June 07, 2017
Since we are in the midst of an election for a U.S. Senator, let me share the story of one of the most prestigious congressional families in Alabama history. The Bankheads of Jasper would likely be the most prominent political family in Alabama political lore. More than likely there has never been a father serve as one of Americas most powerful U.S. Senators while their son, William Bankhead, served as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.
The original founder of the famous family was John Hollis Bankhead. He was the patriarch of a family that spawned sons John H. Bankhead, II and Speaker of the U.S. House, William B. Bankhead and daughter, state archivist, Marie Bankhead Owen and granddaughter Tallulah Bankhead, who became a star of stage and screen.
John Hollis Bankhead was born in 1842 on his family’s plantation in present Lamar County. He was educated in local schools and joined the Confederate Army at 19. He fought in numerous Civil War battles and was wounded several times. He entered the Confederate Army as a private and rose to Captain.
After the Civil War he married Tallulah Brockman of Wetumpka and returned to farming his family land. He began his political career by serving four terms in the state legislature. He then was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1886 and served 20 years in Congress.
In 1906, Alabama did an extremely unusual thing. At that time, state legislatures still appointed U.S. Senators. Alabama’s legislature met only every four years and both of the states Senators, Edmund Pettus and John Tyler Morgan, were aging. The State Democratic Party held a primary to choose a successor should one or both of the Senators die before the Legislature met again. It was called the pallbearer’s primary. Bankhead won the primary. In June of 1907, Morgan died and Bankhead took the U.S. Senate seat.
John Bankhead left an indelible legacy as a senator. He was a champion of building federal highways and waterways. America’s first national highway that traverses from Washington D.C. to San Diego, California is named the Bankhead Highway after our Senator John H. Bankhead.
John’s son, William, was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1916. Thus he served simultaneously in the House while his father served in the Senate. He followed his father’s advice to learn the rules. He did and it earned him a seat on the powerful Rules Committee. He was joined on the committee by another southern congressman, who would also make his mark in Congress, Sam Rayburn from Texas.
During William Bankhead’s 23 years in Congress, he became Chairman of the Rules Committee, Majority Leader and then Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. He was and continues to be our only Alabamian to serve as Speaker of the House.
Even though William Bankhead was Alabama’s most distinguished congressman, he was best known as being the father of the most famous and flamboyant actress of that era, Tallulah Bankhead. Tallulah, who was named for her maternal grandmother, was very close to her Speaker father, William. She was renowned for her eccentric and uninhibited behavior and for her throaty utterance calling everyone, “dah-ling.” She thrust the Bankhead name in bright lights on Broadway and in Hollywood.
Senator John Hollis Bankhead had a daughter named Marie who made her mark in Alabama history. Marie Owen Bankhead was the founder of the State Archives Building. She was affectionately called “Miss Marie.” Our magnificent Archives Building across from the Capitol, was built and the funds secured by Miss Marie from the New Deal WPA Program. It did not hurt that her father was one of the nation’s most powerful senators and her brother was Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. Miss Marie Owen Bankhead served as director of the State Archives for 35 years, from 1920-1955.
Besides the national Bankhead Highway, in Alabama we have the Bankhead Tunnel in Mobile, the William B. Bankhead National Forest, which transverses a good portion of Alabama, the Bankhead Home and Heritage Center in Jasper, and the historic Bankhead Avenue in Montgomery.
The Bankhead’s of Alabama are the Deep South’s version of the Kennedy’s.
See you next week.
May 31, 2017
As the race for our open U.S. Senate seat begins, let’s look at the lay of the land.
First-of-all it will be a sprint. The race is upon us with the primaries on August 15 and the run-off six weeks later on September 26. The Republican primary victor will be coronated on December 12. We, in the Heart of Dixie, are a one party state when it comes to major statewide offices. Winning the GOP primary is tantamount to election. Therefore, our new senator will probably be elected on September 26.
With 11 Republicans in the race, it will be highly unlikely that anybody could win without a run-off, so the initial goal is to make the run-off. There are amazingly 19 total candidates who qualified. You can write the 8 Democrats off as irrelevant because a Democrat cannot win in Alabama. With 11 Republicans running, it appears to be a crowded race. However, 6 of the 11 are “run for the fun of it” qualifiers. Therefore, even though the field has a lot of horses, there are only 5 of the 19 who could be considered thoroughbreds and probably only 3 who have a viable chance to win.
