March 29, 2017
Last week we handicapped some of the potential horses in the upcoming 2018 Governor’s Race. We mentioned Judge Roy Moore, PSC President Twinkle Cavanaugh, Agriculture Commissioner John McMillan, Secretary of State John Merrill, State Treasurer Young Boozer, State Senator Del Marsh and Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle. Some others that may be considering pursuing the brass ring of Alabama politics are Lt. Governor Kay Ivey, Supreme Court Justice Jim Main, Jefferson County Commission President David Carrington, Trump’s Trumpeter in the State Perry Hooper, Jr., Huntsville State Representative Jim Patterson and ADECA Director and former Prattville Mayor Jim Byard. You can also add former Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville to the mix of possible gubernatorial candidates.
All of these aforementioned horses would run as Republicans in the 2018 Gubernatorial Derby. It is assumed that only a Republican can win statewide office in Alabama and that next year’s June 2018 GOP primary is tantamount to election. Therefore, it is only a 15 month race to election for governor.
The late Lucy Baxley was the last Democrat to hold statewide office in Alabama. She lost reelection to the PSC in 2012. It has been almost two decades since a Democrat has captured the Governor’s office. Donald Trump carried Alabama with almost 63 percent of the vote. It is thought by most political prognosticators that a Democratic candidate can at best get 40% of the vote in the Heart of Dixie. However, there are several brave souls who are diehard Democrats and may be bold enough to test that theory.
One of these emboldened is Parker Griffith, who ran as the Democratic nominee against Robert Bentley four years ago in 2014 and received 36% of the vote. Griffith is a personable, former oncologist, State Senator, and Congressman from Huntsville. He seems dedicated to making the plunge.
The most mentioned Democratic candidate is former Chief Justice Sue Bell Cobb. She was elected to the State Supreme Court in 2012, which was the last time a Democrat won statewide in Alabama. She is seriously considering the race for governor. She could be handicapped by the fact that she quit in the middle of her term on the Court and a Republican was appointed by the Governor.
State Representative Craig Ford who has served as House Minority Leader is considering a run for governor. Like Griffith, Ford is likeable. He is one of the few remaining white Democrats left in the Alabama House of Representatives. In fact, if Ford vacated his seat to run for Governor a Republican would probably take it.
The wildcard in a potential Democratic field might be the popular young Mayor of Tuscaloosa, Walt Maddox. He considers himself a Democrat. Maddox is well thought of in the Druid City, which is a more populous and vote rich area of the state than most folks realize. If he got a strong support from Tuscaloosa coupled with the ADC and New South endorsements, it could propel him to the Democratic nomination. He would bring to the dance a sterling record of achievement as Mayor of Tuscaloosa. However, if he has to go through a bruising primary he may come to the prom beat up and broke. Not to mention that the Prom King/Queen is highly favored to be a Republican. He would be hard-pressed to raise campaign money in the fall campaign. Most of the bets would be placed on the Republican.
This brings us to another chapter in the governor’s race. The folks who wrote our 1901 Constitution intended for the power in state government to be rested in the hands of the legislature. During the Wallace years, George Wallace had immense power over the legislature. This usurpation of power has incrementally declined over the years. It has culminated with a decimation of gubernatorial power.
The last two governors, Bob Riley and Robert Bentley, have been rendered irrelevant by the legislature. Special interests have taken note of this transfer of power and their money has followed. Campaign money that use to go to the governor’s race now flows to legislative races. It is not unusual to see House seats cost $300,000 and State Senate races rise to $1 million.
It is going to be a great election year.
See you next week.
March 22, 2017
We are on the cusp of one of the best political years in modern political history in the Heart of Dixie. Prior to the 1970’s our constitution disallowed succession of office for our state constitutional offices. In other words, you could not run for two consecutive four-year terms. That is why George Wallace ran his wife in his place in 1966. George and Lurleen campaigned side-by-side. George would wink at the crowds still drawn to courthouse squares by a country band and say, “I’m going to be her number one advisor.” By the way, she won in a landslide. She beat eight male opponents without a runoff, including two former governors, an agriculture commissioner, the sitting state attorney general and two powerful state senators.
