August 28, 2024 - Labor was Dominant in Post-War Alabama

As we prepare for Labor Day this coming Monday, it reminds me how labor union laden Alabama was during the immediate post World War II era in our state’s industrial development.

Alabama experienced the wrenching throes of the Great Depression like the rest of the nation. There were tragic stories of devastation that paralleled those illuminated in the classic novel, The Grapes of Wrath. On the other hand, I have heard many old timers who lived during the Depression say we never knew there was a depression in Alabama. We were poor before,so there was no marked difference to our standard of living. We had plenty to eat. There were people jumping out of buildings in New York City committing suicide because they were millionaires one day and penniless the next. We didn’t have much of that in Alabama.

These Depression-era rumblings resonate pretty accurately because most Alabamians lived off the land. Most of our ancestors were farmers and most had modest farms where they grew all their staples and food. Therefore, the Depression probably did not change their standard of living. In fact, it could have helped them buy their Sunday suit and pair of shoes for the year at a reduced price.

The South was an agrarian region. There was little industry in Alabama. Eight out of ten Alabamians, black or white, made their living on the farm. Although they had enough to eat, they were poor compared to the rest of the nation. It was a hard life with little discretionary income.

World War II brought America out of the Great Depression. The country had to become industrialized in a hurry. Most of Alabama’s young yeomen farmers were drafted or enlisted in the military. They saw the world and were exposed to a vast new world of opportunity. They came home aspiring to more than their fathers had experienced. They wanted out of their poverty,but they also loved their native Alabama roots. The best of both worlds was about to occur. Industry came to Alabama.

The post-World War II economy expanded into the Heart of Dixie. Birmingham became one of the South’s largest cities. Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal programs transformed the Tennessee Valley from an impoverished Appalachian region to a vibrant industrial area that would later attract Werner Von Braun and the Redstone Arsenal. The northern part of Alabama became the largest population base in the state due to this industrial expansion. Today it is still home to the majority ofAlabamians.

A new generation of Alabamians moved from the farm to the factory. They also went a step further than the rest of the South and joined labor unions. Alabama became the most unionized state in the South.

Every major industry in Alabama was served by a unionized workforce. The steel mills of Birmingham were Alabama’s largest employers. The United Steelworker’s Union ruled supreme. The state docks in Mobile boomed with the economic expansion. The dock workers were all unionized.

The explosion of new automobiles desired by Americans created the need for tires. Tire makers looked to Alabama and built major plants here. B.F. Goodrich landed in Tuscaloosa. Goodyear settled in Gadsden and Opelika. These tire plants became the largest employers in these three cities. They were all unionized.  

The paper mills in Tuscaloosa were unionized. Reynolds Aluminum built their largest plant in the world in Sheffield. It became the premier employer in the Quad-Cities. The workers were all union. The massive Tennessee Valley Authority, which harnessed the vast natural water of the Tennessee Valley, gave employment to an array of north Alabamians. These TVA workers were union members.

The Black Belt planters were like ostriches with their heads buried in the sand when they wrote Big Jim Folsom off as a buffoon in the 1946 governor’s race. They dismissed Big Jim, who had won the overwhelming endorsement of the AFL-CIO. However, they quickly realized that their Alabama had changed when Big Jim crushed their candidate and became governor because of the endorsement of organized labor.

However, over the past half-century, the American and world economy has changed, and labor union strength has diminished almost to the point of insignificance in Alabama. Although recently organized labor has made an intense effort to organize workers in the state. They made a run earlier this year on our crown jewel Mercedes plant but fell short.

See you next week.


August 21, 2024 - Tommy Battle Reelected to Fifth Term as Mayor of Huntsville Unopposed

Over the years it has occurred to me that the real governing in our state, and more than likely in every state for that matter, is done by the mayors. We have a reservoir of the best people in our state who are mayors. The mayor of a city is the chief cook and bottle washer. Most Alabamians view their mayor as their best friend in the political world. They know their mayor. They have either watched him grow up or, if the mayor is older, the mayor has coached them in little league baseball or taught them in Sunday School.

They know their mayor personally and call on him to help solve their problems. Their mayor can resolve their daily problems within minutes. They look to their mayor to make sure they have a good school system, their roads are functional, to make sure they are safe in their homes from crime, and that their garbage is picked up timely. The mayor’s office is where the rubber meets the road.

The longer I live and the longer I write this column it is apparent that Alabama is a big front porch. My column appears in almost every local newspaper in the state. As a courtesy, most of the papers send me a copy in the mail. Over the years and still today, I read those local papers and know what is going on in the cities and towns throughout the state.

I can see what outstanding work our mayors in the state are doing for their cities and citizens they love and serve. These mayors are the real leaders in Alabama. They are not just fixing potholes, which is important, they are innovative, creative, and tremendous industrial recruiters and job creators.

Some of our big city mayors are leaving legacies of successful tenures that will be felt for generations. Walt Maddox in Tuscaloosa, Sandy Stimpson in Mobile, Frank Brocato in Hoover, and Mark Saliba in Dothan are truly making a difference.

However, some of the best governing in the state may be done by midsize city mayors in our state. Some who stand out are Gary Fuller in Opelika, Ashley Curry in Vestavia Hills, Gordon Stone in Pike Road, Ron Anders in Auburn, Jason Reeves in Troy, Bill Gillespie in Prattville, Mike Oakley in Centreville, William Cooper in Enterprise, Chuck Ables in Geraldine, David O’Mary in Jasper, Earl Johnson in Andalusia, Tony Haygood in Tuskegee, Craig Ford in Gadsden, Ronnie Marks in Athens, John Hinton in Northport, Dexter McLendon in Greenville,Woody Baird in Alexander City, Brian Bain in Fort Payne, and Eddie Lowe in Phenix City. Sherry Sullivan in her first term is doing a great job in Fairhope.

The brightest and most legendary mayor in Alabama in the last two decades has been Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle. He has led and spearheaded the unparalleled growth and prosperity of the Rocket City. Mayor Battle was just reelected without opposition to an unprecedented fifth, four-year term as Mayor of Huntsville. Battle has been the catalyst that has propelled Huntsville to becoming the largest city in Alabama. It is not only now the biggest population city of the state, it has the highest per capita income of any city of the Southeastern United States. It also has one of the lowest crime rates in the country.

Battle is 68. He was first elected in 2008 and has served four terms. In his last reelection in 2020, he garnered 80% of the vote. He is a successful businessman, who has concentrated on keeping Huntsville fiscally sound. Even through Huntsville’s amazing growth, Battle has kept the city on a balanced budget. He has led Huntsville to 14 straight years of Triple-A bond ratings. The consistently excellent bond ratings and overall fiscal health of the city are a testament to the success of Battle’s administration’s money management methods.

As the state looks towards the 2026 Governor’s race, Tommy Battle would be the obvious frontrunner. I have always believed that being mayor of a major city is a better training ground for governor than any other any other leadership post. However, Tommy Battle probably will not take the bait. He has a much better job being Mayor of Huntsville than being Governor of Alabama.

Tommy Battle has been an outstanding Mayor of Huntsville. He would also make a good Governor of Alabama.

See you next week.


August 14, 2024 - Wes Allen – Worthy and Unique Secretary of State

Alabama’s 54th Secretary of State Wes Allen is doing a very good job in his first term as Secretary of State of the great State of Alabama.

When he ran for this office, I said he was by far the best qualified person for this important post.  This constitutional office is a real working position. It has a myriad of duties with dozens of employees to oversee. The primary reason that I knew he was the most qualified person was the fact that he had been the Probate Judge of Pike County for almost a decade. Although the Secretary of State wears several hats, the administering of elections is one of the more important duties and the highest profile of this job.

I also knew Wes Allen to be a young man of integrity.  I have known Wes most of his life.  His dad is State Senator Gerald Allen, who has represented Tuscaloosa and surrounding counties for over 30 years. I was already in the House of Representatives when Gerald came to the House in the mid 1980’s. Gerald and I bonded. He gravitated to me because he knew that Senator Richard Shelby and I were friends. Gerald was and still is a great admirer and friend of our revered and retired U.S. Senator Shelby. Both Gerald Allen and Richard Shelby hail from Tuscaloosa.

While we were in the House of Representatives, Gerald asked me several times to go to lunch with him in Tuscaloosa. He wanted me to meet his son of whom he was very proud. Finally,I journeyed to the Druid City where we ate at a famous meat and three restaurant on 15th Street. His son, Wes, joined us.  Weswas everything Gerald said he was, very friendly and delightful. That was 35 years ago. Little did I know that Wes would one day sit in the same House seat that I was in when Wes and I first met, which is House District 89, representing Pike and Dale Counties. Wes was a student at the University of Alabama and a walk-on split end on Gene Stallings Alabama football team. Dabo Sweeney was Wes’ position coach.