Former Chief Justice Roy Moore and former State Attorney General and Robert Bentley appointee to the Senate, Luther Strange, are more than likely headed to a Republican run-off. Huntsville and Tennessee Valley Congressman Mo Brooks has the best chance to challenge for a run-off spot. Initial polling has Roy Moore at 30 percent, Luther Strange at 14 percent and Mo Brooks at 7 percent.
Roy Moore’s removal from his post as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court by some vague Judicial Inquiry Commission for being against gay marriage has made him a hero and martyr among Alabama’s conservative and religious voters. There is a pent up desire to right a wrong among the Alabama people. It is obviously showing up in the polling, but it could be illuminated and result in a higher than anticipated 30 percent.
Polls are a picture of the total pool of voters. However, the final poll and the one that really matters is who actually shows up to vote on August 15. Roy Moore’s folks will be there, they are ardent and mad. They will not be at the lake or the beach. In fact, if there is an extremely low turnout, Moore could conceivably win without a run-off. It is unlikely that occurs. However, he more than likely finishes first and has a spot in the run-off.
Luther Strange will be fighting to hold on to the other spot in the September 26 final dance. He will more than likely prevail in his quest to get into the run-off and keep the seat. Luther will have $10 million of Washington establishment super PAC ammunition at his disposal. It is hard to overcome that kind of money. It is the mother’s milk of politics. Luther is banking on the fact that most U.S. Senate seats are bought by special interest money. Folks, $10 million dollars washes a lot of taint away from the Bentley to Luther deal.
It looks inevitable that Roy Moore and Luther Strange will be in a run-off and the prevailing opinion is that Moore cannot get over 50 percent. However, polling indicates that neither Moore nor Strange can get over 50 percent. They both have a large base of detractors.
This race was ripe to be won by an outside rich man who could spend $10 million of their own money. “Yella Fella” Jimmy Rane walked away from a U.S. Senate seat that was his for the taking.
Congressman Mo Brooks has the best chance to knock Strange out of the run-off. He starts off with a base of support in the Tennessee Valley and $1.2 million in his federal war chest. If he were to raise $3 million, he would probably beat Luther and ultimately would probably beat Moore.
Brooks is to the right of Attila the Hun and belongs to a right wing congressional group known as the Freedom Caucus. There are some very rich right wing zealots around the country who give to Freedom Caucus candidates. They may load ole’ Mo up and teach the Elitist Establishment Mitch McConnell crowd a lesson.
If State Senator, Trip Pittman, from Baldwin County could raise $5 million he could sell. He is the only serious candidate from the vote rich Baldwin/Mobile area.
Dr. Randy Brinson has the perfect background, narrative and family values story. However, like Pittman, he needs $5 million to tell his story.
We will see.
See you next week.
May 24, 2017
Well folks the field is set for the sprint to fill the open U.S. Senate seat of Jeff Sessions.
The primary is less than three months away on August 15. There will probably be a run-off on September 26 and the winner of that GOP run-off will be our Junior Senator from Alabama. In the Heart of Dixie, winning the Republican nomination is tantamount to election. The December 12 General Election will be a coronation for the winner of the September 26 Republican primary.
It was an interesting closing day of qualifying last Wednesday. It was unbelievable how many people showed up to qualify. There are eleven candidates running in the Republican primary and amazingly, the Democrats fielded eight candidates. It was like ants coming out of the woodwork. It was similar to our olden days of Alabama politics when everybody and their brother ran for an open governor’s race or a seldom seen open Senate race. We ought to refer to this race as an ant race rather than a horse race.
Of the nineteen candidates, only about five are viable contenders. Therefore, about fourteen of these folks are running for the fun of it. In fact, we use to refer to them as “run for the fun of it” candidates.
The most colorful run for the fun of it candidate in Alabama political history was Ralph “Shorty” Price. Shorty ran for governor every four years. He usually finished last. His slogan was smoke Tampa Nugget cigars, drink Budweiser beer, and vote for Shorty Price. His campaign platform declared that he would change the term of governor from four years to two years. He would say if you are not smart enough to steal enough as governor in two years, you ain’t smart enough to be governor.
My guess is that if someone put Shorty’s name on this August 15 ballot, he would run sixth out of the 12-person GOP field, posthumously. He would probably win the Democratic nomination from the grave. The party leaders were probably glad to see them all show up. They raked in $3,400 a pop from each qualifier.
You wonder what motivates those also ran candidates to put their names on the ballot. Maybe they just want to see their name on the ballot, maybe their Aunt Susie left them $5,000 with the stipulation that they had to use it to run for the U.S. Senate, or they want to tell their grandchildren one day that they ran for the U.S. Senate. They can omit that they ran eleventh. Maybe they won a 4-H speaking contest when they were in school and figured their destiny was to be a U.S. Senator.
It is similar to someone trying to walk on to Bear Bryant’s or Nick Saban’s football team and Bryant or Saban grants them permission to get a uniform if only for a day and try out. That bold soul who had to be hit by John Hannah like a tackling dummy can truthfully say to their grandson, “I played football at Alabama for Bear Bryant.”
Actually, Alabama’s Sixth Congressional Jefferson/Shelby U.S. Representative, Gary Palmer, was elected to Congress by his doing the above thing while in college at Alabama. Some people suspect that his saying he played for Bear Bryant helped propel him to victory when he was elected a few years ago.
Well, let’s give them just due and list them for you. I will list them in order of how I would handicap the field as the race for the Republican nomination begins.
The two frontrunners are Roy Moore, followed by Luther Strange. Congressman Mo Brooks is within striking distance of Big Luther. State Senator Trip Pittman and Dr. Randy Brinson could be players if they come up with $5 million to spend on the race. Right now, they are unknown to more than 95 percent of the electorate. If Mo Brooks can raise and spend $3 million, or if Brinson or Pittman can pony up $5 million, one of these three could probably knock Luther out of the run-off. Roy Moore is in the run-off – he leads the crowded field.
These six brave souls are in for the fun of it. Hopefully, their next-door neighbor or grandmother will vote for them, James Paul Baretta, Joseph Breault, Dom Gentile, Karen Jackson, Mary Maxwell and Bryan Peeples.
Enjoy the race. I will keep you posted. Next week I will analyze and handicap the race in-depth.
See you next week.
May 17, 2017
The race for our open U.S. Senate seat will be the marquee political event for the remainder of this year. It will be a great show. However, we have a sensational and pivotal 2018 governor’s race evolving simultaneously. This much-anticipated gubernatorial derby will be affected by the preliminary Senate horse race.
The political landscape has changed dramatically with the decisive move by new Governor Kay Ivey to call for the election of Jeff Sessions’ successor to the Senate this year.
Unlike in olden days where running a preliminary statewide race was a stepping-stone to getting elected four years later, in recent years losing statewide is not good – especially if that loss has occurred within less than six months. Therefore, three or more thoroughbreds are removed from the governor’s race. One will be in the Senate and the other two will be exiled to Buck’s Pocket and will not be players in the governor’s race. You can remove Roy Moore, Luther Strange, and any unknown wealthy person, who can and will spend five to ten million dollars of their own money. This unknown rich man will either be Senator or gone from the scene.
Roy Moore’s removal from the governor’s race is the most significant change to the gubernatorial track. His evangelical base, which probably accounts for 20-30 percent of a GOP primary vote, will be splintered among the field.
As I peruse the horses grazing in the pasture, let’s take a look at them because the race begins in less than a month, with fundraising for the June 2018 primaries beginning on June 6. Before I mention some horses who look to be frontrunners, let me say that most of these folks ain’t ponies.
Kay Ivey is 72. She would have probably gone out to pasture had she not become governor. With 18 months as governor she begins to look very gubernatorial. If she decides to run, she will be running as the incumbent and will be a viable horse, if not the front-runner.
Huntsville Mayor, Tommy Battle, 61, is going to be a player in this race. He has done an exemplary job as mayor of Alabama’s most important and successful city. Folks, if we did not have Huntsville, we would be last in everything. Battle is popular in his neck of the woods and will come out of the Tennessee Valley with a good many votes.
The “Yella Fella,” Jimmy Rane, 70, may make the race for governor. He is a successful businessman worth $600 million, according to Forbes Magazine. His business success has not gone to his head. He is and would come across as a “good ole guy.”
Jack Hawkins, the 72-year-old Chancellor of the Troy University System, would be the best-qualified person to be governor. If you put his resume into a merit system roster, the computer would print out his name. He would also be an attractive candidate. Besides building and presiding over a university system for 30 years, he is tall, handsome, and very articulate and exudes honesty and integrity. He would also be the only Marine in the race.