However, you could serve a four-year term, wait out four years, and run for a second term. Only two men had done that in Alabama history. Prior to the constitutional change in the 1970’s Bibb Graves of Montgomery had done it early in the century and Big Jim Folsom did it in 1946 and again in 1954.
Now that governors can succeed themselves, it has become common practice for governors to serve eight years rather than four. Thus, the 2018 governor’s race will be a once in an eight year opportunity. Folks, we are in for one heck of a year and the bell rings on June 6. Therefore, the horses will begin lining up over the next few months. It will be a great cavalcade of characters.
The early favorite horse in the 2018 Derby is Roy Moore. The Chief Justice’s expulsion from the bench by the Judicial Inquiry Commission has propelled him to stratospheric levels in polling. Leading a horserace is a good analogy for Moore since he traditionally rides his horse to vote at his polling place in Gallant in rural Etowah County.
Some of you may question Moore’s popularity, but the numbers are there in every poll. The JIC has made him a martyr. Alabama is a very religious state and being thrown out of office by an unaccountable commission for being against homosexual marriages is a pretty good issue to run on in the Bible Belt.
Roy Moore is the wild card in the early 2018 jockeying. Most folks have him in the governor’s race. However, he has two other options. Attorney general or the U.S. Senate seat. He would probably win either of these posts. The governor’s office is another question. Historically, people do not think of him as governor. He lost miserably both times he ran, whereas he wins handily for a state judgeship. His best race is for attorney general or U.S. Senate.
Twinkle Andress Cavannaugh has a free shot in 2018. She was just reelected to a four-year term as Public Service Commission President. She is already out running for governor and sometimes the early bird gets the worm.
State Agriculture Commissioner John McMillan is term limited in that job that he has done well for eight years. He is well liked by everyone who knows him and is planning to run for governor.
Young Boozer has also served his two-term eight-year limit as State Treasurer. He is a wild card and gives no hints as to what his future political plans are for 2018. Young is not a natural politician. He is an erudite Stanford educated successful banker who was perfectly suited for the State Treasurer’s post and he has done an excellent job.
Secretary of State John Merrill is probably the best retail politician in the state at this time. Lots of people have encouraged him to run. However, he is one of the few constitutional officeholders who can run for reelection in 2018. He will probably bide his time and run for reelection.
State Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh of Anniston is itching to pull the trigger on the governor’s race, but being a powerful state senator does not translate into statewide name identification. However, Marsh is said to be wealthy. If he were to spend $3 to $5 million of his own money, he could be a player.
The very popular mayor of Huntsville, Tommy Battle, is seriously considering the race. If he joins the fray, he could be a player. He would come out of the Tennessee Valley with a strong start. There are a lot of votes in North Alabama.
We are in for a heck of a campaign year. I will keep you posted.
See you next week.
March 15, 2017
My tradition for over two decades has been to give my children money for Christmas. Under this system, there is no returning of items. They get what they want or need. There is no way that I would know what style of clothing, color or size they like. It works well.
The most illuminating thing that occurred to me this year is that both of my daughters and my granddaughter bought all of their Christmas gifts from me online. Without question, our country and state have changed dramatically technologically in my lifetime. Therefore, Alabama and other states have to change the way that sales tax is collected. States have to find a solution and the will to derive sales tax from online purchases.
The legislature has wisely set up a budget reform task force to study, evaluate and come forward with long-term solutions to problems and loopholes in the law like online sales tax. The committee is headed by two stellar legislators, Sen. Clyde Chambliss (R-Prattville) and Rep. Danny Garrett (R-Trussville). This blue ribbon panel will review and develop recommendations as to how Alabama can adjust to 21st-century budgeting.
This non-collection of sales tax on online purchases is a serious problem and it perfectly illustrates how our tax system is more designed for the 20th century than the 21st. We, like many other states, are not keeping up with the technology shifts in the world. Legislators unquestionably have to reevaluate the state’s tax structure to reflect the new online and digital economy.
Rep. Garrett has wisely acknowledged, “We used to tax about two thirds of the economy with the sales tax. Today, we tax one third of our economy.” He further observed, “We are leaning very heavily on the income tax, and our sales tax base is eroding due to online sales.”
Another issue, which will be discussed during this legislative session, is the deterioration of our transportation system in the state. This problem is not unique to Alabama. In fact, President Trump made this a hallmark issue of his campaign last year. Most Washington political observers fully expect to see a massive infrastructure package passed in a bipartisan manner early in Trump’s administration.
Alabama needs to be poised to take advantage of this bonanza. The last major federal highway initiative came in the 1950s during the administration of Ike Eisenhower. It was also passed with bipartisan support.
According to recent studies, 15% of Alabama roads and highways are in poor condition and 35% more are rated as fair, with 25% of our bridges deemed obsolete. The legislature may need to look at increasing the gas tax to take advantage of this federal windfall. More than likely, a state tax contribution will be needed to match the federal dollars. Alabama’s gas tax has not been increased since 1990.
We have Richard Shelby, but he may need some help. The new Speaker of the House, Mac McCutcheon is from the Huntsville/Madison County area. The Rocket City is Alabama’s crown jewel economically. They realize the importance that adequate progressive highways are to sustained growth and prosperity. McCutcheon spearheaded the effort to increase the revenue for roads and bridges last year. About a dozen states raised the gas tax in 2016 to keep up with inflation and growth. Our neighboring state of Florida was one of them.
Speaking of McCutcheon, he is adjusting well to his new role a Speaker. He is fair and evenhanded. His selection of Rep. Alan Boothe to be his Rules Chairman seems to be meshing well. The House leadership has changed even more dramatically since the session began. The Republican caucus has elected Rep. Nathaniel Ledbetter of Rainsville as their new Majority Leader. Ledbetter is a freshman House member and former mayor of Rainsville. Rep. Connie Rowe of Jasper will serve as Vice-Chairwoman of the Caucus. She is the first female to hold the position. Ledbetter replaces former Majority Leader Mickey Hammond of Decatur.
Sen. Cam Ward has become the good shepherd, chief cook and bottle washer of the prison construction project. He has scaled back the size and scope of the original proposal. The legislature is trying to stay ahead of the federal courts on addressing the state’s prison overcrowding problem.
See you next week.
March 08, 2017
The premier issue of this year’s legislative session will be whether to borrow a massive amount of money to build new prisons in the state. This initiative appears to be our lame duck Governor Robert Bentley’s primary agenda.
Last year Bentley proposed an $800 million bond issue for new prisons. He has come forward with a similar proposal this year. His plan would close all existing prisons and replace them with three new super men's prisons and one smaller women’s prison.
Folks, $800 million is a lot of money. There is no question that we have a prison problem. Alabama’s prison population is at 175% of capacity. It is among the highest in the nation. This overcrowding obviously causes violence and safety problems for our prison guards.
The federal courts are probably on the verge of dosing out some kind of remedy for our prisons. The courts took over the California prisons a couple of years ago with a lower overcrowding ratio than ours is now.
It is a tough spot for legislators. Funding prisons is not a popular reelection issue. There are several questions that would have to be answered if I were a legislator addressing this serious problem. First, if I were going to put this state in debt for that amount of money I would have to ask the imperative question, “How in the world are you going to pay for the debt?”
There needs to be absolute, concrete, valid, exact revenue sources to make the payment. It is doubtful that any banker would loan someone any money if the vague pie in the sky ambiguous reply was, “Well, the prisons will be more efficient and therefore the savings will probably be enough to pay the note.” Probably ain't going to get it is what I am afraid the banker would say to the borrower. The last time I checked there was no growth revenue in the General Fund. So hoping that there might be new revenue growth is also wishful thinking.
You simply have to put dollars and cents to exactly how much you save with these nuts and bolts and how you are going to pay the bond indebtedness. Otherwise, you are buying a pig in a poke. In addition, the crazy point is that these ultramodern new prisons still leave us with overcrowded prisons. Therefore, it does not solve the problem.
Another question that would have to be answered is why does the governor’s proposal require that the new prisons be designed and built by one company with a one-time exemption to the state bid laws. That just does not meet the smell test. That simply looks corrupt and, as they say, if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck it must be a duck.
Finally, if I were a legislator from a county or neighboring county that had a state prison located in my area, hell would freeze over before I would let the governor close it. I would rather cast a vote dissolving my county than vote to borrow $800 million in order to close down one of my area’s largest employers. Just ask the people in Elmore, Escambia, St. Clair, Limestone and Bibb what it would mean for their county economics if they closed their prisons. The prisons in Barbour and Bullock counties are the largest employers in their counties.
Filibuster would have a new meaning if one of those prisons were in my Senate district. I would tell them in a New York minute, “that dog won’t hunt.” Besides, when the legislature last built new prisons in the aforementioned locales during the last Wallace administration they bought plenty of extra land around those prisons for future expansions. Gerald Wallace made sure of that.
The good thing for you, the Alabama taxpayer, is that this bond issue probably will not pass simply because Bentley is for it. He is essentially a deterrent to anything passing in the legislature.
See you next week.
March 01, 2017
We have unbelievable natural resources in Alabama starting with the Tennessee Valley and transcending to the beautiful white sands at Gulf Shores. Many of our natural resources have been exploited over the years. The prime example would be the exploitation of our rich vaults of iron ore discovered in Jefferson County in the early 20th Century. It created the city of Birmingham, the Steel City of the south.
U.S. Steel swept in, bought the entire region, and used cheap labor in the mines and steel mills and kept poor whites and blacks in poverty wages and shantytowns. They owed their soul to the company store. Finally, they organized into labor unions. The United Steel Workers Union Local in Birmingham became the largest in the nation. Alabama also became the most unionized state in the south.
The TVA workers and Reynolds Aluminum workers in the Tennessee Valley were all unionized. The tire workers in Gadsden, Opelika, and Tuscaloosa were unionized. The federal workers around Ft. Rucker in the Wiregrass were union. The largest employer in Mobile was the docks. The dockworkers were unionized. When you combine these locales with the steelworkers in Birmingham, we were a pretty unionized state.
In the course of our recent history, we have been more prudent with our natural resources. The prime example of that would be during the late 1970s when we sold the oil rights in Mobile Bay to Exxon Mobil. We got a fair price and we put the entire corpus aside and preserved the money into a trust called the Heritage Trust Fund.
Governor Fob James deserves credit for this accomplishment. It is the crowning achievement of his two terms as governor. It is quite a legacy. Not all governors leave a legacy. Ole Fob has one. Not as much can be said for our most recent governors. Don Siegelman, Bob Riley, and Robert Bentley cannot point to any accomplishment that will distinguish their time as governor.
Jim Folsom Jr., who only served two years as governor, can lay claim to having lured and landed Mercedes, which has been the crucible that has catapulted us into the second leading automaker in the nation.
Governor Bentley was given a golden opportunity to garner a place in history with the one-time BP oil spill money. Granted, it was not as much money as the Exxon Mobil oil rights nor did we get as good a settlement as could have been garnered. We will only see $693 million of the $1 billion settlement because we bailed out and sold out to get our money upfront. Compared to Louisiana and Florida, it was not a good settlement.
Essentially this one-time windfall will be squandered. The BP money was appropriated in a special session last September. The legislature spent the entire BP oil settlement proceeds with a compromise bill that divided the money between state debt repayments, roads for Baldwin and Mobile counties and Medicaid. The allocation was $400 million for paying off state debts, $120 million for highway projects in Baldwin and Mobile counties, and a total of $120 million to Medicaid over the next two years.
There had been a contentious battle over the funds for Baldwin and Mobile going back to last year’s regular session. Lawmakers from the coastal counties fought diligently for the road money because their counties received the brunt of the 2010 oil spill.
Lawmakers from North Alabama felt that the BP settlement should compensate all Alabamians equally. Sen. Arthur Orr (R-Decatur), who chairs the Education Budget Committee in the Senate, led the fight for North Alabama and Sen. Trip Pittman (R-Baldwin), who chairs the Senate General Fund Committee, spearheaded the battle for Baldwin/Mobile.
Senators compromised the final day of the special session. The money from BP is spent. The only thing to show from it will be some highway to the beach. They ought to at least name it the BP Expressway. It would be the only legacy from the windfall.
