Wahl Casts November election as Fight for Freedom

Republican Lieutenant Governor nominee John Wahl used his time before President Donald Trump’s rally Friday to cast the November election as a fight over freedom, the size of government and Alabama’s political direction.

Speaking at the Mitchell Center at the University of South Alabama, Wahl told the crowd that the stakes go well beyond normal party politics.

“I want you to know that I love you and I respect every one of you,” Wahl said. “We are in a battle for the very heart and soul of this nation.”

“If we’re honest about it, this is not a political battle. This is a spiritual battle. This is a battle between light and darkness, between good and evil, between freedom and slavery,” he said.

Wahl, the immediate past Chairman of the Alabama Republican Party, accused the Democratic Party of moving sharply to the left.

“This is not the Democrat Party of our parents and our grandparents. This is a socialist movement, and socialism will destroy this country,” Wahl said.

He drew a comparison to President Ronald Reagan, arguing that conservatives today face many of the same ideological fights Reagan faced during the Cold War.

“I realized that we’re fighting the same battle that Ronald Reagan was. Now, Ronald Reagan was fighting the battle of socialism from without. We’re fighting the battle of socialism from within,” Wahl said.

Wahl linked that argument to his campaign for Lieutenant Governor, saying his core issue is limiting government power and protecting individual rights.

“I’m running for Lieutenant Governor for these reasons we’re talking about, because I believe in freedom,” he said. “They believe they know how to raise your children better than you do, and let me tell you, they don’t. They believe they know how to run the economy better than the free market. They don’t.”

Wahl also defended tax provisions backed by Trump and congressional Republicans, including provisions dealing with tips, overtime and Social Security.

“They want to take tax cuts away,” Wahl said. “And my answer to them is no, not at all.”

He then turned toward Alabama, promising to use the Lieutenant Governor’s office as a platform for conservative policy and saying the State should seek a larger role in shaping the national debate.

“I will not lie down. I will not surrender, and I will never stop fighting for your God-given rights,” Wahl said.

“So, that’s my commitment to you today. I’m going to be your voice in Montgomery. I’m going to be your voice fighting for every single one of your rights, for the Constitution, and for the values that made our country what it is,” he added.

Wahl said he hopes to work alongside Republican gubernatorial nominee Tommy Tuberville and GOP lawmakers to make Alabama a national model.

“With Governor Tommy Tuberville, with Lieutenant Governor John Wahl, and with so many members of our State House and our State Senate in this room, we’re going to make Alabama the greatest State in this nation,” Wahl said.

“I want to see our State leading the nation when it comes to conservative principles, when it comes to defending people’s rights and freedom, and when it comes to standing up with common sense.”

Wahl closed by urging supporters to turn out Nov. 3.

“I want you as patriots, people who love this nation, to get out and vote,” he said.

Wahl’s full remarks may be seen on the Right Side Broadcasting Network YouTube channel or below: