State Supreme Court to review Mike Hubbard conviction
The Alabama Supreme Court will review former House Speaker Mike Hubbard’s ethics conviction, his attorney said Monday. Hubbard was one of the state’s most influential Republicans, but his political career ended with his 2016 conviction on ethics charges. Prosecutors said that Hubbard used the mantle of political office to drum up clients and investments for his businesses. Defense attorney Bill Baxley said Monday that justices granted review on one matter but it was the one he considered the “catch-all issue” in the case. Baxley said that was whether the law is clear and if Hubbard’s behavior constituted a violation. “We are delighted,” Baxley said. The allegations against Hubbard included that he improperly asked lobbyists and company executives for work and investments in his printing business. Baxley said that Hubbard did not intend to violate the law, and took “great pains” to try to make sure that he followed it. Trial testimony showed Hubbard consulted with the then-head of the Alabama Ethics Commission to get informal guidance about his private sector work. Attorney General Steve Marshall said he was confident the conviction would be upheld. “Until now, the Alabama Supreme Court has only heard from Mike Hubbard. Once my prosecution team has the opportunity to brief the issues and argue the case, we feel confident the result will be the same as with the lower court rulings and justice will prevail,” Marshall said in a statement. Hubbard was automatically removed from office in 2016 when he was convicted on the felony charges. A judge sentenced Hubbard to four years in prison, but he is free on bond as he appeals his conviction. The Supreme Court review comes after the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals court last year affirmed 11 of the 12 counts against Hubbard. The Court of Criminal Appeals rejected Hubbard’s arguments that the transactions were aboveboard business dealings in which investors and companies that employed him got a fair value return for their money. The court also rejected arguments by the former speaker that the prosecution was tainted by prosecutorial and juror misconduct. However, the appellate judges also simultaneously urged lawmakers to address what they described as ambiguities in the state ethics law. “The language of Alabama’s ethics law should be clear as to which persons, businesses, and acts fall within its reach,” judges wrote. Republished with permission from the Associated Press.
I support ‘Bentley for U.S Senate’
Today Baron Coleman* made a case that former Gov. Robert Bentley should be considered for U.S. Senate. There haven’t been any columns I’ve written to date that have included the phrase”LOL,” but seriously, I’m tempted to here. That is absurd. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. The only Bentley anyone should consider for holding public office is Ms. Dianne Bentley — a woman of class, a woman of substance, a woman with a heart for the people of Alabama. Her work on domestic violence issues showed compassion and strength. Her silence in the face of the devastatingly public behavior of her now ex-husband shows she has backbone. Even the way she left him showed a strength those in Montgomery and D.C. seem to be lacking at the moment. I would support her for our next U.S. Senator hands down. That said, let’s talk more about more realistic candidates for the U.S. Senate, and where I stand on them. First on, former-Gov. Robert Bentley in no way shape or form should be considered a viable candidate for any public office. Mainly because he sold out the people of Alabama with his push to raise taxes after campaigning against them. Yes, folks this is and should be an unforgivable act of public betrayal. I contend his semi-platonic, handsy and wordsy affair with his staffer wouldn’t have been anyones business aside from his and his families, had he not used state funds, and potentially state staff, to attempt to cover it up. His true unforgivable crime was losing sight of the fiscally conservative values he espoused on the campaign trail once he was elected Governor. While 1st District U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne may be the only candidate to announce their 2020 U.S. Senate candidacy thus far, there are a handful of other names being kicked around as potential candidates right now too. Those currently in Montgomery flirting with the idea should just take a seat if they intend to not only a) vote for Gov. Kay Ivey‘s gas tax proposal, but also b) fail to stand up and do anything