InnerPolitics - Governor Candidates and the 6th Amendment?

This morning I was riding the Expresso Bike at the YMCA and watching TV which of course meant commercials and most of those were political ads.  After about 10 minutes during one commercial break, it struck me ...   

they all look and sound the same!

and in every commercial, the candidate was clear that she or he ABSOLUTELY, FULLY, and WITHOUT ANY RESERVATION supported the 2nd Amendment.  You know that's the one that says...

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Now, I'll save the gun control debate for another blog post (way) in the future, but it struck me on the bike at the Y, "What about the other Amendments?"  Do the candidates support the 6th Amendment as well?  Do they even know what the 6th Amendment says?  I couldn't remember so I looked it up while eating my Special K with some blueberries.  It says...

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed...

Now I picked that amendment straight out of the foggy sky this morning, but given the recent underwhelming political history in our state, every candidate ought to have that one memorized.  But more to the point, why choose just one amendment to blast on your political ads?  Be different, Alabama, and support the whole Constitution.  In the meantime, I wonder how many of our candidates know the total number of Amendments?  You can look it up on www.constituteproject.org along with the governing document of just about any other country in the world.

So speaking of candidates, those good people running for Governor this time around include 

The Republicans

1. Governor Kay Ivey who I have not met, I don't know her and you can find her at kayivey.com.  I like her signs.  
2. Bill Hightower who I have met and talked with for about 5 minutes.  He seems like a nice guy.  His website is billhightower.com.
3. Scott Dawson who I have also met and was surprised to learn that he grew up as an Episcopalian at St. John's in Ensley.  He's now an evangelist and I seem to remember that he is a Southern Baptist.  His website is scottdawson.com.  
4. Tommy Battle who I have also met and know several members of his family.  He is currently the mayor of Huntsville and I enjoyed living there about 15 years ago.  Go to tommybattle.com.

Those are the Republicans who are still living, but we will have a 5th name on the primary ballot.  Michael McAllister was a former corrections officer who qualified to run in the next election.  Unfortunately, he passed away at his home in Troy on April 8, 2018.

The Democrats

1. Sue Bell Cobb who I have not met or heard speak.  Her website is suebellcobb2018.com.
2. Chris Countryman is someone I know nothing about and didn't know he was running until today.  He is from Dothan and the first openly gay candidate for Governor.  His website is rethinkalabama.com
3. James C. Fields I met a number of years ago at a clergy meeting.  He is a Methodist minister and I remember him having a great sense of humor.  His website is jamesfieldsforal.com.
4. Walt Maddox came and spoke to our Rotary Club and I was quite impressed.  He is well known for leading Tuscaloosa and the people at St. Matthias think highly of him.  His website is waltmaddox.com.
5. Doug "New Blue" Smith was another unknown to me, but he is the most colorful candidate in more than one way.  His website is dougnewbluesmith4governor.org.
6. Anthony White was also unknown to me and he is another candidate from Dothan.  His website is anthonywhite4gov.com.

Next week, I will highlight the Secretary of State candidates and the candidates for Attorney General.