Steve Flowers: Handicapping Democrats for 2018 governor’s race
Last week, we handicapped some of the potential horses in the upcoming 2018 Governor’s Race. We mentioned Judge Roy Moore, PSC President Twinkle Cavanaugh, Agriculture Commissioner John McMillan, Secretary of State John Merrill, State Treasurer Young Boozer, State Senator Del Marsh and Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle. Some others that may be considering pursuing the brass ring of Alabama politics are Lt. Governor Kay Ivey, Supreme Court Justice Jim Main, Jefferson County Commission President David Carrington, Trump’s Trumpeter in the State Perry Hooper, Jr., Huntsville State Representative Jim Patterson and ADECA Director and former Prattville Mayor Jim Byard. You can also add former Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville to the mix of possible gubernatorial candidates. All of these aforementioned horses would run as Republicans in the 2018 Gubernatorial Derby. It is assumed that only a Republican can win statewide office in Alabama and that next year’s June 2018 GOP primary is tantamount to election. Therefore, it is only a 15-month race to election for governor. The late Lucy Baxley was the last Democrat to hold statewide office in Alabama. She lost re-election to the PSC in 2012. It has been almost two decades since a Democrat has captured the Governor’s office. Donald Trump carried Alabama with almost 63 percent of the vote. It is thought by most political prognosticators that a Democratic candidate can at best get 40 percent of the vote in the Heart of Dixie. However, there are several brave souls who are die-hard Democrats and may be bold enough to test that theory. One of these emboldened is Parker Griffith, who ran as the Democratic nominee against Robert Bentley four years ago, in 2014 and received 36 percent of the vote. Griffith is a personable, former oncologist, State Senator and Congressman from Huntsville. He seems dedicated to making the plunge. The most mentioned Democratic candidate is former Chief Justice Sue Bell Cobb. She was elected to the state Supreme Court in 2012, which was the last time a Democrat won statewide in Alabama. She is seriously considering the race for governor. She could be handicapped by the fact that she quit in the middle of her term on the Court and a Republican was appointed by the Governor. State Representative Craig Ford who has served as House Minority Leader is considering a run for governor. Like Griffith, Ford is likable. He is one of the few remaining white Democrats left in the Alabama House of Representatives. In fact, if Ford vacated his seat to run for Governor a Republican would probably take it. The wild card in a potential Democratic field might be the popular young Mayor of Tuscaloosa, Walt Maddox. He considers himself a Democrat. Maddox is well thought of in the Druid City, which is a more populous and vote-rich area of the state than most folks realize. If he got a strong support from Tuscaloosa coupled with the ADC and New South endorsements, it could propel him to the Democratic nomination. He would bring to the dance a sterling record of achievement as Mayor of Tuscaloosa. However, if he has to go through a bruising primary he may come to the prom beat up and broke. Not to mention that the Prom King/Queen is highly favored to be a Republican. He would be hard-pressed to raise campaign money in the fall campaign. Most of the bets would be placed on the Republican. This brings us to another chapter in the governor’s race. The folks who wrote our 1901 Constitution intended for the power in state government to be rested in the hands of the legislature. During the Wallace years, George Wallace had immense power over the legislature. This usurpation of power has incrementally declined over the years. It has culminated with a decimation of gubernatorial power. The last two governors, Bob Riley and Robert Bentley, have been rendered irrelevant by the legislature. Special interests have taken note of this transfer of power and their money has followed. Campaign money that use to go to the governor’s race now flows to legislative races. It is not unusual to see House seats cost $300,000 and State Senate races rise to $1 million. It is going to be a great election year. See you next week. ___ Steve Flowers is Alabama’s leading political columnist. His weekly column appears in over 60 Alabama newspapers. He served 16 years in the state Legislature. Steve may be reached at www.steveflowers.us.
