Lynne Gobbell of Moulton, Alabama, worked at Enviromate, a company that makes housing insulation. She was fired by Phil Gaddis, owner and Bush supporter, because she had a pro-Kerry sticker on her car. Think about it: in Alabama, your boss can fire you because you support the "wrong" candidate for election.

The Decatur Daily reports:

"We were going back to work from break, and my manager told me that Phil said to remove the sticker off my car or I was fired," she said. "I told him that Phil couldn't tell me who to vote for. He said, 'Go tell him.' " She went to Gaddis' office, knocked on the door and entered on his orders.

"Phil and another man who works there were there," she said. "I asked him if he said to remove the sticker and he said, 'Yes, I did.' I told him he couldn't tell me who to vote for. When I told him that, he told me, 'I own this place.' I told him he still couldn't tell me who to vote for." Gobbell said Gaddis told her to "get out of here."

"I asked him if I was fired and he told me he was thinking about it," she said. "I said, 'Well, am I fired?' He hollered and said, 'Get out of here and shut the door.' " She said her manager was standing in another room and she asked him if that meant for her to go back to work or go home. The manager told her to go back to work, but he came back a few minutes later and said, " 'I reckon you're fired. You could either work for him or John Kerry,' " Gobbell said.

Words are inadequate to express just how reprehensible and unethical the actions of Phil Gaddis were. It's entirely possible that such actions are legal in Alabama, but if so that is no defense of Gaddis — if anything, it's a sign of just how awful the situation in Alabama is for workers.

As for Gaddis himself, any man who would fire an employee for supporting the "wrong" politician is not an employer who actually and sincerely believes in the basic principles of democracy and liberty. He's an authoritarian and totalitarian man who abuses his power over others and is unfit for even the slightest respect. If I worked for him, I'd be constantly afraid for my job because I wouldn't trust him to fire me and others on the slightest whim. I almost wish I was a customer of his just so that I could stop in protest.

Let's repeat the name of that company: Enviromate, owned by Phil Gaddis.

Gaddis later offered Lynne her job back, not because he was actually sorry for what he had done but because all of the negative publicity had gotten to him. She refused unless he signed an agreement not to get rid of her again once the heat was off. Apparently he wasn't interested (which would be another sign of his lack of character). But the story may have a happy ending yet.

Slate explains:

Then, late this afternoon, Kerry himself phoned Gobbell. "He was telling me how proud he was that I stood up," Gobbell told me. "He'd read the part where Phil said I could either work for him or work for John Kerry. He said, 'you let him know you're working for me as of today.' I was just so shocked."

Gobbell accepted Kerry's job offer, "so I reckon I'll be working for John Kerry." Kerry left it that someone from his campaign would call Gobbell to work out the details. Let's hope there's quick follow-through (I'll be checking!), because Gobbell told me she couldn't wait to tell Geddes that she had a better offer.

Yes, right in the middle of his presidential campaign John Kerry himself called Lynne Gobbell and offered her a job, thus demonstrating how much more character he has than Republicans like Phil Gaddis, owner of Enviromate and authoritarian wannabe.

I'm not sure what she will be doing once the campaign is over — even if Kerry wins, I doubt that she'll have a position in the White House, even assuming she would be willing to move. Still, having some job is better than having no job and this gives her time to find something else later on.

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