November 19, 2010
In addition to being a gubernatorial election year, this year has seen its share of political scandal and corruption.
The Junior College scandal led by Roy Johnson was one for the record books as far as outright open greed and blatant thievery. The indictment of 11 lobbyists, senators and casino owners four weeks before the election stole the headlines but seemed to have negligible effect on the statewide races for governor and only minimal impact on the four senate races involved with the indictments.
It might appear that Alabamians are becoming somewhat blasé and accustomed to corruption and indictments in Montgomery. It has been said by many a professional prosecutor that you can pretty much indict almost anyone for anything. The bar for an indictment is a lot lower than for a conviction. It is often said by prosecutors that you can indict a potato.
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November 12, 2010
The Republican tidal wave that engulfed Alabama last Tuesday was profound and overwhelming. It was more like a tsunami. The magnitude is resounding and will result in devastating and long term ramifications for the Democratic Party in Alabama.
The storm wiped out every statewide Democrat on the ballot. There is not one single Democratic constitutional officeholder left standing in Alabama. Even the best thoroughbred in the Democratic stable, Jim Folsom Jr., was put down. He put up a gallant effort losing only by a 48 to 52 margin. However, in the end he was laid to rest with the rest of the Democratic Party.
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November 05, 2010
Suppose you are some young person keenly interested in being Governor of Alabama one day. If that young person approached me and asked what would be the best course to take to capture that brass ring, my response would be that many times the best way to look into the future would be to study the past. Therefore, today I will share with you the historical paths taken to the governor’s office over the last century.
Over the past 100 years there could have been a total of 24 governors but George Wallace took four terms and Big Jim Folsom took two. Seventeen of the eighteen have been men. Eight have been lawyers by profession. Seven have been businessmen. Five of those seven have been very successful at business. We have had one farmer and one housewife/mother.
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October 29, 2010
There is an old adage that warns be careful what you ask for because you just might get it. In less than a week either Ron Sparks or Robert Bentley will get their wish. Whichever one wins may wonder why in the world he ever asked to be governor.
At the beginning of the campaign both men were pegged by some pundits as also rans and by others as dark horses. However, one will be Governor of Alabama in January. Whichever man prevails will inherit a horrendous ship of state when he walks into the office in two months. He will face a monumental financial nightmare that will be like arriving in Armageddon. The state has been kept afloat for two years with federal stimulus money that will run out as the fiscal year begins and when the new governor takes office.
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October 22, 2010
Alabama’s high courts are about as Republican as any elected tribunals in the country. We have six criminal appeals court judges and all six are Republican. We have six civil appeals court judges and all six are Republican. We have nine Supreme Court judges and eight of the nine are Republican. That makes our appellate courts 20 out of 21 Republican.
This year three seats on the Alabama Supreme Court are up for election. A Republican will win all three. The two incumbents are predicted to win and Republican Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Kelli Wise is expected to move into the open Supreme Court seat vacated by Patti Smith.
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October 15, 2010
Without a doubt the Governor’s Race is always the marquee political show every four years. This year is no exception. However, there is another interesting plot developing. Many Goat Hill insiders are more intrigued with this year’s legislative elections. The battle for control of the House and Senate will not only play out this year but will carryover into the January organizational session.
The Republicans believe that they can capture a majority in the Senate and maybe also in the House. Whether they win this year remains to be seen. However most astute observers believe the GOP takeover is inevitable in 2014. The trends are there and once the new census figures are digested it will be hard to avoid the fact that most of the population growth in the State is in the fast growing Republican suburbs.
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October 08, 2010
In 1876 when the southern states wrestled free of the shackles of Reconstruction, one thing was certain. The South would not vote for any Republican. The harsh retribution bestowed on the southerners by the radical Republican Reconstruction dominance and occupation of the former confederate states was so severe that a fierce hatred was ingrained into the southern psyche that would eventually take generations to dissipate.
Alabama and her sister Deep South states became one party Democratic states as a result of Reconstruction. This total Democratic dominance lasted for close to a century. It was 88 years, from 1876 to 1964, before a Republican carried Alabama in a presidential contest. It was 100 years before we had a Republican U.S. senator and 106 years before we elected our first Republican governor in 1986. The last barrier to be broken is the Alabama Legislature. It has now been 136 years since Reconstruction and we have had a Democratic legislature the entire time. Both chambers, the House and Senate, have Democratic majorities as we enter the 2010 fall election.
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October 01, 2010
If Robert Bentley wins the governor’s race in five weeks he will be the first legislator in the course of state history to ascend directly from the legislature to governor. Only a handful of governors have ever served in the House or Senate. It is basically a graveyard or dead end street in Alabama politics.
Let me take you back 100 years and give you the prior experience of our governors to prove that legislative experience is not a stepping stone. Starting in 1906 Braxton Bragg Comer was an industrialist and very successful businessman. His only political experience had been as president of the current day Public Service Commission. Emmet O’Neal was a lawyer and President of the Alabama Bar Association, with no elected office experience.
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September 24, 2010
One would have to wonder what our current governor and legendary governor, Big Jim Folsom, have in common. Riley is quiet and calculating whereas Big Jim was loud, gregarious and somewhat uninhibited. However, both were given humiliating rebukes in their efforts to work with the legislature.
In the 1950’s Big Jim called for a special session to rewrite the Constitution and reapportion the legislature. The legislature met only one day and adjourned. A few years ago Riley called for a special session within the regular session. The current members of the legislature simply ignored him. Another similarity between the two is that neither had ever served in the legislature nor did they know many members personally.
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September 17, 2010
Unlike Britain we do not have royalty who have historically inherited political positions of power. However, you would not think there was much difference in our country and England when you look at the history of our political office holders. It is very much a family business in America. You need only look at the list of our presidents to realize that political offspring benefit immensely from being the sons or daughters of a famous father.
This American tradition began with John Quincy Adams following his father John Adams to the White House. The tradition continued with George W. Bush following his father George H.W. Bush as president. Many expect that Jeb Bush is waiting in the wings to pursue the GOP nomination for president in 2012.
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