October 17, 2018 - The Shorty Price Story
Since this is Alabama vs. Tennessee week and we have a Governor’s Race in three weeks, allow me to share the Story of Shorty Price.
Alabama has had its share of what I call “run for the fun of it” candidates. The most colorful of all these perennial “also ran” candidates was Ralph “Shorty” Price. He ran for Governor every time. His slogan was “Smoke Tampa Nugget cigars, drink Budweiser beer and vote for Shorty Price.”
In one of Shorty’s campaigns for governor his campaign speech contained this line, “If elected governor I will reduce the governor’s tenure from four to two years. If you can’t steal enough to last you the rest of your life in two years, you ain’t got enough sense to have the office in the first place.” He would use recycled campaign signs to save money but he rarely garnered two percent of the votes in any campaign.
Shorty loved Alabama football. Following the Crimson Tide was Shorty’s prime passion in life. You could spot Shorty, even though he was only 5 ft tall, at every Crimson tide football game always sporting a black suit, a black hat with a round top, his Alabama tie and flag.
I do not know if Shorty actually had a seat because he would parade around Denny Stadium or Legion Field posing as Alabama’s head cheerleader. In fact he would intersperse himself among the real Alabama cheerleaders and help them with their cheers. There was no question that Shorty was totally inebriated in fact, I never saw Shorty when he was not drunk.
Shorty worshiped Paul “Bear” Bryant. Indeed Bryant, Wallace and Shorty were of the same era. Like Bryant, Shorty hated Tennessee.
Speaking of the Tennessee rivalry, I will share with you a personal Shorty story. I had become acquainted with Shorty early on in life. Therefore, on a clear, beautiful, third Saturday, fall afternoon in October Alabama was playing Tennessee in Legion Field. As always, Shorty was prancing up and down the field. I was a freshman at the University on that fall Saturday. Shorty even in his drunken daze recognized me. I had a beautiful date that I was trying to impress and meeting Shorty did not impress her. Shorty pranced up the isle and proceeded to sit by me. His daily black suit had not been changed in probably over a year. He reeked of alcohol and body odor and my date had to hold her nose.
After about 20 minutes of offending my date, Shorty then proceeded to try to impress the crowd by doing somersaults off the six-foot walls of Legion field. He did at least three, mashing his head straight down on the pavement on each dive, I though Shorty had killed himself with his somersaults. His face and his head were bleeding profusely and he was developing a black eye. Fortunately, Shorty left my domain and proceeded to dance with Alabama cheerleaders that day as bloody as he may have been.
Shorty was beloved by the fans and I guess that is why the police in Birmingham and Tuscaloosa seem to ignore Shorty’s antics. However, that was not the case in a classic Alabama game four years later. By this time I was a senior at the University and we were facing Notre Dame in an epic championship battle in the old New Orleans Sugar Bowl on New Year’s Eve. It was for the 1973 national championship. Bear Bryant and Ara Parseghian were pitted against each other. We were ranked #1 and 2.
One of the largest television audiences in history was focused on the 7:30 p.m. kickoff. It was electrifying. Those of us in the stands were awaiting the entrance of the football team, as were the ABC cameras. Somehow or other, Shorty had journeyed to New Orleans, had gotten on the field and was posed to lead the Alabama team out on the field.
As was customary, Shorty was drunk as Cooter Brown. He started off by beating an Irish puppet with a club and the next thing I knew two burly New Orleans policemen, two of the biggest I had ever seen, picked up Shorty by his arms and escorted him off the field. They did not know who Shorty was and did not appreciate him. Sadly, Shorty, one of Alabama’s greatest fans, missed one of Alabama’s classic games sitting in a New Orleans jail.
I have always believed that Shorty’s removal from the field was a bad omen for us that night. We lost 24-23 and Notre Dame won the National Championship.
See you next week.
October 10, 2018 - Democrats have three viable candidates, but Republicans will prevail
In politics, perception is reality. It is perceived and therefore factual that a Democrat cannot win a statewide race in Alabama.
The proof is in the pudding. We have 29 elected statewide officeholders in the Heart of Dixie. All 29 are Republicans.
In addition, 6 out of 7 of our members in Congress are Republican. We have one lone Democratic member of Congress. Terri Sewell occupies the seat in Congress designed to be held by an African American.
We do have a temporary accidental anomaly U.S. Senator in Doug Jones. However, as any nominal political observer knows, he is only there until the next election. He is the epitome of the political adage that more people vote against someone than for someone. People were simply voting against Roy Moore and more liberal money poured into Alabama to beat Moore than has ever been sent into Alabama in history and probably ever will be. It was the only race in the country and every socialist liberal group or individual in the nation jumped on board to beat Moore. That anomaly will never happen again.
To his credit, Jones is not a demagogue. He is and has always been a liberal national Democrat. He has been a card carrying, bonafide liberal his entire adult life. He is ideologically more at home and comfortable buddying around with Chuck Schumer, Elizabeth Warren and Nancy Pelosi than with Richard Shelby, Robert Aderholt or Bradley Bryne. He has campaigned for, contributed to and been a Democratic delegate for Walter Mondale, Ted Kennedy, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. He is a true believer.
He has felt his oats a bit and gotten involved in trying to change the state Democratic Party organization, which by the way is not very organized. He endorsed his candidate Peck Fox against Nancy Worley for the chairmanship of the defunct Alabama Democratic Party. Worley prevailed because Joe Reed still controls the reigns of the Democratic Party brand in the state.
Make no doubt about it, the Democratic Party is the party of African Americans in Alabama. There are a few liberal white Democrats in the state that Reed parades out as face cards. However, he wants it to remain his party, and essentially that is the case.
Make no mistake about it, Alabama politics is still driven by race. Whites are primarily Republicans. Blacks are totally Democratic. Politics is nothing more than simply counting. Basic math if you will. There are simply more white folks that vote than black folks who vote. That is why 29 out of 29 state officeholders are Republican.
The Democrats have fielded three viable candidates for statewide office in the upcoming November General Election. They will run good races, but they are not going to win. It will be 29 out of 29 come January.
Walt Maddox is the best candidate that the Democrats have had in several decades for Governor. Maddox is 45 and has been Mayor of Tuscaloosa, one of Alabama’s premier and most prosperous cities for 10 years. He is better qualified and much more able to serve as Governor than Kay Ivey.
However, Kay is a Republican quasi incumbent, running in a very good economic time. Her handlers are doing an excellent job of running out the clock and keeping quiet. All they have to do is show pictures of Kay cutting ribbons, claiming credit for economic expansion, aligning herself with Trump and clinging to Confederate monuments. The bottom line is she will win because she is the Republican candidate.
Joseph Siegelman, the son of former Governor Don Siegelman, is a viable candidate for Attorney General. He not only is viable but is vibrant and attractive. He is 30-years old with movie star good looks and he also has a good-looking dog. He exudes integrity and ethics. However, Marshall will prevail over Siegelman because he is the GOP candidate. Although it may be surprising how many votes young Siegelman gets. A lot of folks, including a good many moderate Republicans, believe Siegelman’s dad, Don, was done wrong. He will reap a good many sympathy votes.
The third viable Democratic candidate is Robert Vance, Jr., in the race for Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. He will run a good race. However, Tom Parker will prevail because he is the Republican candidate.
See you next week.
October 3, 2018 - Some Politicos Learn Lesson the Hard Way
For some untold reason or some would say ungodly reason, I have always been enthralled and involved in politics. As a boy growing up in Troy, I was tutored and trained in the rules and rituals of Alabama politics by two masters of my county’s political history.
The Probate Judge and State Representative were my mentors. They both had been in politics for decades. Both mentors had taught me a lot of political tidbits over the years. However, when it finally got time for me to make my first foray into the arena, they both sat me down. I could tell that I was going to get some sage advice since both were present. They gave me one of the cardinal rules of politics – you run your own campaign and never ever get involved in other people’s races. They said you should be thankful that they elected you to your office. It made sense that it would be arrogant and presumptuous even if you had been in your post for a while that you should not offer your opinion on other races. In addition, the old adage applies – you make one ingrate and hundreds of enemies.
Young Martha Roby learned this old political rule the hard way. As a girl growing up in privilege in Montgomery, she didn’t have the advantage of learning the Rules of Politics. She was probably more interested in planning for debutante balls and learning to play the piano. She went on to college at New York University and majored in music.
Bill Dickinson served in that same second district seat for 28 years. He became the ranking Republican on the House Armed Services Committee. He never got involved in other races. In fact, his campaign slogan in his early years was “Vote first for Bill and then as you will.”
Another politician that learned a lesson the hard way this year is powerful State Senate President, Del Marsh. There is an old saying and political truism that home folks know you best. Marsh has made no bones about the fact that he was interested in running for U.S. Senator or Governor. His calling card to claiming one of these brass rings was that he had made a lot of money in the private sector and could afford to self-finance a state campaign, if he were inclined to spend some of his money. That remained to be seen.
