With the election only two weeks away, I wanted to take a look at my ballot and remind myself why I am voting for who I am voting for, and why I am voting against the folks I am voting against. I also wanted to lay out the case for anyone I may know that is not sure who they are voting for yet.
Because I do want to go through the entirety of my ballot, this will be long. However, for the folks that don’t want to read the whole thing, or for the folks who may not live in the same districts as me, I do want to lay out a grand narrative so to speak, and to offer some election day advice: your default should be voting for Democrats.
Now, not even too long ago, I would have recoiled at such a statement. “It’s so partisan,” I can hear myself thinking — and it is. It is partisan, but for good reason. The parties are different, alright? Now, some revolutionary socialists and anarcho-capitalists may disagree with that, but they are simply wrong. The Democratic Party is not where I want it to be, and not by a longshot. They still by and large embrace corruption by corporations, they still can’t seem to kick their addiction to the donations of the millionaire and billionaire class, many of them can’t seem to defend the liberties of Americans against the warrantless 4th amendment violations of the Patriot Act and the NSA, the establishment still rigs the game against opposition candidates in primaries, and they let the Republicans steamroll over them for the sake of some lofty notion of civility and collegiality that the Republicans simply do not have. So believe me, I’ve got my criticism of the Democratic Party, and I will get as red in the face as anybody when talking about how utterly clueless the elite political strategist class and establishment types in the Democratic Party. But here’s what: on every single criticism that I have of the Democratic Party, the Republicans are worse. Tell me how many Republicans are running without corporate money? None. How many stood up to the three past presidents when they either passed or re-authorized the NSA and Patriot Act? Almost none. How many have come out strongly against the Drug War? Again, almost none. So yes, I’ve got my problems with Democrats, and they are substantial, but the problems I see in the Democratic Party are exponentially greater in the Republican Party.
When we move into the things that are positive about the Democratic Party — the contrast becomes even starker.
On healthcare: the Democrats are basically universally in favor of expanding access to healthcare, whether that be through a public option, Medicare-for-All, or even at the state level, simply expanding Medicaid. Even the non Medicare-for-All proposals would significantly increase the number of insured people, decrease overall healthcare costs, and most importantly save lives. In the richest country in the history of the world, I believe that we should try to move as close as possible to a society where everybody has got an equal opportunity to succeed and the bare minimum for an equal opportunity is that you not be dead, and I don’t think that is terribly controversial. The Republicans (including our own Attorney General) are leading the charge against healthcare for everyday Americans, by bringing lawsuits against the ACA, pushing proposals that would result in an estimated 20+ million people not having insurance that otherwise would, and ending protections for pre-existing conditions (even though they deny the last bit).
On education: Democrats are nearly universally in favor of increased investment in public schools. This is not only important for the children, who need a good education to have an equal opportunity to succeed, but also for our educators. Educators in Alabama make less than they did a decade ago. This is appalling. As someone who hopes to be a parent, I believe it is obvious that our educators, the people who will be molding our future generations, should be paid a decent middle class wage. We need to guarantee for them a certain standard of living — because if that is not provided, they will be forced to work second jobs just to make ends meet. If you have ever worked more than one job, you know that it is extremely draining, and nearly impossible to give your best effort every single say at every single job. We need our educators to be the best they can be. Democrats (sometimes) fight for them. Republicans don’t. Democrats also almost universally are in support of various plans to reduce the burden of higher education on students, and tackle the student debt crisis (and believe me when I say it is a crisis).
Let’s go to Alabama issues — almost every single Democrat favors an education lottery and legalized gambling. Republicans on the other hand, are much more divided. An education lottery would bring in an estimated $200 to $300 million, and this through completely voluntary exchanges (read — not taxes). So many Alabama dollars are going to pay for the colleges of children in Georgia and Tennessee, isn’t it time that we start caring about our own kids?
