It’s Election Day!

A grumpy opinion by Managing Editor Dr. Bill Chitwood

This is the part where I’m supposed to tell you how absolutely, critically important it is for you to go and cast your vote today, because:

“Today is the Most Important Election Day Ever In The History Of Ever!!!!!!”

And how many times have we heard that before? Hint: too many. 

Here’s another one: “If you don’t vote straight-ticket (select one: Red/Blue) our entire way of life will collapse!”

Uh huh. Of course it will. Because one particular tribe has all the answers, while the other is the source of all that’s evil and wicked and wrong in the cosmos.

Just…give it a rest, people. We’re not buying it anymore. Most of us are just exhausted, and tired of all the crap.

Don’t get me wrong—there were some very good people who threw their hats into the ring in the primaries. Really good fresh faces, who said some promising things.

Most of them lost. Go figure.

On the ballot today are too many of the same old faces. They may be saying all new things, to keep from getting de-elected (“We’re going to eliminate the grocery tax!”, anyone?) but we all know how likely that is to actually happen.

And here’s an Ugly Truth: more and more of us are waking up to the fact that our votes don’t actually matter all that much.

I know, I know; that’s considered utter heresy in some quarters.

It’s also demonstrably true.

At the national level, Voter ID is screamingly popular:

62% of Dems, 95% of Reps and 77% of Indies want it.

Can Congress pass it?

Pfffffffffft no.

And then there was that 2014 Princeton study, “Testing Theories of American Politics: Elites, Interest Groups, and Average Citizens” which found that “Multivariate analysis indicates that economic elites and organized groups representing business interests have substantial independent impacts on U.S. government policy, while average citizens and mass-based interest groups have little or no independent influence.”

Translation: what the oligarchs and donors want, they get. What regular people want doesn’t matter, in terms of what Congress does.

Well, duh.

At the State level, this couldn’t have been more obvious than in the last session with HB475 — a bill that started out really well, but ultimately became an abomination before God and man, but was exactly what a Big Mike wanted.

Remember HN475? Mack Butler introduced it, to make the PSC do its job. It was moving along well — until the Senate got ahold of it, gutted it, stuffed in the “Power to the People” bill, slammed it through both Senate and House on the same day, and rushed it across the way to MeeMaw’s desk.

“Power to the People” was a dead giveaway, because bills like that always do the exact opposite of their name. Rather than a clean fix to the PSC, we got a complete rearrangement, and appointed Energy Czar, and a requirement that it would take five of the seven PSC members to override the Energy Czar.

When was the last time you could get five out of seven Alabamians to agree on anything?

The gutted & stuffed bill passed the Senate without opposition (3 abstained, because they didn’t want to stand up and say NO to Alabama Power), and passed the House 72 to 26, with 2 abstains.

When the original sponsor of a bill won’t vote for it (Butler didn’t), that’s NEVER a good sign.

Just so you’ll know, here’s the list of House members who voted NO on the final version of HB475:

• Heath Allbright
• Gregory Barnes
• Mack Butler
• Susan DuBose
• Chris England
• Bob Fincher
• Mark Gidley
• Ben Harrison
• Jamie Kiel
• Craig Lipscomb
• James Lomax
• Rhett Marques
• Arnold Mooney
• Cindy Myrex
• Kenneth Paschal
• Phillip Pettus
• Neil Rafferty
• Chad Robertson
• Matt Simpson
• Scott Stadthagen
• Shane Stringer
• Allen Treadaway
• Kerry (Bubba) Underwood
• Tim Wadsworth
• Randy Wood
• Ernie Yarbrough

The lesson we learned here is that what Alabama power wants, Alabama power gets. The people of Alabama didn’t want the PSC reorganized — they wanted them to actually hold the power company accountable for their rates.

Instead, they got an Energy Czar and the facade of “more representation.”

It’s been interesting to see those who voted yes try to justify their votes with all kinds of mealy-mouthed excuses. Interesting — but not effective at all, at least not on me.

Lots of people have litmus tests. For some, it’s gambling. For others, abortion. Get on the wrong side of that issue, and you lose that vote forever.

HB475 is my litmus test. Unless you voted NO on it, as far as I’m concerned, you need to not go back to Goat Hill. Buh bye.

I don’t expect anyone else to feel that way. That’s fine, too. That’s how representative democracy is supposed to work.

Just please don’t tell me how much my vote matters, because all the evidence clearly says it really doesn’t — not without a big check changing hands.

Because in Montgomery, regardless of what happens in the election, the Big Mules will continue to effectively run this State. In Washington, it’s the same thing — donors and oligarchs play the tune Congress dances to.

And don’t get me started on our election machines. That’s a whole other rant or six.

I still intend to vote, if for no other reason than a few smaller races might actually matter.

But realistically?

I expect what always happens to happen again.

Prices, taxes, inflation and corruption go up.

Freedom, affordability, liberty and peace of mind go down.

And then history will cycle once again, and…well, we’re due to water that Tree of Liberty again.

God have mercy on us all.

Now GO VOTE!

Dr. Bill Chitwood is the Managing Editor of ALPolitics.com. He is the author, under his nom de guerre Doc Contrarian, of Beyond MAGA: From Trump campaign slogan to political movement to restoring the Republic. He identifies as Conservatarian Contrarian and a staunch Constitutional Originalist. He enjoys being called a First Amendment Nazi — mainly because he is.

Opinions do not reflect the views and opinions of ALPolitics.com. ALPolitics.com makes no claims nor assumes any responsibility for the information and opinions expressed above.

And in case you’re wondering, here’s the final House vote on HB475: