April 14, 2021 - Reapportionment and Gerrymandering

Hopefully, you participated in the census last year.  It is vitally important for each state that every person is counted.

One of the first premises set out by our nation’s founding fathers is that there be a census taken every 10 years.  The reason for the United States census is to determine how many seats each state is appropriated in the U.S. House of Representatives.  It is based on the Democratic principle of one man one vote.  Each state shall be equally represented based on the number of people they have within their state borders.

The power to draw the congressional lines rests with the State Legislature.  For that reason, there was a lot of time and money spent by the national political parties to capture the majority of seats in the swing state legislative bodies.  The pen to draw the lines is in the hands of the majority party.  In Alabama, that is overwhelmingly Republican. Therefore, you can rest assured that Congressional lines in the Heart of Dixie will be favorable toward the GOP’s six-to-one control.  

Indeed, this reapportionment pencil has the same application for the legislators’ own districts.  This preferential partisan parameters of districts is generally referred to as gerrymandering.  Dictionaries define the word “gerrymander” as  “to divide a state, country or city limits into voting districts to give unfair advantage to one party in elections.”

This is a pretty apt and succinct description of gerrymandering.  The word was derived from an 1812 journalist’s evaluation of a Massachusetts reapportionment map and lines that looked like a salamander.  The Governor of Massachusetts, who developed the salamander district, was named Gerry. Thus, the term gerrymander .

In bygone days, gerrymandering was bold, overt and racist.  The courts have curtailed racist and ethical boundaries.  So gerrymandering is not nearly as blatantly overtly partisan as in past times.

Alabama’s 1901 constitution is as archaic as any in the nation.  It has contributed to the poor image that persists today regarding our racist past.  However, much of the damage was done during the 1960’s. I had the opportunity to serve as a page in the state legislature when I was a boy. It was quite a learning experience. The older men, who were Senators and House members, would visit with the pages and tutor us on the rules and nuances of parliamentary procedures.

One day, I was looking around the House and it occurred to me that the urban areas and especially north Alabama were vastly underrepresented. As a boy, I knew that the Birmingham area was home to about 20% of the state’s population, but they certainly did not have a fifth of the House members.  The same was true of Huntsville and other larger cities in North Alabama.

The rural and black belt counties were enjoying the power that had been granted them by the 1901 constitution.  The state legislature was very malapportioned as late as the 1960’s.  It was so severely imbalanced that it was almost comical. The legislature had simply ignored the constitutional mandate to reapportion itself every ten years.  It was not until 1974 that the courts finally intervened and made the legislature reapportion itself. The federal courts not only mandated the reapportionment, but also eventually had to draw the lines and districts. This federal court intervention gave African Americans representation in the legislature for the first time.  Today, about 25% of the seats are held by African Americans. The reapportionment also gave fair and equitable representation to the urban areas of North Alabama.

A cursory look at the legislative chambers today reveals that the majority of legislators are from Birmingham north because that is where the people live. You will see that trend become more accentuated when the lines are drawn this year. The population figures will reveal that north Alabama is where the growth is in the state.

It will be interesting to see how the lines are drawn for the next decade. There will be a little political gerrymandering, but not like in the past years.

It was thought that the 2020 census figures would be available for legislators by January. However, it may now be June, which could delay this year’s reapportionment session and in turn delay the 2022 election primaries.

See you next week.


April 7, 2021 - Wallace: Political Genius and Legislative Master

As the Regular Legislative Session evolves, I recall years past when George Wallace was governor. George Wallace was definitely a political genius and a master of the legislative process.  You might say that he was so successful because he had a lot of experience with being governor and dealing with the legislature.  That is true, but it went deeper than that.  He worked at it.

During my 16 years in the legislature, Wallace was in a league by himself.  My first term was 1982 and Governor Wallace was serving his last term as governor.  He treated legislators like kings.  It did not matter who was in his office, if you were a member of the legislature and you needed to see the Governor about something for your district, he would drop everything and usher you into his office and do anything he could to address your concern or district needs. 

I had known Gov. Wallace since I was a young page. One day I went down unannounced without an appointment and his secretary told him I was outside.  The next thing I knew the door opened and Wallace told me to come in.  He had about six Japanese diplomats in his office, who were prospective industrial prospects.  He asked if I wanted to ask them to leave so we could meet privately.  I said, “No, Governor, that’s not necessary, I’ll be glad to come back.”  He said, “Okay,” but insisted on my staying while they visited.  I sat down and he began telling the poor Japanese fellows that I had been a page when I was a little boy and he was in his first term as governor and that now I was his representative since I represented his hometown of Clayton, and he told them who he was kin to in my county and who I was kin to in south Alabama. I’m sure they were amused.  Who couldn’t help but vote with a guy who gave a lowly member of the House that kind of attention and deference?

At other times he would call my home at supper time and talk for about 30 minutes about a certain bill he was interested in.  He would continue to talk long after I had already told him I would vote with him on his issue.  He would tell me to put my two daughters on the phone; they were little at the time, but in his uncanny ability to remember names, he would call them by name and say, “Steve, let me talk to Ginny and let me say hello to little Allyson.”  He was amazing.  He loved to talk on the phone.

He would also constantly have legislators out to the Governor’s Mansion for supper.  We would eat supper with the governor more than with the lobbyists.  He knew your district, your family and relatives and what committee you served on, and which program and roads you were interested in.  The only thing he did not know was what time you went to bed, because he might call you at 6:00 at suppertime or he might call you at midnight when you were asleep.

He knew how to manipulate the legislature better than anyone.  One day he had a group of legislators in his office trying to get them to vote with him.  His secretary interrupted him to tell him Vice President Mondale was on the phone.  The legislators sat quietly while George talked to the vice president for a few minutes and took care of whatever business they had.

Mondale hung up.  Wallace pretended to listen a while longer and said, “Look, Mr. Vice President, I’d like to talk to you some more, but I’ve got a group of representatives and senators in here and I really don’t have time.” All the legislators started whispering, “No, Governor, don’t do that.  Don’t hang up on the Vice President.  We can wait.” But George just kept on talking, “I really appreciate your asking for my help, Mr. Vice President,” he said, “but I’m hanging up now.  I’ve got enough problems here in the state of Alabama.  I just can’t solve the world’s problems for you.  I’ve got to talk to these legislators about a problem we’ve got in the legislature.”  He then hung up the phone.

By that time, those legislators were so impressed at how they were more important than the vice president of the United States that George could have gotten anything he wanted from them, and he did.

See you next week.


March 31, 2021 - 2022 Big Election Year as Alabama Chooses Shelby’s Successor

Last week we alerted you to the fact that next year will be a banner year in Alabama politics.  The governor, lieutenant governor and all other statewide constitutional offices are up for election.  All 140 members of the legislature are up for election and will be running under new lines.  Our entire congressional delegation is up for reelection and they too will be running under new lines drawn by the legislature.  All 67 sheriffs in the state are also on the ballot.

This slate in and of itself would make this a marquee year. However, what will render this upcoming 2022 election year momentous is that we will have a very important U.S. Senate Seat to fill.  Richard Shelby will retire after 36 years in the United States Senate.  It will be impossible to replace Senator Shelby.  The amount of federal dollars he has secured for the Heart of Dixie is incomprehensible and irreplaceable.  He will be remembered as the greatest senator in Alabama history.

Seniority is paramount in Washington.  It is everything.  It took Senator Shelby awaiting 20 years before he became one of the major players in Washington. Therefore, Senator Shelby would be the first to tell you that it is imperative for Alabama’s future that we elect someone young to be his successor.  If you send someone over 60 to the U.S. Senate, they will never have any real power.

The political hierarchy of the senate will recognize that and place our senator on obscure committees.  The best thing for us to do is to send a younger person to the Senate, and also one that is not an ideologue demagogue who is more interested in being on Fox News than bringing home the bacon.

First on most lists is Katie Boyd Britt.  She served as Senator Shelby’s Chief of Staff and is now the CEO of the Business Council of Alabama.  She is only 39 years old and she would have the potential to be a power in Washington.  Shelby likes her.

Someone who will probably be in the race and will be one of the early frontrunners is Secretary of State John Merrill.  He has served his two four-year terms as Secretary of State and is precluded from running for another term in that office.  Therefore, he has to go somewhere.  He is the best retail politician in the state and is the only statewide official with a real grassroots organization.  Merrill will be a player and has the acumen and diligence to be an effective senator.

Congressman Robert Aderholt would be the logical favorite to take Senator Shelby’s seat. However, with 24 years seniority in the House, Congressman Aderholt is making the right decision for himself and our state by remaining in his House seat.

PSC President, Twinkle Cavanaugh, would be an excellent person to succeed Shelby.  She is popular and still young, but she will probably not be in the race.

Former Trump Ambassador to Slovenia, Lynda Blanchard, has already announced that she will enter the race for Shelby’s U.S. Senate seat in 2022.  She is from Montgomery and has come to the table with $5 million.

The person who might run but would not be an effective senator is Huntsville Congressman Mo Brooks.  He would be an albatross for our state. During his 10 years in Congress, Brooks has been an obstacle for Senator Shelby and Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle as they have worked to build Huntsville’s Redstone Arsenal into the Science and Technology Capitol of Alabama and probably the nation.

Brooks’ only mission is to be thought of as a right-wing extremist, who cares more about being a demagogue than representing and helping his district.  If Brooks were to replace Shelby, it could be devastating to Alabama’s efforts to attract federal dollars or future economic prospects.  It will be hard enough for Shelby’s predecessor to simply maintain everything Shelby has brought to Alabama. However, with Brooks in Shelby’s seat, Alabama might actually lose ground – not only the Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, but also UAB in Birmingham, Maxwell-Gunter in Montgomery, and Fort Rucker in the Wiregrass.

2022 is going to be a big year in Alabama politics.

See you next week.


March 24, 2020 - 2022 Will be Big Year for Alabama Politics

All signs point to a Titanic political year in 2022.  In fact, as I look back over the last six decades of my observations of Alabama politics, next year may be the most momentous.

Most states elect their governors and legislators in presidential years.  However, in the Heart of Dixie, we have our big election year in non-presidential years. Not only will we elect our governor to a four-year term, we will elect all of our constitutional officers like Attorney General, Agriculture Commissioner, Secretary of State, State Treasurer, State Auditor and Lt. Governor, as well as two seats on the State Public Service Commission and several seats on the State Supreme Court.  More importantly, all 140 members of the Alabama State Legislature will be up for reelection.  We have 105 members of the Alabama House of Representatives and 35 State Senators. In addition, all 67 sheriffs in the state are on the ballot in 2022.  In many counties this is the most important race and the reason folks will show up to vote.  All politics is local.

Most campaign money spent in the 2022 elections by special interests will be spent in state legislative races.  The Legislative Branch is inherently more powerful in Alabama than the Executive  or Judicial Branches.

All of our constitutional office holders are Republican.  Attorney General, Steve Marshall, hails from Marshall County.  He is in his first four-year-term. Therefore, he can and probably will run for a second term.  He would be hard to beat in his bid for reelection in 2022.

John McMillan can run for a second term as State Treasurer.  However, he will be over 80 years old.  He has had an illustrious career in state politics. First, as a state representative from Baldwin County, then as head of the Forestry Association, the State Conservation Director, then two terms as State Agriculture Commissioner, before being elected as State Treasurer.

Speaking of Agriculture Commissioner, Rick Pate is doing a very good job in his first term and should have very little trouble being elected to a second term in 2022.  This post is the most prominent and important office in the constitutional ranks besides governor.  It oversees a large department with numerous duties.  Agriculture is still Alabama’s number one economic industry.

Secretary of State, John Merrill, is precluded from running for a third term.  Merrill is the best retail politician in the state and has by far the best grassroots organization of any political figure.  Merrill will probably join the fray of candidates vying for the U.S. Senate seat left vacant by Richard Shelby.  If he has to drop back, he could move to either State Treasurer or Lt. Governor.

The job of State Auditor will be on the ballot. Jim Zeigler, the current State Auditor, is thought of as somewhat of a maverick by Montgomery insiders. However, he is sly as a fox.  Even though he knows the State Auditor has no real role in policy issues, he grabs headlines with his grandstanding.  He is limited from running for Auditor again.  It will be interesting to see if he chooses to run for something else at age 75.

Lt. Governor Will Ainsworth is only 38 years old.  The job of lieutenant governor has few duties other than to preside over the state senate. Most state senators think Ainsworth has been a quick study in learning the Senate Rules and they like him. There is no doubt that Ainsworth desires to run for Governor of Alabama.

The biggest question of the upcoming 2022 momentous political year is whether Governor Kay Ivey will run for reelection.  One school of thought has her going to the house at 78. The other is will she run and can she win?  My prognostication is she will run and if she does, polls indicate she will win overwhelmingly.

Again, it will be fun to watch.


March 17, 2021 - Gambling and Budgets Priority for Legislature

The Legislature is at the midway point of the 2021 Regular Legislative Session.  They have used 15 days of their allotted 30-day legislative session.

The Senate has been consumed with attempting to pass a constitutional amendment to allow Alabamians the right to vote on whether to have a state lottery along with some casino and sports betting.  The Legislature in and of itself cannot authorize this expansion of gambling in the state.  Their only authority is to vote to place it on the ballot in order to give you the opportunity to allow the state to reap the financial windfall now only afforded the Indian Gambling Syndicate.

There was a critical vote in the state senate last week on the issue.  With it being a constitutional amendment, it required 21 votes.  The vote was 19 to 13 in favor, but it lacked the constitutional muster by two votes.  Therefore, the measure could be resurrected.  However, if it is this close in the Senate, it probably does not have the votes for passage in the House of Representatives.  

Polls indicate that it would be approved by a vote of the people, probably with a 70 to 30 plurality, and with a majority of Republicans voting in favor. If it is that popular with the people, you probably are asking why in the world would Senators not vote to allow you to vote on it.  The devil is in the details.  The majority of the casinos would go to the Creek Indian Gambling Syndicate.  Some of the 24 Republican Senators balked at that almost total monopoly.

Senator Del Marsh was not the right sponsor or front man for the constitutional amendment.  He is not totally trusted, especially by the 10 Democrats he has consistently run over and ignored for years while he was President Pro Tem of the Senate.  Marsh is also perceived as a pawn of the Indian Gambling Syndicate.  He is no longer Pro Tem, so nobody is scared of him.  A setting sun sets off very little heat.  He is not running for reelection for his Anniston based district because he could not be reelected.  In his last race in 2018, he spent close to $480,000 to his unknown opponent’s $15,000 and only garnered 52% of the vote.  That does not portend well for reelection.

Governor Kay Ivey needs to come out openly and strongly for the measure and make it her issue and her legacy.  It may need to be done in a Special Session later this year.  Even then, it will be a tough sell to get through the Senate and then the House.

Alabama is the Heart of the Bible Belt. If Alabama is the Bible Belt, then the area of Alabama, north of Birmingham and all the way to the Tennessee line is the buckle.  There are not any casinos in North Alabama, only churches, and most of the churchgoers are Church of Christ or Baptist.  They did not allow the sale of alcohol in most of these counties until a few years ago.

Every state senator in that area is a Republican and all of them voted no, including Gudger of Cullman, Givhan of Huntsville, Butler of Huntsville, Stutts of Florence, and Scofield of Sand Mountain.  You can probably bet your bottom dollar that the preachers encouraged their parishioners to contact their senators on Sunday before the vote last Tuesday. You may see the legislature address a simple lottery.

It may not be a glamorous event in the legislative process, however, the beginning of the most important and imperative accomplishment occurred last week when the General Fund Budget passed the Alabama House of Representatives.  The House approved a $2.4 billion dollar budget shepherded by the Ways and Means Chairman Steve Clouse (R-Ozark).

The budget includes a 2% raise for state employees.  This raise would amount to an $867 per year raise for a state worker making the median salary of $43,346.

The budget includes an increase in funding for the Bureau of Pardons and Paroles.  Other agencies seeing increases in the budget are the Department of Mental Health at 6.7%, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency will see 7.9% increase, mostly for upgrading the state’s driver license system.

Overall, the budget is 3.3% higher than last years, which is amazing after a year of COVID-19.  It now moves on to the Senate, which more than likely will concur with few changes.

See you next week.


March 10, 2021 - Birmingham’s Political Inside Man

Historically, political power in the state has rested in the rural counties.  Birmingham has been the home of the “Big Mules,” where the money that fueled the gubernatorial campaigns came from, but very few Birmingham politicians have ascended to governor or U.S. Senator.  Counties like Barbour and Cullman have been where governors are bred not imperial Jefferson.  Indeed, the small-town boys that ran for governor would demagogue and make fun of and run against the “Big Mules” of the Magic City, especially, the village of Mountain Brook. Therefore, the legendary king makers in the state were the probate judges in the rural counties throughout the Heart of Dixie.

The giants of Alabama political lore, Big Jim Folsom, and George Wallace, won their races in the rural counties.  They would run against the “got rocks,” Big Mules and silk-stocking Mountain Brook and Over the Mountain elite, so it was not surprising that Wallace nor Big Jim ever carried Jefferson County.

Business, not politics, prevailed in Jefferson County.  Therefore, Birmingham did not yield as many inside political men as might be expected of the major city of the state.  However, there has been one go to political kingmaker in Birmingham in my generation.  Joe Fuller has been the go-to man to see in the Magic City, especially in Republican primaries.

Joe was proudly born and raised in Birmingham and knows the city like the back of his hand.  Fuller has been a successful, independent insurance agent his entire career, and has led the Alabama Independent Insurance Agents Association for decades.

He began his civic political involvement in his 20’s through the legendary Birmingham Jaycees.  He, like a good many of Birmingham’s civic and political leaders cut their teeth in the Birmingham Jaycees.  This group were the original founders of Birmingham’s Legion Field.  The Birmingham Jaycees were the training ground for the leaders of the city.  Some of Fuller’s contemporaries in the 1960s and early 70s were Fox DeFuniak, J. Mason Davis, David Wheeler, Julian Smith, George McMillan, and George Siebels.

The Birmingham Jaycees became the springboard for George Siebels to be elected Mayor of Birmingham in 1965.  Joe Fuller was instrumental in helping to orchestrate Siebel’s victory. Thus, began Joe Fuller’s reign as the kingmaker of Birmingham politics.  

Fuller would start candidates off in his stately home on top of a hill in the historic Redmont neighborhood in Birmingham.  He would have a gathering of 20 to 30 at an elegant meal, which he primarily prepared.

His first major horse he bet on was George McMillan.  He helped George get elected to the legislature and then helped mastermind McMillan’s historical upset of state senator, George Lewis Bailes.  He then helped manage his successful run for Lt. Governor and then saw him almost beat George Wallace for Governor in 1982.

It has been my honor and privilege to have known Joe for almost 40 years and have had the opportunity to be invited to his great political gatherings over those years.  I have watched him as he helped launch the careers of Birmingham Congressman Spencer Bachus, who served in the legislature before serving in Congress 20 years.  Joe was extremely close to legendary state representative John Hawkins.  He has been a loyal supporter of iconic State Senator Jabo Waggoner over all of his almost five decades in the state legislature.

Joe Fuller has been and was one of early supporters of my great friend and legislative colleague, Mike Hill.  Mike served three decades in the House from Shelby County and is now the State Banking Commissioner.

Fuller has been close-to another longtime veteran state legislator, Jim Carnes.  Jim has been at almost all of Joe’s political dinner parties as he helped launch the political careers of legislators Paul DeMarco, David Wheeler and Dan Roberts. Joe was instrumental in the election of state senator Steve Windom as Lt. Governor.  Joe’s house was Windom’s first stop.

Joe was one of the founders of the of the renowned Mid-Alabama Republican Club, which meets monthly in Vestavia.  It is a sought-after invitation to speak for all aspiring statewide Republican candidates, as are his dinner parties.

The first place that Jeff Sessions came to when he first began his political career as Attorney General of Alabama was Joe Fuller’s home.  Joe supported Jeff Sessions during his entire 20-year career in the United States Senate.  Jeff will never forget it.

A good many of Alabama’s political leaders have found their way to the home of “ole” Joe Fuller atop Red Mountain over the last 40 to 50 years.

See you next week.


March 3, 2021 - Will Legislature Allow Alabamians to Vote on Gambling Revenue for State

In 1998 Governor Don Siegelman ran for Governor of Alabama on a platform of proposing that his administration would enact legislation creating a state lottery. It would be patterned after Georgia’s lottery, which gave the bulk of the proceeds to an educational fund. That was over two decades ago.

Our neighboring state of Georgia has reaped billions of dollars from their lottery in the last three decades, which has allowed them to outdistance us by a country mile in educating their children. A good many of those Georgia students attend college in their state free under the Hope Scholarship Program funded with these lottery dollars. A substantial amount of these funds going to Georgia students come from Alabamians who buy Georgia Lottery tickets.

Siegelman proceeded to push this lottery program through the legislature and placed on the ballot for a referendum in 1999. It was poised to pass. However, in the waning days of the referendum campaign, the Mississippi Choctaw Indian Gambling Syndicate placed millions of dollars of misleading information and ads into the state to defeat the referendum avoid competition. They narrowly defeated the Alabama referendum. The state has lost untold billions in revenues to our sister states of Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Florida in the last 20 years.

You can bet your bottom dollar that if a lottery referendum were put on the ballot now or in 2022, it would pass in a New York minute. Even the most conservative folks in our state would vote for it, if for only one reason – they are sick and tired of their money going to our neighboring states to fund their schools, roads, and prisons while we go wanting.

Last year, one of the legislature’s most respected and influential members, Steve Clouse (R-Ozark), offered a lottery bill. It might have passed, however, he acquiesced to Governor Ivey who wisely said let’s look at all the alternatives. She did the right thing to look at the big picture. A simple lottery is outdated. We missed the boat 20 years ago. Gambling has evolved technologically like the rest of the world. If there was big money for the state to garner 20 years ago, it has multiplied by more than 20 times in those years.