Steve Flowers: For 2018 governor’s derby, a cavalcade of characters
We are on the cusp of one of the best political years in modern political history in the Heart of Dixie. Prior to the 1970s, our constitution disallowed succession of office for our state constitutional offices. In other words, you could not run for two consecutive four-year terms. That is why George Wallace ran his wife in his place in 1966. George and Lurleen campaigned side-by-side. George would wink at the crowds still drawn to courthouse squares by a country band and say, “I’m going to be her No. 1 adviser.” By the way, she won in a landslide. She beat eight male opponents without a runoff, including two former governors, an agriculture commissioner, the sitting state attorney general and two powerful state senators. However, you could serve a four-year term and wait out four years and run for a second term. Only two men had done that in Alabama history. Prior to the constitutional change in the 1970s, Bibb Graves of Montgomery had done it early in the century and Big Jim Folsom did it in 1946 and again in 1954. Now that governors can succeed themselves, it has become common practice for governors to serve eight years rather than four. Thus, the 2018 governor’s race will be a once in an eight-year opportunity. Folks, we are in for one heck of a year and the bell rings June 6. Therefore, the horses will begin lining up over the next few months. It will be a great cavalcade of characters. The early favorite horse in the 2018 Derby is Roy Moore. The Chief Justice’s expulsion from the bench by the Judicial Inquiry Commission has propelled him to stratospheric levels in polling. Leading a horserace is a good analogy for Moore since he traditionally rides his horse to vote at his polling place in Gallant in rural Etowah County. Some of you may question Moore’s popularity, but the numbers are there in every poll. The JIC has made him a martyr. Alabama is a very religious state and being thrown out of office by an unaccountable commission for being against homosexual marriages is a pretty good issue to run on in the Bible Belt. Roy Moore is the wild card in the early 2018 jockeying. Most folks have him in the governor’s race. However, he has two other options. Attorney general or the U.S. Senate seat. He would probably win either of these posts. The governor’s office is another question. Historically, people do not think of him as governor. He lost miserably both times he ran, whereas he wins handily for a state judgeship. His best race is for attorney general or U.S. Senate. Twinkle Andress Cavanaugh has a free shot in 2018. She was just re-elected to a four-year term as Public Service Commission President. She is already out running for governor and sometimes the early bird gets the worm. State Agriculture Commissioner John McMillan is term-limited in that job that he has done well for eight years. He is well liked by everyone who knows him and is planning to run for governor. Young Boozer has also served his two-term eight-year limit as State Treasurer. He is a wild card and gives no hints as to what his future political plans are for 2018. Young is not a natural politician. He is an erudite Stanford-educated successful banker who was perfectly suited for the State Treasurer’s post and he has done an excellent job. Secretary of State John Merrill is probably the best retail politician in the state at this time. Lots of people have encouraged him to run. However, he is one of the few constitutional officeholders who can run for re-election in 2018. He will probably bide his time and run for re-election. State Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh of Anniston is itching to pull the trigger on the governor’s race, but being a powerful state senator does not translate into statewide name identification. However, Marsh is said to be wealthy. If he were to spend $3 to $5 million of his own money, he could be a player. The very popular mayor of Huntsville, Tommy Battle, is seriously considering the race. If he joins the fray he could be a player. He would come out of the Tennessee Valley with a strong start. There are a lot of votes in North Alabama. We are in for a heck of a campaign year. I will keep you posted. See you next week. ___ Steve Flowers is Alabama’s leading political columnist. His weekly column appears in over 60 Alabama newspapers. He served 16 years in the state Legislature. Steve may be reached at www.steveflowers.us.
Fresh out of federal prison, Don Siegelman turns 71; won’t celebrate with state pension
Former Gov. Don Siegelman, who spent more than six years in federal prison for bribery, turned 71 Friday. After two decades years in Alabama statewide elective office – eight as secretary of state and four each as attorney general, lieutenant governor, and governor – was convicted in 2006 of bribery, and sentenced to 78 months in federal prison. On February 8, Siegelman was released six months early from a facility in Oakdale, Louisiana, and is serving the remaining sentence in detention at his Vestavia Hills home. His conviction will officially end August 8. “I feel like a refugee coming into New York,” Siegelman told friends and family after his release. In 2006, both Siegelman and HealthSouth founder Richard Scrushy were convicted on bribery charges stemming from $500,000 Scrushy gave Siegelman’s campaign for his support in establishing an Alabama lottery and in exchange for being named to a state health board. Initially, Siegelman faced an 88-month prison sentence in 2007; nine months after his arrest, however, he was released on bond and filed an appeal. Later, the court resentenced Siegelman for 78 months; he returned to jail September 2012, where he stayed until earlier this month. AL.com reports that Siegelman will not be celebrating his birthday with a state pension – not because of his bribery conviction, but because of a 1901 statute in the Alabama Constitution that bans elected officials from receiving state retirement. A 1975 attempt to change the law to give then-Gov. George Wallace a pension was struck down as unconstitutional.
