Infignos Media - Steve Guede for State Senate

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Steve Guede for State Senate – Don’t Think So!

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

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District 12 State Senator Del Marsh must be returned to Montgomery for another term. Steven Guede, his untested opponent, is not ready for the responsibility to function at that level. Senator Marsh is well-placed to represent the citizens of his district, has a complete grasp of the issues, is a proven leader, and is an asset that this area cannot afford to lose at this critical time. Simply, not only is there no reason to replace him, should he not win, this will be a devastating blow to the people of District 12 and to the people of the State of Alabama. Although he has passion and enthusiasm, Mr. Guede is misguided if he thinks that he is ready to be a State Senator or that he is a better alternative than the incumbent. Frankly, a campaign based only on uninformed rhetoric and beautification accomplished through massive funding from the resentful teacher’s union makes him a dangerous candidate. Should he best Senator Marsh, we will have to endure four long years before we get the opportunity to oust him. And, it will probably take a decade or more before we find another leader of Senator Marsh’s caliber to send to Montgomery.

Over two months ago – and before the Alabama Education Association decided to vindictively throw over $1.3 million into their efforts to unseat a small group of legislators who had clipped their wings – this correspondent sat down with Mr. Guede and his campaign manager for over two hours. During that period he emphatically explained that his one-issue campaign was all about his rejection of the Common Core legislation that had been recently passed and which he adamantly insisted needed to be repealed. At no time did he provide any substantive complaints or explain any specific provisions to which he took exception. Rather he focused on name calling and emotion as being his primary rationale. He never mentioned or recognized that the Alabama College and Career Initiative (which is often referred to as Alabama Common Core) was actually supported by the Alabama State Board of Education, which is an elected body, and merely received legislative approval after the fact. Furthermore, he never explained why he was not running for the board as it appears that his one-issue thinking was more appropriate to that elected body rather than the legislature. And, he appeared to have no grasp of any other issue that must be addressed by our State Senator while failing to provide even one reason that conservative and highly influential Senator Marsh needed to be replaced. His rhetorical banter seemed more focused on the Tea Party anti-big government mantra. He showed no realization that sometimes having minimal standards among the states is a great idea if we are to expect our students to qualify for college entrance or jobs elsewhere. Likewise, a lack of common standards would serve as an economic detriment should parents from other states not wish to relocate with their children if it meant enrollment into Alabama schools.

It was quite easy to determine from that first encounter that Mr. Guede was a fringe candidate, who was misguided as to his qualifications for the office that he was seeking. At that time his campaign was almost completely unfunded as it was doubtful that anyone was considering him a viable opponent – especially, against a competent incumbent. Additionally, it was ironic that he was harping almost exclusively regarding education standards as his campaign literature contained several grammatical mistakes. Obviously, he was not a candidate to be taken seriously.

However, this soon changed as the wrath of the Alabama Education Association was getting ready to descend upon Senator Marsh and a small group of legislators who had dared to stand up to the overly mighty teachers’ union just a few years ago. Mr. Guede, who had been a long-shot candidate previously, now had a champion that would provide in-kind campaign support multiple times more that he was capable of raising on his own merit. AEA’s obsession with unseating Senator Marsh is so intense that they are willing as a side effect to increase the chances that an unqualified, clueless candidate could be his replacement. As they typically prefer obedience rather than competence, this should not be surprising. Again ironically, on Mr. Guede’s own campaign card he quotes George Washington by saying, “Few men have virtue enough to withstand the highest bidder.” In this case, this most appropriately applies to him. Coupling his misjudgement that he is qualified to run with the “highest bidder” temptation that he himself warns us about is indeed a very dangerous combination.

Next week the voters in Alabama District 12 have a very crucial decision to make. Do we send back a proven leader who understands the issues and is leading us in the right direction? Or, do we replace him with an unqualified single-issue opponent who is little more than an AEA puppet? We emphatically hope and pray not!

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Keywords: Alabama State Senate, Del Marsh, Steven Guede

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