short of boldly coming out against it. I’m all for supporting infrastructure, but I’m not for indexing a tax increase, or for throwing good money after bad to an agency that has shown a total disregard for prioritizing their past and future budgets. And I’m not for raising the tax more than the state needs, just to give money to the cities so they can do what they please and use it on anything but infrastructure. As Montgomery-mayor Todd Strange said, what’s really going to happen is it’s going to become a shell game. The transportation dollars the cities receive from the state, will allow them to spend that money on whatever pet-projects they want. If you give a government bureaucrat an extra one-dollar, they’ll find a way to spend two-dollars, not necessarily on related items. Another potential candidate who’s name is being tossed around is Alabama 5th District U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks. Brooks should have been a solid candidate when he was running in the last election. But I take significant issue with the way his campaign was run, and even some of his supporter’s behavior was atrocious to say the least. Bridges have been burned unnecessarily because the candidate didn’t bring his “A-game” and that was no ones fault but his own. It doesn’t help to have the right message (pun intended) if you can’t get out of your way to deliver it to voters. All of this said, I’m on record saying it and I’ll say it again: Alabama needs someone young to win this seat and keep it. That’s not to be ageist, but rather that’s the reality of the way Congress and more specifically the U.S. Senate works. I’ve been a little disappointed by Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth choosing not to be vocal about the gas tax issue this session, when in the past he was a champion rallying against it. He had a really good opportunity to step up and be vocal against it, but it seems that power will seduce and silence just about anyone these days. There’s no question Sen. Doug Jones is going to be defeated in 2020. All it takes is a calculator and half a brain to figure that out. The question is, who is going to defeat him, and how conservative will they be. Us true conservatives, with passion and principles, it’s our time to make our voices be heard. To watch what’s going on Montgomery again this week with the gas tax increase and pay attention and take notes. We need a leader in the U.S. leader. It’s not going to be Robert Bentley, but it is a good time to start talking about what qualities we’re actually looking for in that future Senator. And hey, if Dianne is interested I’ll get my checkbook ready. *Baron is a lawyer, radio talk show host on News & Views on 93.1 FM, and political consultant based out of Montgomery, Ala. for those who don’t know. He also is a new contributor here at Alabama Today.
Gas tax increase sails through Transportation Committee, heads to full Senate
A bill to raise the state’s gas tax by 10 cents a gallon passed unanimously in the Alabama Senate Transportation and Energy Committee Monday afternoon. The bill now moves to the full Senate Tuesday. All 12 members of the committee voted for the tax increase. They include State Senators: Gerald Allen (Chairperson) Dan Roberts (Vice Chairperson) Priscilla Dunn (Ranking Minority Member) David Burkette Tom Butler Donnie Chesteen Chris Elliott Sam Givhan Andrew Jones Steve Livingston Randy Price Greg Reed David Sessions What happens next Since the state legislature is in special session, only 18 members of the 35-member Senate are needed to approve the bill. That’s because Gov. Kay Ivey called the state legislature into a special session to pass the bill, which lowers the threshold for approval. In the regular session, bills connected with the state budget must pass with a three-fifths majority. The State House of Representatives passed Ivey’s gas tax proposal on Friday, 83-20. If the Senate passes the exact same version of the bill, it will head to Ivey’s desk for her signature and will become law. Should the Senate make any amendments to the bill, two things can happen. The House can concur with the changes, and they will be accepted. Or, a Conference Committee will convene — consisting of three members appointed from each chamber — to work out their differences between the two versions of the bill. Both chambers must adopt the Conference Committee report, or a motion may be made to send the bill back for further negotiations. Should agreement never be reached on the measure, the bill is lost. The state’s gasoline tax was last increased in 1992.