While Probate Judge of Pike County, Wes conducted more than a dozen elections without a single error. He was and still is a pillar of the Troy/Pike County Community. I have watched him be a Christian conservative leader in the First Baptist Church in Troy. He was at every one of his children’s ballgames and coached their teams most of the time. While Probate Judge he was chosen to be President of the Probate Judges Association. In 2018, he left the Probate office and was elected overwhelmingly to the legislature. He served successfully alongside his dad for four years. I do not think we have ever seen a father/son duo serve simultaneously in the legislature in state history.

When Wes Allen was elected Secretary of State in 2022 and was sworn into office in January 2023, he set another unique precedent in state history. He became only the third person inAlabama history to serve in all three branches of State Constitutional Government Judicial/Legislative and Executive Judicial as Probate Judge, Legislative as a member of the House of Representatives 2018 to 2022, and now Executive as Secretary of State. Only two other men have accomplished this in Alabama government, George C. Wallace and John Purifoy.

Governor George C. Wallace was elected to the Alabama House of Representatives from Barbour County in 1946 at age 26. He served one four-year term and then went back home to be a Circuit Judge. In 1962 he was elected to his first of five terms as Governor of Alabama.

The only other man to do what Wes Allen and George Wallace had done was John Purifoy. John Purifoy had a prolific career in Alabama politics. He was a farmer from Wilcox County. He was born in 1842 and served in the Confederate Army. He was elected Probate Judge of Wilcox County in 1880, and later was elected to the Alabama House of Representatives. He was elected Secretary of State from the legislature, like Wes. He served as Secretary of State from 1915 to 1919.  He was Alabama’s State Treasurer 1911 to 1915 and State Auditor from 1892 to 1896.

Wes Allen is not only a worthy Secretary of State, he has a unique place in Alabama political history.

See you next week.


August 7, 2024 - Presidential Race Between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris Will Be Close and Depend on Turnout

The decision by the Joe Biden inner circle to allow the poor fellow to get out of the Presidential race was a godsend for the Democratic Party.

It gives new life to the Democrats chances to keep the White House. The ascension of Vice President Kamala Harris to the top of the ticket breathes new life into a dead campaign. Biden’s demise, mentally and physically, assured a Democratic presidential defeat on November 5, but also guaranteed the Democrats loss of the U.S. Senate, as well as their hopes to rest the majority of the House from the Republicans. The top of the ticket in a presidential year usually affects the results of down ballot congressional races.

The national electorate is divided evenly right down the middle with 45% Democratic locked in voters and a guaranteed 45% Republican voters. Therefore, the race between Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump is all about turnout. It’s turnout, turnout, turnout. It does not matter how popular or what landslide numbers Trump gets in Alabama or how much Kamala Harris trounces Trump in California, it is all going to boil down to which candidate’s stalwart supportersturnout to vote in Arizona, Nevada, North Carolina, Georgia, Wisconsin, and Michigan.

Trump and the Republicans came out of their successful GOP Convention two weeks ago with a bump and a five point lead. My guess is that when the Democrats end their convention in two weeks, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump will be knotted at a dead even 45/45 in the six battleground states. The horserace numbers will remain the same for the final two months leading up to the November 5 election.

It will all depend on the enthusiasm and determination of the base of each team. Does the Trump Conservative Team vote enthusiastically as expected or does the Liberal Democratic Kamala Harris Team get its disciples to the polls? It will all boil down to turnout in six states. My guess is that it comes down to Wisconsin and Michigan.

Kamala Harris is the best candidate that the Democrats could field. She perfectly reflects the heart and soul of the Democratic Party, which are African American women. She will energize this base vote. It will be close in November.

Biden was in a diminished capacity when the Democrats ran him in 2020. They were able to hide him and not let people see him during that campaign year, and simply ran a campaign that was focused on voting against Donald Trump.

However, when he became President, he had to actually be seen and watched. It was apparent that he was not vital, cognitively. Over the past two years it has gotten progressively worse. This year, he has been on dramatic decline. In recent months, there have been some very comical scenes. It would make for a reality comedy show. You will probably see a reel in future years entitled “Old Joe runs for President.

There are three scenes that stick out to me and would be his greatest hits. The first occurred at a D-Day event in France. You could tell that the European leaders were concerned and amused at Biden’s diminished capacity and demeanor. They were lining up to take a picture with the other European leaders when, all of a sudden, ole Joe starts wandering off toward a cliff and the Italian Prime Minister had to run grab him by the arm and bring him back.