On prisons: Republicans are open to supporting the private prison industry, Democrats by and large do not. One of the most uncontroversial stances I could imagine a politician making is saying that it is a horrible idea to set up a system that incentivizes recidivism because it makes the paychecks of some big wigs fatter. Republicans in Alabama however, seem to be open to the idea.
On infrastructure: Republicans have allowed the infrastructure in this state to crumble, with our overall grade by the American Society of Civil Engineers being mediocre, our roads specifically being poor, and our governor’s Department of Transportation having no plan to expand I-565 until 2043, by which time it will be running through the largest city in Alabama. The GOP mantra of “taxes bad, tax cuts good,” leads them with dwindling funds to support necessary operations of a state. The gas tax in Alabama hasn’t been touched since 1992, which means that its value has been decimated by more than 2 decades of inflation, and more fuel efficient cars driving more miles with less gas. It’s no wonder our roads and bridges are crumbling.
On Roy Moore: I can only think of one Republican who did not endorse Roy Moore. Roy Moore, for those who do not recall, was the Republican nominee for US Senate in 2017 who had very credible allegations of sexual assault levied against him. So credible in fact, that even young conservative “cool kid” Ben Shapiro encouraged people not to vote for Roy Moore. Even with the allegations aside however, Roy Moore is a bigot. That much is plain and simple. You can not advocate for the criminalization of homosexuality and be anything less. You cannot say that someone of a different religion cannot serve in our American Congress and be anything less. A party or a person that would not denounce such an odious individual does not deserve even your consideration, much less your vote.
I’m sure there are other issues that are important to folks, but these are the issues that I believe touch the broadest swath of the electorate, and I think that it can be summed up like this: broadly speaking, a left wing ideology supports freedom, and rejects the thinking that government programs necessarily mean less freedom (because it is false), and the Democrats are the closest we’ve got in most places for most races to a left wing party (and some are quite far from this indeed — I’m look at you Joe Manchin). The freedom that I am talking about I believe is the only meaningful freedom. No, it isn’t the freedom of the wealthy to pay a lower effective tax rate than their secretaries. No, it isn’t the freedom for the ruling class to buy elections. No, it isn’t the freedom for big pharmaceutical companies to charge more than a medicine is worth to a dying patient without any other options, and it isn’t the freedom for big corporations to prevent workers from trying to get the wages they earned and to prevent them from exercising their rights to collective bargaining. The freedom that I am talking about is the freedom of knowing that if you fall ill — you will not go bankrupt, that if you get hit by a train, the first words out of your mouth won’t have to be “please don’t call an ambulance.” The freedom I am talking about is the freedom of being able to know you will have the opportunity of higher education if you have the ability — regardless of your income. The freedom to know that you will be taken care of in retirement (really — what senior would tell you they would be less free without Medicare and Social Security). This is the narrative that I think makes sense, that seems to be backed up by the facts, going into these midterm elections. The Republicans seem to stand in fervent opposition to everything I believe in, everything I stand for, and everything that I think can make America great. I will not be voting for a single one on my ballot in 2018.
Now, having said that, I do believe that assessing the qualifications, personality, positions, and record of every candidate on your ballot. While I will personally not be voting for a single Republican this year, I concede there may be special circumstances that would warrant such a vote. While I believe that voting for Democrats should be the default this year, I do believe that as a voter, we should be educated about all of the races and make sure we are in a position to know of such a circumstance should it arise. With that mindset, I not only want to make the general case to vote for Democrats, but I want to make the case to vote for each of the Democrats on my ballot individually. If you are a conservative and have not been convinced by my general argument, I truly believe that at least some of my individual arguments would sway anyone with an open mind, because there are some very odious figures running with an R next to their name that do not need power (if you are in fact a more conservative person with an open mind, then please do pay special attention to my arguments for the Democratic candidate in the AL Supreme Court elections, the attorney generals race, state auditor, secretary of state, and public service commission). I will be working off the sample ballot for Madison County, which can be found here, going from top to bottom.
