October 13, 2021 - Seniority vs. Senility
Our senior senator, Richard Shelby, will be remembered as Alabama’s most prominent senator when he retires next December. Folks, that’s saying a lot because we have had a host of prominent men serve Alabama in the United States Senate, such as giants like Lister Hill, John Sparkman and John Bankhead. However, history will record that none of these above senators brought the federal dollars back home to Alabama that Shelby has procured.
Seniority is omnipotent in Washington. It is everything, and Senator Shelby has it. He is in his 35th year in the U.S. Senate. He has already broken Senator Sparkman’s 32-year record of longevity in Alabama history and at the end of his term next year he will have served a record 36 years in the Senate. In addition, Shelby was the U.S. Congressman for the old 7th Congressional district for eight years.
Shelby has not only been the most prolific funneler of federal dollars to Alabama in our state’s history, but he could also be considered one of the most profound movers and shakers of federal funds to their state in American history. His only rival was the late Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia. Senator Byrd, who was in his ninth term as a senator when he died at 92, funneled an estimated $10 billion to his constituents during his 51 years in the Senate.
The obvious question asked by observers of Washington politics is, “Are some of our most powerful senators too old to function cognitively?” I can attest to you that I know Senator Richard Shelby personally and he is the most cognitively alert and healthy 87-year-old man I have ever seen. He works out daily and has the memory of an elephant. In fact, his mental and cognitive abilities are similar to someone 30 years his junior. He very well could run and serve another 6-year term. However, he will be 88 at the end of his term.
Shelby is one of five octogenarians serving in the Senate. California’s Dianne Feinstein is the oldest sitting senator at 88. She is followed by Iowa’s Charles “Chuck” Grassley who turns 88 next month. Shelby is the third at 87. James Inhofe of Oklahoma and Senator Pat Leahy of Vermont are 81. By the way, Grassley and Leahy are Shelby’s closest allies in the Senate.
The question becomes, “How old is too old to be a U.S. senator?” According to the Congressional Research Service, the average age of senators at the beginning of this year is 64-years. At some point voters have to weigh, “Is my senator too old to perform the duties of the office or does the weight and power of their seniority and the benefit of their influence to the state outweigh their energy and cognizance?” Voters tend to go with experience and seniority over youth.
Senator Feinstein has been the most widely discussed current senator for decline in health. Liberals believe she was too conciliatory during Supreme Court nominee Amy Comey Barrett’s confirmation hearing. There is a pervasive whispering campaign about Feinstein’s alleged cognitive decline and the Democratic senior leadership has indeed quietly removed her as the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee.
It was common knowledge and apparent that Senator Shelby’s predecessor as Chairman of Appropriations, Senator Thad Cochran of Mississippi, was not very cognitive in his last years in the Senate although he was younger, chronically. The most notable example of possibly staying too long is probably the story of legendary Senator Strom Thurman of South Carolina. In 2003 Strom Thurman retired at the age of 100 after 48 years in the Senate. It was no secret that his staff did everything for him during his last six-year-term.
Our founding fathers created a minimum age for serving in the U.S. House or Senate but did not address a maximum. The owner of Grub’s Pharmacy used by many on Capitol Hill in Washington raised eyebrows in 2017 when he revealed he routinely sent Alzheimer’s medication to Capitol Hill. There are continuing attempts to pass a Constitutional Amendment to limit terms of Congressmen and Senators. Republicans run on the issue of term limits. It was part of their contract with America Agenda in 1994.
Alabamians need to consider being for term limits in 2022, because it comes down to the old adage of whose ox is being gourd. We in Alabama are going to be up the proverbial creek without a paddle after Shelby. He is our power in Washington. We need to all jump on the term limit bandwagon beginning next year.
See you next week.
October 6, 2021 - Prison Issue Tackled, New Prisons on the Way
The problem of overcrowded prisons is a dilemma that has been facing Alabama for close to a decade. It was not something that Kay Ivey created. She simply inherited the situation and the chickens have some home to roost during her tenure. To her credit, she did not hide from the issue. She has tackled it head on and with gusto and resolve. She and the legislature were and are under the gun because the U.S. Justice Department is breathing down their necks to resolve the inequities and unconstitutional conditions in our prisons.
When you get into a scenario where the Justice Department adamantly demands some concrete resolutions, you have to act. Otherwise, they will take over the state’s prison system, mandate the resolutions, and hand you the bill. Just ask California. The Justice Department is not only building new prisons at the Golden State’s expense, but also releasing a good many of their prisoners. The bottom line is if the Justice Department will mandate and take over the California Prison System, you can bet your bottom dollar that they will do the same to Alabama.