David Carrington, 69, is a Jefferson County Commissioner and successful businessman. He could garner significant support from the Birmingham business community. He also should have some name identification from being seen on Birmingham television for six years.
John McMillan, 75, is one of the best-liked and successful statewide officeholders in Alabama. He has had a stellar eight-year reign as Agriculture Commissioner. John is a native of Baldwin County, which is one of Alabama’s fastest growing and largest Republican counties. If there is a large field, a strong vote in his home county could catapult him into a runoff.
What about the other statewide officeholders? Twinkle Cavanaugh and John Merrill are younger than the aforementioned horses. At 50, they could sit out this race and come back either four or eight years later. Most observers expect Twinkle to run for Lt. Governor. She would be a favorite in that race. John Merrill probably stays another term as Secretary of State, which is prudent. If he and Twinkle bide their time, they would be the frontrunners for governor next time around.
Two older horses in secondary statewide office are question marks. Young Boozer, 68, is term limited from running again for Treasurer. He is mum on his plans. State Auditor Jim Ziegler, 68, has garnered a lot of press the last few years from that benign office. Folks would be wise to not underestimate him. However, his best race would be for Attorney General. He would enter as the favorite in that race.
See you next week.
May 10, 2017
Most times political columns are critical or derogatory of politicians. However, today I would like to share some positive observations from the first few months of this year.
Sometimes I enjoy striding down the halls of our old capitol reminiscing about my younger days when I would walk those halls as a page boy and then during my 30’s and 40’s as a member of the legislature. In bygone days you would never see a constitutional officer in their offices working on Fridays, not even the governor. A few months ago I walked down the halls at about 3:30 on a Friday afternoon and popped into Secretary of State John Merrill’s office and to my amazement Secretary Merrill was in his office working.
After visiting with him a while, I walked across the hall to the State Treasurer’s office and lo and behold there was Young Boozer working away. We chatted a while, Young’s daddy was a good friend of mine. His name was also Young Boozer. He was a very successful businessman. He had been a star football player at Alabama during the 1920’s with Bear Bryant. He intercepted a pass that won the Rose Bowl against Stanford, which by the way is this Young’s alma mater.
Well about three weeks later I was attending a ceremony in the old historic House chamber, which was also on a Friday afternoon. I repeated my steps from the previous Friday and again Merrill and Boozer were in their offices working. In essence not only are John Merrill and Young Boozer uniquely qualified for their jobs, these two gentlemen have an honest to goodness work ethic for the people of Alabama.
Our Senior Senator Richard Shelby has been our U.S. Senator since 1986. During those 30 years he has kept a campaign promise made during that 1986 campaign. He has come home and visited all 67 counties each and every year.
As he begins his 6th six-year term he finds himself in a pinnacle of power never before matched in Alabama political history. He is without question one of the five most powerful men in the United States Senate, which makes him one of the nation’s most important leaders. Senator Shelby chairs the omnipotent Senate Rules Committee. Within the next two years he will set the record for Senate longevity by any Alabama Senator in history. He will exceed John Sparkman’s record of over 32 years in the Senate and he will also become Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Most U.S. Senators in his position would enjoy the trappings of power and adulation in Washington. Not Shelby. At 81 years old he spent the months of February and March quietly traveling the state visiting with Alabama businesses discussing how he could use his seniority to enhance their opportunities and growth.
One Wednesday night in late February I joined my old friend Shelby for dinner in downtown Enterprise. He had spent the past two days visiting with military related industries throughout the Wiregrass around Ft. Rucker. As we reminisced about past times in Alabama politics I marveled at how sharp Shelby is for 81. He looks and moves more like someone 61. We are fortunate to have Shelby.
State Senator Gerald Dial has been in the Alabama Senate for 30 years. He has adamantly said he is not running for reelection next year. He is using his last term in the Senate to be a leader and workhorse. He seems to be in charge of the Senate. He is involved with every major issue and is chairing the Reapportionment Committee, which has to have a resolution by the end of the Session. He seems more like the Governor than a powerful State Senator.
State Senator Cam Ward has taken the bull by the horns with the prison overcrowding bond issue. He has been the architect, developer, chief cook and bottle washer of this premier and critical issue. He has filled a void left by the governor’s office.