See you next week.
February 22, 2017
As I have suggested to you, we are looking at one momentous 2018-election year, and it has begun. Get this folks; we have an open governor’s race. We have openings at Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, State Treasurer, Agriculture Commissioner, three seats on the Supreme Court including the Chief Justice position, all 35 state Senate seats, all 105 House seats, one hotly contested congressional seat, as well as 67 sheriffs. Folks, that’s the most political marquee year in my long political life. If media outlets do not make money next year, they ain’t ever gonna make any money.
As though the aforementioned cavalcade was not enough of a circus, we’ve got ourselves an open U.S. Senate seat. I believe that Ringling Brothers Circus closed in deference to us in the Heart of Dixie and our road show Vaudeville act called Alabama politics.
Our good “ole” Governor Robert Bentley has been a great ringleader. He is quite a show. Poor ole Bentley has relegated himself to not only being irrelevant, but is considered a clown.
I have been around the state on a speaking/book signing tour and everywhere I go they ask about “ole” Bentley. I have to deflect the questions about his personal advisor following him to Washington or sitting in the gallery for his speech to the Legislature.
In fact, I try to put some levity to the situation by telling folks, “Well, you know my observation of Alabama politics over the past 50 years is that we really haven’t got to have a governor.”
Big Jim Folsom stayed drunk his whole second term, George Wallace was on pain pills his last term and did not know where he was, Fob James seemed disinterested and went duck hunting his second term, and they put poor ole Hunt and Siegelman in jail. At least Bentley shows up and does his duties to the best of his abilities. He just leans on one advisor, exclusively. They say she wrote his last State of the State speech. If she did, she ain’t much of a speechwriter.
Well, ole Bentley got himself a U.S. Senate seat appointment to grant. He milked it for what it was worth. He ultimately used it as a get out of jail free card. Even if his appointment of Luther Strange looks like chicanery and collusion, it was a shrewd political move by Bentley. It keeps him and his advisor out of the pokey.
The Luther Strange appointment looks brazen and audacious. The facts are clear, Strange as Attorney General of Alabama openly asked the House Judiciary Committee to cease their impeachment proceedings because he and his office were investigating the Governor and his advisor. Then all of a sudden, the Governor appoints him to a coveted senate seat. If that does not look like collusion, I do not know what does.
If given those facts the average fisherman in Mobile Bay would say that it looks fishy. A baker in Birmingham would conclude that it does not pass the smell test. As a political historian, I will have to record these very facts for posterity. Folks can draw their own conclusion.
Luther Strange will probably go on to be a good U.S. Senator. He is imminently qualified for the role, and has planned meticulously for this seat for the last 20 years. However, the taint of Bentley will follow him to Washington and could come back to bite him in the June 2018 GOP primary, which is tantamount to election.
Big Luther is betting that as the incumbent senator for the next 15 months, he will be able to raise so much Washington campaign cash that he will be unbeatable. That is probably a good bet. However, Alabamians may have a longer memory than he thinks. Just ask Bill Baxley how getting the governor’s nomination from the Democratic hierarchy when Charlie Graddick got the most votes in 1986 turned out. Folks in Alabama do not like appointments, especially one that comes with a cloud that appears to be collusion.
We have a great 15 months of Alabama politics ahead of us, folks.
See you next week.
February 15, 2017
This third year of the quadrennium Regular Session of the legislature has recently gotten a lot more complex. These next four months will be trying times for the Alabama legislature. They will not only have to deal with a beleaguered General Fund Budget that has to feed a money-eating monster named Medicaid, they have an overcrowding problem in the state prisons to deal with as well as major public school systems being taken over by the state because of mismanagement and underfunding.
They now have been dealt a body blow that affects their own backyards. They will have to draw new legislative lines that will need to be in effect by June because legislative elections essentially begin this June. The primaries for 2018 political offices will be held in early June next year. All 105 House seats and all 35 Senate seats are up for election.
The bell rings this June 6 for all state races to begin raising money. Folks, money is the mother’s milk of politics. It usually determines who wins a race. Campaign money equates into name identification and in most legislative races it really boils down to name identification. Therefore, they will covertly make dealing with this reapportionment wrench a paramount priority.