We have been down this path before. Years ago, in the 1960s during all the segregation and civil rights wars raging in the Heart of Dixie the federal courts took over Alabama’s prison system. Governor George Wallace and Justice Frank Johnson were law school classmates and friends. Johnson was married to his lovely wife, Ruth Jenkins while in law school. Ruth was an excellent cook, and they would have George over for dinner. Their friendship ended when they clashed over civil rights and integration. Johnson handed down most of the rulings that integrated schools and other institutions throughout the state, while Wallace lambasted Johnson daily as a scalawaging, carpet bagging, integrating liberal.
Wallace won the demagogic battle and rode it to being governor for eternity. However, Johnson and the federal courts won the war. Judge Johnson took over the state prisons and the bill was so costly that it took the State of Alabama 25 years to dig out of the financial hole.
Kay Ivey is old enough to remember this disastrous solution for Alabama. That is probably why she took the bull by the horns and declared boldly in her State of the State address over two years ago that this is an Alabama problem and we need to find an Alabama solution.
Governor Kay Ivey and probably more importantly the state legislature has worked to resolve this imminent and pressing problem. This current Special Session called by Governor Ivey to address the need for new prisons will more than likely resolve the issue for at least the next 25 to 30 years.
The legislative leadership and governor have worked prudently and harmoniously to implement a solution to this prison overcrowding issue. This joint success follows months of negotiations between Ivey and legislative leaders in determining the scope and scale of the project. The two General Fund Budget Chairmen, Representative Steve Clouse and Senator Greg Albritton, deserve a lot of credit and accolades for orchestrating the pieces of the puzzle. Ivey and legislators knew that the gravity of the situation required the governor calling a Special Session.
The solution will be to build two new men’s prisons with at least 4,000 beds, one in Elmore County and one in Escambia County, in addition to a new 1,000 bed women’s correctional facility in Elmore County. The new Elmore men’s facility will provide enhanced medical and mental health, substance abuse and educational programming as suggested by the Justice Department.
The two new men’s prisons will cost an estimated $1.2 billion and the women’s prison and renovations of existing prisons will cost between $600 to $700 million. The prisons will be paid for by a $785 million bond issue. The salvation for the plan was the state receiving $400 million from the federal American Recovery Plan ACT (“ARPA”), which was like manna from heaven.
The heroes for their area and constituents were Senator Greg Albritton of Escambia and Senator Clyde Chambliss of Elmore, who won the new prisons for their people. These prisons are an economic bonanza for Elmore and Escambia. Chambliss got two.
Hopefully, this will resolve this issue for at least a few decades. We will see.
See you next week.
September 29, 2021 - We Now Have a Very Youthful Federal Judiciary in Alabama
Our senior senator, Richard Shelby, has left an indelible legacy and imprint on our state. Every corner of the state has been the recipient of his prowess at bringing home the bacon to the Heart of Dixie. Every university has enjoyed a largesse of federal dollars. He has made the Huntsville Redstone Arsenal one of the most renowned high technology regions in the nation, not to mention placing the FBI’s second home in Huntsville.
Shelby’s accomplishments for Alabama would take a book to enumerate. However, what is not universally known is that Senator Richard Shelby has transformed the federal judiciary in Alabama for years to come.
During the entire eight-year presidency of Barack Obama, by nature we had some attrition in our federal judiciary in all three regions, Northern, Middle and Southern Districts. Even though President Obama sought to appoint Democratic judges throughout the state, Senator Shelby and Senator Jeff Sessions thwarted all Democratic appointees and held these cherished and powerful judgeships vacant.
Shelby and Sessions were hopeful that one day there would be a Republican president coupled with a Republican senate majority and they would be able to appoint Republican jurists to the federal bench in Alabama. That happened when Trump became president. Senator Sessions had parted with his senate seat to become attorney general, so that left Senator Shelby to select and get confirmed a host of new, young federal judges in Alabama.
Shelby assigned his loyal and brilliant Chief of Staff, Katie Boyd Britt, the job of vetting potential federal judgeships. She and Shelby chose an outstanding cadre of young, well-educated, extremely qualified, moderately conservative men and women to sit on the federal bench in Alabama. This group is stellar and will be the majority of federal judges for the next 25 to 30 years. This coup of appointing young, conservative, extremely capable judges to the federal bench in Alabama may be one of Senator Richard Shelby’s greatest legacies.
Shelby had Andrew Brasher first appointed to the Middle District of Alabama. However, soon thereafter an opening occurred on the Eleventh Circuit and so Shelby had President Trump appoint Brasher to the higher appeals court. Prior to Brasher’s appointment to the Middle District, he practiced law with Bradley Arant in Birmingham. He was solicitor general and a law clerk for Judge Bill Pryor. Judge Brasher is a graduate of Samford University and Harvard Law School.
Senator Shelby had President Trump appoint Anna Manasco as a federal judge in the Northern District of Alabama. Judge Manasco, like Judge Brasher, practiced law in Birmingham with Bradley Arant prior to her federal appointment. She graduated with honors from Emory University, prior to earning her law degree from Yale Law School.
Shelby aligned with President Trump to appoint Corey Maze for a seat on the federal bench in the Northern District. Judge Maze was a prosecutor for the State of Alabama Attorney General’s office. He is a summa cum laude graduate of Auburn University and a graduate of Georgetown Law.
Senator Shelby had President Trump appoint Liles Burke to a federal judgeship in the Northern District. Burke was an Associate Judge of the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals prior to his federal appointment. He obtained his undergraduate and law degree from the University of Alabama.
Annemarie Axon is another Trump and Shelby anointed appointee for the Northern District of Alabama. Judge Axon practiced law in Birmingham prior to her appointment. She, like all of the other Northern District appointees, is extremely well qualified. Axon also obtained her undergraduate and law degree from the University of Alabama.
Austin Huffaker, Jr. of Montgomery was chosen by Shelby and Trump for a federal judgeship in the Middle District. He practiced law in Montgomery prior to his appointment. He has an engineering degree from Vanderbilt and earned his law degree from the University of Alabama School of Law.
Also appointed by Shelby and Trump to the Middle District is Emily Marks of Montgomery. Judge Marks practiced law in Montgomery prior to her appointment. She is a graduate of Spring Hill College in Mobile and the University of Alabama School of Law.
Jeffrey Beaverstock was appointed to a federal judgeship in the Southern District. He practiced law in Mobile and is a graduate of the Citadel and the University of Alabama School of Law.
Terry Moorer was appointed by President Trump and confirmed by the senate for the Southern District. He was previously an assistant U.S. Attorney and is a graduate of Huntington College and the University of Alabama School of Law.
This host of federal jurists in Alabama will be one of Senator Richard Shelby’s lasting legacies.
See you next week.
September 22, 2021 - Huntsville is Alabama’s Largest City
Huntsville has rocketed past Birmingham as Alabama’s largest city. It is not named the Rocket City for nothing. The Census Bureau had been predicting this amazing boom in population in the Madison (Huntsville)/Limestone area, but the actual figures recently released reveal a bigger growth than expected. Huntsville grew by 20% or 35,000 people and is now a little over 215,000.
On the other hand, Birmingham shrank by 12,000 or 5% to 201,000 people. Montgomery held its own and Montgomery and Birmingham are actually in a virtual tie for second at around 200,000. Mobile shrank to 187,000 and is now the smallest of the “big four” cities in the state.
Our big four cities of Huntsville, Birmingham, Montgomery and Mobile are all led by sterling mayors. Birmingham’s mayor, Randall Woodfin, and Mobile’s mayor, Sandy Stimpson, both won overwhelming reelection victories in late August elections.
Mayor Randall Woodfin won a very impressive reelection landslide victory on August 24. Woodfin garnered an amazing 65% of the vote against seven opponents. He won his first race for mayor four years ago, the old-fashioned way. He went door-to-door and knocked on an estimated 50,000 doors. He followed up this year by running one of the most picture-perfect campaigns in modern times. He again had a stellar grassroots campaign with a host of volunteers that knocked on an estimated 80,000 doors.
Mayor Woodfin and his team are brilliantly adapting to the modern politics of using social media, yet he adroitly employs the old-school politics of mainstream television, traditional media, and getting out the vote. The initial polling on the mayoral race indicated that Woodfin could probably win reelection without a runoff, but nobody saw the 65% final result figure. I am convinced that the ad firm that designed his televisions ads garnered him a 12% boost from 53% to 65% with an ad using his mother. The ad featured Mama Woodfin asking her friends and neighbors in Birmingham to vote for her boy. She was a superstar.
Mobile mayor, Sandy Stimpson, also won an impressive 63% reelection victory on August 24. He was elected to his third term. Stimpson is a successful businessman from an old silk stocking Mobile family. He is doing the job as a civic duty. Mobilians must think he is doing a good job. Stimpson ran a positive campaign and spent a lot of money. Stimpson will be entering his third four-year term as mayor of the Port City. On election night, he indicated that this may be his last hurrah noting that he will be 73 in 2025 and may be ready to hand over the reins.
Huntsville’s mayor, Tommy Battle, won an impressive reelection last year. Montgomery mayor, Steven Reed, also won a very impressive first term election in 2020. The mayors of our four major cities are indeed popular.
There is another dynamic developing in our state. The Morehouse College Degree and experience has become the standard of success among the new African American leaders in the state. It seems that this traditional historic college in Atlanta is where our elite leaders are spawned.