Representative Steve Clouse has become the budget guru and mainstay of the beleaguered General Fund. As Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee he has worked adroitly and prudently to keep the ship of state afloat. If it were not for Clouse’s diligence and stewardship, the state would be floating aimlessly into the Gulf of Mexico.
See you next week.
May 03, 2017
Well, folks, let’s put the final coup de grace to the Robert Bentley six year Governor’s reign and move on. Ole Bentley was quite a story his last two years. He had become the ringleader of a circus and an infamous national cartoon character. The salacious and lurid details of his affair with Mrs. Rebekah Mason were a never ending, titillating saga. The story, along with his picture, could aptly be a plot for a tabloid or a Soap Opera. I will actually be surprised if it does not make it to television or even the movies.
Unfortunately, this story will be his legacy as governor. He has no public policy initiatives to tout for posterity. He will be known as the “Luv Gov.”
Our last two governors may not have gone to jail like previous ones, but they garnered terrific nicknames for their exploits over their last year in office.
Bob Riley spent his last year doing the bidding of the Indian Gambling syndicate and his cowboy and Indian escapades closing down all the non-Indian casinos earned him the nickname of “Bingo Bob.”
Ole Bentley, who appeared to be the least likely person to play the part, became a sex crazed philanderer. His and Rebekah’s sordid romance tapes sounded like the x-rated version of Barney Fife sweet talking Thelma Lou. Even the national media dubbed him the “Luv Gov”.
Bentley never really showed any genuine remorse or contrition. Even when he read his prepared resignation speech, it did not seem heartfelt or sincere. They were just words wrapped in religion. He never seemed to apologize from the heart. He still seemed a little bit haughty.
Having taught Sunday school for many years, one would have thought Bentley had taught some from the book of Proverbs. One of Solomon’s greatest proverbs says, “Pride goeth before a fall.”
Early in the day of Bentley’s resignation, I was walking around the Capitol with rumors swirling that Bentley’s demise was imminent at any time. I was wishing the best for ole Bentley. I thought about ole Big Jim Folsom standing on the Capitol steps when the press would pound on him and ask him to resign. He would say to them, “Y’all ain’t gonna get old Big Jim to quit. When I was a boy, growing up in Coffee County my old pappy would make me get out of bed before daylight and go work in the fields chopping cotton and plowing behind a mule. I’d see a rain cloud come up and start praying for rain so I could quit for a while. My pappy would say boy it may cloud up but it ain’t gonna rain on Big Jim.”
Well, bless his heart, it did rain on Bentley. He’s gone. Kay Ivey will serve out the remaining 19 months of his term. She may decide to run for a full term of her own as governor. As the incumbent governor, she would be a viable candidate.
There is an ever-growing list of potential and probable horses that are gearing up for the 2018 gubernatorial derby. The list of viable candidates is at about a dozen.
However, let me tell you again, like I have been telling you for years, Alabamians like to vote for a dark horse for governor – one who has not been around the political track. Let me give you the names of two very rich businessmen who could pull off a Fob James 1978 like coup.
Jimmy Rane, known as “Yella Fella” from his ads of riding a horse and wearing a big yellow hat advertising his yellow lumber, started out and built Great Southern Wood out of Abbeville where he was born and raised and still calls home. Forbes magazine has his net worth at $600 million.
Johnny Johns became CEO of Birmingham based Protective Life at a young age. He built the company started by Colonel Rushton into one of the largest life insurance companies in the world. When an international corporation bought Protective several years ago, Johnny walked away with $300 million. He is known throughout Birmingham as one of the most civic minded people in the Magic City.
Either one of these two distinguished gentlemen could easily buy the governor’s office with their pocket change and they may be interested.
See you next week.
April 26, 2017
The decisive move by newly minted Governor, Kay Ivey, to declare a Special Election for the Jeff Sessions’ Senate Seat this year rather than next year changes the entire complexion of who will sit in that coveted seat. It also redefines the landscape of an ever changing and pivotal Alabama political scene.
This next year will be an adventure as we elect a Senator and concurrently the 2018 Governor’s Race will begin its evolution. We have already seen the downfall of a sitting governor this year and by September 26, we will see the election of a new junior U.S. Senator. There is an assumption that only a Republican can win statewide office in Alabama and winning the GOP primary is tantamount to election.