Almost five years ago a lawsuit, which appeared at the time to be a perfunctory Hail Mary, was brought by the Alabama Legislative Black Caucus and the Alabama Democratic Conference. At the time it seemed like a vague and nebulous concept of a case. The Legislative Black Caucus and ADC argued that the Republican controlled legislature drew lines that moved black voters who vote Democratic into overwhelmingly populated black districts that prohibited them from forming alliances with like-minded white voters. The crux of the case, is that it diluted their influence in the legislature.
The case surprisingly meandered through the courts all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Supreme Court broke new ground when it even heard the case and set new precedent with its ruling. Prior to this, the Supreme Court had held a state legislature could draw lines along political paths as long as it did not discriminate against black voters.
The case was remanded back to the 11th Circuit to seek a remedy. The Supreme Court sets the law. The federal judges in Alabama had to decide how to implement the ruling. When you look at the districts there is no question that the lines were drawn politically to put all black voters into almost all black districts to be represented by black Senators or black Representatives. This stacking also placed most whites in almost all white districts represented by white Senators and white Representatives.
The federal judges ruled on January 20, Inauguration Day, that 12 districts in Alabama must be redrawn in order to comply with the U.S. Supreme Court decision. The 2 to 1 majority of U.S. Federal Judges Keith Watkins and Bill Pryor ruled that only 12 districts were stacked. U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson wrote that he would have found 12 more districts unconstitutional. Regardless of whether 12 or 24 of the districts are out of sync, the legislative districts will have to be redrawn. When you tinker with even one district it affects the whole map. There is a ripple effect which will require redrawing most if not all of the districts in both the Senate and the House.
However, the bottom line is that most of the districts in the state will change very little and more importantly it will not change the party make-up of the legislature. You will probably have the same overwhelming Republican super majority in both chambers of the state legislature.
In Alabama politics essentially whites are Republicans and blacks are Democrats. There is very little deviation. Therefore, the redistricting will have minimal or no partisan effect. However, long-term it lays the foundation for a possible future coalition between black Democrats and moderate Republicans to bridge a bipartisan coalition leadership.
See you next week.
February 08, 2017
As the third regular session of this quadrennium begins, the paramount focus once again will be on the budgets. Even more specifically, it will be about the General Fund Budget.
Alabama is one of five states that has two budgets. Our Education Budget now receives over two thirds of our tax revenue due to the fact that our growth taxes, income and sales, are earmarked for Education’s coffers, whereas our General Fund gets the remaining one third of revenue and that will continue to shrink because it has no growth taxes.
The General Fund also has to feed the most expensive expenditure of state government – Medicaid. This Great Society program created by Lyndon Johnson in the 1960’s is a money eating monster that grows exponentially and now eats up over half of the General Fund Budget. This problem is not unique to Alabama. Every state would name Medicaid funding as its most significant financial nightmare.
We are affected more adversely than most states because we have a much higher indigent population. It is this long-term problem that eventually will have to be addressed.
Those who are closest to the problem are aware that it is an elephant in the room that will not go away. Rep. Steve Clouse (R-Ozark), who chairs the House Ways and Means General Fund Committee, sees it, as does Gov. Robert Bentley.
Governor Bentley, being a former physician, is sympathetic to the needs of the less fortunate. He treated all patients during his 35 years of practicing medicine. He also wants to see his compatriot pediatricians paid to take care of poor sick children.
Initially many of the Republican House and Senate members were saying enough is enough. We cannot continue to absorb 10% annual increases in this social program, even if the federal government matches Alabama’s contribution about three to one. However, once a crisis seemed imminent, they realized that it not only affected the poor but also the middle class Alabamians they represent.
In medium sized towns and cities throughout the state it is imperative that Medicaid be funded in order for their hospitals to exist. In Birmingham, it would cripple our crown jewel, Children’s Hospital. It would also be devastating for Alabama and Birmingham’s largest employer, UAB. Most respected economists say that Alabama should have taken the Expanded Medicaid Program offered by the Federal Government. It would have been a financial boon for that state if for nothing else than the windfall to UAB.