The leadership of Montgomery are all products of this proud institution of higher learning. It is truly a powerfully bonded fraternity. Mayor Steven Reed, State Senator Kirk Hatcher, Probate Judge J.C. Love, and Circuit Judge Greg Griffin all have the same pedigree. They all were born and raised in the Capitol City, went off to Morehouse for their education and national political networking, then came home to lead their city and Montgomery County.
Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin is a Morehouse man. In his first race his Morehouse friends and fraternity brothers from throughout the country, many of whom are professionals, doctors, lawyers, and businessmen came to the Magic City to campaign and knock-on doors for Woodfin. There was a room full of Morehouse men at Woodfin’s victory celebration on August 24 as he won his second term.
By the same token, Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle and Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson are products of the old school, 100-year-old University of Alabama fraternity called “The Machine.” Battle was a member of Kappa Sigma and Stimpson was a Delta Kappa Epsilon.
In closing even though Huntsville is the largest city, folks in the Rocket City should not get too big of a head. The Birmingham/Hoover metro area is still by far the largest metropolitan area of the state by a 2-to-1 margin.
See you next week.
September 15, 2021 - Census Results – Revealing
Well folks, the final census figures are in from last year’s 2020 nose count. The census is taken every 10 years to determine the lines and boundaries of congressional and legislative districts. However, the census reveals a lot more information about us as a state and nation than just how many of us there are. It paints a picture of who we are as people and what we look like.
The most recent census unveils an America much different than those of us who were born in the 1950’s and are referred to as the “Baby Boomer” generation. We are one diverse country. Indeed, we are a true melting pot. The United States is now less than 60% white/Caucasian – 57% to be exact. The black/African American population has basically remained the same at about 12% of the population. The most remarkable figure is that 20% of our population identifies as Hispanic. The Asian population has doubled over the 10 years from 3% to 6% percent. It is a new America.
What do these numbers portend and what is the story for Alabama? First of all, we did an amazing job on our count. The Census Bureau has remarked that Alabama was one of the five best states in America when it came to counting our people. We actually came up with 103,000 more people than what was projected. Gov. Kay Ivey’s efforts deserve some credit for this success.
The most significant fact in our successful count is that we saved a congressional seat. It had been projected for the last five years that we were going to lose a congressional seat from seven to six in Congress. We will fortunately keep seven. This will make the legislature’s job much, much easier when they meet in about a month to draw the lines.
After the reapportionment session, we will still probably have six Republican congressmen and one Democratic member of Congress. In fact, when the members of the legislature begin drawing the lines, they will begin with that lone Democratic seat of Congresswoman Terri Sewell. She and that district will come first when dividing up people for two reasons. One is that Alabama is still under the eye of the Justice Department by virtue of the 1965 Voting Rights Act whereby we must have at least one majority-minority district. Because the Black Belt region of the state has lost significant population, she will have to take in a larger area. She will probably go all the way from Birmingham to Mobile. She will pick up a large chunk of Tuscaloosa and almost all of Montgomery as well as at least three to five more sparsely populated Black Belt counties on the way between Birmingham and Mobile. As projected, the Black Belt counties lost population and the growth in the state was in fast growing Republican leaning counties such as Baldwin, Shelby, Jefferson, Lee, and especially in the Huntsville / Madison / Limestone area.
The second reason that Congresswoman Sewell will get deference is that she is our only Democratic congressperson. With the U.S. House of Representatives being majority Democratic, as well as the White House, Congresswoman Sewell is our only conduit to the majority party. In addition, she is on a fast leadership track in Congress and sits on the all-important House Ways and Means Committee.
Huntsville’s amazing growth is the remarkable story of the census in Alabama. Huntsville is now Alabama’s largest city. It far surpasses Birmingham. In fact, Birmingham lost 5% of its population. There is essentially a tie between Montgomery and Birmingham as to who is second. Montgomery held its own. Huntsville city grew by 20%. The metro area by over 40%. The Birmingham/Hoover metro area is still by far the largest metropolitan area. The suburban cities of Hoover, Vestavia Hills and Trussville grew substantially. Hoover, itself, grew by 13%.
After the Madison (Huntsville) / Limestone area, the fastest growing county in the state is Baldwin County. While Daphne had significant growth, the darling in the group is Fairhope, which grew by 47%. Lee County and Auburn grew by whopping numbers.
What does this mean politically? These growth counties of Baldwin, Madison, and Lee will see increased Republican representation in the legislature and the Jefferson/Shelby suburbs will hold their own. It will be hard to not increase the super majority Republican control of the Alabama Senate and House of Representatives.
See you next week.
