March 07, 2007
The Governor’s Special Session called last week to pass incentives to attract a major industry to our state was very successful. It went smoothly with a minimum five-day session that resulted in the necessary legislation to place us in a position to land one of the largest industrial prospects in the world.
February 28, 2007
Alabama’s move to have our Presidential Primary early next year, in order to give us a voice in the nominating process, may be overshadowed. It was a good idea but it is obviously not novel. A good many states have the same idea and most of them are a lot bigger and more important. California, Florida, Illinois, and New Jersey are joining the bandwagon to move their preference primary to February 5, 2008. However, we may be able to compete with South Carolina as a Deep South bellwether barometer.
February 21, 2007
Last week’s column, which chronicled the prowess of our Senior Senator Richard Shelby and his success at garnering extra federal funds for his pet Alabama projects, evoked numerous comments and inquiries from many of you. Some of you were curious whether Shelby would choose to retire when his term ends in 2010 because he is no longer Chairman of Senate Appropriations and his power has been greatly diminished since the Democrats became the majority party in the Senate as well as the House last year. My belief is that indeed Shelby’s power has been deterred but hope springs eternal in politicians. They usually see the glass half full rather than half empty.
February 14, 2007
There has been a lot of Sunday morning quarterbacking among political pundits at to the reasons behind the national Democratic tidal wave that hit Washington in November’s mid-term Congressional elections. The most obvious explanation is the backlash against George Bush’s war in Iraq.
February 07, 2007
Gov. Bob Riley’s second inauguration went off smoothly. It was truly a family affair. His son Rob Riley, a Birmingham lawyer, swore his father in for his second term. Riley’s wife Patsy looked elegant in a stunning red dress adorned with a matching hat. They were surrounded by their daughters and grandchildren. They are a handsome and obviously close family. Many politicians espouse family values, the Governor and his family live them.
January 31, 2007
Alabama has never really played much of a role in selecting the candidates that are the Democratic or Republican Party’s nominees for President. We have historically pretty much taken a backseat when it comes to Presidential politics.
January 24, 2007
One of the things that is obvious to astute observers of the political system is how pervasive the abuse of PAC to PAC campaign contributions has proliferated. Just when you thought it could not get any worse it has this past year. In order to have any semblance of a campaign disclosure law in Alabama, PAC to PAC transfers must be banned. It is nothing more than money laundering.
January 17, 2007
Last week’s organizational session of the Legislature played out with as much drama as expected. A few weeks ago it was an understatement when I suggested to you that it was anybody’s guess what the final result of the battle for control of the State Senate would yield. It remained a mystery up until the roll call vote was taken shortly after noon on January 9th.
January 10, 2007
George Wallace was a product of rural Alabama and came of age during the Great Depression. Alabamians who knew the Depression days are dwindling every year, much like our treasured World War II Veterans. Tom Brokaw was right when he called them the “Greatest Generation.” They made our country great.
January 03, 2007
As the dust settles on the old year and we begin the new I will share a few political observations from the 2006 election year.
First of all I was amazed at the accuracy of the polling data. In my years of following politics I have never seen such amazing prognostications on the Alabama political scene. Reliable tracking polls the day before the election predicted a 58 to 42 Riley margin of victory over Lucy Baxley and that is what happened.