Josh Moon, an opinion writer for Alabama Political Reporter, is a self-styled intellectual, fancying himself smarter than all his readers.
After reading Moon’s October 10 hit piece against congressional candidate Caroleene Dobson, his readers might disagree — that is if any managed to read through his piece.
Moon scavenged to find two points against Dobson as filler for his column. Just two.
One, Dobson’s ancestors allegedly owned slaves in the 1860s.
Two, Dobson’s family land was once owned by Native Americans.
That’s it. No revelations about Dobson’s proposals, qualifications, experience, stance on issues, or other relevant issues. Just two issues from her great-great-great grandfather in the 1860s. That’s the best dirt with which Moon could come up.
Is this yellow journalism piece going to affect the expected close election in Alabama’s Congressional District 2? No. These are silly issues for Moon to raise in this otherwise serious congressional campaign.
Let’s look at the facts. There were slaves in Alabama in the 1860s. Tens of thousands of Alabamians likely had slave-owning ancestors. Most do not know if they did or not. Ancient slave ownership within families is relevant now only to the handful on the left crying out for reparations from innocent contemporaries for the acts of their ancestors 160 years ago.
Secondly, hundreds of thousands of Alabama folks own land. Much of that land was once owned by Native Americans. Landowners in Alabama today do not know who owned their land four owners ago, let alone 200 years ago.
Does Moon seriously think he can persuade voters to vote against Dobson because her three-time great-grandfather might have owned slaves and bought land belonging to Native Alabamians?
Why didn’t Moon contrast the candidates on real issues? Dobson, the Republican nominee, and her Democrat opponent, Shomari Figures, debated Thursday. They and the moderator raised and differentiated their stands on real issues facing Alabamians. Would it surprise you that the issue of slaves and former Native American land ownership in the 1800s did not come up in the one-hour debate?
The two issues Moon raised are non-issues to normal Alabama folks, which does not include Moon.
Where was Moon’s analysis of:
Dobson’s stand to secure the border and halt the problems of illegal immigration vs. Figures’ position that illegal immigration is a non-issue?
Figures’ pro-abortion stance vs. Dobson’s pro-life stand – with exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother?
Dobson’s stance on funds for U.S. citizens first, such as in disasters, vs. Figures’ support of the Biden-Harris transfer of those funds to foreign countries?
All these issue differences and more were displayed in the debate. None were in the Moon hit piece.
Josh Moon has the same amount of journalistic fairness that he has hair on his head – none.
The author, Jim Zeigler, is a retired Alabama State Auditor and Public Service Commissioner. He currently leads a voter registration drive for “Save Our U.S. House.”
The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of 1819 News. To comment, please send an email with your name and contact information to Commentary@1819News.com.
Don't miss out! Subscribe to our newsletter and get our top stories every weekday morning.