Later that month, they took Joe to a fundraiser in Hollywoodwith Liberal Elite, left-wing movie stars. He was on stage with Barak Obama. When the program came to an end, he stood there on the stage with Obama in one of his memorable stares into space. He stood there with mouth open and that blank look in his eyes that clearly said, “Where am I? Where have they taken me?” After four full minutes of Joe frozen, staring into space, Obama took him by the arm and led him off the stage. The movie stars were probably thinking to themselves, “I came here to give money to a presidential race and instead I’m contributing to a geriatric care fund.” Indeed, Jill Biden has turned the White House into nothing more than the nation’s most expensive nursing home.

The coup de gras was the late June debate debacle. If everyone in the country did not know that Joe was out to lunch before, the 27 million people who watched that comedy show knew afterwards. His incoherent ramblings and slurred incomprehensible mumblings were bad and revealed that he probably did not know where he was. The saddest thing was that as Jill Biden helped him off the stage, she told him he did a good job.

See you next week.


July 31, 2024 - Republicans Leave Convention Exuberant, Positive and United

The Republican Convention ended on July 19, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The GOP came out of their weeklong confab exuberant, positive, and unified.

The Republicans nominated former President Donald J. Trump for the third time to lead their party into the Fall elections. Most reliable polling points to Trump being elected on November 5. However, the election is three months away and anything can happen, and very well might given the events of the year.

Trump was unanimously nominated by the GOP delegates less than 48 hours after being shot by an assassin in rural Pennsylvania at a campaign rally. There were an estimated 10,000 people at the event in this important battleground state. The assassination attempt and Trumps resilience, and defiant and brave response, further enhanced his odds of taking back the White House.

The big question going into the convention was, who would Trump pick as his running mate.  That well kept secret was answered on Monday afternoon when he announced Ohio Senator J.D. Vance as his choice to be Vice President. The young freshman senator was not a surprise as he was speculated to have been on Trump’s VP short list for months. He immediately became a popular selection.

Vance seems to be somewhat of an American superstar.  He turns 40 on August 2 and has had a stellar rags-to-riches, self-made Horatio Alger success story raised in poverty as a boy growing up in Ohio. After high school he became a Marine. He served in combat in the Marine Corp.  He then went to college at Ohio State, on the G.I. bill. He continued to law school at Yale where he earned his J.D. degree. He began a successful venturecapital business. His next endeavor was to write a best-sellingbook an allegorical story about his life. The book Hillbilly Elegy was made into a movie, which a lot of folks have seen. I am sure a lot more will now see and also will read the book, now that Senator Vance has been thrust onto the national scene. He and his wife, Usha, have three young children, ages 2, 4 and 7.

Vance is touted as a blue collar, Rust Belt, MAGA Republican. He will be an asset to the ticket in attracting middleclass voters in the pivotal swing midwestern states surrounding his home state of Ohio. The election will be decided in the Midwest battleground states of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin. Vance will also help keep his home state of Ohio in the red column.

Our own freshman Senator Katie Britt is a close conservative ally and friend of J.D. Vance. They arrived in the Senate together less than two years ago. Katie and Vance were identified early by the national press as new rising, promising freshmen Republican conservative stalwarts in a stellar freshman class elected in 2020. They have not disappointed anyone. They both are everything that they were cracked up to be for the GOP. Katie was given a primetime spot for an address to the Convention on Monday.

Another Alabama lady was featured in the spotlight at the Convention. As the Roll Call began for the Presential nomination, it was obvious that a beautiful, clear, distinct,southern accent was calling the roll. When I looked, I saw our own Vickie Drummond of Jasper was presiding. She was elegant, beautiful and exuded class. Vickie and her magnificent husband, Mike, a Jasper dentist, were Republicans before it was cool. They have toiled in the Republican Party vineyards for 60 years. They began with the Southern Goldwater Republican landslide of 1964. Vickie has become a leader in the National Republican Party. She serves as Secretary of the National GOP and is on the Executive Committee of the National Party. She and Mike are Alabama treasures.

Another Alabama treasure, iconic State Senator Jabo Waggoner of Vestavia Hills, is the longest serving legislator in Alabama history and was a delegate to the GOP Convention for the ninthstraight time going back to 1992. He also attended the 1984 Convention as a Republican candidate for Congress.

