Gov. Bentley give Alabama a Black Eye

[Tider@GW_Law]

It is almost certainly the case that he won't care about offending non-Christians on social issues, any more than non-Christians care about offending Christians on social issues. Pretty sure he is going to do whatever he thinks is best, which will probably have a lot to do with his personal beliefs. And yes, I am sure he is oh so concerned about the non-Christian vote in the next election. He could never have pulled off that close victory without the League of Non-Christian Voters behind him.

Silly me, here I was thinking a governor should be implementing good policy - the kind that utilizes analysis of objective facts, data, etc.

Among other things, I'm guessing Alabamians should go ahead and say goodbye craft beers, etc.

 

[RJ YellowHammer]

Boston, while I agree with the sentiment you're trying to convey, the sitting Governor can't say that anywhere - not even in Church. I'm sure Gov. Bentley didn't mean "you're less of a person if you aren't a Christian," but it will be portrayed that way. He'll issue a clarification of some sort, which will get very little play, so he's put himself in a hole. You can't say things that will be perceived so poorly when you're a State's Chief Executive. You just can't.

 

[DiamondDust]

Silly me, here I was thinking a governor should be implementing good policy - the kind that utilizes analysis of objective facts, data, etc.

Among other things, I'm guessing Alabamians should go ahead and say goodbye craft beers, etc.

According to the Free the Hops, who issued a lot of stuff after the elections, they don't see Bentley being a roadblock. He might personally oppose alcohol, but they seem to believe he's not going veto things out of spite. Basically, he'll take Riley's approach. Riley was personally opposed to the Craft Beer Bill, but he wouldn't veto it after getting such overwhelming support from people who called his office.

 

[CrimsonChuck]

I actually know him because he was my skin doctor back in the day. I have never felt uncomfortable around him.

I think that we all have special connections with people who have the same beliefs as we do, whether that is politics, religion, music, support of the Crimson Tide, etc.

 

[jthomas666]

Among other things, I'm guessing Alabamians should go ahead and say goodbye craft beers, etc.

Aw, HELL, no! We just got those. (Old Rasputin Imperial Stout=Da Bomb, btw)

 

[bamacon]

I get it. If you are a Christian you can't profess anything about it if you run for elected office and win? How does him stating a tenet of the Christian faith mean he is going to discriminate against non-Christians? How does it come close to "establishing a religion" as one of the people in the article suggested? I'm sorry, but just because you are elected as president, mayor, governor etc. doesn't mean you need to check your faith at the door. I'm sick of people demanding that Christians walk around on eggshells trying not to offend anyone. I don't believe anything Muslims believe but I don't go into a fit if they say something I might disagree with. I think some people today are just looking to be offended and Christians present an easy target because they tend not to hit back, decapitate, or blow up there detractors

 

[jthomas666]

I get it. If you are a Christian you can't profess anything about it if you run for elected office and win? How does him stating a tenet of the Christian faith mean he is going to discriminate against non-Christians? How does it come close to "establishing a religion" as one of the people in the article suggested? I'm sorry, but just because you are elected as president, mayor, governor etc. doesn't mean you need to check your faith at the door. I'm sick of people demanding that Christians walk around on eggshells trying not to offend anyone. I don't believe anything Muslims believe but I don't go into a fit if they say something I might disagree with. I think some people today are just looking to be offended and Christians present an easy target because they tend not to hit back, decapitate, or blow up there detractors

 

[Boclive]

Silly me, here I was thinking a governor should be implementing good policy - the kind that utilizes analysis of objective facts, data, etc.

Among other things, I'm guessing Alabamians should go ahead and say goodbye craft beers, etc.

Objectively, your reference to an imagined threat to the legality or availability of craft beers is a straw man argument.

I've switch to diet beer after all these years. I weigh too much and the beer (particularly the designer beer) is a big reason. Saying that I don't love diet beer like I love designer beer is not the same as saying I hate diet beer. It's not even the same as saying I don't love diet beer. I do love diet beer, and that's for the record.

If there were a real threat to the legality or availability of craft beers I'd be right there with you, though. I swear.

 

[Tider@GW_Law]

I get it. If you are a Christian you can't profess anything about it if you run for elected office and win? How does him stating a tenet of the Christian faith mean he is going to discriminate against non-Christians? How does it come close to "establishing a religion" as one of the people in the article suggested? I'm sorry, but just because you are elected as president, mayor, governor etc. doesn't mean you need to check your faith at the door. I'm sick of people demanding that Christians walk around on eggshells trying not to offend anyone. I don't believe anything Muslims believe but I don't go into a fit if they say something I might disagree with. I think some people today are just looking to be offended and Christians present an easy target because they tend not to hit back, decapitate, or blow up there detractors

Yeah, it's terrible how Christians are persecuted in Alabama.

The fact of the matter is that his staff drafted this speech with him no doubt reviewing every draft. I also have no doubt that this passage was probably double underlined in red pen by somebody on his staff as problematic (of course, not the same staffmember that wrote it). He then discussed it with one of his advisors and made the conscious decision to keep it, knowing full well the potential alienation of a portion of his constituents and the PR damage to the state. If none of the aforementioned happened, then I would have other worries about the next few years of Alabama governance.

