Clout-Chasing Reed Attempts To Remake Himself into the Black Trúmp

{TheChronicle Editorial} –Like a lot of things in life, American politics ebbs and flows. After a term or two in office, we as citizens often seek to replace an outgoing leader with a successor who is his polar opposite. 

For example, the easygoing, morally-loose Bill Clinton was replaced by the staunchly conservative Christian George W. Bush, while Dubya, who rightly or wrongly had a reputation for being hawkish and not well-read was succeeded by the cerebral dove Obama, and the mild-mannered man of hope by a noisy New Yorker not unknown for propagating fear.

Love him or hate him, there's this quality that Donald Trump has that many Americans acknowledge, if not admire, and that lesser politicians are attempting to emulate: the ability to never apologize or admit mistakes, to not back down but rather lean into controversies.

But there's only one Trump, a faulty but favored original that cannot be duplicated, fortunately or unfortunately, a lesson that aforementioned lesser politicians are starting to discover.

                                Steven L Reed

Which brings us to the mayor of Montgomery, a 50 year old seeming narcissist who has taken to calling himself "a genius" and "a diabolical scientist," but for whom it must be said is by all accounts a nepo baby whose only real claim to fame is having found an egg after being shót from his father's nûtsac. 

The son of the always controversial and (let's be honest, black people) the corrupt long-time city councilman and local Democrat Party juggernaut Joe L. Reed Sr, Steven Reed has achieved nothing on his own merits and is practically the definition of a nepo baby.

Like Libya's Saiid Qaddafi or North Korea's Kim Jong Un, Steven Reed has, for all intents and purposes, never seen a time in his upbringing when his father was not in power. He grew up talking tough and sticking his chest out "because of father."

Steven Reed's first job was as a so-called financial analyst, only he financed nothing and no respectable business trusted him to analyze anything, before being literally handed a position in working for then-Lieutenant Governor Jim Folsom Jr (another nepo baby who's own late father was an Alabama legend) in 2008. It was the year of Obama mania and so Folsom thought leader Reed's son would be a good addition to the team.

In 2012, the year of Obama's successful reelection, Reed openly fashioned himself after Obama and was elected probate judge, again after never having done anything. As judge, Reed was universally thought to be mediocre but for a single pro-gáy marriage license ruling that got his name mentioned in the New York Times and onto gáy liberal donor's radar.

In 2019, with the backing of out-of-state wealthy liberal gáys and the most corrupted wings of the local Democrat machine like the Alabama Teachers Union which were controlled by his father, Reed ran successfully for mayor of Montgomery, on a universally attractive platform of decency and transparency and tolerance, while playing up his black Christian roots by repeatedly taking part in prayer services at the historic Dexter Avenue Baptist Church and again modelling himself after Obama, at age 45 becoming the city's first ever African American mayor. Again, after having done nothing and having no accomplishments to point to except for the judicial perpetuation of hómoséxuality. 

                                   As Mayor 

Once in office, the mask began to come off slowly, as it often does. In move after move the new mayor has acted against the will of the people. Voting to discontinue or cut back everywhere there's blàck interest, voting to ration employee healthcare benefits, pushing to cut or drastically pair back free school lunch program, cancelling existing contracts with local vendors (especially if their operated by people of color), etc. Supposedly to save the city money, but Montgomery currently has a shortfall that's only grown with Reed's ridiculously harmful moves.

And what does Reed do in response to community pushback? He goes on the attack, not to remedy the issue at hand, but to undermine those pointing out the issue.

Reed's new campaign to quietly discredit the news media has spread to city hall officials, who are echoing his use of the term "fake news" as a weapon against unflattering stories and information that can tarnish his image. Locally the term has become ubiquitous as a signal to Reed's most hardened supporters to ignore legitimate reporting, as a smear to the dwindling local press corps and as a way for political bûllshîtters like himself to push back against what he see as media bias, which will hûrt any future attempts of Mayor Reed eventually securing a new court-ordeted blàck US Congressional seat.

"I don't know what's with him, but soon as he won, but really a year or two in, he started moving funny, like he working against us," said Gladys Owens, 54, who voted for Reed twice but is now questioning her support. "Talking down on blàck business, calling blàck people the 'n' word behind closed doors—what else is he doing that we ain't seeing? I image plenty."

I dare say, it's not about ràce, though. Reed doesn't hate blàcks or anything so unintelligent and senseless. He simply doesn't care for poor ni@@as, as he would likely say off camera, but more specifically than that, he only serves those that are paying him, not the $170k mayoral check with the additional $10k allowance that he gets every month, but the businessmen kicking out the big bucks. Corporate account holders that drops those type of numbers on him after every secret handshake. Reed doesn't necessarily care about poor whîtes, either.

                   Complaints and Litigation

In a shocking federal lawsuit filed last month, former Montgomery Police Chief Ernest Finley has accused Mayor Steven Reed and other city officials — along with the Alabama Ethics Commission — of engaging in a criminal conspiracy to oust him from his job. Finley’s allegations are bolstered by an independent investigation conducted by the Attorney General’s office, which concluded that the Alabama Ethics Commission conspired with city officials to present false evidence against him.

Finley has leveled seven serious charges against Reed and the city, including ràce dîscrîmination and retaliation, hostile work environment, First Amendment retaliation, conspiracy to violate civil rights, civil conspiracy under Alabama law, intentional slander and libel, and negligent slander and libel. The Montgomery Advertiser reported that Finley, seeking reinstatement as police chief, is also demanding back pay, front pay, and damages, along with changes to the city's equal employment policies.

In the midst of multiple controversies and scandals swirling around him, the man who once referred to himself as Montgomery’s most “diabolical scientist,” may find his cunning reputation challenged when the citizens decide that they've had enough. In the face of these damning lawsuits, Reed may need more than just political strategy to maintain his position; he might need to conjure dark arts, invoking even Isaac Newton’s alchemy, to survive the consequences of his alleged misdeeds.