Democrats, liberals, and leftists cannot stand any dissent or opposing views, so they must silence any opposition. They will malign opponents as bigots, NAZIs, or racists just to get them to go away or shut up. Sometimes leftists will even feign fear to avoid or repel the truth. Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee was run out of a Little Rock restaurant because just her presence made the uber sensitive woke employees uncomfortable. Democrats and leftists are ruthless in silencing opposition, but perhaps more sinister, the establishment will quietly smother independence.

“The establishment” is difficult to flush out or nail down. The establishment holds power and desperately wants to cling to power or consolidate power. They may support conservative issues, but typically only display a conservative patina to maintain the status quo or preserve power. The “establishment” is entrenched in both parties, but they all abhor independence and demand obedience. Party loyalty can be admirable, but not at the cost of integrity or the interests of constituents.

Due to ridiculous redistricting by the courts, south Alabama saw their Congressional District 1 gerrymandered into a bizarre snaky district stretching from Mississippi to Georgia with far flung communities and widely disparate interests and needs. Suddenly south Alabama and the Wiregrass found themselves competing for a congressional seat. In 2024, the Wiregrass won.

This year south Alabama has an opportunity to regain engaged representation from south Alabama that fully understands the coast’s unique issues and needs; and return former Congressman Jerry Carl to represent District 1. A self-made businessman, Carl served two terms as Mobile County Commissioner and then two terms in Congress, so he has been working our issues for over a decade with great success.

Carl worked hard to improve Mobile County infrastructure and put Mobile County on solid financial footing. In Congress, he worked with local, state, and federal partners to advance aircraft manufacturing with Airbus and shipbuilding from AUSTAL to the bayou and expand the Port of Mobile driving statewide economic growth. Twice endorsed by President Trump, Carl has been a consistent conservative warrior and common-sense worker who gets things done.

Having previously excelled as the District 1 Congressman, Carl is favored in a field of seven vying for the Republican nomination, but some Washington power brokers want a more compliant congressman so out of state PACs are dumping hundreds of thousands into the campaign coffers of Rhett Marques from Enterprise and spending more on his behalf.

Who is Rhett Marques? Most voters have never heard of him. He was an Enterprise City Councilman and then served two terms in the Alabama State House. The Super PACs are trying to paint him as conservative crusader that will fight alongside Trump. That would be fine, but they insinuate we need Marques because career politicians (implying Carl) only serve themselves. Both Carl and Marques have a little over a decade in elected office after owning a business, but Jerry Carl already has a record of fighting alongside Trump and serving the folks of District 1 well.

With two terms in Montgomery, why is Marques still relatively unknown? No significant legislation, but he supported the gas tax and opposed the bill to remove automatic future gas tax increases. As an Enterprise City Councilman, city taxes only went up during his tenure. And last year, when Governor Ivey and her henchmen insisted the Alabama State Board of Veterans Affairs should be neutered and after 80 years Veterans should lose their voice, Marques readily provided his unquestioning support. The establishment rewards blind obedience.

With no particular appeal or notoriety across the district, Marques is out raising Carl by about 2 to 1. Who are these out-of-state Super PACs spending about $800,000 looking to buy a vote? There is the Alabama Christian Conservatives PAC which sounds agreeable to most Alabamians, but little in politics is what it seems like Joe Biden’s “Inflation Reduction Act” that certainly did not. A primary donor at $250,000 is Hugh Culverhouse, Jr, an avid regular patron of Planned Parenthood. That doesn’t sound Christian or Conservative. And why is an Alabama PAC based in Austin, Texas?

Then there is Defending America’s Future PAC based in Bethesda, Maryland that received $300,000 from Viva Health PAC which is associated with the University of Alabama Birmingham and $200,000 from you guessed it – Culverbouse. Who is Hugh Culverhouse, Jr? A very successful attorney and prolific donor, but you may recall in 2019 the University of Alabama returned his $21.5 million donation due to his strident support for abortion and donations to Planned Parenthood.

These PACs are anything but conservative and have no regard for average Alabamians. We live in a state with deep red voters, but we don’t have deep red governance. From Montgomery to Washington, power is controlled by a few large companies maintaining near monopolies from banking to healthcare to utilities; and they uphold and maintain the establishment politicians who are compliant and don’t rock the boat or the vote.

Sadly, the establishment will confuse and even deceive voters about candidates to get their chosen pawn. Never mind the issues or needs of the people; they want their reliable team player and judging from the overwhelming PAC money being showered on Marques – he is their man.

But Alabama District 1 needs a man of the people; a public servant that knows us and works for the good of all. Jerry Carl knows us and we know him. He has a venerable record from the county to Congress, so trying to smear him as a self-serving not so conservative career politician is downright deceptive, plain wrong, and insulting. Let the candidates compete, but let’s be honest about them and their records.

“The LORD detests lying lips, but he delights in people who are trustworthy” (Proverbs 12:22).

Pete Riehm is a Navy Veteran, conservative activist, and columnist in south Alabama. Email him at peteriehm@bellsouth.net or read all his columns at http://www.renewamerica.com/.