appeals most to me is Rodney Walker, a common-sense conservative and successful self-made businessman who does not seem inclined to let anyone pull his strings. He appears to possess the kind of humbling spiritual maturity that allows a person to recognize the danger of the prideful arrogance that gravitates toward power and to resist it when the opportunity presents itself. From my perspective, he seems the most likely to place the interests of the people of Alabama and the United States ahead of the self-serving political forces in Washington, including the current and any future occupant of the White House. Unfortunately, at less than 2 percent in the polls, he doesn’t appear to have a snowball’s chance in hell of making a runoff, much less winning. But for what it’s worth, I fully intend to exercise my civic duty and vote for the candidate I believe has the greatest potential to become the kind of U.S. senator and leader I admire, win or lose.
My guess is that, barring some unforeseen circumstance, the race is headed toward a runoff between Barry Moore and Jared Hudson. I don’t see much political energy moving in Steve Marshall’s direction for several reasons, including Barry Moore consolidating Trump loyalists and Hudson generating action-hero excitement among what I call the Charlie Kirk faction. Marshall’s blatant politicization of the attorney general’s office has left a bad taste in my mouth, and I suspect others within that 40 percent of undecided likely Republican primary voters feel the same way.
Political parties are not inanimate objects. They are dynamic organizations constantly evolving in one direction or another based on who they choose to include and who they choose to exclude. I believe one or both of our political parties are long overdue for a major realignment. I just wonder whether either still has a place for common-sense moderate conservatives like me. Maybe the May 19 primary results will give us some indication.
