Many of you are aware that I used to be a staunchly conservative Republican, and while I still agree with many of their policies, some of their positions have sent me speeding toward the center over the last year and a half. The problem is really visible in our own state’s gubernatorial race this year.
On the right, we have Doctor Robert Bentley, the aged Republican dermatologist, and on the left we have the much younger, more energetic Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks. If the differences in ideology are not immediately apparent, you could make an educated guess about what party each one belongs to just by looking at them.
And that’s exactly the problem.
Bentley is just another politician in a long line of old, out-of-touch Republicans who run for governor based on outmoded, outdated and simply idiotic principles and morals that will succeed in holding our state back as we move into the future.
I’m not saying Sparks is a vast improvement, but at least he recognizes that the days of morality rule in Alabama law are drawing to a close.
I’m talking, of course, about gambling.
In case anyone was unaware, which I doubt, Sparks supports a lottery system and Bentley flatly opposes gambling of any kind, but, to be fair, has said he would allow the issue to a vote.
How generous is that? Doctor Bentley will allow us to vote on what we want for our state. What a great governor he will make.
Not.
It gets worse. Bentley said during the primary that while he will allow the gambling issue to come to a vote, he trusts that “the good Christian people of Alabama will vote it down.” He went on to say in the debate on our campus on Sept. 16, “There is not a single state in this country that has benefited from gambling.”
I’m not even sure that either of those comments are intelligent enough to respond to.
At any rate, my real problem with Bentley is his religious conviction. I’m not saying I have a problem with all religious people, because that’s definitely not the case.
What I am saying is that when people who run for office are so connected with their church that they will legislate their morality onto others, I have a problem. Think back to Mike Huckabee, who ran for president even though he was a former clergyman.
This just in, Bentley is a deacon at his church.
Last I checked, we believed in a separation of church from state. We live under a representative democratic system, not a Christian theocracy. I’d have the same problem if any other religion’s clergy ran for office, too.
The issue here is that I don’t appreciate politicians legislating from their religious convictions. It isn’t as though we all share a common religion we all believe should be codified into law (think Iran.)
Bentley, whether or not he even realizes it, is doing just that, and has been doing it his whole time in the legislature by never voting to support Sunday alcohol sales in Tuscaloosa. Why do we not sell alcohol on Sunday? What significance does that day hold?
For Bentley and plenty of others, it is the day they go to church, but for me, and plenty of others, it’s just the second day of the weekend and NFL day.
Why should we not be able to buy alcohol (I’m 21, by the way) on a day others prefer to refrain from drinking simply because others prefer to abstain on Sunday and have legislated it? Being 21 gives me the legal right to buy alcohol, but not on the Christian day of worship? How does that make sense for everyone?
The simple fact is that it doesn’t.
To be sure, I can’t accurately predict how either Bentley or Sparks will behave as governor, but I can tell you that I will never support someone who formulates his policy positions after consulting with his religious beliefs.
I want a governor who wants to do what is best for the state, not what’s best for his religion.
Paul Thompson is a senior majoring in political science. His column runs bi-weekly on Thursdays.