For governor, I will be voting for Walt Maddox. I will be casting this vote mostly for my general reasons. Walt Maddox, while unfortunately not an outspoken leftist but a moderate, self described “blue dog” Democrat, is still a Democrat. He advocates an education lottery and legalized gambling, he intends to expand Medicaid in the first hour of his administration. These things, while basically the bare minimum for somebody as left as I am, would still have huge consequences in the lives of thousands of Alabamians. When the choice is between the status quo or even backsliding, and small incremental reforms, the small incremental reforms still win out, even if I think we should go much further. We can look at his job during the tornado recovery and Tuscaloosa’s subsequent growth to see that he is an effective leader. Indeed — Tuscaloosa can be even more instructive, because far from being a solidly liberal oasis, it is a purple city that has elected Maddox as mayor 4 times, with more than 90% of the vote. He is loved by the people of his city, and that should ease the worry of many conservatives who fear voting for a Democrat, possibly for the first time in a long time.
For Lt. Governor, I will be voting for Will Boyd. Will Boyd is one of the most enthusiastic Democrats I have seen on the campaign trail in the past couple of years. He is the minister of a historic congregation in Florence, Alabama, and this shows when he speaks. He is a strong advocate for workers, the underserved, and the people. This, coupled with his stances for Medicaid expansion, a higher minimum wage, etc., makes me confident in his ability to be the Lt. Governor of Alabama.
I will be enthusiastically voting for Peter Joffrion for the United States House of Representatives in Alabama’s 5th district. He is exactly the kind of progressive that we need in Congress representing us, fighting for Medicare-for-All, higher minimum wages, and demanding transparency from the executive branch of the federal government. His stent as a Huntsville city attorney proves his ability to work for the people of North Alabama and be a part of big economic deals that benefit constituents, and his opponent’s dismal record of gaffes, like saying people who lead good lives are healthy (the implication being bad people are unhealthy, and explicitly saying unhealthy people, aka people with pre-existing conditions, should pay more), or that falling rocks lead to sea level rise are an embarrassment to our state and our district. He has repeatedly voted against the best interests of our district, and he refuses to engage with opponents during election season. We need someone new representing us in Washington, we need someone better. We need Peter Joffrion.
For Attorney General of the great state of Alabama, I will be voting for Joe Siegelman. If there is any office that the non-dominant party should occupy, it would be Attorney General (AG). The AG is the top law enforcement officer in the state, and with that title comes the ability to shape our prison policy. The Republican in the race has refused to answer questions on private prisons, the excuse being that he cannot give his personal opinion on a matter the state is currently litigating. This is obviously an absurd position, probably taken because he knows that his personal opinion is politically toxic. I have already talked about how that incentive structure is just awful, and Joe Siegelman recognizes this. He would fight the push to allow private corporations to run our prison system, he would fight the push to build more prisons (I can’t think of anything we need less in the country with the highest incarceration rate in the world than more prisons), and he would fight the special interests. Additionally — and this is why it helps to have someone from the non-dominant party in this office — the AG is responsible for going after violations of our ethics laws by politicians. The Republicans have been governing themselves for about a decade now, and with multiple convictions, cover-ups, and side shows, they have proven they can not be trusted. Not to mention, Steve Marshall was the one appointed to the AG office by disgraced former governor Robert Bentley, and the Luv Guv was able to walk free from his awful abuse of office with basically no penalty. Additionally, Steve Marshall accepted illegal campaign contributions and refuses to return them, and our Ethics Commission (appointed by Republicans) refuses to call a special session on this before the election to inform the voters about this. Marshall’s campaign was in clear violation of the law, and neither his office not our Ethics Commission seems to care. Even prominent Republicans (including Steve Marshall’s own former partner and mentor) are backing Siegelman because of Marshall’s blatant disinterest in the rule of law. We can not allow Marshall to retain this seat — he has proven he does not care about corruption in government, he just wants power. Joe Siegelman for Attorney General.