Steve Flowers: The circus of open Alabama races in 2018
As I have suggested to you, we are looking at one momentous 2018 election year, and it has begun. Get this, folks, we have an open governor’s race. We have openings at Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, State Treasurer, Agriculture Commissioner, three seats on the Supreme Court including the Chief Justice position, all 35 state Senate seats, all 105 House seats, one hotly contested congressional seat, as well as 67 sheriffs. Folks, that’s the most political marquee year in my long political life. If media outlets do not make money next year, they ain’t ever gonna make any money. As though the aforementioned cavalcade was not enough of a circus, we’ve got ourselves an open U.S. Senate seat. I believe that Ringling Brothers Circus closed in deference to us in the Heart of Dixie and our roadshow Vaudeville act called Alabama politics. Our good “ol’” Gov. Robert Bentley has been a great ringleader. He is quite a show. Poor ol’ Bentley has relegated himself to not only being irrelevant, but is considered a clown. I have been around the state on a speaking/book signing tour and everywhere I go they ask about “ol’” Bentley. I have to deflect the questions about his personal adviser following him to Washington or sitting in the gallery for his speech to the Legislature. In fact, I try to put some levity to the situation by telling folks, “Well, you know my observation of Alabama politics over the past 50 years is that we really haven’t got to have a governor.” Big Jim Folsom stayed drunk his whole second term, George Wallace was on pain pills his last term and did not know where he was, Fob James seemed disinterested and went duck hunting his second term, and they put poor ole Hunt and Siegelman in jail. At least Bentley shows up and does his duties to the best of his abilities. He just leans on one adviser, exclusively. They say she wrote his last State of the State speech. If she did, she ain’t much of a speechwriter. Well, ole Bentley got himself a U.S. Senate seat appointment to grant. He milked it for what it was worth. He ultimately used it as a get out of jail free card. Even if his appointment of Luther Strange looks like chicanery and collusion, it was a shrewd political move by Bentley. It keeps him and his adviser out of the pokey. The Luther Strange appointment looks brazen and audacious. The facts are clear, Strange as Attorney General of Alabama openly asked the House Judiciary Committee to cease their impeachment proceedings because he and his office were investigating the Governor and his adviser. Then, all of a sudden, the Governor appoints him to a coveted senate seat. If that does not look like collusion, I do not know what does. If given those facts the average fisherman in Mobile Bay would say that it looks fishy. A baker in Birmingham would conclude that it does not pass the smell test. As a political historian, I will have to record these very facts for posterity. Folks can draw their own conclusion. Luther Strange will probably go on to be a good U.S. Senator. He is imminently qualified for the role, and has planned meticulously for this seat for the last 20 years. However, the taint of Bentley will follow him to Washington and could come back to bite him in the June 2018 GOP primary, which is tantamount to election. Big Luther is betting that as the incumbent senator for the next 15 months, he will be able to raise so much Washington campaign cash that he will be unbeatable. That is probably a good bet. However, Alabamians may have a longer memory than he thinks. Just ask Bill Baxley how getting the governor’s nomination from the Democratic hierarchy when Charlie Graddick got the most votes in 1986 turned out. Folks in Alabama do not like appointments, especially one that comes with a cloud that appears to be collusion. We have a great 15 months of Alabama politics ahead of us, folks. See you next week. ___ Steve Flowers is Alabama’s leading political columnist. His weekly column appears in over 60 Alabama newspapers. He served 16 years in the state Legislature. Steve may be reached at www.steveflowers.us.
When will Robert Bentley, Legislature answer ‘the call,’ put lottery on Nov. ballot?