A good many of the Republican legislators’ constituents rely on Medicaid to care for their parents and family members and probably a good many of their parents reside in nursing homes. Approximately 70% of nursing home residents in the state depend on Medicaid to pay their nursing home expenses, which by the way is very expensive.
In short, Medicaid is here to stay. It is not going away. Legislators cannot bury their head in the sand like an ostrich and hope the problem disappears.
The legislature and governor have come up with a short-term fix to our Medicaid problem. They appropriated $120 million of the one-time BP oil spill settlement funds and gave it to Medicaid. This was about 20% of the one-time BP windfall.
Ironically, it will be disbursed over the next two years, 2017-2018. Guess what folks – that is when the quadrennium ends. Therefore, the proverbial can has been kicked down the road. The next governor and legislature will inherit this baby to take care of the following four years.
Legislators may be faced with yet another issue in this over laden regular session. It may be imminent to raise the gasoline tax in the state, which has not been increased in fifteen years. The reason being is that the Trump administration will probably come with a massive federal infrastructure plan to rebuild the nation’s highways and bridges. More than likely states will have to come up with some matching dollars.
It will be imperative that we take advantage of this once in a lifetime opportunity. The last major federal highway initiative was the Eisenhower Federal Interstate Program.
We are behind the eight ball when it comes to political capital and attaining federal dollars. Governor Bentley is blackballed and laughed at by the Trump administration, as are our Congresswomen Martha Roby and Terri Sewell. We also have a freshman Senator who will be ranked 100th in seniority. However, we have quite an ace in the hole. We have Richard Shelby to protect us. When Shelby speaks, folks in Washington listen and that includes Trump. Richard Shelby is unquestionably one of the five most powerful members of the U.S. Senate.
See you next week.
February 01, 2017
During the past couple of months everywhere I go people continually ask me why in the world the legislature could not simply put the issue of whether they could vote for or against a lottery on the November ballot.
The fact that this inquiry has lingered for this long tells me that folks are upset about this travesty. They are mad at the legislature. However, the blame lies with the governor.
Indeed, the legislature met in a special session to address this issue of whether or not to put the lottery proposal on the ballot and let you vote on this lingering issue. Most polls indicate that the good people of Alabama would vote in favor of it, provided that there are no sweetheart deals, hidden chicanery or favoritism in the proposal.
Most Republicans would vote in favor of it because they are tired of their money being sent to Georgia, Florida and Tennessee to help their schools, roads and indigents rather than keep their money at home helping Alabamians.
Folks in the Heart of Dixie are going to buy lottery tickets. They are just going to buy them in our surrounding states. It was noticeable that a good many of the legislators, who represent border counties, voted against the referendum. This is similar to bygone days when most of the dry counties in the state continued to vote dry due to an ironic coalition between the bootleggers and preachers.
I seriously think that some of these border counties are reaping a bonanza in gas tax revenue from the throng of cars headed to Border States to buy lottery tickets. They say that cars are backed up for miles around every state border when these super Powerball extravaganzas occur.
Well, to answer your questions, it is difficult to pass anything in a congress or legislature. That is why they have the old adage, “It takes an act of Congress to get something accomplished.”
In Alabama, extraordinary special sessions of the legislature are the way to go to get something accomplished if you are the governor. The legislature has to address what the governor calls the legislature into session for, it is called “the call.”
George Wallace was a master of using special sessions to get what he wanted done. He would call them repeatedly. However, before he called them, he would have his ducks in a row. He would have called you on the phone, had you visit with him one on one in his office at the capitol or at the governor’s mansion. He would know what the vote count was on his issue before he called a special session. He would not waste taxpayer money on a session without any accomplishment.
Well folks, our good ole doctor Governor Bentley ain’t George Wallace. Ole Bentley did waste money that the state General Fund does not have to squander. That is why the special session was called. It was designed to help bolster the beleaguered General Fund. Bentley failed because he did just the opposite of Wallace. He did not call any legislators. They heard about the session on the news.
Even though Gov. Bentley shoulders the blame for failure to at least put the lottery issue on the ballot, he has shown profound leadership with his creation of an advisory council on gambling. This is a prudent, rational, and unbiased approach to the entire gambling issue. Bentley is right when he says the issue of gambling in the state is something that will never end unless we come together and figure out a way for the people of this state to have a say in its resolution.