September 8, 2021 - 20th Anniversary of 9/11 Terrorist Attacks
This week marks the 20th Anniversary of the infamous 9/11 terrorist attacks on our nation. It was a day in your life where you remember where you were and what you were doing when you first heard of the attacks on the New York World Trade Center and Pentagon. It changed our world.
Like most people, I thought the first plane that flew into the towering Trade Center, was an accident. However, when the second plane hit you knew it was not pilot error. It was traumatic and terrifying. I asked several of our state leaders their memories of that fateful day. Allow me to share some of their experiences.
Today, only two members of our current congressional delegation were in Congress at the time: Senator Richard Shelby and Congressman Robert Aderholt. Our senior senator, Richard Shelby, was actually chairman of the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee. He was immediately briefed by the CIA, however, amazingly, he was not placed in a protective bunker. He quietly sat in his office with his staff and watched the day unfold on television.
Congressman Robert Aderholt, who was a brand new 33-year old congressman recalls he and his wife, Caroline, were taking their daughter to her first day of school while all the 9/11 events were unfolding. That daughter, Mary Elliott, is now a senior at Auburn.
PSC President Twinkle Cavanaugh had just left Washington and was back home in Alabama getting ready for a conference call. The call was cancelled, and she sat in shock all day.
Gov. Kay Ivey shared her memory. She said it was a typical September morning. She was attending a conference and learned of the first plane flying into the tower while getting coffee. At first, the news did not seem too alarming. However, a few minutes later, when news of the second plane hit and videos appeared showing the large plane crashing into the World Trade Center, an awful feeling started to sink in for everyone as they realized our world was changing in front of their eyes.
The Governor’s Chief of Staff, Jo Bonner, at that time was Chief of Staff to Congressman Sonny Callahan and later took that seat in Congress. Bonner was also at a legislative meeting in Montgomery. He was having breakfast at the Embassy Suites, and he watched the planes fly into the tower.
Gov. Ivey’s new State Finance Director Bill Poole had recently moved back from D.C. a few weeks prior to enrolling in the University of Alabama Law School. He was in class and was concerned about young friends he had left behind in D.C.
Ozark State Representative, Steve Clouse, was a young legislator and was in Montgomery eating breakfast at the Madison Hotel.
State Senator Clay Scofield was a junior at Auburn University. He watched on televisions and recalls feeling sad, angry and extremely patriotic. Lt. Governor, Will Ainsworth, was also a student at Auburn. He was in his apartment getting ready to go to class.
Pardons and Parole Director and former State Senator, Cam Ward, was on a plane headed to Washington, D.C. while the events were unfolding. They were diverted to West Virginia to land and then informed of what had happened.
State Senator Greg Reed was in his home office preparing for a business trip to Baltimore, Maryland. His wife, Mitzi, ran into his office a little after 9:00 and told him to come watch what was unfolding in New York. Needless to say, his trip was cancelled.
State Senator Clyde Chambliss was in an Autauga County Leadership meeting. Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle was eating breakfast at a local restaurant in the Rocket City. State Treasurer John McMillan was head of the Alabama Forestry Association. They were at their annual meeting at the Perdido Beach Resort.
Troy University Chancellor Jack Hawkins, a decorated Veteran of Vietnam, had just departed campus enroute to Luverne on a communities tour. By the time they reached Montgomery, he said, “It was clear that America had been attacked. What began as a day of celebration concluded in Prattville as a day of mourning and patriotism.”
Attorney General Steve Marshall had been serving as the district attorney for Marshall County for just over a month. He watched the events unfold on televisions in underground offices. It was his daughter’s 11th birthday, but his family did little celebrating on that day.
Former Congressman Bradley Byrne was practicing law in Mobile. His law offices were in the same building as the FBI. They got their fully automatic rifles out and were guarding the building all day.
See you next week.
September 1, 2021 - Trump Comes to Alabama
Former President Donald Trump paid a visit to the Heart of Dixie last week. Obviously, this is Trump country.
Alabama was one of Trump’s best states in the 2020 Election. He got an amazing 65% of the vote in our state. If the turnout for his August 21 rally in rural Cullman County is any indication, he would get that same margin of victory this year if the election were held again. Many of those in attendance were insistent that Trump won last year’s presidential contest and that it was stolen from him.
The event was held on a desolate rural north Alabama farm. It was reminiscent of the 1969 Woodstock event in rural New York. In fact, our newly minted U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville referred to it as “Trumpstock.” Tuberville nor I either one attended Woodstock, but we are old enough to know about the legendary music and imbibing event. It was also reminiscent of some of the old George Wallace rallies in the 1960’s – only much larger.