See you next week.


July 24, 2024 - Donald J. Trump Probably Will Be The 47th President of the United States

I was watching the Trump rally on television the late Saturday afternoon of July 13, and saw the horrific assassination attempt on President Donald Trump. I followed the aftermath and discussions for the next 48 hours and knew that I was watching the revelation of history. The scenes of the horrific incident will be seen for years in historic documents and films. The reaction by President Trump, rising above the Secret Service detail and heroically pumping his fist into the air shouting to the immense throng of worshippers, “Fight! Fight! Fight!” will be seen millions of times between now and November 5. 

The mere fact that Trump had the strength and presence of mind to get up and react was amazing after being hit by a bullet and tackled by five Secret Service agents. He actually wanted to continue his speech to the tremendous Pennsylvania audience. He revealed a resilience that I do not believe even his most ardent followers thought he had. That picture of him with blood on his face, defiantly pumping his fist, and saying, “Fight!”, will be an indelible iconic image forever in the annals of presidential politics.

The Secret Service did a good job of getting to Trump and covering the President. However, the Secret Service and its director became villainized by the inexplicable inability to secure the rally surroundings from a person carrying a rifle onto the top of a building with a clear view less than 150 yards from where the President was delivering his address.

The most remarkable unfolding of the event was the fact that if President Trump had not turned his head to the right at that exact moment, the bullet would have hit him right in the head and killed him rather than simply grazing his ear. That was without question, divine intervention.

It was obvious when Trump appeared at the GOP Convention on Monday night, a mere 51 hours after almost being murdered, he had a quiet, calm redemptive composure. He had the same mellow demeanor as he gave his acceptance speech on Thursday night. He looks and sounds presidential. He realizes that God spared his life. A mere millimeter difference in the bullet’s trajectory, caused by the exact timing of his turning his head, saved his life. The former and probably next President had a Damascus Road experience. 

The entire country, including Republicans, Independents, and even Democrats, have seen the cognitive decline of current President Joe Biden over the last three years. It has accelerated over the last three months, and it will not improve. Even the most ardent Democratic politicians and pundits have overtly acknowledged that he cannot lead the country for four more months, much less four more years. 

Lights are out on the reelection of Joe Biden. His reluctance to leave the race revealed that a small insular group of close advisors, including his wife Jill, were keeping him isolated because they liked running the White House and remaining in the limelight. 

There is complete discord and disarray within the Democratic Party. Democratic leaders in the Senate and House have been urging Biden’s handlers to allow him to step aside as their presidential candidate. Their fear was that Biden’s name atop the ticket would not only assure the loss of the White House but would cause the Democrats to lose the House of Representatives and U.S. Senate.

Biden’s recent departure from the race will allow the Democrats to field a potentially viable presidential candidate, probably Vice President Kamala Harris. However, regardless of whoever is selected to be the Democratic nominee, the assassination attempt on the life of President Trump and his iconic fist pump has galvanized the Republican Party base and probably made Donald J. Trump the 47th President of the United States.

See you next week.


July 17, 2024 - “Krazy Kristi” Noem

As the Republican National Convention unfolds this week, you will see all the GOP stars on stage and featured all week, especially on Fox News.

You will probably not see one of the former potential rising political show horses featured or interviewed. South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem may be there but will be shunned and snubbed by the GOP faithful and media. She has been relegated to the political graveyard, now and forever. She is now a comedic laughingstock and punchline in political circles.

This time, six months ago, the spectacularly attractive South Dakotan was actually being considered to be Donald Trump’s running mate. Indeed, our Senior Senator Tommy “Coach” Tuberville, who has become one of Trump’s closest allies and confidantes, recently shared with me that while he and Trump were golfing at Mar-a-Lago earlier this year, Trump referred to Noem often and inferred that she was being considered as his running mate.

Noem was aspiring to be on the national stage. She was the keynote speaker at the Alabama GOP Winter Dinner in recent years. About a year ago, she began running ads on Fox News promoting South Dakota, which primarily featured her in jeans and a hard hat. Ostensibly, these ads were to attract business to the small, obscure, sparsely populated, western state. They were really designed to promote her as the Governor of South Dakota and to help build her name identification with an eye towards national politics.

As is the case with aspiring governors and senators, who begin being touted as potential presidential aspirants, they come out with a book. Governor Kristi Noem was relatively unknown except in small Republican circles. However, her book made her nationally and even internationally known.