However, in his reelection bid for his Anniston State Senate District, Marsh did use his large state campaign war chest to buy media spots in the Montgomery and Birmingham media market, probably in order to build name identification for a possible 2020 U.S. Senate run. In fact, Marsh spent $482,674 to his unknown opponents $15,435. Marsh got 52 percent and won by an 8,215 to 7,366 difference. Less than 900 votes.
Marsh may as well have lost as far as future statewide aspirations are concerned. No PAC’s in Washington are going to take him seriously with that blemish.
In 1974, Jere Beasley was running for reelection as Lt. Governor. He had gotten upstartish and antsy to take the reigns as Governor after Governor George Wallace had been shot and was recovering. Perennial candidate, Charles Woods, led Beasley in the first primary and was poised to take him out. Beasley adroitly did his homework. He discovered that Woods had failed to carry his home voting precinct in Dothan. Beasley came back to beat him with a brilliant ad that showed the results of Beasley beating Woods in his own Home Box. The ad simply said, “Home Folks know you best.” The more things change the more they stay the same in good old Alabama politics.
Speaking of statewide aspirations, Rebekah Mason and Robert Bentley recently launched a website touting ole Bentley’s history as Governor with a hint that the old boy might get back into politics. Ms. Mason tweeted that she liked my comments about them getting back into politics that I made on Birmingham television. They seem immune to anything they did in the Governor’s office. My thoughts were that I wish they would reenter the political arena. It would be good fodder for me. As you know I like to write about the lighter side of politics and they were colorful and a great soap opera. However, they were no the most colorful in Alabama political history. They are not even close to Big Jim Folsom and Shorty Price.
See you next week.
September 26, 2018 - Supreme Court Rules States – Can Collect Online Sales Tax
The State of Alabama’s fiscal year begins next week on October 1. Our state’s finances are not the best in the world. However, they got a boost from the U.S. Supreme Court earlier this year, The high tribunal ruled that states can collect sales tax on internet sales.
This was one of the most inequitable scenarios I have ever seen. If you went to the corner hardware store or Lowe’s or Walmart to buy a hammer and paint, you paid sales tax. However, if you bought these same items online you did not. That is not fair to the store or the state. What is even more unfair is if your wife went down to the local dress shop and tried on an expensive dress she liked and then came home and bought it online. How fair is that to the store, the clerk at the store or the state.
Finally, and thankfully, the Supreme Court clarified this inequality that had persisted for decades, since the inception of the internet.
Alabama had already gotten ahead of the curve in regards to collecting online sales tax. Through the wise stewardship of House Ways and Means Chairman, Steve Clouse, R-Ozark, we had joined 19 other states in passing legislation that companies were to voluntarily pay the online sales tax.
The legislation passed in 2015 was entitled the Simplified Sellers Use Tax. It allowed companies the permission to collect sales tax to be remitted to the state voluntarily in exchange for locking in a fixed rate of 8 percent no matter where in the state an online item was sold. As you know, the sales tax rate deviates throughout each city and locale. In Alabama’s case, the money collected under our SSUT Act was divided 50/50 between the state and cities and counties. The city’s and county’s half is disbursed based on population. The state’s half is divided 75 percent to the General Fund and 25 percent to the Education Fund.
Chairman Clouse estimates that the state will reap an additional $18-20 million from the Supreme Court decision. The Supreme Court’s 5-to-4 ruling overruled decades of old decisions that had cost the state billions of dollars over the years.
The cases the Court overturned said that if a business was shipping an online customer’s purchase to a state where the business did not have a physical presence like a store, warehouse, or office, the business did not have to collect sales tax and remit to the state. Over the decades this has been referred to as the Physical Presence Rule.
Retiring Justice, Anthony Kennedy, wrote the majority opinion. He said, “Every year the Physical Presence Rule becomes further removed from economic reality and results in significant revenue losses to the state.” Retail trade groups praised the ruling saying that it levels the playing field for local and online businesses. President Trump praised the decision via Twitter. The President hailed the Supreme Court opinion as a “Big victory for fairness and for our country.”
Speaking of President Trump and the Supreme Court, it is said and it is very true that the greatest legacy a U.S. President can record is an appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court. Trump has had two in the first two years. Regardless of what transpires in the next two years of Trump’s reign, from conservative Americans viewpoint, this presidency has been a success.