Therefore, the Governor says, “Let’s look at the big picture and if we are going to do it, let’s do it right and get a really good bite of the apple.” She appointed one of the most stellar blue-ribbon panel of Alabamians ever assembled to study all aspects, parameters, and revenues available from gambling.

Governor Ivey’s study group on gambling policy came back with their recommendations in December. Their study shows that Alabama could raise between $500 million and $700 million from a lottery, casinos, and sport betting if voters approved a constitutional amendment expanding gambling in the state. The group said that gambling will work in Alabama and their conclusion was that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.

The advantage would be tremendous new revenue for the state plus creation of new jobs. A disadvantage would be the costs surrounding mental health, social and legal problems from those that develop gambling disorders.

They found that 60% of Alabama’s adult population would likely participate in expanded gambling and about 3% would become compulsive gamblers which would cost the state. The study group found that a lottery would raise an estimated $200 to $300 million. In addition, casinos could raise $300 to $400 million. The new gambling revenue could raise as much as one-third of the General Fund budget. The expansion of legalized gambling could create 19,000 jobs in Alabama.

In conclusion, they were adamant that there should be a regulatory authority to regulate, administer, and enforce the laws. This regulatory commission should make sure laws and regulations are adhered to and should be flexible, protective of consumers and responsive to technology and be competitive in payouts unlike the current Indian casino monopoly in the state. This Creek Indian Gambling Syndicate has garnered a lot of political muscle in the state legislature and they will be the largest obstacle that will stand in the way of a constitutional amendment reaching the voters in Alabama.

Hopefully, the legislature will see fit to allow the people of Alabama the right to vote on whether or not they want to reap the rewards of gigantic gambling dollars.

See you next week.


February 24, 2021 - Benefactor or Ideologue

Over the years, I have discussed my observations and concepts of the two different roles or routes taken by a U.S. Senator or Congressman during their tenure in Washington.

One clearly chooses one of two postures in their representation of you in Washington. Our delegates in D.C. are either benefactors or ideologues.

The role of benefactor is much better for any state, especially Alabama.  This public figure is not only a benefactor but also a facilitator and a statesman.  In other words, this person is interested and diligent in bringing home the bacon to the Heart of Dixie.  

The perfect example of a benefactor, facilitator, and statesman senator is our current senior U.S. Senator Richard Shelby.  No senator in Alabama history has brought home more bacon to our state than Senator Shelby.  He has helped Alabama more during his 34 years in the Senate than any other Senator.

The second role is the ideologue. This politician sees his or her role as a zealot on issues. The ideologue is more interested in advocating for popular social and non-economic issues with no regard for the state’s financial interests.

Beginning in the 1930s and extending for 30 years through the 1960s, we had two of the greatest U.S. Senators in history.  Lister Hill and John Sparkman were giants in Washington and were erudite diplomats for our state.  They can be aptly described as benefactors, facilitators, and statesmen for Alabama.

During the 1970s and 1980s, we had two well-respected and effective senators in “Judge” Howell Heflin and Richard Shelby.

Upon the arrival of Jeff Sessions in 1996, as the state’s first true blue Republican, we witnessed the portrayal of our first true ideologue. Sessions was the most right-wing, reactionary Republican in the U.S. Senate.  However, he was not a demagogue, he was a true believer and one of the most honest and gentlemanly men I have ever observed in the public arena.  He was also well-qualified and prepared to be U.S. Senator having been a U.S. Attorney and Attorney General of Alabama.

Nevertheless, during the 20 years that Sessions and Shelby served together, we had two distinctly different prototypes.  Shelby was the benefactor, facilitator, and breadwinner, while Sessions was the ultimate ideologue, conservative, Fox News darling.

Currently, we have one benefactor, Shelby, and one ideologue, Tommy Tuberville. Senator Shelby recently announced that he will retire after his sixth six-year term at the end of 2022.  Alabama is going to be in the proverbial boat without a paddle at that time.  We will have negligible power in Washington and, for a state that depends on federal dollars, that is not going to be a good position to be in for Alabama.

A large portion of Alabama’s federal largesse dollars goes to the Huntsville area. It is truly ironic that Huntsville is represented by a Congressman named Mo Brooks, who epitomizes the term ideologue and demagogue.  Brooks is an embarrassment to Huntsville and the Tennessee Valley.  He truly has not accomplished anything of significance to help his district in the few years he has been in Congress.  He prefers being a bomb-thrower to being an effective representative. Yet, there is probably not a congressional district in the country that benefits more from federal defense spending than Huntsville and the Redstone Arsenal.  