Alabama unemployment rate holds steady at 3.8 percent
Alabama’s unemployment rate held steady in January at 3.8 percent for the eighth consecutive month. “People are working in Alabama. Employers are hiring in Alabama,” said Fitzgerald Washington, Secretary of the Alabama Department of Labor. “We continue to report record numbers of people with jobs, and we are seeing fewer and fewer people counted as unemployed, which is what we like to see.” The number of people counted as unemployed in January measured 83,406, which is the third lowest count in history. Just one year ago, this number measured 86,250. “While maintaining our record low unemployment rate, we’ve also seen some great over-the-year growth in some of our high wage industries,” continued Washington. “Both the construction, information, and manufacturing sectors saw significant increases from January 2018 to January 2019.” Counties with the lowest unemployment rates are: Shelby County: 3.2% Marshall and Cullman Counties: 3.7% Tuscaloosa, Morgan, Madison, and Elmore Counties: 3.8% Counties with the highest unemployment rates are: Wilcox County: 10.5% Lowndes County: 8.2% Clarke County: 7.9% Major cities with the lowest unemployment rates are: Homewood: 2.7% Vestavia Hills: 2.9% Alabaster: 3.0% Major cities with the highest unemployment rates are: Selma: 8.8% Prichard: 7.5% Anniston: 6.1%
Following House rush, Senate leadership hurries to pass gas tax increase
Gov. Kay Ivey‘s proposed 10 cent-per-gallon increase to the state gas tax could move one step closer to reality on Monday. The Alabama Senate Transportation and Energy Committee is poised to consider the House-passed plan later today, meaning the full Senate could consider the plan as early as Tuesday. Fast-tracking the bill The bill, which was fast-tracked in the House and approved on Friday, needed only a simple majority to pass the chamber. That’s because Ivey called the state legislature into a special session to pass the bill, which lowers the threshold for approval. In the regular session, bills connected with the state budget must pass with a three-fifths majority. With 105 members of the State House of Representatives, that means just 53 members need vote in support of it. In the 35 member Senate, 18 votes will be needed to approve the bill. The proposed gas tax plan The state currently imposes a flat excise tax of 18 cents-per-gallon on gas and 19 cents-per-gallon on diesel, without adjusting for inflation and other construction and maintenance costs. This combined fuel tax revenue generates 80 percent of Alabama’s transportation funding. The plan’s 10-cent increase will be phased in over the next three years. New revenue generated by the increase will be dispersed between state, county, and municipal governments in Alabama. According to Ivey, these funds are to be used for transportation infrastructure improvement, preservation and maintenance projects. A separate portion of the revenues will go to pay a bond to be issued to finance improvements to the ship channel providing access to the facilities of the Alabama State Docks. The state’s gasoline tax was last increased in 1992.
Bradley Byrne: Giving our students the best education possible
“What do you want to be when you grow up?” This question is probably the single most-asked question of any child throughout the world. Here in the United States, many children are able to achieve their dreams through hard work, dedication, and a quality education. But, for some here in our own country, hard work and dedication are not enough when it comes to circumstances out of their control like where they live or how much their family makes. Too many students find themselves stuck in failing schools. Every child has boundless individual potential, and we must do everything we can to ensure they have the opportunity and freedom to realize that potential. To do that, we must ensure all children have access to choice in education. Education has always been a passion of mine. In fact, it was concerns over public education that first motivated me to run for office and work to make a difference. As a first-generation college graduate, I’ve seen firsthand the power a quality education can have on an individual’s life. So, I have always been an advocate for public education and worked to make sure our schools have the resources they need to do help educate our students. I’ve also fought to limit the heavy hand of the federal government in our classrooms, in an effort to make sure decisions are made by local and state officials who best understand their students. Whether it was serving on the Alabama State Board of Education or more recently as a member of the House Education and Labor Committee, I have made it a priority to put forward solutions to create a better future for our nation’s children. Most recently, I worked with the Trump Administration to introduce the Education Freedom Scholarships and Opportunity Act. This legislation will give students and parents in Alabama and around the country the freedom they deserve to make educational decisions that are right for them. The Education Freedom Scholarships and Opportunity Act was developed in consultation with Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and Senator Ted Cruz as the Trump Administration’s leading education proposal. Our bill responds to President Trump’s State of the Union call for greater school choice and builds upon the model that has already been successful in Alabama. Every student in America should have the opportunity to receive a high-quality education, and we can help accomplish that goal through a new federal tax credit. Our bill will create a non-refundable federal tax credit for contributions from individuals and businesses to state-identified nonprofits called Scholarship Granting Organizations. These scholarships can be used to expand students’ access to a variety of educational opportunities, from advanced or remedial courses to private and home schooling to CTE opportunities. It puts control in the hands of states and localities rather than the federal government when it comes to educational choice and scholarships. Very important to me, the bill does not take a single penny away from public education. I know the vast majority of students in Alabama and in the United States attend public schools, like my children did, and I will remain steadfast in fighting for our traditional public schools, teachers, and students. Through the Education Freedom Scholarships and Opportunity Act, we will increase opportunity for families to make informed decisions that work for them and their individual needs, rather than cookie cutter solutions that don’t work. By providing greater freedom in education and continuing to fight for our nation’s children, we can help every student realize their goal of “what they want to be.” In doing so, we can make our state and our country even stronger. Bradley Byrne is a member of U.S. Congress representing Alabama’s 1st Congressional District.