He no doubt decided to play to a certain base with the statement and accept the consequences of it at that time. Now he just has to live with the consequences come re-election day, and who knows what that might mean.

 

[bamacon]

Yeah, it's terrible how Christians are persecuted in Alabama.

Never said we were. I just don't care if some card-carrying ACLU member is offended because of someone expressing their belief in Christ. His statements will likely have much less to do with his reelection than his record will.

 

[Tider@GW_Law]

According to the Free the Hops, who issued a lot of stuff after the elections, they don't see Bentley being a roadblock. He might personally oppose alcohol, but they seem to believe he's not going veto things out of spite. Basically, he'll take Riley's approach. Riley was personally opposed to the Craft Beer Bill, but he wouldn't veto it after getting such overwhelming support from people who called his office.

I hear what you're saying, but all it takes is the right person (lobbyist who knows Bentley well hired on behalf of Anheiser-Busch) to show up on the right cause's behalf (dunno if it's real, but something like Baptists for Sober Kids) to get a bill through, especially if you have a prominent incident involving alcohol poisoning, rash behavior under the influence, or DUI occur around the time the bill is pitched.

 

[Tider@GW_Law]

His statements will likely have much less to do with his reelection than his record will.

We shall see. If this is what he's saying on his first day on the job, the next couple years or so should be good.

 

[BamaJ]

That's just it. We are supposed to care if we upset or offend a non-Christian, when we're saying what we say to them out of love and compassion for them. However, people can spew hate, build mosques next to Ground Zero and be gay and racist and theives and murderers and rapists and anything else you can name and we can't hurt their feelings. We can't tell them they're wrong because it might upset them. That's one big thing wrong with this world today. To the point of even not keeping score at childrens' sporting events to keep from feelings getting hurt. It passed ridiculous a long time ago.

 

[RJ YellowHammer]

That's just it. We are supposed to care if we upset or offend a non-Christian, when we're saying what we say to them out of love and compassion for them. However, people can spew hate, build mosques next to Ground Zero and be gay and racist and theives and murderers and rapists and anything else you can name and we can't hurt their feelings. We can't tell them they're wrong because it might upset them. That's one big thing wrong with this world today. To the point of even not keeping score at childrens' sporting events to keep from feelings getting hurt. It passed ridiculous a long time ago.

If an elected official, particularly a Governor, said I'm a *insert atheist, Muslim, Jew, Buddhist, or other here* and I have compassion for all but you're not my brother or sister, Fox News would lead every 30 minute segment with it. The outcry from the religious right would be huge, and some would declare him unfit to lead.

 

[Tider@GW_Law]

I find your inability to respond to others in an intellectually honest manner offensive. I am not offended by Bentley.

Care to actually explain what's not "intellectually honest" about that statement or *gasp* address the statement itself instead of making ad hominem attacks???

 

[92tide]

That's just it. We are supposed to care if we upset or offend a non-Christian, when we're saying what we say to them out of love and compassion for them. However, people can spew hate, build mosques next to Ground Zero and be gay and racist and theives and murderers and rapists and anything else you can name and we can't hurt their feelings. We can't tell them they're wrong because it might upset them. That's one big thing wrong with this world today. To the point of even not keeping score at childrens' sporting events to keep from feelings getting hurt. It passed ridiculous a long time ago.

y'know, i'm pretty sure that Jesus will give you a hand carrying that chip you've got on your shoulder if you just ask him

 

[jthomas666]

I find your inability to respond to others in an intellectually honest manner offensive. I am not offended by Bentley.

Is it a delicate position? Yes. Should he have done what he did? Maybe not. But discussing the issue in those terms is different than using this as yet another opportunity to bash religion and acting like anyone who speaks publicly about their faith is stupid, incompetent, or worse. (Not that you are doing that.)

Speaking of intellectual honesty, who has attacked religion in this thread? No one is denying Bentley's right to believe whatever he wants--the question is whether such a statement was appropriate for a speech given by a governor as part of his inaugural festivities.

 

[Chukker Veteran]

If an elected official, particularly a Governor, said I'm a *insert atheist, Muslim, Jew, Buddhist, or other here* and I have compassion for all but you're not my brother or sister, Fox News would lead every 30 minute segment with it. The outcry from the religious right would be huge, and some would declare him unfit to lead.

That's the bottom line.

 

[BamaJ]

I have no chip on my shoulder. It's just ridiculous that certain groups can spew all their hate and what it is that they believe, but when someone stands up for God, they're all but burned at the stake. Sorry, but there will come a day when these who don't believe will face judgement and all I can say for them is they better hope they're right.

 

[RJ YellowHammer]

It's just ridiculous that certain groups can spew all their hate and what it is that they believe, but when someone stands up for God, they're all but burned at the stake.

All religious groups have their radicals. I just think that, as the Governor of Alabama, Gov. Bentley needs to chose his words a little more carefully.

I'm not even saying that I have a problem with Gov. Bentley professing his faith in Jesus, far from it. I just wish that when he did, he didn't give others the opportunity to interpret it as a swipe at every other religion.