During the past couple of months, everywhere I go people continually ask me why in the world the Legislature could not simply put the issue of whether they could vote for or against a lottery on the November ballot. The fact that this inquiry has lingered for this long tells me that folks are upset about this travesty. They are mad at the Legislature. However, the blame lies with the governor. Indeed, the Legislature met in a special session to address this issue of whether or not to put the lottery proposal on the ballot and let you vote on this lingering issue. Most polls indicate that the good people of Alabama would vote in favor of it, provided there are no sweetheart deals, hidden chicanery or favoritism in the proposal. Most Republicans would vote in favor of it because they are tired of their money being sent to Georgia, Florida and Tennessee to help their schools, roads and indigents rather than keep their money at home helping Alabamians. Folks in the Heart of Dixie are going to buy lottery tickets. They are just going to buy them in our surrounding states. It was noticeable that a good many of the legislators, who represent border counties, voted against the referendum. This is similar to bygone days when most of the dry counties in the state continued to vote dry due to an ironic coalition between the bootleggers and preachers. I seriously think that some of these border counties are reaping a bonanza in gas tax revenue from the throng of cars headed to border states to buy lottery tickets. They say that cars are backed up for miles around every state border when these super Powerball extravaganzas occur. Well, to answer your questions, it is difficult to pass anything in a congress or Legislature. That is why they have the old adage, “It takes an act of Congress to get something accomplished.” In Alabama, extraordinary special sessions of the Legislature are the way to go to get something accomplished if you are the governor. The Legislature has to address what the governor calls the legislature into session for, it is called “the call.” George Wallace was a master of using special sessions to get what he wanted done. He would call them repeatedly. However, before he called them, he would have his ducks in a row. He would have called you on the phone, had you visit with him one on one in his office at the capitol or at the governor’s mansion. He would know what the vote count was on his issue before he called a special session. He would not waste taxpayer money on a session without any accomplishment. Well folks, our good ole doctor Governor Bentley ain’t George Wallace. Ole Bentley did waste money that the state General Fund does not have to squander. That is why the special session was called. It was designed to help bolster the beleaguered General Fund. Bentley failed because he did just the opposite of Wallace. He did not call any legislators. They heard about the session on the news. Even though Gov. Bentley shoulders the blame for failure to at least put the lottery issue on the ballot, he has shown profound leadership with his creation of an advisory council on gambling. This is a prudent, rational, and unbiased approach to the entire gambling issue. Bentley is right when he says the issue of gambling in the state is something that will never end unless we come together and figure out a way for the people of this state to have a say in its resolution. This advisory panel has done a thorough job of studying this issue. Jim Byard and Clinton Carter, two bright stars in Bentley’s cabinet, have led the comprehensive study of gaming. The commission looked at what other states are doing to reap revenue from gambling that already exists to get a clearer picture of what a lottery would generate for state coffers. They have looked at all gambits of gambling in the state, not just the lottery. They are designing a long-term approach to present to the legislature. The administration has extended the panel’s deadline to report to the legislature from January 31 to June, probably because they do not want to deal with gambling during this legislative session. The final solution must allow Alabamians to vote on this issue. See you next week. ___ Steve Flowers is Alabama’s leading political columnist. His weekly column appears in over 60 Alabama newspapers. He served 16 years in the state legislature. Steve may be reached at www.steveflowers.us.
Steve Flowers: Albert Brewer, a special place in Alabama political history, hearts
The passing of Governor Albert Brewer on Jan. 2 at 88 years old, marks the passing of an era in Alabama politics. Albert P. Brewer was a good man and a true public servant. Brewer was born in Tennessee, but his folks moved to Decatur when he was very young after his father accepted a job with the Tennessee Valley Authority. He graduated from Decatur High School with honors, then matriculated to the University of Alabama where he earned his undergraduate and law degrees. Brewer returned to Decatur to begin his law practice. Soon thereafter he was elected to the Alabama Legislature at the ripe old age of 25. He was elected without opposition three times and during his third term, he became Speaker of the House. Brewer was the youngest Speaker in state history. In 1966, he beat two prominent state senators without a runoff to win the lieutenant governor’s job, which was much more powerful than it is today. During his tenure as Speaker and Lt. Governor, either George or Lurleen Wallace was Governor. Brewer was a Wallace ally. When Gov. Lurleen Wallace died of cancer after only 16 months in office, Brewer ascended to the Governor’s office. He quickly and decisively took the reins of state government and became immediately effective. His years in the legislature gave him a keen insight into the machinations of state government. He was very well liked among the legislators and senators he had worked with over the past 15 years and therefore was extremely successful with his legislative agenda. He became a working governor. Although Brewer was governor for only 33 months, he accomplished more as governor than most of his successors over the past 30 years combined. Brewer brought a low-key businesslike style to the governor’s office, which was strikingly different from George Wallace’s racist flamboyant rhetoric and cronyism. In 1970, Brewer and George Wallace squared off in what is the most memorable classic and pivotal governor’s race in Alabama political history. Brewer led Wallace by a slim margin in the first primary. However, Wallace, with his political life on the line, played