The nominations of Neil Gorsuch last year and Brett Kavanaugh this year were BIG. Both men are in their early 50’s and will make a powerful impact on public policy and law in America for decades. Long after Trump is gone, his legacy as a stalwart, conservative President will live on through Kavanaugh and Gorsuch.
Both are also men of character with impeccable credentials. They are strict Constitutional constructionists and adherents. Their intellectual prowess will be indelibly inscribed into the Law of the Land for generations.
As former President Barack Obama said, the night that Hillary Clinton lost to Donald Trump, “Elections have consequences.”
See you next week.
September 19, 2018 - 1986 Governor’s Race
Since this is a gubernatorial election year, allow me to share an epic Governor’s Race with you.
The 1986 Governor’s race will be remembered as one of Alabama’s most amazing political stories. In 1978 Fob James sent the Three B’s, Brewer, Beasley and Baxley packing. Brewer and Beasley had been permanently exiled to Buck’s Pocket, the mythical destination for defeated Alabama gubernatorial candidates. However, Bill Baxley resurrected his political career by bouncing back to be elected lieutenant governor in 1982, while George Wallace was winning his fifth and final term as governor. Another player arrived on the state political scene. Charlie Graddick was elected as a fiery tough lock ‘em up and throw away the key attorney general. Graddick had previously been a tough prosecuting district attorney in Mobile.
When Wallace bowed out from seeking reelection in 1986, it appeared the race was between Bill Baxley, the lieutenant governor, and Charlie Graddick, the attorney general. It also appeared there was a clear ideological divide. The moderates and liberals in Alabama were for Baxley and the archconservatives were for Graddick. Baxley had the solid support of black voters, labor, and progressives. Graddick had the hard-core conservatives, including most of the Republican voters in Alabama.
The Republicans had gone to a primary by 1986 but very few Alabamians, even Republicans, participated. It was still assumed that the Democratic Primary was tantamount to election. The Democratic Primary would draw 800,000 Alabama voters while the GOP Primary might draw 40,000, so most Republican leaning voters felt that in order for their vote to count they had to vote in the Democratic Primary.
Baxley and Graddick went after each other with a vengeance in the primary. The race was close. Graddick came out on top by an eyelash. He encouraged Republicans to come vote for him in the Democratic Primary. They did and that is why he won. This was not something that had not been happening for decades. Brewer would have never led Wallace in 1970 without Republicans. Fob would have never won the Democratic Primary and thus become governor in 1978 without Republican voters. Basically, Alabama had been a no party state. We still have no party registration law. So how do you police people weaving in and out of primaries without a mechanism in place for saying you are a Democrat, Republican, or Independent?
After Graddick defeated Baxley by less than 25,000 votes in the runoff primary, the Democratic Party did the unthinkable. They convened the hierarchy of the party, who clearly favored Baxley, and declared Baxley the Democratic nominee because they guessed Graddick had won the primary with Republican crossover voters. They paraded experts in front of their committee to testify that Baxley should have won if just Democrats had voted. They boldly and brazenly chose Baxley as the nominee in spite of the fact that Graddick had clearly gotten the most votes.
This move went against the grain of the vast majority of Alabama voters. They felt that Graddick, even if they had not voted for him, got the most votes and should be the nominee. The Democratic Party leadership sloughed it off. They assumed that the Democratic nominee would win regardless. After all, there had not been a Republican Governor of Alabama in 100 years. In addition, the Republicans had chosen an unknown former Cullman County Probate Judge named Guy Hunt. Hunt had no money and no name identification.
The Democratic leaders guessed wrong. The backlash was enormous. The bold handpicking of a nominee who had not received the most votes was a wrong that needed to be righted. Baxley did not help his case any by ignoring Hunt and dismissing him as a simpleton. He mocked Hunt saying he was unqualified because he only had a high school education. Baxley, as politically astute as he was, should have realized that he was insulting the majority of Alabama voters who themselves only possessed high school educations. This created a backlash of its own.
When the votes were counted in the November general election, Guy Hunt was elected Governor of Alabama. This 1986 result gave new meaning and proof to the old George Wallace theory that more Alabama voters vote against someone than for someone. Alabama had its first Republican governor in 100 years. The 1986 Governor’s race will go down in history as a red-letter year in Governor’s races. It was truly historic and memorable.
See you next week.
September 12, 2018 - Illegal Immigrants and Census
Conservative Republicans, like Jeff Sessions, have been obsessed with illegal immigrants for years. Sessions is and has always been a stickler for obeying the laws of our land. He is the most honest, upright, squeaky clean, politician I have ever seen in my lifetime of observing politics in Alabama. He is like Dudley Do Right, only shorter and straighter. He was an Eagle Scout and you can tell he was not making it up on his resume. He epitomizes a grownup Eagle Scout. He has never outgrown the straight and narrow path. During his 20-year tenure in the U.S. Senate as our junior Senator, he was the ultimate ideologue and one of, if not the most, conservative members of the Senate. He did not just give lip service to his reactionary positions; He put leg service in to every right-wing cause and issue.
He was the Attorney General of Alabama before his election to the U.S. Senate. Prior to that, he was the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama in Mobile. Being a prosecutor has always been his passion. Therefore, when Donald Trump offered him the U.S. Attorney General post that is why he took it.
Most U.S. Senators would have balked at abandoning a safe Senate seat they could stay in for life. Our Senior Senator, Richard Shelby, would have laughed in Trump’s face if he offered him a Cabinet position. Shelby would have told him, “Thanks but no thanks.” If Trump had offered him his job as president, Shelby would have considered it a demotion. Probably the only reason that Jeff Sessions has not be fired by the irrational Trump is that he knows that Shelby and Mitch McConnell and the Republican Senate leadership would automatically dissolve any power that Trump has as President. He would be rendered irrelevant when it comes to how any federal dollars are appropriated. For you see, Chairmanship of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee trumps the President every day of the week. There is an old adage that those that have the gold make the rules. Trump understands that rule.
Having said all that, Jeff Sessions and Donald Trump are right. We have immigration laws in this country, the same way that we have bank robbery and mail fraud laws. Without these laws and the upholding and adherence to these laws, we would have complete anarchy in the United States. It is not right or lawful that Mexicans enter the country illegally while other people from Brazil, China or Europe are properly applying for citizenship. The law should be upheld.
States like California have been gleefully welcoming illegal immigrants for decades. It has basically ruined the once Golden State. They are now so deep in debt from giving free health care and school systems to illegals that they will never recover.
My interest has been here at home in Alabama. It was not our problem. However, folks, it now is our problem because California may steal one of our seven Congressional Districts by counting illegal, undocumented Mexicans in the 2020 census. Alabama is now at risk of losing a seat in the U.S. House and concurrently an electoral vote in the presidential elections because we have experienced slower growth than other states; especially those who count people who are here illegally. Conservative states like Alabama have filed suit in federal court to stop the count of illegals.
The census count is immensely important. It determines the number of seats that each state has in Washington, which also determines the number of electoral votes, which ultimately decides the presidency. California wants to use these illegal residents to steal congressional representation from conservative states like us and even states like Ohio who have not harbored hordes of illegal immigrants.
This court battle will boil down to a simple question: Who should be counted? The biggest census battle to determine the answer to this question was started by the Trump administration and implemented by Attorney General Sessions. It is a mandate that the census questionnaire will ask: Are you a citizen?
Folks we have a lot at stake. To lose a congressman to a state like California due to the counting of illegal aliens, could mean not only less representation but billions of dollars in federal grants for Medicaid, Medicare, housing assistance and transportation.
You may have been ambivalent about illegal immigration, but it affects you and it could affect you very adversely if you reside in Alabama.
See you next week.
September 5, 2018 - 1978 Governors Race
Since this is a gubernatorial election year, let’s reminisce about an epic Governor’s Race. The 1978 Governor’s race is one of the classics in Alabama political lore. That Governor’s race between the three heavyweights, former Governor Albert Brewer, Attorney General Bill Baxley, and Lt. Governor Jere Beasley, was expected to be titanic. All three men had last names beginning with the letter “B,” thus, the press coined the phrase “the three B’s.” The Republicans were relegated to insignificance on the gubernatorial stage. Therefore, the winner of the Democratic Primary would be governor.
Meanwhile, over in east Alabama, a little known former Auburn halfback named Fob James strolled into the governor’s race. Fob’s entry evoked very little interest, only curiosity as to why he would want to enter the fray against three well-known major players. Fob was exposed as a card carrying Republican but even a political novice like Fob knew he could not win as a Republican so he qualified to run as a Democrat along with the three B’s.
Fob had become very wealthy by starting a successful manufacturing company in Opelika. When Fob signed up to run for governor the press wrote him off as a rich gadfly who simply chose politics, rather than golf, as his pastime. Little did they know that the fact he was rich and had a lot of time on his hands could spell trouble for the average political opponent who had to worry about fundraising and feeding their family while running a full-time campaign.