For state senator, I will be voting for Deborah Barros for State Senate District 7. Her clear priorities, especially on the stupidity of criminalizing marijuana use is a breath of fresh air, this in contrast with her opponent who still sticks to tired, debunked talking points about the dangers of marijuana use and it being a gateway drug. It is objectively less harmful than tobacco and alcohol, and it is not a gateway drug. Additionally, it is important to vote for Democrats in the state senate to break the Republican supermajority so that Democrats can have a say when it comes to redistricting. The Republicans have proven that they are more than willing to gerrymander districts to their advantage, so we need enough Democrats in the legislature to hold them accountable.
Now, I don’t live in state senate district 2, but if you do, you should vote for Amy Wasyluka. Her story as a cancer survivor is inspirational, and it was a driving factor in her decision to run for office. She knows the difficulty of life with a pre-existing condition in the world before ObamaCare, and she knows we can’t go back to that. Additionally, her opponent is just a career politician who will do whatever it takes to get elected. He held this seat in 2010 as a Democrat, and is now expecting the same constituents to send him back as a Republican. We need fresh blood in the legislature, not dinosaurs trying to resurrect a failed career.
For the State House of Representatives, I will be voting for Coach Terry Jones in district 21. He has a proven history of public service, and would be an asset to the community in the legislature. Linda Meigs in district 20 is also great — I’m not sure that I’ve ever seen anyone work so hard for the opportunity to represent her constituents. Having knocked well over 5,000 doors at this point by herself, she has more than proven that she is willing to work for the people in her district, and her dedicated slate of volunteers — many of them former students — suggest that those closest to her know she is the right person for the job. JB King in district 10 is also running a great campaign. In a district where Doug Jones garnered 58% percent of the vote, somehow the incumbent has escaped an election challenge in sixteen years. JB is finally offering the voters a choice, and the contrast is real. A young, working man with a background in engineering and a passion for public service is the perfect fit for one of the districts that support the Rocket City. All of these candidates are running tireless campaigns, staking out bold policy positions on Medicaid expansion, private prison abolition, and working to help make Alabama a state for the many, not for the few.
I will be voting for Bob Vance (of Vance Refrigeration… ba-dum-tss) for Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court. He is immensely qualified, having a long tenure on the lower Alabama courts, and his opponent is another Roy Moore. Tom Parker, Moore’s protégé, is so tightly wound up with the failed US Senate candidate from 2017 that Bob Vance has racked up numerous high profile Republican endorsements, including former Republican members of the Alabama Supreme Court. We can’t have another Roy Moore leading our state’s highest court — we need Bob Vance to restore legitimacy and decency.
Donna Wesson Smalley, in one of the most under-reported races in the election, is running for Associate Justice for the Alabama Supreme Court against Jay Mitchell, who was an attorney for former House Speaker Mike Hubbard, who was found guilty on 12 counts of corruption. Those counts include voting with a conflict of interest, and using his office for personal gain. After this ruling, Jay Mitchell and other attorney’s were hard at work trying to overturn this ruling, fighting for Hubbard, not the people of Alabama. We cannot allow lawyers who fight for corruption onto our state’s highest court. Honestly, when I found this out, I was astounded that he is even in the running. His actions should be disqualifying. Donna Smalley has a long record as an attorney that has earned her many endorsements, including from prominent Republicans, as well. Donna Smalley is the obvious choice for this seat.
For Secretary of State, I will be voting for Heather Milam. She is a passionate advocate for voting rights, which is the only kind of person for the job. She is knowledgeable about what the job entails, unlike her opponent, who bizarrely went on a twitter rampage against his constituents because he did not know what early voting means. Her opponent also cheapens the legacy of the Civil Rights Movement, distorts the intentions of figures like Martin Luther King, to justify his anachronistic views on the accessibility of voting. Unlike her opponent, Heather Milam believes that any unnecessary barriers to voting should be removed, and she is a proud advocate of automatic voter registration, ending felony disenfranchisement, and early voting. Her opponent is not, presumably because he will not do as well the easier it becomes for people to exercise their right to vote.
