The first president, George Washington, suggested that America should not have political parties. Washington was a very wise man. His leadership solidified the beginning of the foundation of our democracy. He is one of the greatest presidents we have ever had.
If he were here today and saw the terrible, terrible partisan divisions in this country, he would be amazed at how salient his warning about political parties was 250 years ago. The partisan divisions in this country are vast, deep, and deep-rooted. Essentially, America is divided into two camps. The states are divided into red Republican camps and blue Democratic camps.
We are tribal in the way we adhere to and pledge allegiance to parties. In fact, most Americans cast a single vote. Sixty years ago, 40 to 45 states were swing states in a presidential election. Today, only 5 to 10 states are true swing states, and the presidential election is decided in these few states.
The nation’s political annals are riddled with the history of spiteful political campaigns. Andrew Jackson “Ol Hickory” was one of the toughest generals and presidents in American history, but his political enemies broke his very stubborn heart by attacking his wife, Rachel. A poisoned arrow aimed at Rachel drove her into a deep depression that ultimately led to her death.
But a political party has never used the courts as a political tool. The way Democrats have used the judicial system against Trump this year breaks new ground. To the world, we look like a banana republic. It takes a third grader to understand that four indictments in four entirely Democrat-controlled courts is a political prosecution.
The Democrats’ sinister plan was to make Donald Trump the Republican nominee because they felt he was easy to beat. He was not going to be the Republican nominee when the first baseless indictments came out of New York. But the Democrats figured that Republican supporters would rally behind Trump in his quandary, and that their hostility towards Democrats for abusing the justice system would work in his favor. Well, it worked. They made Trump the nominee, but they overreached. Maybe they picked him. They played into his hands. They made the election just a vaudeville comedy or a reality show. And Trump, folks, is a reality TV star. He knows how to play the part. Maybe they just put Brother Rabbit in the briar patch.
Partisan political persecution is so wrong. It will prevent any decent person from running for office. We’ve seen it happen in Alabama. Two recent governors, Guy Hunt and Don Siegelman, have been driven from office by gross and unjust political persecution.
Guy Hunt, America’s first Republican governor after the Civil War and a Primitive Baptist minister, was indicted by an overzealous Democratic attorney general for accepting love offerings in exchange for preaching because he flew to church events on a state plane.
The most egregious, outrageous, cruel and unfair political persecution in the history of the state of Alabama was the prosecution and imprisonment of former Governor Don Siegelman, who spent nearly a decade in federal prison for trying to pass a lottery for the people of Alabama.
The political campaign committee only solicited donations from legitimate political action committees that were raising and spending money on advertising to pass the lottery, which did not benefit Siegelman a cent. Siegelman never received any money, either personally or politically. Therefore, he was never found guilty of violating any ethics laws or any other law. He benefited nothing, but he was convicted and sent to federal prison.
When young people come to me and ask me if they should pursue politics, I ask them if this is what they want for the rest of their lives, and I tell them the incredibly unjust story of Don Siegelman, the man who spent almost a decade in federal prison for trying to run a lottery in Alabama similar to the one in Georgia to allow Alabama students to attend colleges and community colleges in Alabama.
see you next week.
Steve Flowers is Alabama’s leading political columnist. His weekly column appears in over 60 Alabama newspapers. He served as a state representative for 16 years. Steve can be reached at steve@steveflowers.us.