This advisory panel has done a thorough job of studying this issue. Jim Byard and Clinton Carter, two bright stars in Bentley’s cabinet, have led the comprehensive study of gaming. The commission looked at what other states are doing to reap revenue from gambling that already exists to get a clearer picture of what a lottery would generate for state coffers. They have looked at all gambits of gambling in the state, not just the lottery. They are designing a long-term approach to present to the legislature. The administration has extended the panel’s deadline to report to the legislature from January 31st to June, probably because they do not want to deal with gambling during this legislative session. The final solution must allow Alabamians to vote on this issue.
See you next week.
January 25, 2017
Hillary Clinton’s failure to break the proverbial glass ceiling in American politics came up a little short. More than 100 men have been nominated for president by the nation’s political parties over the past 220 years. She was the first female to be the nominee of one of the two major parties.
After Hillary became the Democratic nominee last year, former Colorado Congresswoman Patricia Schroeder, who ran for president in 1988, said it best, “It’s been the ultimate tree house with a no girls allowed sign posted on it.”
Nevertheless, national studies have indicated that women still face a double standard when it comes to political campaigns. These surveys reveal that voters will support a male candidate they do not like if they believe he is qualified. However, they are less likely to support a female candidate they think is qualified unless they also like her. Therefore, it appears that for women candidates likeability is intrinsically linked to electability.
However, when it comes to honesty and trustworthiness women have an enormous advantage. Voters simply trust women more than men. A study done by the respected Pew Research Center Poll revealed that 31 percent said women were more honest and ethical than men. Amazingly only three percent said men were more honest and ethical.
I have observed and stated that same opinion for years. My observation when I was in the Legislature was that women legislators were more honest, forthright and more diligent in their duties. Other political experts have espoused this same belief, especially, when it comes to Alabama’s politics.
In the 1990’s the nation’s business community brought the political guru, Karl Rove, to Alabama to help elect a pro-business state supreme court. He was successful in his endeavor. As he departed the state he left an emphatic statement, “If you want to hold the court in Republican pro-business hands, the best candidate is a conservative female Republican, preferably one who has experience as a Circuit Judge.” Voters simply trust women more and especially for judgeships. We now have a record number of women on our State Supreme Court and Courts of Appeals.
There is no question that women in Alabama have an inherent advantage on the ballot in state judicial and secondary statewide races. If you put the name John Doe on a ballot against Jane Doe in Alabama and neither does any advertising and voters simply show up and vote in a secondary statewide race, Jane Doe will win every time.
However, a survey conducted by the Center for Women and Politics at Rutgers University ranks Alabama 46th in the nation for women serving in the legislature. We are indeed inexplicably underrepresented by women in the State House and Senate. Although today we have numerous ladies in statewide office. Kelli Wise and Lyn Stuart are premier justices on the State Supreme Court. Judges Beth Kellum and Mary Windom serve with distinction on the State Court of Criminal Appeals. Judge Terri Thomas of Cullman is outstanding on the State Court of Civil Appeals. Kay Ivey is our Lieutenant Governor and Twinkle Cavanaugh serves as President of the Public Service Commission.
In the course of history, it has not been that long that women were given the right to vote. The 19th Amendment to the Constitution gave women suffrage. Alabama’s legislature voted to ratify the 19th Amendment in 1953. However, Women began to be elected statewide in Alabama long before other so called progressive states. Beginning in the 1950’s women dominated the offices of Secretary of State, State Auditor, and State Treasurer to such an extent that they became known as “the ladies offices.”
The first woman elected to a statewide office was Sybil Poole who won the Secretary of State office in 1946. She was soon followed by the legendary Agnes Baggett and then Mary Texas Hurt Garner and Melba Till Allen. These women would simply swap the posts of Secretary of State and State Treasurer after their term limits.
By the time Lurleen Wallace became the first female governor in 1967, women held almost half of Alabama’s constitutional offices. It may be time for another female governor. Twinkle Cavanaugh or Kay Ivey or someone else may make the leap. We will see.
See you next week.