‘Rebuild Alabama’ will solidify state’s economic development gains, Greg Canfield says
Alabama Commerce Secretary Greg Canfield said infrastructure improvements financed by Gov. Kay Ivey’s “Rebuild Alabama” plan would help the state’s economic development team sustain momentum as it seeks to recruit high-caliber jobs and companies. “I believe we need to focus on infrastructure as a key issue in Alabama at this critical time,” Canfield said. “We have had tremendous success in bringing great companies from around the globe to the state. For these companies to thrive and expand, Alabama needs to have the best roads and bridges it can.” Alabama’s economic development team registered impressive successes in 2018. The year’s biggest prize was a $1.6 billion Mazda-Toyota joint venture assembly plant that will create 4,000 jobs in Huntsville and accelerate growth in the state’s auto industry. “If we want to continue to attract world-class companies and high-paying jobs to Alabama, we need to make an investment in the state’s infrastructure system,” Canfield said. Ivey’s “Rebuild Alabama” plan calls for a 10-cent increase on the state’s fuel tax, rolled in over three years, to generate funding for improvements to the road network and at the Port of Mobile, the state’s only seaport. The governor this week called the Alabama Legislature into a Special Session, which began Wednesday, devoted solely to the infrastructure issue. The fuel tax has not been raised since 1992, even though it is the chief revenue stream for state funding of road repairs and improvements. Experts from the Alabama Transportation Institute at the University of Alabama noted in a January 2019 report that inflation, greater fuel efficiency and rising road construction costs have eroded the purchasing power of the fuel tax over time. Competitive disadvantage Other economic development leaders and business groups from around the state have joined Canfield in supporting the “Rebuild Alabama” plan as an investment in the future. Jim Searcy, executive director of the Economic Development Association of Alabama, said deficiencies in Alabama’s infrastructure system could soon begin to put the state at a disadvantage in the economic development process. “We are falling behind our neighboring states, the ones we most frequently compete with, in addressing our deteriorating infrastructure, and that’s crippling our ability to compete for investment and the jobs that investment creates,” Searcy said. Justice Smyth, the ATI’s outreach director and a former director of corporate development at the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce, said Alabama’s business-friendly environment and effective workforce development programs position the state to succeed in economic development. Alabama is not as strong in a third key area: the transportation network. “That’s where Alabama is struggling to stay as competitive as we are with the other aspects,” Smyth said. “Transportation is becoming more and more of a driver.” Revenue generated by Rebuild Alabama would permit the Alabama State Port Authority to make improvements to the ship channel providing access to the facilities at the Alabama State Docks. “Alabama’s port channel needs critical improvements to ensure Alabama industries remain competitive and enjoy transportation cost efficiencies to reach global markets,” said James K. Lyons, director and CEO of the Alabama State Port Authority. “Our port will fall behind competing ports, who are already modernizing their infrastructure, if our port is not deepened and widened.” Alabama Farmers Federation President Jimmy Parnell said the Rebuild Alabama plan would help the state’s agricultural industry and position rural areas for growth. “Poor and inadequate infrastructure is one of the greatest barriers to rural Alabama enjoying the same economic growth as larger cities,” Parnell said. The Business Council of Alabama, the state’s largest business group, also backs the infrastructure improvement plan. “The road to our future must be paved,” BCA President and CEO Katie Boyd Britt said. “Alabama’s transportation system is the backbone of the state’s economy and is crucial to our economic growth, and I commend Governor Ivey for making this a priority of her administration.” This story originally appeared on the Alabama Department of Commerce’s Made in Alabama website. Republished with permission from the Alabama NewsCenter.
