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.
December 27, 2006
As the year 2006 comes to a close let’s reminisce about what happened politically in our state. This being an election year the races for Governor and other statewide contests were the big story. However, the election was almost preempted by the Don Siegelman corruption conviction. Siegelman’s trial lasted for months and dominated the news for almost half of the year. The investigation and ultimate indictment had been brewing for years. It ended in June with Siegelman’s conviction.
December 20, 2006
When the votes were counted on November 7th the results revealed very few surprises. Bob Riley was reelected Governor. Eight out of nine members of the Supreme Court are Republicans. The GOP also claimed five of the seven constitutional offices including Governor. Five of our seven members of Congress are Republican and both of our U.S. Senators. You add to the fact that Alabama has voted for a Republican for President nine out of eleven of the last Presidential races. In the last 42 years only once have we voted for a Democrat, Georgian Jimmy Carter in 1976, and then only narrowly.