For you see, this western girl told the whole world that she took her pet dog out to a gravel pit and shot it dead and left it there just because she did not like it anymore. She more than likely did not write the book, a ghost writer did. However, she had to have read the book, and approved it, and given the writer that gruesome aspect of her life. A chapter was devoted to it. 

My first thought was, is this for real? Then, what kind of aspiring political person would tell the world this in not only an interview, but in her own book? Her so-called biography. What kind of stupid political adviser would allow that to go into a book? What kind of publisher would allow that passage and think that the book would be bought and make any money?

Bless her heart, Kristi Noem was set to promote the book, and the book was leaked, and the passage posted prior to her appearances. The greeting was so savage and brutal from all news sources, even Fox, that within a day of total ridicule and abject obvious hatred toward her, she and her advisers tucked their tails and hightailed it back to South Dakota. She will probably never be heard from again. 

If Noem ever goes anywhere to a political or social event, the rest of her life she will be met with a laugh or sneer as a joke. She will forever be known as the woman dog killer. She will be the brunt of jokes for life. She is through, politically, and to think she did it to herself. She not only shot her dog, she also shot herself in the foot with the same bullet. In fact, she did not shoot herself in the foot, she shot herself in the head, politically. Kristi Noem committed political suicide.

I have been scratching my head for the last three months since Noem’s unbelievable revelation, trying to think of another example of overt political suicide in my lifetime. I cannot remember anything similar.

About this same time, it occurred to me that every older, white Republican I came in touch with had a dog that they loved and adored. Senator Richard Shelby has a new dog named Tallulah. Governor Kay Ivey has a beloved dog named Missy. My older brother, Scott, just lost his 13-year-old collie Jessie at about this time. He is still in mourning. 

The same week as Kristi Noem’s horror story, ironically, I’m watching Fox News and Kristi’s South Dakota ad is sandwiched between an ad for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) and gourmet dog food, which older Republicans are obviously buying for their dogs. They are probably not buying Kristi Noem’s book that tells of her adventures of killing her dog in a gravel pit.

In political circles, she will be forever known as “Krazy Kristi” Noem.

See you next week.


July 10, 2024 - Donald Trump Will Be Coronated by GOP at Republican Convention Next Week

The Republican National Convention begins next week in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Milwaukee was selected as the home to the GOP Convention for a reason. Wisconsin is one of the sixmajor pivotal battleground states in the presidential race. The others are Arizona, Nevada, Michigan, North Carolina, Georgia,and possibly Pennsylvania.

In bygone years, presidential candidates campaigned in 40 or so states because 40 states were in play. Today the candidates will concentrate in these few swing states and will really focus their efforts on certain locales and precincts within these handful of states. Even the media, both right and left, discuss and reveal polling in these swing states and disregard the national horserace polling numbers because they are irrelevant.

Under our electoral college system of selecting our president where the winner of each state’s popular vote gets all of those states electoral votes, there is no reason to campaign in 40 states because those back 40 are already predisposed to vote for either the Republican or Democratic candidate. As I have often said, if Mickey Mouse were the Republican nominee he would win Alabama and Kansas. By the same token, if Donald Duck were the Democratic nominee he would carry the states of California and New York, and get all of their boatload of electoral votes. You might say that the hay is in the barn in Kansas and thecannabis in the halo in California.

Donald J. Trump will be coronated by the GOP delegates at the Milwaukee confab July 15-18. Republicans are hoping that by giving deference to Wisconsin, it will help the former Presidentcarry the state in November. Trump won the state narrowly against Hillary Clinton in 2016 and lost narrowly to Biden in 2020.

Currently, Trump and Biden are knotted at 45/45 in Wisconsinwith third party candidate Robert Kennedy getting a substantial 10%. In fact, as the convention begins, current polling has Donald Trump ahead of Joe Biden in most of the battleground states, including Georgia, North Carolina, Nevada, Arizona, and even Michigan.

Trump is ahead and will be favored to win the General Election for three reasons. First, Joe Biden’s aged demeanor is an Achilles heel that he cannot overcome, and it will only get worse. Pivotal Independents are not comfortable that he is capable of being Commander in Chief, and young Democratic voters are not enthused to vote for someone for President of the United States that looks like their great grandfather who is running for president of his nursing home. Secondly, the candidacy of third-party candidate Robert Kennedy is siphoning off these young Democratic voters. The third and primary reason is that the Democratic plan and ploy to indict former President Trump on trumped up ridiculous court cases in primarilyDemocratic venues around the country, has incensed American Republican and Independent voters to such a degree that this mockery of the court system has made Trump a martyr.

