February 24, 2010
A good many of you have asked why simple, straightforward, no nonsense, good government legislation fails to pass even though it appears to have universal and overwhelming support and appeal among voters and legislators. Remember the old sayings and adages from the lips of your grandparents and older folks that you felt irrelevant and quaint? Sayings like “if you’ve got your health you’ve got everything” and “if it ain’t broke then don’t fix it.” The older you get it occurs to you how accurate and wise these old sayings are in actual life. They are golden facts.
One of these sage adages, “it takes an act of congress,” pertains to the difficulty of getting something accomplished. In politics there is no clearer truism. It is extremely difficult to pass a piece of legislation through congress and it is just as equally difficult to channel a bill through the labyrinth of legislative approval in Alabama. Ask any successful lobbyist or legislator which side they would rather be on in the legislative wars and they will tell you that they much prefer to be against a piece of legislation than trying to pass it.
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February 17, 2010
As Gov. Bob Riley delivered his last State of the State address to the legislature on January 12th, I sat in the old House of Representatives chamber in the Capitol. It was nostalgic. The House moved out of those chambers in 1984. However, I got to serve in that venue for at least two of my sixteen years in the House. I also served in those old chambers as a Page in my youth. I had the opportunity to hear quite a few State of the State addresses in the old historic chamber where delegates voted to secede from the Union and the Confederate States of America were born in 1861.
Most of these addresses were delivered by George Wallace. As you know, he was governor one way or the other for over 20 years. There was no teleprompter for the governor to read his speech from in bygone years. Today the governor acts like he is talking to the legislators but is actually speaking to a television audience.
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February 10, 2010
Most folks were shocked when Gov. Riley declared that unlike every other state in the country Alabama was not plagued by nor should we worry about the financial crisis facing our state. The governor took two minutes to dismiss the economic woes in a Pollyanna display of optimism basing his budgets on a pie in the sky gamble that congress would rescue us with another stimulus spending boondoggle. However, it was no surprise that Riley quickly moved to the subject of electronic bingo and spent nine minutes in a tirade against bingo in the state.
It has become obvious that the governor has made electronic bingo his paramount concern during his last year in office. To say that he is obsessed with this iniquity would be an understatement. At a time when every other governor in the nation is soberly and rationally wrestling with the daunting task of funding their state’s vital services, Riley is planning midnight raids on bingo parlors which employ over 5000 Alabamians and attract out of state business.
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February 03, 2010
This week marks a milestone in the young 2010 Governor’s Race. The yearend campaign fundraising disclosure forms are due. Because of mailing delays the reports will begin trickling in this week. I will review them over the week and report my analysis of what the results portend. However, it will not take a rocket scientist to figure out the winners and losers. The candidates with the most money raised will be the favorites to win in November.
Money is the mother’s milk of politics. You cannot win without it. There is a direct correlation between money and victory. In 90% of all races the candidate who spends the most money wins.
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January 27, 2010
The 2010 Legislative Session is underway with an ominous cloud of economic woes overshadowing every move. Other issues pale with the daunting task of crafting the 2011 state budgets staring legislators in the face.
Unlike the federal government, which can deficit spend like drunken sailors with no thought of fiscal restraint, Alabama has a constitutional mandate to create and live with a balanced budget. We cannot spend more than we take in and then pass the debt on to the next generation like the U.S. Congress continues to do year after year. To further complicate the financial dilemma facing lawmakers, this is an election year and all 140 members will face the voters in the primaries and general election. Therefore, the legislature has to deal with the budget crisis with the backdrop of the 2010 elections clearly on the horizon.
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January 20, 2010
As the legislature wrestles with the daunting dilemma of crafting a budget in these dire economic times, they are mindful that the worst is yet to come. Those returning for the next quadrennium will face the Herculean task of riding out this economic tsunami.
The only situation vaguely similar to this current scenario was 1983. We were in the throes of an economic recession. George Wallace had just taken the reigns of state government for his fourth term. Wallace’s health was so poor that it was doubtful he would live out his full term, much less run for a fifth. He had nothing to lose, so he chose to raise taxes. Wallace called his new taxes and fee increases revenue enhancement measures.
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January 13, 2010
Southern politics has produced the most colorful political characters in U.S. history. We are in a league of our own in that category. Even cartoons have depicted the stereotypical southern senators with a frock coat and long white hair with a deep southern accent. These caricatures have even come to life with the likes of Strom Thurmond, Sam Ervin and our own Howell Heflin.
We have spawned the nation’s most legendary demagogues. South Carolina had Pitchfork Ben Tillman, Georgia had the Talmadges, and Mississippi had Theodore Bilbo. We produced George Wallace and Big Jim Folsom. Louisiana had the ultimate demagogue, Huey Long. His family continued the tradition. His brother, Earl, followed him as Governor and his son, Russell, followed him to the U.S. Senate.
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January 06, 2010
The Governor’s Race and other constitutional offices are not the only posts up for grabs this year. We will have a smorgasbord buffet to choose from on the ballot. All 67 sheriffs are up for election, as well as all 140 legislative seats. We also have three seats on the Supreme Court on the menu.