The entire growth and prosperity of the Huntsville area can be attributed to Senator Richard Shelby, with local assistance from Mayor Tommy Battle. Shelby has carried all of the weight for Huntsville, despite Brooks and his laisse faire attitude. In fact, Brooks’ total disregard for helping his people or district arguably has been a deterrent and obstacle for Shelby and Battle.  

While Brooks has had the luxury of being an irrelevant, right-wing, gadfly who people just laughed at like a crazy uncle they keep locked in the closet, his latest exploits in Washington have made him a national poster boy for right-wing crazy theatrics and reflects poorly on Huntsville and indeed Alabama. Brooks has become a pariah and now actually hurts the growth and expansion of Alabama.  Brooks is now in negative territory when it comes to recruiting industry and federal facilities to Huntsville and North Alabama. When industry or national leaders learn that Mo Brooks represents this area, they will run for the hills.  Huntsville and the 5th district would be better off without a congressman than with Mo Brooks.  

The only savior that the region has is Richard Shelby and he will be gone as the guardian savior in 20 months.  God forbid the ultimate demagogue, Mo Brooks, could run for and win Shelby’s Senate Seat.  We would have a plague on our entire state.

See you next week.


February 17, 2021 - Alabama Will Miss Richard Shelby, Immensely

In only 21 short months, at the close of 2022, Alabama will lose the greatest senator in our state’s history.  Those of us who are political historians will acknowledge Richard Shelby as Alabama’s most pronounced political emissary in Washington.

In my 2015 book, Six Decades of Alabama Political History, I have a chapter titled “Alabama’s Three Greatest Senators,” which features Lister Hill, John Sparkman, and Richard Shelby. Lister Hill and John Sparkman were icons but, if were writing that chapter today, Richard Shelby would be alone as the premier “Giant of Alabama.”

Hill served in the Senate for 30 years and Sparkman for 32 years. Shelby eclipsed Sparkman’s record two years ago and at the end of his term will set the bar at 36 years.  It should also be noted that Senators Shelby, Hill and Sparkman served nearly a decade or more in the U.S. House of Representatives.  Senator Shelby is now in his 43rd year in Washington.

Seniority is king and paramount in assessing power under the Capitol dome.  However, what you do with that seniority is what makes one great. The average voter and citizen of our beloved state does not comprehend the magnitude of the federal largesse that Richard Shelby has brought home to the Heart of Dixie. His strength, power and resolve has resulted in countless improvements to every corner of our state. It would take volumes and annals to chronicle the federal dollars that Shelby has funneled to Alabama throughout his career.

Beginning with the coastal area of Mobile and the Docks, to the Wiregrass and Fort Rucker, to Montgomery’s Maxwell and Gunter; to UAB in Birmingham, and finally Shelby’s impact on the growth and prosperity of the Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, are incomprehensible.  Folks, when you combine all of the aforementioned economic engines, we are not talking about a couple million extra federal dollars but more like hundreds of millions of federal dollars.

Shelby has been the savior of these centers of economic growth and employment in our state.  The two most important, UAB and Redstone Arsenal, owe their growth and prosperity to Shelby’s ability to bring home the bacon.

He has had the most profound impact over the last few years as Chairman of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee.  He very adroitly kept in conjunction the Chairmanship of the Subcommittee on Defense Appropriations.  If you do not think defense dollars are important to Alabamians, simply ask the folks in the Wiregrass and Montgomery’s River Region what Ft. Rucker and Maxwell/Gunter mean to them. Also, Huntsville would be a sleepy little cotton town if it were not for the Redstone Arsenal.

While Shelby was not in the U.S. Senate when these facilities were placed in Alabama, you can bet your bottom dollar that they have flourished, prospered, and more than likely survived because of Richard Shelby.

Senator Shelby and I have been friends for over 35 years.  I was a part of his inaugural 1986 triumphant election to the Senate.  To know him personally, is to see a man that you instantly recognize as a once in a lifetime giant.  He is extremely witty and personable with a keen lawyer’s mind that analyzes your words as soon as they come out of your mouth.  Indeed, he was a brilliant and very successful lawyer before entering Congress.  If he had not gone into politics, he could have become a billionaire as a Wall Street Lawyer.

As Shelby eloquently said in his retirement statement, there is a time for every season.  He will be 87 in May of this year and 88 at the end of this term.  He deserves some private years.  He enjoys time with his wife and best friend of over 60 years, Annette.  He will enjoy being at home in his beloved Tuscaloosa and hunting occasionally with his buddies, Joe Perkins and Judge Coogler.  Maybe he will have time to reminisce with some of us who like to share old Alabama political stories.