It has definitely made the Trump Republican base mad and fired up. The Democrats overplayed their hand with this court charade. This circus abuse of the judiciary for political purposes has truly angered the Republican base. It has assured Trump the GOP nomination and it has even made the pivotal Independent voters sway towards Trump.

Alabama is a Trump state. The Alabama delegation will fervently cast 50 delegate votes for Donald J. Trump next week. Senator “Coach” Tommy Tuberville will be the one who gets to reply to the Chair of the Convention when they call the roll for the vote. Alabama will be the first to vote as they call the roll alphabetically. Senator Tuberville will rise and shout that the great state of Alabama proudly casts all of its 50 delegate votes to the next President of the United States, President Donald J. Trump.

It is appropriate that Tuberville is Chairman of the Alabama delegation. He and Trump are close. Indeed, if Trump becomes President, our Senior Senator Tuberville will be the President’s closest ally in the Senate. They talk consistently, and golf together regularly.

Our 50-member delegation is star-studded. Our Senior State Senate Legend, Senator Jabo Waggoner (R-Vestavia), will be a delegate to the National Convention for the ninth time. Jabo is 87. He will be joined by the youngest delegate ever elected, 22-year-old St. Clair native and lifelong resident of Chandler Mountain, young Logan Glass.

See you next week.


July 3, 2024 - Midyear Political Observations

Now that we are midway through the year, allow me to share some thoughts on Alabama political events. There have been some significant elections already this year in the Heart of Dixie as we await a titanic presidential election in the fall.

The race for the newly drawn second Congressional district has been the major political attraction of the year. The primaries attracted a plethora of candidates on both political spectrums. There were 11 Democrats and 8 Republicans running for their party’s nomination. Most, if not all, of the Democratic aspirants lived outside the district. Half of them represented Democratic legislative districts hundreds of miles from the new bailiwick. It was actually comical. The winner of the Democratic nominationhas spent his entire adult life in Washington. Shomari Figures at only 38, came home to Mobile with a ton of Washington liberal and crypto currency money, and trounced the field, impressively. He parlayed his Mobile roots and his parent’simmense name identification in the Port City. He also beat JoeReed’s vaunted ADC machine in Montgomery. In the first primary, he beat Reed’s man, Napoleon Bracey, 40 to 15 in Joe’s backyard.

The biggest surprise and most impressive performance was turned in by young Caroleene Dobson, who won the GOP nomination for the new district. She not only won, she trounced veteran Montgomery State Legislator Dick Brewbaker, who had led her in the first primary. She ran a brilliant campaign spearheaded by the sensational political guru, Paul Shashy, who also masterminded both Senators Tommy Tuberville’s and Katie Britt’s campaigns.

Caroleene is a 37-year-old lawyer, mother, and wife. She crisscrossed the district from one end to the other. She is very poised and exudes class and integrity. She is originally from Monroe County, which is in the center of the new district, geographically.  Her family has deep roots in the cattle industry.Caroleene Dobson would make a good congresswoman.

Marshall County has become the new center of Alabama politics. It is the new Barbour County of state political lore. This economically affluent enclave in the heart of Sand Mountainboasts breathtaking scenic views and pristine lakes. It is also home to our current Lt. Governor Will Ainsworth and Attorney General Steve Marshall.

Those of us who follow Alabama politics saw two juggernaut rising stars emerging in Marshall County. Wes Kitchens and Brock Colvin came to Montgomery at extremely young ages, both under 30 from Marshall County. Both were and still are considered rising stars. When Clay Scofield, the popular State Senator and Republican Majority Leader from Marshall County,left his senate seat earlier this year to join the Business Council of Alabama it left a vacancy, which created an open senate seat special election. Guess who ran? The two new superstars Wes Kitchens and Brock Colvin collided. Kitchens bested Colvin 55 to 45. Wes Kitchens is now a 35-year-old State Senator from Marshall County.

Jeana Ross, a very well-respected educator won the Special Election for Wes Kitchens old House seat. She defeated five other Republicans to capture this very Republican Seat.

Speaking of women winning open Special Election seats this year, Marilyn Lands, a Democrat, won an open seat in Huntsville. This House seat is considered one of the few purple swing seats in the state. She ran a campaign espousing women’s reproductive rights. She won 62 to 38. This should send a message to the Republican Party nationwide. The reversal of Roe v. Wade has been devasting for Republicans in the last three elections.