The rally drew an enormous crowd. Estimates said there were 45,000 Trumpites in attendance and I am not an expert on estimating crowds, but I do not disagree with that number. It took me 30 minutes to walk through the crowd to get to my car.
Trump is truly an entertainer and Alabama is truly Trump Country, although there were quite a few folks in attendance from neighboring states. I was very appreciative to be given a VIP front row private reception invitation to the event. Allow me to share some of my observations.
Coach/Senator Tommy Tuberville won his seat in the U.S. Senate because Trump endorsed him. It is obvious that Trump and Tuberville like each other and have bonded. Tuberville ran for and is in the Senate for the right reason. He wants to spend some of his retirement years giving back to this country. Tuberville was not groomed to be a politician. He is a football coach, but he is doing a good job representing Alabama in Washington. He has put together a good staff headed by veteran Stephen Boyd. They are doing a good job with constituent service. Tuberville looked jovial, relaxed, and dapper when he spoke prior to Trump.
Lt. Governor Will Ainsworth gave a great speech. It was fiery and almost George Wallace level. He is a true conservative. He has two young sons who accompanied him to the rally. They are very gentlemanly young men, who are always courteous and mannerly.
Attorney General Steve Marshall gave an excellent speech. It was conversational, sincere and well received.
Congressman Robert Aderholt was spectacular and gave a great speech and welcome. He represents Cullman in congress. His 4th Congressional District gave Trump the largest percentage votes of any congressional district in the country. Aderholt looks like a congressman. He is polished and erudite, but has a grassroots appeal. His people in North Alabama love him.
Mo Brooks spoke and was fiery as ever. Trump has endorsed him in the senate race. However, Trump only endorsed him once on this night.
There is a lot of internal discord among the Republican Party membership. It appears that the Mo Brooks supporters have taken over the Republican Party hierarchy and that this Trump event was a Mo Brooks rally. Trump probably was asked to temper his Brooks endorsement. Indeed, Mo Brooks’s opponents, Katie Britt, Lynda Blanchard and Jessica Taylor were all in attendance.
Several state senators were there, along with the aforementioned state constitutional officers. I saw Greg Reed from Jasper, Tom Whatley from Auburn, along with hometown Cullman Senator Garlan Gudger, and PSC Commissioner Jeremy Oden also from Cullman County. In addition, Secretary of State John Merrill and Jefferson/Shelby Congressman Gary Palmer were in attendance.
It was good to see some of the old, longtime, 50 year Republican Party faithful founders there – Elbert Peters from Huntsville, Joan and Paul Reynolds from Shelby County, and Vicki and Mike Drummond from Jasper. They were laboring in the Republican vineyards before it was cool to be a Republican, and still are.
I had a chance to see Trump closeup. He looks amazing for 75. People age differently. He is a lot more cognizant and alert than 78-year-old Joe Biden. If you made me bet, I would say that Trump is running for President in 2024 and that he will carry Alabama.
Happy Labor Day.
See you next week.
August 25, 2021 - More Summer Political Happenings
Allow me to again open my political notebook for more summer political happenings in the Heart of Dixie.
As Labor Day approaches it looks as though the state constitutional officeholders, all Republicans, are going to escape serious or even any opposition. Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth, Attorney General Steve Marshall and Agriculture Commissioner Rick Pate are running unopposed. However, all three are running aggressive campaigns or, as the old saying goes, are running scared.
It looks as though State Treasurer John McMillan will not run for reelection and may opt to be head of the new State Cannabis Commission. Waiting in the wing to run for treasurer is former State Treasurer Young Boozer. He will be a prohibitive favorite. He did an excellent job as Treasurer and remains very well thought of in Montgomery circles.
The Secretary of State and Auditors jobs are open with no incumbents able to run. Surprisingly, state representative Wes Allen is the only one running for Secretary of State. He dodged a bullet when Birmingham businesswoman, Laura Johnston Clark, opted to not run.
The State Auditor’s race has attracted several candidates. A recent entry is Mobilian Rusty Glover. He is a popular former state representative and state senator who ran statewide for lieutenant governor last time. He will be the favorite. I have never seen anyone who has ever met and visited with Rusty one-on-one who does not like him.
The big money in next year’s election will be on the state legislative races. All 105 State House seats and all 35 State Senate races will be on the ballot. All 140 seats will have new lines. They may all be similar, but all will have to deviate to some degree.
They will be drawing these new lines in a special reapportionment legislative session in late October or early November. The final census numbers just arrived within the last few days. This redistricting session is vitally important to all legislative incumbents. It is about political self-preservation.
Redistricting also impacts the impending race for Speaker of the House, which will be determined shortly after the November 2022 General Election during the January 2023 organizational session.
