As the battle for Alabama's chief justice heats up between Sarah Stewart and Brian Taylor, we're left wondering about the future of the state's highest court. We have enjoyed conservative leadership for many years. Now, do you know what position the candidates are in?

Although I have known and worked with Mr. Taylor for years and know him to be a judicial and social conservative, I am concerned about Judge Stewart. .

Her apparent support from plaintiffs' trial lawyers, a voting bloc that has historically aligned with liberal Democrats, should be concerning to all Republican voters. Her trial lawyers gave her hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions. And Democratic values ​​are almost completely alien to conservatives.

Stewart has vaguely claimed to be a conservative, but he has never been specific. There is nothing in her record to support that. At a recent meeting of the Shelby County Republican Executive Committee, Stewart went so far as to say that “being a conservative judge does not equate to being a social conservative.” For those of us who care about a candidate's judicial philosophy, especially as it could affect cases involving abortion and traditional family values, such declarations are alarming.

Judge Stewart tends to favor progressive ideas about social justice. She has a history of advocating liberal ideology, dating back to her time as student government president at the University of Arkansas.

As ASG president, Stewart overwhelmingly passed a motion by the student government that public funds (student money) be used to champion the “educational” activities of the Gay and Lesbian Student Association (“GLSA”). He vetoed the bill that would have prohibited it.

Perhaps even more concerning than her veto itself is the way she criticized conservative students. Stewart disparaged student senators who espoused traditional views in the same way that Hillary Clinton ridiculed “deplorables.”

Stewart called conservative students “bullies” simply because they voted against the use of public funds for things like Pride parades, the student newspaper reported. . She speculated that the senators who voted for the bill must have had concerns about “their own sexuality.”

She even used the threat of a lawsuit by the ACLU to threaten ASG to override her veto.

As someone who has been on the front lines fighting for traditional, conservative, pro-family policies for over 20 years, I recognize the language often used by the left to insult and demonize us. I am.

During the same era, when Stewart led the Arkansas ASG in support of the GLSA agenda, I worked on behalf of the Auburn SGA, which refused to accept the GALSA (Gay and Lesbian Student Association) agenda. . I never lose sight of the meaning of her actions.

Stewart defended his work supporting the GLSA and criticized conservative students, saying, “Colleges have traditionally been places of prejudice and growth, not closed and stagnant places.” Ta. Practical conservatives today know it's the opposite. Take the recent Harvard debacle. For decades, universities have been bastions of liberal indoctrination. Today, a state law, the Alabama Campus Free Speech Act, has been enacted to protect the right of conservatives to express their opinions on college campuses.

I have been a supporter of Alabama's traditional laws since the 1980s. Legislation is on the horizon to protect minors from harmful materials such as obscene books, drag queen demonstrations, liberal sex education, and others educating the next generation in the way organizations like GLSA do. Efforts are also being made. Enforcement of these laws could very well reach the Alabama Supreme Court. I'm a candidate for that court, I've tried it before, and I know the effects of less-than-sound conservative leadership.

Unfortunately, Judge Stewart has so far been reluctant to discuss his judicial philosophy with his opponents or have substantive conversations with his constituents. Can we really trust that these laws will be followed? Sarah Stewart?

A. Eric Johnston is a private attorney, president of the Southeast Law Institute, and a former candidate for the Alabama Supreme Court.