The passage of the Working for Alabama package of bills during the regular legislative session will be a gamechanger for job creation in Alabama. The behind-the-scenes masterminds of this significant project were Alabama Power CEO Jeff Peoples and Alabama Community College Chancellor Jimmy Baker. This collaborative effort will pay dividends for decades to come in our state. Chancellor Baker has transformed our community/technical college system into the incubator and matriculation for job creation in Alabama.

Our retired, iconic, United States Senator Richard Shelby turned 90 last month. A couple of decades ago when he was in his late 60’s or early 70’s, several of us would privately ask him if he was contemplating retirement. He quickly said, “No, I will probably stay to my mid-80s, I’ve got long genes.” He was not lying. I have never seen a 90-year-old as sharp or look as good as Shelby does today. He is enjoying his retirement in his home in Tuscaloosa with his beloved wife, Dr. Annette Shelby. The have a little five-pound dog, which he has named Tallulah, probably after the famous Alabama actress Tallulah Bankhead.

See you next week.


June 26, 2024 - Partisan Political Prosecution

Our First President George Washington advised that America should not have political parties.  Washington was a very wise man. His leadership solidified the beginning of the bedrock of our Democracy. He was one of, if not our greatest presidents.  

If he were here today to observe the bitter, tremendous, partisan divide in our nation, he would be amazed at how salient his admonishment toward political parties was 250 years ago. The partisan division in our nation is vast, deep and entrenched. We are basically two Americas. Our states are enshrined into red Republican or blue Democratic bastions.

We are tribal in our defense and allegiance to our party. Indeed, most Americans vote a straight ticket. Sixty years ago, 40 to 45 states were in play in a presidential contest. Today, only 5 to 10 states are truly swing states, and these handfuls of states are where the presidential election is held.

We have had a history of vicious political campaigns throughout our national political archives.  Andrew Jackson “Ole Hickory” was one of the toughest Generals and Presidents in the annals of American history but his political enemies penetrated his very thick skin when they attacked his wife, Rachel. The venomousarrows directed toward Rachel drove her into a deep depression and caused her death.

However, never before has a political party used the courts as a political tool.  This year’s use of the Judicial System by the Democrats against Trump is plowing new ground. It makes us look like a banana republic to the world. Any third grader can see that four indictments in four totally Democratic venues is political prosecution.

The Democrats’ underhanded plan was designed to make Donald Trump the Republican nominee because they perceived he would be easy to defeat. At the time of the first frivolous indictment in New York, Trump was not going to be the GOP nominee. However, the Democratic Party anticipated that the Republican faithful would rally behind the beleaguered Trump and the antagonism towards the Democratic misuse of the judicial system would accrue to Trump’s advantage. Man, did it ever work.  They have made Trump the nominee, but they have overplayed their hand. They may have elected him. They have played right into his hands. They have made the election nothing more than a Vaudeville comedy or reality television show and, folks, Trump is a reality show TV star. He knows how to play that role. They may have just put Brer Rabbit in the Briar patch.

Partisan political persecution is very wrong. If it continues it will keep any decent person from running for political office.We have had our share of political prosecution in Alabama. Two of our most recent governors, Guy Hunt and Don Siegelman,were removed from office by gross, unjust, political prosecution.

Guy Hunt, who was our first Republican Governor since Reconstruction and a Primitive Baptist preacher, was prosecuted by an overzealous Democratic Attorney General for taking a love offering for preaching a sermon because he flew on the state jet to the church event.

The most egregious, outrageous, cruel, unfair political persecution in Alabama history was the prosecution and imprisonment of former Governor Don Siegelman.  He was sent to federal prison for almost a decade of his life for attempting to pass a lottery for the citizens of Alabama.

A political campaign committee simply solicited contributions from a legitimate Political Action Committee that was raising and spending money advertising to pass a lottery that would not benefit Siegelman one dime. He would in no way receive any of the funds personally or politically.  Therefore, he was in no way guilty of violating the Ethics Law or any law. He benefitted zero, yet he was convicted and condemned to federal prison.

When young people come to me and ask if they should seek political office, I use this unbelievably unjust Don Siegelman story and ask them if they want this for their life. The man spent almost a decade of his life in federal prison for trying to get Alabama a lottery similar to Georgia’s that would give free college tuition for Alabama students to go to college and community colleges in Alabama.

See you next week.