For State Auditor — the obvious choice is Miranda Joseph. Her opponent has zero qualifications for this position. This should ideally be a nonpartisan position, and the person with the best qualifications should win. Jim Zeigler is a bizarre, gaffe-prone individual who doesn’t even have a degree in auditing, unlike Miranda Joseph. I hope that people can see she is the only person for this job.
For Public Service Commission, I will be voting for Cara McClure and Kari Powell for Place 1 and 2 respectively. Running a coordinated campaign — they are focusing on some common sense issues that set them apart from their Republican counterparts. They want to eliminate the solar fee, aimed at stunting a budding industry, they want to bring transparency to the office by making the meetings open to the public, and they want to cut the ties that the office has to the fossil fuel industry. Alabama has some of the highest utility bills in the country, and Cara and Kari want to work to change that.
Jessica Fortune Barker has my vote for the State Board of Education, Place 8. A young, energetic woman, she will be a breath of fresh air when contrasted to the rest of the board. Endorsed by the PCCC, she will be a strong advocate for progressive change in Alabama’s schools.
I will be voting against the first state wide amendment, which would authorize display of the Ten Commandments on public school property. I am doing this for multiple reasons. For one, I am firmly in favor of the separation of church and state, and once you break down that wall, you will be made to allow any religious organization to erect a statue on your property. Arkansas learned this the hard way when they attempted to do something similar, and they ended up with a statue of Satan in front of their state house. Do we want statues of Satan in our schools? I don’t. I am also not much of a fan of virtue signaling, and the people who crafted this amendment are doing expressly that. I believe faith should be practiced as one wishes, not forced on others. I believe that the Bible stakes out a similar position.
I will be voting against the second state wide amendment that would totally outlaw abortion in Alabama if Roe Vs. Wade is overturned. Now, I am pro-choice, but you do not even have to be pro-choice to oppose this amendment. This would almost certainly outlaw the termination of pregnancy in any circumstances, including rape, incest, and life of the mother. That is an extreme position that no one would want implemented.
I will not be voting for or against the third state wide amendment, as I do not have enough knowledge on the subject, and do not care to learn enough about it to feel that I am making an informed vote.
I will be voting for the fourth state wide amendment, because it just seems like common sense. It would allow a seat in the state legislature to stay vacant instead of using tax money to fund a special election, for which the winner would not even have the opportunity to cast a vote as a lawmaker. I’ve seen a lot of unwarranted skepticism and outrage over this, saying it disenfranchises voters, but don’t fall for it. It makes almost no difference as far as voters being represented in the legislature, and it makes good fiscal sense. Vote for it.
I hope that some of my more conservative friends and family will read this through and doing some independent research on these candidates. Even if they can’t see fit to vote for the entire Democratic slate, there are some Republicans on the ballot that are corrupt and compromised to an incredible degree, and there is simply no parallel on the Democratic side. Now, you may say that this is simply a function of the Democrats not having the same institutional power as the Republicans, and they will be corrupt once they get it. I don’t think that is true, I have had the opportunity to meet and shake hands with every single person I am voting for this year and I honestly have faith in the goodness of basically all of them. I believe they have a heart for public service and they genuinely want to make Alabama a state for the many, not the few. However, even if you don’t buy that, we still should not accept corruption. We can’t become complacent. We must say, with a loud voice, that corruption will not be tolerated in Alabama when there is a better option, and this year — there is. Many of these Republicans have proven they do not have our best interests at heart, and are in this for their own gain. They should not and can not be allowed to hold power over the people of the great state of Alabama.
Vote out corrupt politicians. Drain the swamp. Support people that will support you. Vote for Democrats in Alabama in 2018.