Fob realized he was no political professional like the three B’s, who had spent their entire political adulthood in public office, so he sought out professional advice. He had the money to think big and wanted to know who was the best political consultant in the South. It was an easy answer: Deloss Walker, a political public relations genius who lived in Memphis. His track record for electing governors of southern states was 5-0. Walker was the most renowned and expensive political guru in the country in 1977.
Fob quietly sought out Walker, who at first refused to take Fob’s race. Walker’s first impression was that even he could not mold Fob into a winner against three well-financed, experienced thoroughbreds.
Walker’s one condition for taking the race was Fob must do exactly what he said. He must be scripted and never deviate from Walker’s pat ads and speeches. Nobody was aware Fob had garnered the genius Walker and had already been to political school when he signed up to run for governor in the spring of 1978. Brewer, Baxley, and Beasley ignored Fob. Baxley even praised him saying, “Fob would be a good governor. Too bad he’s not a serious candidate.” Those words would come back to haunt Baxley.
Walker’s initial polling showed Fob actually had some name identification from being an Auburn halfback in the 1950’s. It also picked up on the fact that Auburn alumni yearned for an Auburn man to be governor instead of a University of Alabama alumnus. However, Fob’s best attribute was that he always followed Walker’s script.
He traveled the state in a yellow school bus and let the three B’s tear each other up. Baxley, Beasley, and Brewer spent all their time and money attacking each other with negative ads, all the while Fob ran positive ads evoking a clean image of himself. By mid-May most Alabamians had seen so many negative ads and mudslinging by the three B’s they were of the opinion that all three had probably shot their mothers in a bar fight but they liked old Fob James, even if they thought his name was “Bob James.”
It was too late for the three B’s when they saw a poll about a week before the election showing Fob ahead of all three of them. Baxley refused to believe it and kept hammering at Beasley and Brewer, ignoring Fob. When the votes were counted, Fob was in first place. Baxley finished second because black voters were with him. Brewer was third and Beasley finished fifth behind State Senator Sid McDonald.
Fob easily beat Baxley in the runoff. After all, what could Baxley say? He had run all over the state for three months saying Fob would make a good governor. Fob James had pulled off one of the most amazing upset victories in the history of Alabama politics. The Fob James story of the 1978 Governor’s race is truly one for the record books.
See you next week.
August 29, 2018 – BCA is Back, Bigger and Better than ever
Alabama Power is and has always been a force in Alabama politics. Some entities may have influence in the Legislature, but the power company has the ear of folks in all three branches of State government: Legislative, Executive and Judicial.
If you sat down with all 35 state senators, especially the veterans who know the ropes and the system, and you had an extensive off-the-record private conversation with each of them, and you asked them if you had to have one special interest group in your corner and you were in a tough race to get reelected or wanted to get something accomplished, who would you call. In other words, to quote the great Dr. Paul Hubbert, who would you call if your ox got into a ditch? It would be an overwhelming vote for Alabama Power. Alabama Power is the friend, and confidant that both Democratic and Republican senators and representatives would name. The company is known for listening to legislators and treating them fairly and honestly, and it is truly nonpartisan in its approach.
Typically, the power company prefers anonymity. It certainly does not seek attention or accolades. However, legislators, judges, and governors have never been reluctant or ashamed of being aligned with the interests of the company or seeking contributions from its employee-operated political action committee. Over the years there has been a shell game of attempting to hide campaign contributions from some corners; not so with Alabama Power and its employees PAC. They do not play nefarious, clandestine, hiding-the-money shenanigans. They play by the rules. When you inquire of those 35 senators why they want and are proud of the power company’s support, they will quote an old saying used among Goat Hill veterans, “What’s good for Alabama Power is good for Alabama,” because if Alabama grows and prospers, if the state is drawing new industry and existing businesses are expanding, and Alabamians are using more electricity, Alabama Power prospers.
During the 1960’s, George Wallace had demagogued the race issue and had become the Emperor of Goat Hill. The issue of race was a powerful tool. Wallace was a brilliant politician and knew how to use power. When African Americans gained the right to vote Wallace had to find him another boogeyman. He took a page from Huey Long and started cussing the big utilities.
During this Wallace vendetta, Alabama Power had a president named Joe Farley, who was a great business leader, but not particularly enamored with Montgomery politics. Fortunately, he had a real pro representing the company on Goat Hill in the form of Walter Johnsey. Walter stood toe-to-toe with Wallace.