The decision by Governor Ivey was the right decision. Most folks would assume that “forthwith” means this year rather than next year. It was also a wise political move by Ms. Ivey if she wants to run for a full term.
Ivey’s calling for the Special Election for Sessions’ seat immediately, could be the death knell for Luther Strange. By December, he may go from being the newest and tallest member of the U.S. Senate to the shortest serving senator in Alabama history. His defeat could be very inglorious and humiliating.
With the election being this year, it will be the only show in town. It will be a spectacle. Every politician who is in any office can run without risking his or her current posts. In other words, everyone has a free shot. Therefore, it will be a free-for-all.
Everyone will run against poor Big Luther and the Bentley taint. They will use their campaign resources to give you the unmitigated details of how Luther got put in that seat by ole Bentley. You will be told so many times that Bentley and Luther got together in a backroom with Rebekah and brokered a deal to sell Luther the Senate seat in return for Luther not prosecuting Bentley and Rebekah that you will be tired of it. Luther will be as tarnished and feathered as ole Bentley.
In about two weeks, when the Washington PAC’s see the polling that reveals Luther is in trouble, his campaign resources will be less than he expected and he may not be able to defend against the onslaught of negative ads.
The question becomes, who will be the early frontrunners? Roy Moore enters as the favorite. His evangelical base becomes crystallized in a large field. It will probably reserve him a place in the September 26 run-off. Who will be the other candidate in the runoff? It may very well not be Luther Strange.
The U.S. Senate is a select club. A cursory look around the chamber reveals very wealthy people or celebrities. Senate seats are bought by wealthy individuals in a good many cases. We have some people in Alabama who could very easily buy the Senate seat.
The short period of time that exists to raise money for an August 15 election even further enhances the advantage for someone who can self finance and write a big check. The name on most lists is the “Yella Fella,” Jimmy Rane. He would sell. He is a natural salesman.
Folks close to Yella Fella get the feeling that he does not want to go to Washington at this time in his life. However, he is adamant and determined that Luther Strange will not remain in the seat. Therefore, he may bankroll another candidate through a super PAC.
Rumor has it that he will get behind Del Marsh. Marsh has his own money also. However, he needs more money because he is totally unknown to Alabama voters.
I will keep you posted on the developments. I do not know how many of these folks will join the fray but this is how I will handicap the horses at this time.
Jimmy Rane and Roy Moore are one and two. Other possibilities are Congressman Robert Aderholt, Congressman Bradley Byrne, Luther Strange, Secretary of State John Merrill, Congressman Mo Brooks, State Auditor Jim Ziegler, State Senator Del Marsh, Trump Trumpeter Perry Hooper, Jr, State Senator Slade Blackwell, State Senator Trip Pittman, ADECA Director Jim Byard, State Senator Arthur Orr, and State Representative Ed Henry.
It will be a great show.
See you next week.
April 19, 2017
We in the Deep South have a unique history of political theatrics. The only northern states that rival our colorfulness are New Jersey and Illinois. In those two states you are expected to be corrupt, especially Chicago.
Our most colorful southern state has always been Louisiana. The parishes and bayous of the Pelican State gave us Huey Long and other characters. No other states can hold a candle to Louisiana’s brazen corruption. They not only expect their politicians to steal and cavort, they frown on them if they do not. The environment of Louisiana politics is bred towards corruption and debauchery. They not only gave us the glamour of the King Fish, Huey Long, they are proud of their infamous reputation.
Well folks if you look at us here in the good old Heart of Dixie over the past few years we are probably giving Louisiana a run for its money. A cursory look at the record reveals that our Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mike Hubbard, was caught and convicted of taking bribes for sponsoring and passing legislation. Our 74-year-old doctor Governor Robert Bentley fell in love with his 44-year-old number one advisor, lost all his wits, and has resigned from office in disgrace. He pled guilty to a misdemeanor charge and agreed never to run for office again. The House of Representatives was poised to impeach him had he not resigned.
Ole Bentley had become an irrelevant clown and fodder for late night talk shows. The State is better off with Lt. Governor, Kay Ivey, serving out the remaining 20 months of Bentley’s term.
Bentley, in a charade promulgated by his desire to not be indicted for his shenanigans, gave the U.S. Senate Seat vacated by Jeff Sessions to the sitting Attorney General Luther Strange to avoid prosecution. Therefore, our new junior U.S. Senator is in Washington with the taint of Bentley’s scandal hovering over his head with the appearance that he is there due to audacious collusion.