Current House Speaker Mac McCutchen announced during the summer that he was not running for reelection. This immediately set in motion a jockeying for position to be the next Speaker. The two candidates that are emerging are Steve Clouse (R-Ozark) and Nathaniel Ledbetter (R-Dekalb County). The race will be decided within the Republican House caucus. The House currently has a super majority with 75% of the body being Republican. This GOP dominance will continue or may even be enhanced after reapportionment.
Steve Clouse is a 27-year veteran of the House. He is the powerful Chairman of the House Ways and Means General Fund Committee. Nathaniel Ledbetter is a popular, folksy, keen, second-term representative, who is the House Majority Leader.
Both candidates start with a hard-core base of votes from legislators from their neck of the woods. Ledbetter has a rock-solid base from the northeastern corner of the State and Sand Mountain. Clouse has the steadfast support from southeast Alabama and the Wiregrass.
The race will probably be determined by the more populous delegation of legislators from the metropolitan areas of Jefferson/Shelby and Mobile/Baldwin.
Ledbetter has the backing of retiring Speaker McCutcheon of Huntsville and probably has an advantage in the Madison/Limestone delegation. However, Ledbetter’s ace-in-the-hole may be that as Majority Leader, he is helping raise campaign money not only for incumbents, but more importantly the 20 to 25 new members who are being elected next May. If it comes down to a straight, all north Alabama versus south Alabama race, that gives Ledbetter a leg up because there are more people and legislators from north Alabama because that is where the population is as the current census numbers reveal. However, if a geographic war develops, look for the Montgomery River Region Republican legislators to side with south Alabama and Clouse.
Again, the Jefferson/Shelby and Mobile/Baldwin delegations may very well be where the race is decided. The Jefferson/Shelby legislators from the upscale urbane districts will favor Clouse’s experience in a private vote. This same advantage will accrue to Clouse in the silk-stocking Mobile/Baldwin districts. Veteran Mobile legislator Victor Gaston, who is also Speaker Pro Tem of the House, is running for reelection probably to help elect Clouse as Speaker. They are very close and dedicated friends. Victor is very respected and may very well bring some Mobile legislators with him.
See you next week.
August 18, 2021 - Summer Political Happenings
This long hot and wet summer is coming to a close, and Labor Day is on the horizon. Labor Day weekend will not only mark the beginning of college football season, but also the traditional start of the 2022 political season.
Most of the horses are in the chute for the May 24, 2022, primary election. So let the fun begin.
Let me share some political happenings that transpired over the summer. Jim Ziegler, our colorful State Auditor is edging closer to challenging Kay Ivey in the governor’s race. Ole Ziegler is an astute politician and campaigner, although not a very prolific fundraiser. He will be a viable candidate, but it is unlikely he can beat a healthy Kay Ivey.
Tim James, who has run two worthy races for governor, may give it a third try. He too can make a good race, but probably cannot beat Ivey. However, if both James and Ziegler get into the race they could and probably would force Ivey into a runoff which would be very stressful for her. Both James and Ziegler are viable candidates, and it will make the race interesting – especially if Ziegler gets in. He is fun to watch.
However, Kay Ivey is preparing for another term by securing a treasured asset in State Representative Bill Poole as her state finance director. She now has a dynamic duo by her side to rely and depend on with Poole as her Finance Director and Jo Bonner as her Chief of Staff. She also has a bevy of young lieutenants led by the wife and husband team of Liz and Bill Filmore.
Bill Poole is considered the most popular and promising young politico on the Alabama political scene. He will be a tremendous asset for Governor Ivey as the manager of the state finances. Bill Poole was elected as a state representative from Tuscaloosa in 2010. In his 11 years in the House, he made a meteoric rise into the leadership within the state House of Representatives. In all my years watching the Alabama Legislature and Alabama politics, I have never seen anyone as universally respected and liked as Poole.
He became Chairman of the Ways and Means Education Budget Committee in 2013 after only two years in the House. He has essentially written the State Education Budget for the last eight years. The Education Budget amounts to over three-fourths of all state dollars. He has become a guru and expert on the state’s revenues and budgeting. Kay Ivey could not have scripted anyone better than Poole to administer the state finances. In addition, his relationship with the legislature will expedite the passage of Ivey’s budget recommendations within the legislature.
The race for the open Senate Seat of our Senior U.S. Senator Richard Shelby has been percolating all summer and it is beginning to look like it will be a two-person race between Congressman Mo Brooks and Business Council of Alabama Chairman Katie Britt. It will be a classic battle of the two wings of the Republican Party. Brooks represents the right-wing, reactionary, firebrand, bombastic, Trump wing of the party. In fact, former President Donald Trump has enthusiastically endorsed Brooks and will probably rousingly promote Brooks at a rally in Cullman County this Saturday.
