November 16, 2005
When Guy Hunt took office as the first Republican Governor in January of 1987 not much was expected of him. After all, he had been elected only because of the backlash resulting from the handpicking of Bill Baxley over Charlie Graddick by the Democratic Party leadership. Very few people voted for Hunt because they thought he was the better choice or that his credentials rendered him more qualified. He was a simple man, a rural hard shell Baptist preacher. However, the Republican leadership realized they had been given a golden opportunity so they seized the moment and surrounded Hunt with good people. Most Alabamians warmed to him. He worked hard to get to know the legislature and put together a legislative majority comprised of Republicans and conservative Democrats. He had an uncomplicated agenda and worked to get his programs passed.
November 09, 2005
The 1986 Governor’s race will be remembered as amazing a story as the 1978 Fob James miracle run where Fob put away the Three B’s, Brewer, Beasley and Baxley. Brewer and Beasley had been permanently exiled to Bucks Pocket, the mythical destination for defeated Alabama gubernatorial candidates. However, Bill Baxley resurrected his political career by bouncing back to be elected Lt. Governor in 1982, while George Wallace was winning his fifth and final term as Governor. Another player arrived on the state political scene. Charlie Graddick was elected as a fiery tough lock ‘em up and throw away the key Attorney General. Graddick had previously been a tough prosecuting district attorney in Mobile.
November 02, 2005
As George Wallace presumably faded into the sunset, Fob James took the reigns of Alabama state government in January of 1979. Fob’s inauguration was a somewhat strange event as Alabamians were used to a Wallace being sworn in as Governor every fourth January since 1958. It had been 20 years since someone other than George or Lurleen Wallace had taken the oath on the old Capitol steps where Jefferson Davis had been sworn in as President of the Confederacy.
October 26, 2005
The 1978 Governor’s race between the three heavyweights, former Governor Albert Brewer, Attorney General Bill Baxley, and Lt. Governor Jere Beasley, was expected to be titanic. All three men had last names beginning with the letter “B” thus the press coined the phrase “the three B’s.” The Republicans were still satisfied picking their candidates in backroom caucuses and did not field a gubernatorial candidate. Therefore the winner of the Democratic Primary would be Governor.
October 19, 2005
Albert Brewer began the writing of George Wallace’s political obituary by beating him in the first primary in 1970. However, George Wallace arose from the grave by playing his ever present race card. He trumped Brewer with the race issue in the primary runoff, and came from behind to win and resurrected his political career. Wallace would be Governor again for a third time.
October 12, 2005
Upon Lurleen Wallace’s death in May of 1968, Lt. Governor Albert Brewer moved up to Governor. Brewer was no novice to state government. He came to the Legislature from Morgan County at a very early age and rose quickly to become Speaker of the House during his second term. He won the 1966 Lt. Governor’s race against two State Senators, Neil Metcalf and John Tyson, without a runoff. Brewer was smart and articulate with a charming smile and winning personality. He had lots of friends in the Legislature and seemed to have very few enemies. Brewer also had a good grasp of state government. He smoothly took the reigns of state government and began to make improvements. His popularity and relationships with his fellow legislators gave his programs easy sailing. Brewer became a working Governor.
October 05, 2005
After Ryan de Graffenreid’s plane crash and death in February of 1966 the Governor’s race was wide open. De Graffenreid would have been Governor in a cakewalk but it was now a new ballgame with less than 10 weeks until the May election. George Wallace mulled it over for a few weeks then the amazing story of his wife Lurleen Wallace running for Governor came to fruition. George would be her number one advisor.
September 28, 2005
If race was a major issue in 1958, being the racist candidate in 1962 was the only way to be elected Governor. With this issue in hand and Wallace’s love for campaigning and remembering names, he would have beaten anybody that year. Big Jim was really no match for Wallace because Big Jim had always been soft on the race issue. He was a true progressive liberal who would not succumb to racial demagoging, but Big Jim had succumbed to alcohol. Leading up to the Governor’s race in 1962 while Wallace had been campaigning 12-16 hours a day, 7 days a week for four years, Big Jim sat home. Wallace would have won even if Big Jim had not embarrassed himself on live TV the night before the election.
September 21, 2005
The 1962 Governor’s Race really began in 1958. The Governor’s chair and the race for it was the big show in Alabama politics in that era. Being a U.S. Senator was secondary in Alabama politics. Governor is still probably the most important and glamorous political position, but it certainly was at that time. Television had not come into its own. Most Alabamians did not own a TV. There were no southern major league baseball teams to follow, such as the Atlanta Braves who were still in Milwaukee at that time. The closest team was the St. Louis Cardinals and they were miles away and not really in the south. The Grand Ole Opry was only on the radio on Saturday night. So southerners had to include politics as a prime source of entertainment. That is why we had such colorful political characters. They were really our entertainers and in some cases real clowns. Thus we had more entertaining politicians than the rest of the country. We had a legacy of Jimmy Davis and Huey Long in Louisiana, Bilbo in Mississippi, Talmadge in Georgia, and the most colorful of all time was our very own 6 feet 10 inches Big Jim Folsom.
September 14, 2005
When talk turns to politics in Alabama it usually leads to the Governor’s race. It does not matter if the Governor’s race is four years away, political gossip starts early as to who will run for Governor. In Alabama politics the Governor’s race is the race. As each new race approaches it is talked about more than ever around coffee clubs and kitchen tables from Sand Mountain to the Wiregrass. It is comparable to college football being the king of all sports in Alabama.