All three of these Supreme Court seats are held by Republicans. In fact, eight of the nine justices are Republicans. Two of the justices, Tom Parker and Mike Bolin, are seeking reelection. The third seat will be open. Republican Justice Patti Smith, who was elected six years ago, has chosen not to seek a second term. It will be a classic battle between business and plaintiff trial lawyers.
The business community has coalesced around Republican Criminal Court of Appeals Judge Kelli Wise. The Democrats were hoping to draft former Lauderdale County Judge Deborah Paseur, who ran a very close race with Greg Shaw in 2008. However, they have yet to draft a strong candidate. In recent years Alabama voters appear to favor a female in a judge’s race. They also tend to lean toward Republicans for the bench. This will be a good race to watch.
Former Finance Director, Jim Main, was appointed to Shaw’s seat on the Court of Criminal Appeals by Gov. Riley. Main will be seeking election to a full term on his own. He should be favored to win this low profile judgeship.
Montgomery City Councilwoman, Martha Roby, appears to be the chosen Republican to face Congressman Bobby Bright in the 2nd District. Bright was elected two years ago and has campaigned full time everyday since his election. He has voted so often with the Republicans that even the GOP party officials in the district are supporting him. He has been the most conservative member of the 70 member Blue Dog Democratic Caucus in Washington. Bright will be tough to beat.
The open 7th District congressional seat being vacated by Artur Davis will have a bevy of candidates. It will be filled by a Democrat, probably from Jefferson County. The field includes Jefferson County Commissioner Sheila Smoot, Birmingham lawyers Terri Sowell and Martha Bozeman, and State Representative Earl Hilliard, Jr.
However, the primary focus of both political parties and special interest groups will be the state legislative races. The GOP hopes to take control of one, if not both, chambers. The House currently has 61 Democrats and 44 Republicans. If only nine seats change hands, the GOP captures the majority. The House members they are targeting to knock off are Henry White of Athens, Ron Grantland of Hartselle, James Fields of Hanceville, Jeff McLaughlin of Guntersville, Jimmy Martin of Clanton, Steve Hurst of Munford, Terry Spicer of Elba and Betty Carol Graham of Alexander City.
In addition, several House members are seeking to move up to the Senate. Locy Baker and Billy Beasley are running for the seat of retiring State Senator Myron Penn. These two House seats should remain Democratic as will the Senate seat. Two GOP legislators, Cam Ward and Gerald Allen, are also leaving their House seats to run for the Senate. These seats should remain Republican. Therefore, the House takeover is possible.
The Senate could wind up close also. The GOP supposedly has raised a lot of money to try to takeover the Senate. The seats they have targeted are Zeb Little of Cullman, Ted Little of Auburn, Hinton Mitchem of Albertville, Phil Poole of Moundville, Marc Keahey of Grove Hill and Kim Benefield of Roanoke. Benefield will be challenged by former Senator Gerald Dial. Dial represented that district for 28 years and lost a close race to Benefield four years ago. He will be favored to take back that seat as a Republican. Hinton Mitchem may not seek reelection. If that is the case, a Republican will be favored. Veteran Montgomery State Senator Larry Dixon may also not run for reelection but that district will remain Republican.
A cursory glance of the seats targeted by the GOP in their takeover strategy reveals an obvious belief that North Alabama is the most fertile ground for GOP growth. This strategy may also be based on the GOP’s belief that Artur Davis will be the Democratic nominee for governor and that his candidacy will sink all Democratic candidates on the ballot. There is indeed alarm among North Alabama Democrats that this could be the case.
See you next week.
December 30, 2009
As we have been strolling down memory lane for the past few months reminiscing about the legacy of yesteryears governor’s races, the present day political world continues to turn.
The worst economic downturn since the Great Depression continues unabated. It has ravaged the coffers of Alabama government in 2009. Alabama is heavily dependent on sales and income taxes to fund our educational system. Therefore, we are especially depressed. It is often said that when the economy gets a cold Alabama gets pneumonia. We are struggling under serious proration and our rainy day fund has been depleted. If it were not for the federal stimulus money, the effects would be devastating. However, those federal dollars subside at the end of 2010. Therefore, the new governor will be walking onto the deck of the Titanic in January 2011.
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December 23, 2009
When Bob Riley took office in January of 2003 he had just survived one of the most bruising gubernatorial elections in history. His razor thin margin of victory over Don Siegelman hardly gave him a mandate for major accomplishment in state government. He and Siegelman had so pulverized each other in campaign ads that most voters wondered why both were not in jail. Ironically a cloud was brewing over Siegelman and he indeed would be heading for jail.
As businessman Bob Riley took the reigns of state government, his only political experience had been his previous six years of service in congress. He had no experience in state government and both branches of the legislature were overwhelmingly Democratic. Although partisan acrimony was not as pronounced as it was in Washington, partisanship had arrived in Montgomery and neither the Democratic legislature nor the powers that controlled the legislature wanted a Republican governor to succeed.
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