Opinion | Alabama GOP pushes big government agenda disguised as freedom

The Republican Party of today bears little resemblance to the GOP of Reagan’s era—a party once grounded in personal freedom, responsibility, and a commitment to limited government. That vision has been abandoned, replaced by grievance-driven outrage and government overreach masquerading as conservatism. The Alabama Republican Party’s recently unveiled 2025 legislative agenda makes that painfully clear. But let’s be honest—the state party doesn’t represent the legislature as a whole, much less the broader will of Alabama’s Republican voters. Its priorities aren’t shaped by the needs of the state but by the latest memes and talking points from national culture warriors.

Wrapped in the familiar language of freedom, family values, and economic prosperity, the Alabama GOP’s agenda claims to champion small government. But on closer examination, it reads more like a blueprint for centralized control. Instead of empowering individuals, state Republicans are using government as a weapon to enforce their cultural preferences while conveniently ignoring Alabama’s real challenges.

Consider their economic platform. They tout tax cuts as a win for working families, but the fine print tells another story. Eliminating the business personal property tax and slashing the state income tax may sound good, but without a plan to replace lost revenue, it’s a slow-motion disaster for public education, healthcare, and infrastructure. Tax cuts without a funding plan aren’t pro-business—they’re a recipe for crumbling schools, underfunded hospitals, and deteriorating roads.

And then there’s the obsession with policing speech in schools, meddling in private medical decisions, and dictating how businesses operate—all in the name of “freedom.” For all their talk of small government, they’re eager to expand state power—controlling speech, policing medical choices, and dictating how businesses operate.

The so-called focus on public safety and border security is more of the same performative politics. It’s true that the Biden administration has mismanaged immigration policy, but Alabama Republicans aren’t offering solutions—just posturing. They know border security is federal policy, but they’d rather throw red meat to their base than fund real public safety measures like fighting the fentanyl crisis or properly staffing law enforcement agencies. Identifying and deporting criminal undocumented immigrants? That’s already federal law. Cracking down on human trafficking? A bipartisan issue with broad support. But increasing funding for district attorney offices? That’s a real need—one that will be impossible to meet after they gut the state budget with their own tax cuts.

And what about the Alabama GOP’s supposed commitment to individual liberty? A true conservative defends citizens’ rights against government intrusion. Instead, we see proposals that tell private businesses how to operate, prevent banks from making financial decisions based on political beliefs, and strip parents of the right to make medical choices for their children. They claim to fight government overreach—while expanding its reach. They claim to empower parents—while stripping their choices. They defend free speech—until they disagree with what’s being said.

Then there’s their ongoing crusade for “election integrity,” which has nothing to do with protecting democracy and everything to do with controlling who votes. Instead of offering ideas that lift all Alabamians, they’d rather manipulate the rules to their advantage. But control—not conservatism—is the running theme of this agenda.

Nowhere is that clearer than in their so-called commitment to “strengthening families.” Raising the age of medical consent, expanding tax credits for crisis pregnancy centers, and restricting gender-affirming care for minors all sound like traditional conservative policies—until you realize they amount to government interference in deeply personal decisions. Conservatives once believed in promoting a culture of life through persuasion, not force. But today’s Alabama Republicans seem to think that if they can’t win the argument, they’ll simply legislate their version of morality into law.

President Ronald Reagan once said, “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction,” and the Alabama GOP is holding the match. Conservatives once feared big government. Now, the Alabama GOP embraces it. If they keep this up, they won’t just lose  conservatism—they’ll lose the freedoms they claim to defend.