the race card overtly in the runoff and defeated Brewer by a narrow margin. Most political observers believe that had Brewer won, Alabama would have joined other southern states like North Carolina and Florida who had elected progressive pro-business governors. Brewer is often referred to as Alabama’s “New South” Governor. He was a prince of a fellow and a good friend for over 50 years. I first met Governor Brewer when I was a young 13-year-old page in the state Legislature and he was Speaker of the House. My mentor was the State Representative from my home in Pike County. Mr. Gardner Bassett had been in the House for 24 years and was in his 70s. He was training me to take his House seat once I was old enough. Mr. Gardner adored and admired the young Speaker Albert Brewer. He got Brewer and I acquainted and we became friends. Brewer would let me sit next to him in the Speaker’s box as he explained how he assigned bills to their proper committee. When Brewer became Lt. Governor in 1967, I was 15 and he made me head of the pages in the Senate. His daughters Becky and Allison served with me as Pages. Gov. Brewer spent the last 30 years of his life teaching and mentoring law students at Samford University’s Cumberland School of Law. He was a mentor to my daughter, Ginny, while she was in law school at Cumberland, and followed her legal career as if she was his own daughter. Last January, Ginny and I ran into Gov. Brewer at a Birmingham restaurant. He was aging but still had that keen smile and twinkle in his eye. Gov. Brewer and I had remained good friends over the years and he is featured prominently in my book, “Of Goats and Governors: Six Decades of Colorful Political Stories.” Thus, it is appropriate that the last time I visited with him was at a book signing in Bessemer. We later had lunch together at the Bright Star. As I close this column I am looking at a photo of Gov. Brewer and me from that day that adorns the wall of my office, with his ever-present smile. Albert Brewer has a special place in Alabama political history and in the hearts of many. See you next week. ___ Steve Flowers is Alabama’s leading political columnist. His weekly column appears in over 60 Alabama newspapers. He served 16 years in the state Legislature. Steve may be reached at www.steveflowers.us.
Steve Flowers: Requiem for Alabama political icons lost in 2016
At the close of every year, my tradition is to acknowledge the passing away of significant political players from the political stage in Alabama. We have lost some Icons from politics in the Heart of Dixie this year. Lucy Baxley passed away in October in Birmingham at 78. She was born on a farm in rural Houston County in the community of Pansy. She went to school at Ashford. After graduation from high school, she went to work at the courthouse in Dothan and worked for Judge Keener Baxley. When Judge Baxley’s son, Bill, got elected Attorney General in 1970, young Bill Baxley asked Lucy to come to Montgomery to be his administrative assistant. Eight years later she and Bill married. She was an integral part of Baxley’s first campaign for Governor in 1978. Bill became Lt. Governor in 1982, then lost again for governor in 1986. Soon, thereafter, Bill and Lucy ended their ten-year marriage. Lucy then began her own career in Alabama politics. She was elected State Treasurer in 1990 and spent eight years in that post. She was a natural campaigner. One of the best one-on-one I have ever seen. She worked the state during those eight years as Treasurer, especially among senior citizen groups. She parlayed that campaign into being elected as the first female lieutenant governor in history. In that 1998 campaign, she coined the campaign phrase, “I Love Lucy.” Her signs were all over the state. Her name identification was so pronounced that her lieutenant governor’s parking space simply said “Lucy.” She was the Democratic nominee for governor in 2002, but lost to Republican Bob Riley. She finished her political career by serving on the Public Service Commission. Lucy loved Alabama and folks loved her. Judge Perry O. Hooper, Sr. passed away in his hometown of Montgomery in April at the age of 91. Judge Hooper’s career paralleled the growth and dominance of the Republican Party in Alabama. He was indeed one of the founding Fathers of the modern Republican Party in the Heart of Dixie. He was a Republican before it was cool. One time when he was state party chairman, Hooper would joke that he could call a meeting of the state GOP in a phone booth. Hooper was a Marine. His lovely wife, Marilyn, was a Montgomery native and they raised four fine boys. As a pioneer Republican, he led the Goldwater landslide of the South in 1964. That crescendo propelled him into the Montgomery Probate Judge office. He was re-elected to that post in 1970; in 1974, he moved to a Montgomery Circuit judgeship. Twenty years later Judge Hooper broke the ice of control that the Democrats and Trial Lawyers had over the State Supreme Court. He became the First Republican Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court. Democrats and Republicans alike noted at his funeral that during his years as a Judge he treated everyone fairly. Jim Bennett was the longest-serving Secretary of State in Alabama history. Jim passed away in Birmingham in August at age 76, shortly after being diagnosed with cancer. Jim was a writer, reporter, State Representative, State Senator and Secretary of State. He became a reporter for the Birmingham Post-Herald after graduation from Jacksonville State. He covered the Civil Rights protests in Birmingham in 1963 and stood next to Bull Conner when he ordered fire hoses turned on protesters, including children. He once told me he interviewed George Wallace, Bull Conner and Martin Luther King in the same day. He ran for and was elected to the state legislature in 1978. We served together in the House. He later moved to the Senate. He was first appointed Secretary of State in 1993. He won the election in 1994 and served two four-year terms through 2003. He is not only the longest-serving Secretary of State, but is also the only one to have been elected as both a Democrat and as a Republican. He was a longtime member of the Jacksonville State University Board of Trustees and was Chairman of the Board when he passed away. Jim Bennett was a true public servant. Have a Happy New Year! ___ Steve Flowers is Alabama’s leading political columnist. His weekly column appears in over 60 Alabama newspapers. He served 16 years in the state legislature. Steve may be reached at www.steveflowers.us.