Katie Boyd Britt will carry the banner of the moderate, pro-business, conservative, yet more sophisticated wing of the party. She would be a senator for Alabama who would protect our immensely valuable military defense meccas in the state, like the Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Maxwell-Gunter Air Base in Montgomery and Ft. Rucker in her native Wiregrass.
During the summer Britt has raised a record-breaking amount of campaign money that will be essential as she and Brooks head towards a May 24, 2022, runoff duel. However, Britt also has been beating the bushes in rural Alabama. She has made almost every Farmer’s Federation County meeting in the state. You have to earn the Farmer’s Federation endorsement by the grassroots approach.
The Alfa endorsement does not come from an ivory tower in Montgomery. Their endorsement is garnered by votes from each county federation. Therefore, you have to work for it and believe you me that endorsement is important in a statewide Republican race in Alabama. The Farmer’s Federation will not endorse Mo Brooks. He is the only Republican Congressman from Alabama who has consistently voted against Alabama farmers. Look for Katie Britt to get the coveted Alfa endorsement.
See you next week.
August 11, 2021 - Status of Race for Shelby’s Seat
The field may be set for the race to fill the Seat of our iconic senior U.S. Senator, Richard Shelby. When Senator Shelby announced that he would not seek a seventh six-year term in the United States Senate earlier this year, many of us expected a stampede of candidates to throw their hats in the ring. When a U.S. Senate seat opens for the first time in 36 years, you might expect everybody who had ever won a 4-H speaking contest to enter the fray. However, I guess politics does not have quite the allure that it used to in bygone days.
The election will be held May 24, 2022. I say election rather than Republican Primary because a Democrat cannot win in a statewide race in Alabama. Winning the GOP Primary is tantamount to election in the Heart of Dixie.
The four GOP candidates are Huntsville Congressman Mo Brooks, 67, former Trump Ambassador to Slovenia Lynda Blanchard, 62, former Shelby Chief of Staff and more currently Business Council of Alabama CEO, Katie Britt, 39, and finally Jessica Taylor who is only 37. Allow me to outline the attributes and foibles of all four. However, their order of description does not indicate my preference or their likelihood of winning.
You may have noticed that beside all four names I have acknowledged their chronological age on earth. This is important because seniority is not only important but is paramount in the pursuit of power and the ability to be an effective broker for Alabama along the Potomac. Obviously, the younger you are the more likely that you have the potential to be an effective senator for Alabama because time in Washington equates into seniority, which results in power for our state.
If someone had told Shelby when he entered the Senate 36 years ago in 1986, that the race to be his successor would field four major candidates and three of them would be ladies, he would have been dubious. Speaking of Shelby and his successor, it is no secret that the fine senior gentleman senator from Tuscaloosa would like to see his former Chief of Staff, Katie Boyd Britt, follow him in the U.S. Senate. Those of us who have followed young Katie Boyd Britt since she was a girl growing up in Enterprise, knew she had potential governor or U.S. Senator written all over her from the get-go.
Katie was miss everything in Enterprise. She was governor of Girls State, went on to the University of Alabama where she was President of the Student Government, went on to graduate from University of Alabama Law School. She went to work for Shelby, then practiced law for awhile and then became CEO of the Business Council of Alabama. She is married to Wesley Britt a former Alabama football star from Cullman. They have two children and reside in Montgomery. Katie will be the moderate probusiness, Shelby-like, Republican in the race. She raised a record breaking $2.4 million in her first month in the race.
Jessica Taylor is a strikingly attractive, aggressive and vivacious firebrand conservative. She ran a respectable third in the race for the open 2nd congressional seat last year. She may be hampered by an inability to compete with the other three in campaign funds.
Lynda Blanchard, 62, is from Montgomery. She is indeed a lifetime resident of Montgomery except for three years as Ambassador to Slovenia. She is a quiet, well spoken, sincere lady who would be a good senator. Undoubtedly, she has been successful in business. She has contributed over $5 million to her campaign.
Congressman Mo Brooks enters the race as the frontrunner. Mo has staked out the conservative right wing of this GOP race, which probably constitutes the majority of primary voters in Alabama. He quite deserves his label as the most conservative. He would more than likely be one of the most conservative senators in Washington if elected as our next senator. He has been a diligent right-winger during his entire 40-year career in politics. His 10 years of being the Congressman for the Tennessee Valley has proven that he is more interested in being on Fox News than bringing home the bacon for Alabama. He will proudly proclaim that he will be a United States Senator and not a Senator for Alabama.
He has been totally ineffective during his time in Congress and would be ineffective for the entire state. In fact, if elected, he would be an albatross. However, having Trump’s total endorsement, Mo Brooks enters the race as the favorite.