After Wallace, a triumvirate of power made up of AEA/Labor and trial lawyers ruled the roost. The plaintiff trial lawyers became greedy and made Alabama the laughing stock of the Nation with outrageous, ludicrous judgements. We were called “Tort Hell” by “Time Magazine.” No industry would come to Alabama when they were going to be routinely shaken down by litigants and their own workers for millions of dollars.
The power company had to come to the rescue. Under the leadership of President Elmer Harris, the Business Council of Alabama was created. The BCA ran the trial lawyers from the Temple and led Alabama into a pro-business environment.
Over the next 30 years the BCA became the leading business governmental group. In actuality, it remained closely aligned with the power company.
An arrogant, Yankee, named Billy Canary, had been the titular president of the BCA for close to 10 years. He had parlayed a friendship with Governor Bob Riley and Speaker Mike Hubbard, into garnering the job. It became apparent that he had run the organization into the ground about three years ago. He and the BCA had become a joke and toothless tiger.
About a year ago, the power company President, Mark Crosswhite, called Canary to Birmingham and suggested it was time to move on. Canary lied and procrastinated and refused to depart. Crosswhite ultimately lost patience. He brilliantly pulled the plug and left BCA along with some of the company’s business allies Regions, Blue Cross, and Power South. Crosswhite had grown up in the power business, even at one point in his career he led the governmental affairs department and also did a stint as President of sister Gulf Power. He knew how to handle the situation. He employed the Teddy Roosevelt adage that also applies to the power company: “Walk softly and carry a big stick.” Crosswhite and his allies reconstituted the Board of BCA and brought everybody back into the fold in one fell swoop. He earned himself a place in Alabama Power and Alabama political lore.
The BCA is back bigger and better than ever.
See you next week.
August 22, 2018 - Beth Chapman – On Rane Plane Ride?
Recently, I wrote about Alfa’s influence in Alabama politics. In my August 8 column, I said, the Alabama Farmers Federation still controls the Legislature. They use to play in the Governor’s Race. However, they got burned badly by Bob Riley when they helped him get elected and the first thing he did was stab them in the back. However, they have slipped around this year and will not only own the Legislature, they will probably have a good friend in the Governor’s office.
The day before the Primary, Kay Ivey was put on Jimmy Ranes’ jet to fly around the state. Boarding with her was Beth Chapman, Alfa’s political consultant. The next night when she came off the platform after giving her appreciation speech, guess who was helping her off the stage and holding her arm so that she would not fall? Jimmy Parnell the Farmers Federation President.
Well, I get a note from Debbee Hancock, an Ivey campaign spokesperson, yes, that is right, it is spelled Debbee. She informed me that Beth Chapman was not actually on-board Jimmy Ranes’ plane that day when they flew Kay around the state. I politely told her that in watching the television footage, it looked to me like Beth was in a finite group of people walking beside Kay to the plane. Even Brent Buchanan, the Governor’s campaign manager, concurred with my assessment. He told me, “I was there with Beth and saw it on TV after. I totally see how you could have thought she was headed to the plane when the Governor exited that way.”
I told young Debbee that I would clarify that Beth did not actually board the plane, it just looked like she did. However, I told them that they should not be so sensitive about or ashamed of the Farmers’ friendship. Also told them that they should have given them a place on the plane. Most people assume that the Farmers’ would be for the Republican nominee for governor.
However, Debbee did not dispute the second part of my August 8 comments where I said that Jimmy Parnell, like the gentleman that he is, was helping Kay off the stage the next night. I advised both Debbee and Brent that they really should not allow her to go out alone and be expected to maneuver stage steps.
Recently, one of Kay’s people called me and told me I said Kay was senile. I told them that was a blasphemous lie. I said, “She just looked senile.” I appear on numerous radio talk shows and television stations around the state. I am getting up in age and sometimes I do not remember everything I say. I obviously have become quite uninhibited in my observations and ramblings.
Walt Maddox has been doing his best to coax Kay’s folks into letting her debate. Folks, you can bet your bottom dollar, Kay Ivey ain’t going to debate Walt Maddox. My observation is that Kay cannot debate. I do not believe that she has the stamina to physically stand up for an hour or two, much less answer questions. It would be political suicide for her handlers to put her in that trap. She would become befuddled and anxious. She would be prone to putting on a show worse than Big Jim Folsom’s appearance on TV in 1962. It would be a good show.
All Kay has to do is run out the clock. She needs to continue to say nothing or do nothing. A Republican Governor who looks elderly and has done nothing wrong ethically and who is enjoying the fruits of a great national recovery will beat a young, energetic, highly qualified candidate who is cognizant and well versed on the issues every day of the week and twice on Sunday in Alabama politics. Just the appearance on a debate stage would be dramatic.