Steve Flowers: 2016 in review — ain’t Alabama politics fun?
Historically speaking, Alabamians have been more interested in the governor’s race than presidential politics. For years, from 1876 to 1964, we were a totally Democratic state, more so out of tradition than philosophically. The hatred for the radical Republican Reconstruction shackles invoked on the South made an indelible mark on white southern voters. It was so instilled, that there are a good many stories told throughout the South where a dying grandfather would gather his children and grandchildren around his deathbed and gaspingly admonish them, “Two things I’m gonna tell y’all before I die – don’t ever sell the family farm and don’t ever vote for a damn Republican.” That all changed in November 1964. Barry Goldwater and the Republicans became the party of segregation and the white southern voter fled the Democratic Party en mass. As the fall election of 1964 approached, the talk in the old country stores around Alabama was that a good many good old boys were going to vote straight Republican even if their daddies did turn over in their graves. Well folks, there were a good many papas turning over in their graves all over the South. The entire South changed parties on that day 52 years ago. Since we were a solid Democratic state for 90 years, we really had no say in the presidential selection process. We are in the same position today, being a solid Republican state. Therefore, it makes sense that we would have more interest in gubernatorial politics than presidential rhetoric because we have much more of a say in that contest. In addition, all our other offices are up for election in the race for governor year, including all 67 sheriffs, all 140 members of the legislature, and all other constitutional offices such as attorney general, agriculture commissioner, secretary of state and treasurer. Indeed, for most of our past there were more votes cast in the Democratic Primary for Governor of Alabama than in a presidential contest. Today, our voting proclivity runs more along the national percentage. We also have the same tendency to vote more against someone than for someone. George Wallace used to always say give me a good boogeyman to run against. Well, lest you forget Hillary Clinton was the best boogeyman to vilify before Barack Obama. He was the hated villain for an eight-year interlude. Now Bill and Hillary have taken back their rightful place as the face of the despised national Democratic Party among white southerners. Therefore, as this year began, I thought it would be a yawner, a sleeper year for good old Alabama politics. However, we have had some good theater. Not to be outdone by the colorful campaign of Donald Trump, who was a continuous circus or vaudeville act, our local Alabama characters have put on quite a show. It began with the ethics trial of former House Speaker Mike Hubbard, which was a lengthy, detailed, fully vetted and well run process. Hubbard was found guilty by a Lee County jury, which he represented in the legislature. He will ultimately go to jail, a state prison, which is woefully overcrowded and dangerous. While the Hubbard story was anticipated and expected, the saga of good ol’ Dr. Robert Bentley has remained in the news continuously throughout the entire year. His former buddy, Spencer Collier, has filed a lawsuit against the Governor and his girlfriend. Now comes a second suit and revelations by his former Security Chief Ray Lewis which is juicier and adds to and confirms Collier’s story. This will probably keep the salacious story alive for another year or more. Bentley has been relegated to an irrelevant punchline or joke. He would not have been so adversely ridiculed if he had not been perceived as a family values man, churchman, retired doctor and looked like an old grandfather. There is an old saying in politics that if you ride a white horse you better not get mud on it because it shows up. Another truism is sex sells. Ain’t Alabama politics fun? Wow – what a year! Now we will get ready for the 2018 gubernatorial year, and to top it off, we have also got an open Senate seat up for grabs. We will have a governor’s race and an open U.S. Senate race in the same year. Those races have begun. Since winning the Republican primary is tantamount to election in Alabama, we elect a new governor and new U.S. Senator in June 2018, which is less than 18 months from now. See you next week. ___ Steve Flowers is Alabama’s leading political columnist. His weekly column appears in over 60 Alabama newspapers. He served 16 years in the state Legislature. Steve may be reached at www.steveflowers.us.