In closing, there will be plenty of time to observe the fray that will be developing to follow the legend of Richard Shelby, but no one will ever fill his shoes. As I traversed the state doing television interviews the day of Shelby’s announcement, I became melancholy and almost tearful for Alabama’s sake.

While driving between Montgomery and Birmingham, I had a lengthy telephone conversation with the lady who has been Shelby’s real Chief of Staff, confidant, and gatekeeper his entire career in Congress. She very aptly told me to tell the people of Alabama that whoever follows Shelby, even if brilliant, will be 20 years in waiting and learning before they will be able to wield any power. She is correct. Seniority is king in Washington.

See you next week.


February 10, 2021 - Big Issues Facing Alabama Legislature

The 2021 legislative session has begun.  It will be a monumental and difficult session. Due to COVID restrictions, the logistics of just meeting will be a task.  House members will be spread out all over the Statehouse to adhere to distancing requirements.  It is still uncertain as to how the Press and lobbyists accommodations will be handled.  

A new virtual voting console system has been installed to allow for House members to vote since all will not be on the House floor. There are a myriad of issues that have to be addressed.  Last year’s session was abbreviated and adjourned before the halfway point due to the pandemic outbreak.  Therefore, it has been almost a year since the legislature has met.

There are hundreds of local bills that have to be addressed for cities and counties.  Alabama’s archaic constitution does not allow for home rule.  All power rests with the legislature. Therefore, local governments have to come with hat-in-hand to the legislature to make vital decisions.

There are also cursory but urgent economic development incentive laws that need updating. The State Senate led by Senator Greg Reed (R-Jasper) has made a priority of passing legislation that will limit and probably prohibit lawsuits against business stemming from COVID-19.

The paramount issues will be Reapportionment, Gambling and Prisons. The major issue facing the legislature is the Tar Baby known as the prison problem. The governor and legislature have been grappling with the prison problem for several years. Given the legislative absence, Governor Ivey has made executive decisions that some legislators are not totally enthralled with, especially regarding prisons.

The Governor thought they were on course to addressing the state’s overcrowded, understaffed, and violent state prisons.  However, the U.S. Department of Justice sued the state in the U.S. District Court in Birmingham in December.  The suit alleges that Alabama violates the constitutional rights of prisoners by failure to protect them from assaults and abuse from other inmates, excessive force by correctional officers, and failure to provide safe and sanitary conditions.

This litigation is not unique to Alabama. The Justice Department has made a practice of overshadowing state prisons. Other states have been sued over similar situations.  Overcrowding seems to be the over-riding culprit.  Federal Courts have ordered states to reduce their prison populations because of overcrowding. California was given this mandate.

Alabama prisons hold more than 15,000 prisoners in facilities designed for fewer than 10,000. Governor Ivey has proposed building three men’s prisons and replacing many of the 13 current prisons.  She faces contention and opposition from legislators on this issue.  She now will have another Big Brother looking over her shoulder, the U.S. Justice Department and the federal courts.

Governor Ivey’s response to the federal suit is that it is premature and the state has been striving to resolve the crisis.  Indeed, the Legislature and the Alabama Department of Corrections has stepped up recruiting of correctional officers and increased pay and bonuses to address the staff shortage.  It has cracked down on contraband with a program called “Restore Order,” which uses predawn raids by law enforcement officers to search for weapons, drugs, cell phones and other prohibited items.

Gov. Ivey said the new prisons will have better security and better technology and will allow for more education and rehabilitation programs.  The new prisons will also allow for modern surveillance cameras and convex mirrors that can detect violence problems.

Hopefully, the Governor and Legislature will address the omnipresent issue of gambling.  Alabama has grappled with gaming for decades.  Most of the concentration has focused on whether or not to have a state lottery.  While we sat idly by and twiddled our thumbs, every other state in America except the Mormon state of Utah has created a lottery and more.  Every state around us, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, and Mississippi have lotteries.  Mississippi funds their entire government to a large degree by every form of gambling imaginable.

In the face of honesty and fairness, the legislature should clarify and rectify the wrong done to the gaming centers at Macon and Greene counties.  The citizens of these two Black Belt counties legally and rightfully voted for a Constitutional Amendment to allow them to have gambling and electronic bingo.  It is a flagrant disregard of the Constitution for their facilities to be thwarted in their efforts to proceed with their rights and ability to supplement their county’s needs.  

The legislature will need to remove the stranglehold and monopoly that the Indian Gambling Syndicate has on our state in order to proceed with allowing people to vote on gaming.

See you next week.