| BAPTISTS TODAY
News Release www.baptiststoday.org |
September 2, 2003
AUBURN, Ala. -- For Alabama, Tuesday, September 9 is High Noon. When the smoke clears, the state will either be sinking evermorebehind the other 49 states, or beginning a journey to greatness, according to Alabama Governor Bob Riley.
The road to the voting booth has been arduous and divisive. Although the weariness of miles and opposition was evident in the Governor’s face last week at an Auburn University forum, his commitment to the cause was firm and unwavering.
Speaking to a mostly-full auditorium, Riley the politician spoke plainly, forthrightly, and seemingly from his heart as he repeatedly voiced both love and concern for his home state. Tax reform is “not just about taxes,” he insisted. The real issue? To “invest in something which allows Alabama to achieve a level of greatness never before seen.” The timing is critical. Alabama is last in “all things good” because the state has had “dysfunctional models for the last 40 years and never changed them.” Education is the key. “Education will never be expensive as ignorance,” and if the $1.2 billion tax package is not passed, the state’s economy and infrastructure will continue to suffer, according to Riley.
Although willing to cut essential services if the voters reject Amendment One, the Governor clearly believes the best thing for Alabama is tax reform for the purpose of providing education and opportunity for the state’s citizens. Not everyone agrees, however, and Riley has repeatedly voiced frustration over misrepresentations of the plan. In essence, lower income families will pay less taxes, tax breaks will be provided to a myriad of groups, including senior citizens, while the richest residents will pay more in taxes. In other words, those who can afford to pay more taxes are being asked to do so. Yet many voters are under the impression that the typical working class family will be taxed heavily if the Amendment is passed, a view promulgated by Riley’s own anti-tax Republican Party.
As Auburn University professor Dr. Wayne Flynt noted during last week’s forum, the time for partisanship is past; it is time for Alabamians to work together to solve serious problems confronting the state. Yet partisanship has taken on a different meaning this time around as many Democrats have rallied around Riley while Republicans and closely-aligned religious conservatives have splintered over Amendment One. Regardless of the vote on September 9, Riley’s political career is clearly under jeopardy from within his own ranks, yet the Governor presses ahead with the message that now is the time for Alabama to begin the journey to greatness.
Dr. Gene Stanaland, current president of GSE Enterprises, Inc., and former Auburn professor and local civil leader, aptly summed up the implications of September 9: “What we are talking about is the future of our children and grandchildren.” Rev. Clifford Jones, pastor of Greater Peace Baptist Church and local civil leader, framed the upcoming vote as a matter of individual selfishness versus the common good of uplifting Alabamians as a whole.
High Noon in Alabama is one week away. Governor Riley may well lose no matter the outcome, but at least in public he seems more concerned about the welfare of Alabama than his personal political future.