How Bob Riley is not like Jesus Christ.

Jesus was a terrible politician. So says Dr. Glenda Curry, an Episcopal priest in Birmingham who sometimes leads Governor Bob Riley’s weekly bible studies. “The things Jesus said made some people so angry they wanted to kill him,” Rev. Curry points out. So how is it that Bob Riley, whose initiatives are so driven by his Christian faith, can be such an effective politician?

In “Riley’s Last Stand,” a story featured in the premiere issue of Thicket Magazine, we explore the line Riley walks between the personal ethics that inspire his greatest political battles and the expediency and political horse-trading Riley’s willing to engage in to win.

His ability to walk that line was evident in his push to reform the state’s tax code, aligning himself with the teacher’s union against his own Republican base. Five years later, he takes the teachers head-on in a battle against their closest allies in the Democratically-controlled legislature.

“In order to make progress – progress, not perfection – he’s probably compromised with the AEA and Paul Hubbert because he knew ultimately, he’s making progress in disrupting a corrupt system," Rev. Curry says. In short, she adds, “Honest guy, but he is a politician.”

Though they may share similar views on tax reform, Bob Riley and Jesus Christ have a very different political success rate.

Posted by Atticus Rominger