Dems pick Milwaukee for 2020 convention over Miami, Houston
Democrats selected Milwaukee to host their 2020 national convention Monday, setting up the party’s 2020 standard-bearer to accept the presidential nomination in the heart of the old industrial belt that delivered Donald Trump to the White House. Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez chose Milwaukee over Houston and Miami after deliberations lingered longer than party leaders or officials from the three finalist cities had expected. The convention is scheduled for July 13-16, 2020. It will be the first time in over a century that Democrats will be in a Midwest city other than Chicago to nominate their presidential candidate. Instead, the political spotlight will shine for a week on a metro area of about 1.6 million people. Once dubbed as “The Machine Shop of the World,” the famously working-class city also is known for its long love affair with beer and as the birthplace of Harley-Davidson motorcycles. Republicans are set to gather in Charlotte, the largest city in battleground North Carolina, on Aug. 24-27, 2020. Democrats see plenty of symbolism in Milwaukee after a bitter 2016 election defined by Hillary Clinton being nearly swept in what her campaign aides had confidently called a “Blue Wall” across the upper Midwest and Great Lakes region. That band of states twice sided with President Barack Obama, but Clinton held only Minnesota, ceding Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania — a combined 64 of the necessary 270 electoral votes — as white working-class voters flocked to Trump. The president won Wisconsin and its 10 electoral votes by about 23,000 votes out of almost 3 million cast, the first time since 1984 that Republicans claimed the state in a presidential election. Afterward, Clinton took withering criticism for not once visiting Wisconsin as a general election candidate. Since then, Wisconsin voters have re-elected Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin, ousted Republican Gov. Scott Walker in favor of Democrat Tony Evers and the state’s first black lieutenant governor, Mandela Barnes. Wisconsin Democrats pointed to those midterm election results as they lobbied Perez and DNC officials, and presidential candidates already are paying attention. Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar came to Wisconsin in one of her first trips as a declared candidate. “A lot people feel that we lost (in 2016) because this area had been ignored — whether it’s from a political standpoint or whether it’s from a governing standpoint,” said Barnes, one of the members of the convention bid committee. Holding the convention in Milwaukee, Barnes added, says “we are ready to reinvest in the Midwest, that the Midwest matters again.” In a political twist, Milwaukee officials have said the Republican Walker was instrumental in winning the convention. Democratic Party proceedings will play out in the new 17,500-seat arena that Walker helped build for the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks by securing public financing from state lawmakers. Walker later lobbied GOP-leaning business leaders and donors to support Milwaukee’s effort to land the DNC. Democratic officials in Washington said picking a convention site is as much about logistics as anything else, even as they acknowledge political optics and potential story lines. On the logistics front, Milwaukee may have pulled somewhat of an upset, given its small footprint compared to Houston and Miami, cities long accustomed to hosting major events. Houston put on the Super Bowl as recently as February 2017. Milwaukee organizers pitched their city — the Democratic stronghold of Wisconsin — as a resurgent downtown beyond just the arena and convention facilities. Home to some of the country’s biggest brewers, including Pabst, Schlitz, Miller and Blatz, the metro area has a redeveloped downtown, a hotel capacity exceeding 17,000 rooms and a new downtown streetcar line that opened in November. Still, the city had to prove it has the overall capacity to satisfy the demands of tens of thousands of delegates, party activists, donors and media that will descend next summer. DNC officials have said that the question wasn’t about hotel rooms, but whether Milwaukee has requisite venues for other convention staples, from daily sit-down breakfast meetings for 57 state and territorial delegations to evening events put on by state parties, corporations, lobbyists and donors. Even as Milwaukee officials insisted they have the venues, some deep-pocketed Democrats in nearby Chicago — a 90-minute drive — stepped in to note their proximity. Houston and Miami, meanwhile, faced their own challenges. Miami has an impressive concentration of luxury hotels, but many are in Miami Beach across bridges from downtown. That raised the prospect of delegates spending hours in traffic jams trying to get to convention facilities. The city’s arena also is not as new as in Milwaukee. Houston had few if any logistical barriers. But according to party officials with knowledge of the process, the city’s organizing committee struggled to come up with the necessary financing without resorting to the oil and gas industry. That’s the city’s bread and butter, but it’s become anathema in Democratic politics because of the fossil fuel industry’s part in climate change. The city’s mayor also is embroiled in a long labor dispute with Houston firefighters — raising worries. Also, though Houston and Miami are Democratic anchors in their states, Texas and Florida have no Democratic governor or senator between them. Barrow reported from Atlanta. Bauer reported from Madison, Wisconsin. Republished with permission from the Associated Press.