Alabamians do not care about a gubernatorial debate or for that matter they do not care much about who is governor. What they do care about is college football and it starts next week. It will occupy Alabamians for the next three months. The Governor’s Race will slide under the radar screen.
See you next week.
August 15, 2018 - Brett Kavavaugh to Scotus. Assures Trump Legacy
The appointment of a United States Supreme Court Justice is one of the most profound legacies that a U. S. President can achieve. The opportunity that President Donald Trump was given to appoint a new Neil Gorsuch to the High Tribunal last year will be a monumental achievement of the Trump administration.
The chance to name a second Supreme Court appointment will be a colossal legacy for the Trump presidency.
The appointment of two seats on the Supreme Court has given Trump an indelible place in U.S. presidential history.
The leftist detractors of the Trump presidency are moaning. However, the conservative base of American politics has got to be rejoicing with hallelujahs. The quiet, conservative Americans who voted for Trump probably never realize how impactful their vote for Trump was in November, 2016.
For within less than two years after casting that vote they will have placed America on a more stable conservative path for not only the rest of their lives, but possibly for the next generation.
President Trump’s appointment and subsequent confirmation of Neil Gorsuch to replace the deceased Antonin Scalia was a profound choice.
However, his selection of Brett Kavanaugh to replace the retiring jurist Anthony Kennedy is equally brilliant.
If Trump does nothing else during his tenure in the White House, if you are a conservative American, Trump’s presidency has been a rousing overwhelming success.
When the last votes were counted in November of 2016 and it became obvious that Donald Trump had defeated Hillary Clinton, conservative Americans were amazingly exuberant. Many had turned out to vote for one reason. The possibility of naming a conservative to the Supreme Court was their primary reason for voting for Trump. The naming of two within two years was beyond their wildest dreams.
With the conclusion of the eight-year reign of the liberal Obama ERA and Trump’s defeat of Clinton, President Obama made one last simple, profound statement; “Elections have consequences.” That epitaph has become prophetic.
The court had been drifting leftward out to sea with the two extremely liberal Obama appointees, Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomoyor coming on board. However, the Supreme Court Ship of State has taken a turn to the right under the helm of Captain Trump.
Brett Kavavaugh is an excellent selection. He has impeccable credentials. He is only 53 years old, which means that he will be a sensible mainstream conservative voice of the court for probably three decades.
Brett Kavanaugh’s resume reads like a profile of someone born to be a U.S. Supreme Court Justice. Like most Supreme Court members, he graduated from a prestigious Ivy League Law school. He is a product of Yale undergraduate and Yale Law School.
Kavanaugh was the favorite for the appointment from the beginning. He was always on the top of Trump’s short list and the choice of the Republican legal establishment in Washington. He is a former law clerk of the retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy.
Although Kennedy had been appointed by Republican Ronald Reagan, he was considered the one moderate on the court. There are four bonafide liberal justices and four stalwart conservatives. Kennedy was the swing vote in the middle. Trump’s appointment of Kavanaugh will replace a swing vote on the nine-member court with a staunch conservative.
Kavanaugh served in George W. Bush’s administration and has been a distinguished jurist in the Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit for over a decade and has written over 300 opinions. Therefore, his record as a jurist has been thoroughly reviewed and scrutinized. He is looked upon as a top legal scholar and strict constitutional adherent with a record of following judicial precedence.
Kavanaugh will be confirmed along pretty much the same partisan lines as Gorsuch.
Trump is blessed with a Republican majority Senate. Leader Mitch McConnell will put the confirmation hearings on a fast track and have Kavanaugh approved by the end of October, prior to the mid-term elections. The Republicans have a thin 51 to 49 majority. All 51 Republican Senators appear to be on board for confirmation, including Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. Our Senator Richard Shelby has given a big thumbs up to Kavanaugh.
In addition to the 51 Republicans, Kavanaugh is expected to pick up four Democratic Senate votes of moderate Democrats from red states.
The big question is how does our new accidental anomaly, Democratic Senator Doug Jones vote. He is considered a longshot to win in 2020. However, a yes vote on confirmation could give him a glimmer of hope. A no vote would guarantee his not being elected to a full term. His liberal Democratic colleagues like Chuck Schumer, Dianne Feinstein, Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders would stand a better chance being elected as the junior senator from the Heart of Dixie than Jones.
See you next week.