May 21, 2008
There is a famous quote, attributed to the famous British Prime Minister Disraeli, which has been around for years. It basically goes like this, “You don’t ever want to see sausage or laws being made. You may like the results, but not the process.” No truer maxim was ever spoken. However, for the second straight year you would not be offended by the Alabama Senate because essentially no sausage or legislation was produced.
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May 14, 2008
Congressional seats are almost equivalent to federal judgeships. As you know, federal jurists are appointed for life. Congressmen run every two years but in reality they basically have lifetime tenure. Members of Congress stay practically as long as they want. The system heavily favors incumbents. With the inherent advantages congressional incumbents enjoy they are seldom seriously challenged. Therefore, it is rare when a seat comes open and is doubly rare that we have two seats open in Alabama this year.
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May 08, 2008
The 2008 Legislative Session is in its waning days, yet very little has been accomplished. The budgets are still awaiting action. The partisan acrimony persists. It is basically a carbon copy of last year’s wasted session. The Senate’s partisan battle has stymied any legislative progress or achievement for at least two years of this four year quadrennium.
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April 30, 2008
Presidential election years are generally less interesting or exciting political years in Alabama. We have very few state races on the ballot. Historically, we Alabamians have gotten more excited about state gubernatorial races than presidential races. I guess our forefathers suspected that our political interests would be more geared toward state and local politics so they put most of these offices on the ballot in gubernatorial years.
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April 23, 2008
The recent decision by the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals to release former Gov. Don Siegelman, while his appeal is pending, is significant. The federal panel gave a stinging rebuke to District Court Judge Mark Fuller for his harshness to Siegelman. Even Siegelman’s detractors felt like the instant shackling of Siegelman in federal court and whisking him off to prison like a mass murderer was over zealous.
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April 16, 2008
The phenomenal success story of Barack Obama’s presidential campaign is the political story of the year, regardless of who wins the presidency. Concurrently, if polls are to be believed, he could very well indeed be our next president. Two years ago who would have ever dreamed that a 46 year old African American Senator from Illinois would be the frontrunner for president.
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April 09, 2008
The recent decision by the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals to release Don Siegelman pending appeal has added fuel to the fire ignited by the CBS 60 Minute documentary featuring Siegelman’s case and imprisonment. Even though it has been six weeks since the documentary was broadcast, the coffee shop and internet chatter continues. It seems to have stirred the souls of partisans on both sides.
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April 02, 2008
In the 1992 presidential campaign, where Bill Clinton defeated George H.W. Bush, the economy was in the doldrums which contributed greatly to Bush Sr.’s defeat at the polls. Clinton’s chief strategist James Carville saw the economy as being the pivotal issue of the campaign and stressed the importance of staying on message. Carville’s entire election strategy was to keep the message simple and on course. Thus he coined the famous phrase that was repeated to his campaign staff daily, “It’s the economy, stupid.”
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March 26, 2008
The decision to move our presidential preference primary up to February 5th has been considered by most observers to have been good for our state. Leaders of both political parties have hailed it as a success and well worth the cost. It was a public relations plus in two ways. It shed a positive image and gave us deference from the candidates for the first time in modern history. In addition, it gave us a relevant say in the nominating process. Our votes counted for something and obviously we enjoyed it because we voted in record numbers. In short, we became players in the presidential race.
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March 19, 2008
The legislative session is in full swing and is entering its sixth week. Legislators are facing daunting financial problems. They are striving to balance both the general and education budgets, which are under duress from the national economic downturn. The Education Trust Fund is especially sensitive to an economic recession because its main source of revenue derives from sales and income taxes.
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