We have an even richer novel that has transpired in Jefferson County, our most populous and supposedly urbane county. It made national news a year ago when the Mayor and President of the City Council got into a fistfight in the Birmingham City Hall. However, a new development is even more bizarre. During the fall elections, Democrats won all of the Jefferson County judgeships. Along with the judgeships, Jefferson County voters elected a Democratic District Attorney. Democrat Charles Henderson beat incumbent Republican Brandon Falls by over 10,000 votes. Get this folks, the sitting DA trumps up a perjury charge against the new DA a few days before he was to take office. Falls convened a grand jury on January 12 and returned an indictment the next day on January 13. Henderson was to take office the following Monday.
As anybody knows, a prosecutor can indict a potato for anything at any time. This scenario proves that point. The loser, Falls, got the winner, Henderson, indicted for perjury.
This is so bizarre and corrupt a situation that it makes the aforementioned stories pale in comparison. It makes Jefferson County and Alabama look like a third world banana republic. There are rampant rumors that the State’s top watchdog, Prosecutor Matt Hart, is camped out in Jefferson County and massive indictments are on the way. It has been over 70 years since Louisiana had a similar scenario. Nobody has been as brash in between.
The Louisiana King Fish Huey Long was assassinated on the steps of the capitol in Baton Rouge. Huey Long’s brother, Earl Long, followed his famous older brother as governor. Earl was one colorful character. His opponents decided to seize power from Earl. They took control of the state police and had Earl arrested and put in the state insane asylum. One of the best political movies ever is entitled “Blaze” starring Paul Newman and it illustrates this story of Louisiana political lore. I recommend it for entertainment.
These past two years in Alabama politics would make for a good movie. This latest Jefferson County fiasco would have to be a part of the plot. Look out Louisiana; we’ve got some good theater in the Heart of Dixie.
See you next week.
April 12, 2017
Well our good ole Dr. Governor, Robert Bentley, is headed to the same fate as Guy Hunt and Don Siegelman. Folks, we are building a legacy that may put us in a league with good old Louisiana when it comes to corruption and debauchery.
Bentley’s story is sad. I still really believe he is a good guy at heart. He had a tremendous legacy etched for his life if only he hadn’t run for governor. He had established one of if not the largest and premier Dermatology practices in the state in Tuscaloosa. He had been brought up in modest means in rural Shelby County. He was a brilliant student in High School, in undergraduate school at the University of Alabama, and then on to medical school at UAB. He met his wife, Dianne, while in medical school. He was truly a Horatio Alger story. If only he had retired and gone to the beach.
Many of us had pointed to April 5 as a day of reckoning for the governor. His reputation had been dreadfully tarnished by his affair. Ole Bentley just doesn’t look the part of a philandering playboy. His plain, grandfatherly look was the reason folks liked him. His simple country look and gait gave the appearance of a trusted family man and Baptist deacon. It was his calling card so to speak. Folks felt betrayed by their old country doctor.
Poor ole Bentley wore a white hat and rode a white horse and there’s an old saying that if you ride a white horse you better not get mud on it.
The old guy totally fell in love like a little schoolboy. He allowed Mrs. Mason to take control of his life and the reigns of the governor’s office. She has essentially been the governor. She played the old fool like a fiddle. There’s no fool like an old fool.
Late Wednesday night after the Ethics Commission opinion came down; I did an interview with a national news network. They had not heard of nor did they know the lurid details of our Dr. Governor’s saga. When I shared it with them and they heard the story of a 74-year-old simple man falling in love with a 44-year-old married woman who gave her husband a vague position making $90,000 a year and that she cajoled and coerced our poor ole governor into transgressing the Ethics Laws to sustain and perpetuate their adulterous relationship, they thought this was as colorful as a soap opera. It is definitely fodder for another book.
My last book, “Goats and Governors,” highlights the exploits of ole “Big” Jim Folsom. Bentley may make for a new book.
The April 5 Ethics Commission ruling that found that there was a reasonable cause that the governor violated the Ethics Law is the coupe de gras to the Bentley/Mason regime.
This Ethics panel is stellar and well versed in the law. You have two of the four voting members who are distinguished retired Circuit Judges, Charles Price and Jerry Fielding. Another prominent attorney, Butch Ellis, appropriately recused himself because he and Bentley are related by marriage. The vote indicted the governor on four counts with overwhelming votes. They concluded that the governor had broken the law. By the way, Bentley appointed three out of four of the members of the Ethics Panel.