Donald Trump budget sets up another battle over wall funding
President Donald Trump is reviving his border wall fight, preparing a new budget that will seek $8.6 billion for the U.S-Mexico barrier while imposing steep spending cuts to other domestic programs and setting the stage for another fiscal battle. Budget documents are often seen as just a starting point of negotiation, but fresh off the longest government shutdown in history Trump’s 2020 proposal shows he is eager to confront Congress again to reduce domestic spending and refocus money on his priorities. It calls for boosting defense spending and making $2.7 trillion in nondefense cuts. Trump’s proposal, titled “A Budget for a Better America: Promises Kept. Taxpayers First” and set for release Monday, “embodies fiscal responsibility,” said Russ Vought, the acting director of the Office of Management and Budget. Vought said the administration has “prioritized reining in reckless Washington spending” and shows “we can return to fiscal sanity.” Two administration officials confirmed that the border wall request was part of Trump’s spending blueprint for the 2020 budget year, which begins Oct. 1. That document, which sets the stage for negotiations ahead, proposes increasing defense spending to $750 billion — and standing up the new Space Force as a military branch — while reducing nondefense accounts by 5 percent, with cuts recommended to safety net programs used by many Americans. The plan sticks to budget caps that both parties have routinely broken in recent years and promises to come into balance in 15 years, relying in part on economic growth that may be uncertain. The officials were not authorized to discuss budget details publicly before Monday’s release of the plan and spoke on condition of anonymity. While pushing down spending in some areas, including the Environmental Protection Agency, the proposal will seek to increase funding in others to align with the president’s priorities, according to one official. The administration will invest more than $80 billion for veterans services, a nearly 10 percent increase from current levels, including “significant” investments in rehabilitation, employment assistance and suicide prevention. It will also increase resources to fight the opioid epidemic with money for prevention, treatment, research and recovery, the administration said. And it seeks to shift some federal student loan costs to colleges and universities. By adhering to strict budget caps, Trump is signaling a fight ahead. The president has resisted big, bipartisan budget deals that break the caps — threatening to veto one last year — but Congress will need to find agreement on spending levels to avoid another federal shutdown in fall. White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said Trump’s budget “points a steady glide path” toward lower spending and borrowing as a share of the nation’s economy. He also told “Fox News Sunday” that there was no reason to “obsess” about deficits, and expressed confidence that economic growth would top 3 percent in 2019 and beyond. Others have predicted lower growth. The border wall, though, remains a signature issue for the president and is poised to stay at the forefront of his agenda, even though Congress has resisted giving him more money for it. Leading Democrats immediately rejected the proposal. “Congress refused to fund his wall and he was forced to admit defeat and reopen the government. The same thing will repeat itself if he tries this again,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York. They said the money “would be better spent on rebuilding America.” In seeking $8.6 billion for the wall, the budget request would more than double the $8.1 billion already potentially available to the president after he declared a national emergency at the border last month in order to circumvent Congress — although there’s no guarantee he’ll be able to use that money if he faces a legal challenge, as is expected. The standoff over the wall led to a 35-day partial government shutdown, the longest in U.S. history. Along with border wall money, the proposed budget will also increase funding to increase the “manpower” of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and Customs and Border Patrol at a time when many Democrats are calling for cuts — or even the elimination — of those areas. The budget also proposes policy changes to end sanctuary cities, the administration said. The budget would arrive Monday as the Senate readies to vote this week to terminate Trump’s national emergency declaration. The Democratic-led House already did so, and a handful of Republican senators, uneasy over what they see as an overreach of executive power, are expected to join Democrats in following suit. Congress appears to have enough votes to reject Trump’s declaration but not enough to overturn a veto. Trump invoked the emergency declaration after Congress approved nearly $1.4 billion for border barriers, far less than the $5.7 billion he wanted. In doing so, he can potentially tap an additional $3.6 billion from military accounts and shift it to building the wall. That’s causing discomfort on Capitol Hill, where even the president’s Republican allies are protective of their power to decide how to allocate federal dollars. Lawmakers are trying to guard money that’s already been approved for military projects in their states — for base housing or other improvements — from being shifted to build the wall. The wall with Mexico punctuated Trump’s campaign for the White House, and it’s expected to again be featured in his 2020 re-election effort. He used to say Mexico would pay for it, but Mexico has refused to do so. Republished with permission from the Associated Press.
