By now you've probably heard about Tim James, a Republican candidate for governor of Alabama, desperately pandering to the nativist-ignoramus demographic. I say "desperately" because James is currently trailing his primary opponents in the polls despite having outspent them all put together. This should surprise exactly no one, since James's wingnut father is widely reckoned among the worst governors in Alabama history and the apple has not fallen far from the stupid-tree.
As the Drive-By Truckers put it:
Now, he said he was the best friend a black man from Alabama ever had / And I have to admit that compared to Fob James, George Wallace don't seem that bad
It is impossible to exaggerate the banality of these Tim James ads. Alabama hosts thousands of foreign-born refugees who are forced to drive by our inadequate public transit systems. Worse, the state actually passed an English-only driver's license law in 1992 only to see it overturned by federal courts. James is a good example of the southern demagogue making loud noises and manufacturing outrage to make up for his incredible ignorance.
Another issue suddenly near and dear to James's (heart?) is tort reform. Of course, when Tim James says "reform" he means disaster capitalism. In fact, his entire campaign is a good argument for updating Alabama's weak campaign finance laws: