April 20, 2005
The early jockeying for position has already begun in earnest for the 2006 Governor’s Race. It is none too soon, as qualifying will be well under way one year from now. The primaries will be in June with the general election in November next year.
A horserace is developing with four face card candidates lining up for the race, two Democrats and two Republicans which means you will see a donnybrook in each primary. All four enjoy household name identification and all four have run successful statewide races. There may be other candidates, but the big four will be the players.
April 06, 2005
In every Legislative Session there arises a surprise or sleeper issue which surfaces as a major headline grabber almost out of the blue. This year is no exception. What I will call the BellSouth issue has practically dwarfed the financial problems in the General Fund budget. It has taken the front page away from the dark hole in Medicaid funding and other controversial issues. It has become the full employment bill for lobbyists. Both sides have armed themselves with the highest paid, hired gun lobbyists in Montgomery. The Senate has spent an inordinate number of days on the issue and it has yet to arrive in the House. It is the subject of conversation on Goat Hill and the combat and dialogue has spilled over to statewide television and newspaper advertisements.
March 30, 2005
The legislative session is at the midway point and it has started out as a halfway decent session. There has been some good and some bad.
The bad part is that there is still a stalemate between the Governor and Legislature over the resolution as to what to do with the beleaguered General Fund. It is a Mexican standoff. They are playing Russian roulette with the funding of Medicaid and the other General Fund agencies.
March 23, 2005
My fellow editorialists in the state have had a field day lambasting the Christian Coalition for their most recent transgressions. They have castigated them for extreme hypocrisy.
March 16, 2005
The current stalemate over the state budgets is good drama. The radio and television ads are interesting and enjoyable. Both sides have created masterful media pieces. It is good entertainment for those of us who follow Alabama politics. However, it is a rerun. This play has been enacted several times in the past. One actor who has continuously been on the stage is Dr. Paul Hubbert, the reigning King of Goat Hill. Hubbert has mastered his part for over 30 years, while new actors appear on the stage periodically to play the role of his bold adversary.
March 09, 2005
The Watergate scandal of the 1970s led to monumental reforms of America's election and campaign laws, not only in Washington but in each state capitol. Alabama was no exception to the tidal wave of ethics reform. Our current ethics law was a product of the aftermath of Watergate and our current campaign finance law was also spurred by the national scandal. Both our ethics and fair campaign practices acts were passed in the 1970s in the sweeping trend of reform occurring in all fifty states. Many of the state laws were boilerplate and had very similar language. However, Alabama's ethics law was stronger than most and our fair campaign practices was considered a model.
March 02, 2005
Last week's column on Alabama's antiquated constitution evoked a good many emails and letters from many of you. There seems to be a lot of interest on this topic. Most of you are in favor of an overhaul. As a result of the interest, I will dwell on this subject for another week.
February 23, 2005
There has been a lot written and said the past couple of years about the need for Alabama to have a new Constitution. There is indeed some groundswell to a revamp or rewrite of our antiquated 1901 Constitution.
February 16, 2005
The 2005 Legislative Session is two weeks old and all that you hear is the hue and cry among legislators regarding what to do with the beleaguered General Fund Budget. There will be no diversion of education dollars to rescue Medicaid and the other General Fund departments. Politically diversion is not an option. To his credit the Governor is working with legislative leaders to find a solution.
February 09, 2005
When the State Senate stripped Lieutenant Governor Steve Windom of the traditional powers of his office in the 1999 organizational session a good many observers predicted that those powers were gone forever. The belief was that once the Senate garnered the trappings of committee appointments and control over legislation they would never relinquish it. They seem to be right. It was thought by some that the dethroning had occurred because Windom was a Republican and the Senate overwhelmingly Democratic, and this was probably true at the time. It probably would not have occurred if the Lieutenant Governor had not been a Republican, but the proof of the pudding came in 2003 when Democrat Lucy Baxley took the gavel. The Senate kept the power and control. Lucy became a figurehead much like Windom. The difference is that Lucy made lemonade out of lemons. She turned the other cheek and did not whine at the rebuke and loss of power. She was sort of like Brer Rabbit in the brier patch! . She softly said, "Please don't take my power away," "please don't take my power away," but when they did take her power away she laughed gently to herself and took off campaigning around the state. Because with the power gone, the fighting, bitterness, enemy making, and resentments incurred was avoided. That is why Lieutenant Governor has been a poor stepping stone in the past. Lucy is free to travel all over the state making happy speeches, avoiding issues, and making new friends.