Their recommendation that Bentley be prosecuted puts the wolves at Bentley’s door. He can’t overcome this blow.
The best thing for Bentley to do is to make a deal with the prosecution. It would be best for Bentley and the people of Alabama if the prosecutors would simply allow Bentley to resign and avoid a costly trial and removal from office. Alabama doesn’t need any more of this mess. Mrs. Mason should show some semblance of decency and allow ole Bentley to leave office with some dignity.
Ole Bentley is nothing more than a clown. Nobody in Alabama takes him seriously and this latest chapter has made him a National cartoon character.
He really should parlay this story into a Soap Opera or even a movie.
See you next week.
April 05, 2017
Lots of folks are still mad about our lame duck governor Robert Bentley naming Attorney General Luther Strange to Jeff Sessions Senate seat.
If the sitting attorney general of a state openly states that he is investigating the governor for misfeasance and then that governor appoints that attorney general to the senate seat it looks funny. It gives new meaning to the word collusion.
This brazen move has incensed legislators who have heard from their constituents back home. It has especially upset members of the House Judiciary Committee. They were asked to cease the impeachment proceedings last year in deference to Strange’s request to lead an investigation of the governor’s shenanigans. Needless to say they have reinstated their impeachment proceedings against old Bentley with renewed vigor.
Several legislators have taken issue with the governor’s calling for the senate seat election in 2018, rather than immediately. The constitution says the election should be held forthwith. That is open to interpretation. The more prudent path is 2018, since there are elections anyway. That is traditionally the way it has been done in the state in the past. However, most seats in bygone days were vacated by the death of one of our senators and the governor usually appointed the deceased senator’s widow for the remaining year or so on the term. She was considered a caretaker to the seat. There has been so much grief and acrimony to Strange’s appointment that he may be a caretaker.
I have never before seen a governor treated with such disdain and irreverence by a legislature as ole Bentley. They probably will not technically impeach the ole fellow. He only has about 20 months left in his tenure and he is essentially impeached from power anyway. Most of them look at him as a buffoon or clown. He has about as much relevance in the legislative process as one of the former goats that used to graze on Goat Hill.
The ultimate fallout from Bentley’s actions and unpopularity may accrue to Luther Strange in his election race in 14 months. Winning the GOP primary in this Senate race is tantamount to election in Alabama. Therefore, the race is in June of next year.
Big Luther stands a good 6’9”. His height is daunting. He was actually a college basketball player at Tulane. Luther spent the first 20 years of his career as a corporate lobbyist in Washington. Seeing the power and deference of being a U.S. Senator made an impression. He came home to run for a secondary constitutional office and get ready to run for a Senate seat vacated by either of his friends, Richard Shelby or Jeff Sessions. He chose the right stepping stone job, Attorney General.
Big Luther is basically a shy and reserved fellow. He is not a natural politician. He was on the right course when he initially said that he would not seek nor accept Bentley’s appointment and that he was running for the post independent of the discredited governor’s appointment. He changed his mind and met with Bentley and took the appointment.
His trusted advisors convinced him that folks have short memories and that over the next year as a sitting U.S. Senator he can raise so much Washington campaign cash that he can outspend his opposition to such an extent that it will wash away the taint of the Bentley appointment. He may be right. That may be a good bet.
However, folks may be smarter and more cognizant of bold brazen backroom deals than some think. Just ask Bill Baxley how that worked out in 1986 when some Democratic Party leaders got behind closed doors and selected Baxley to be the Democratic nominee over Charlie Graddick who got the most votes. The people were so incensed they elected an unknown Republican named Guy Hunt as Governor.
However, there is the pragmatic side of the equation. During that 1986 debacle Bill Baxley, who was lieutenant governor, had become close with the King of Alabama politics, Gov. George Wallace. Wallace was in his last term as governor and Baxley had sensed a backlash might occur with such an audacious brazen move by his Democratic Party buddies, so he went to Wallace for his advice. Ole Wallace took a puff on his cigar and looked at Baxley wryly and said, “Bill you know what they call a governor who gets to be governor by a backroom deal?” Baxley asked “What?” Wallace said, “They call him Governor.”
See you next week.