Baron Coleman: Former Gov. Robert J. Bentley could be your next U.S. Senator
Death, Taxes, and Sen. Doug Jones losing in 2020. That’s about all that’s certain anymore. The only question is which Republican will beat him 60/40 in November 2020. Robert J. Bentley could be that Republican. The conventional wisdom is that Governor Bentley is licked. He is a twice-elected governor who at the height of his popularity was considered the gold standard for building a brand. Some polls had him north of a 75% approval rating, which is basically the same approval rating Jesus of Nazareth carries in Alabama. Robert of Tuscaloosa was highly regarded. Then came the rumors. And the tapes. And the fall. But before that, came taxes. Few remember through the sultry smoke of sensationalist history, but Bentley’s fall didn’t start with rumors of a girlfriend. The fall started with rumors of a tax increase. And it didn’t end with confirmation of a girlfriend. It ended with confirmation of a misdemeanor campaign violation and a loan outside of the time limits allowed for term-limited officials. That rule has been applied sparingly and unevenly, at best. The best thing to happen to Bentley for Senate 2020 is unfolding in real time. The same Republican elected officials and blogs who ate Bentley alive for proposing a tax increase are themselves pushing a tax increase. The new tax increase will pass this week. And Bentley’s original tax-raising sin will be washed from the political book of life. With Governor Kay Ivey’s signature of the largest tax increase in recent Alabama memory, Bentley the tax raiser is put to death. Rising from the dead is Bentley the visionary, the man who saw four years earlier the need for new revenue and had the courage to try to do what would take the rest of the state’s leaders four years to realize they needed. History has a funny way of vindicating those who put the people ahead of their own political careers. The second best thing to happen to Bentley for Senate 2020 is President Donald J. Trump. If Governor Ivey absolved the sins of proposing tax increases, President Trump showed Republicans are more interested in hiring a man who can get the job done than worrying about whether he is morally pristine. If Trump can survive the Access Hollywood tape and Stormy Daniels with Republican support at record highs, Bentley can survive Wanda’s desk and an ex-wife. And Bentley’s success as governor is hard to ignore. He inherited the worst economy since the Great Depression and maybe since Reconstruction. Three months into his first term, whole cities were wiped off the map, as were large portions of others, by a series of tornadoes that would have left the people of Sodom and Gomorrah feeling bad for Tuscaloosa and Phil Campbell. The auto industry, once the Promised Land for Alabama’s emergence into relevance on the national economic stage, looked stagnant or worse. Fears of losing Hyundai or Mercedes or Honda weren’t unreasonable. But there was Robert Bentley. Relentlessly recruiting industry. Relentlessly promoting the state. Relentlessly assuring us he would see us through the rough times, and that he would be by our side as we walked through the valley of the shadow of recession. And things turned around. Massively. In fact, by the time Bentley left office, he could have started collecting those paychecks he promised not to take until Alabama reached full employment. Alabama’s not perfect. But it’s better than it would have been without Bentley. And that’s the reason he could win. Most people realize Bentley did a pretty good job as governor. He’s a known quantity. And Bentley’s two biggest sins have been washed away by Trump and Ivey. Does that make former Governor Robert J. Bentley also future US Senator Robert J. Bentley? Maybe. Baron Coleman is a lawyer, radio talk show host on News & Views on 93.1 FM, and political consultant based out of Montgomery, Ala.