Whoops! Jim Zeigler’s State of the State rebuttal up against Super Bowl
State Auditor Jim Zeigler owned up Friday morning to what he called a “super-blooper”: Zeigler unwittingly scheduled a statewide broadcast of his conservative rebuke of Gov. Robert Bentley to air at the same time as Super Bowl 50 this Sunday evening. “How many viewers would watch Zeigler vs. Bentley instead of Peyton Manning vs. Cam Newton? Not many,” said Zeigler. Zeigler issued a statement owning up to the mishap and saying he will now try his best to “turn lemons into lemonade” by posting video and text of the speech available on the Web, where it can be accessed at any time, even during the big game. Alabama Today published the full text of the speech after Zeigler delivered it Tuesday. Video of Zeigler’s address can be found here. The speech will also air on 7 p.m. this Sunday, which will be about the same time as halftime of the Super Bowl matchup between the NFC’s Carolina Panthers and AFC’s Denver Broncos. Zeigler said he gave the address — an unusual move, as rebuttals are typically reserved for the party opposite the sitting governor — at the behest of two conservative advocacy groups, the Alabama Tea Party Conservative Coalition and the Common Sense Campaign. In the speech, Zeigler hammers at the priorities of Bentley, who the state auditor has blasted over state parks closures, the removal of official the portraits of Govs. George Wallace and Lurleen Wallace and other issues.
Jim Zeigler lays out his objections in State of the State rebuttal
The following was delivered in full by State Auditor Jim Zeigler in response to Gov. Robert Bentley’s 2016 State of the State address. See our coverage of the speech here. The State of the State is a mess. This could not have been made more clear as Governor Bentley once again betrayed Alabama taxpayers with plans for bigger government and increased spending as a solution to our problems. This embrace of Democrat principles comes in the wake of a tumultuous 2015 in which Gov. Bentley disappointed Alabamians with flip-flopping and repeated betrayal of our values and his campaign promises. This stew needs to be stirred. As the Governor said: “The urgency, the challenge is now.” The legislature has received budget requests that are out of balance. They are about $225 million in the hole on day one. The Governor decided not to present any plans for solving that shortfall. The good news is that he did not propose any tax increases. The bad news is that he did not present any plans for saving money in state government by eliminating: Waste, mismanagement, duplication, and low-priority spending. And he did not present any plans for promoting: New efficiencies, cost-savings, and better ways to get things done for less money. We have an admission by the Governor that there is a huge imbalance in budget requests over revenues. We have the Governor’s decision not to do anything about it. What we saw was a complete abandonment of budgetary duties by the Governor. He has abdicated his leadership. One of the problems in the Bentley administration is that the Governor and his advisers believe a budget shortfall can be solved only in two ways – by raising taxes on the citizens of Alabama or by cutting services to the citizens. As a result of this misconception, we saw six state parks closed by the Bentley administration. We saw a bungling attempt to close drivers’ license offices in 31 counties. And we saw the State Auditor’s office cut by about 25%, much more than any other agency was cut. I suggest a third alternative – not raising taxes on the public and not cutting services to the public – but a better option I call THINKING OUTSIDE THE TAX. THINKING OUTSIDE THE TAX is delivering needed state services at a lower cost. A substantially lower cost. This cannot be done with the same old approaches that got us into this deficit situation. It will take entirely new approaches. Thinking outside the tax. One example is the state Medicaid budget. It is one of the largest and fastest-growing parts of Alabama’s general fund budget. With the growth of our elderly population, the Medicaid budget by itself has the potential to bankrupt state government. Unless we think outside the tax. I have an option for consideration of the legislature and the Medicaid agency. I call it the LIVE AT HOME PLAN. Right now, it costs the Medicaid agency around $6,000 a month to pay for a Medicaid patient in a nursing home. And for the rest of the seniors’ life no matter how long they live. Granny would prefer not to go to the nursing home. She and her family would rather she live and die in the comfort of her own home. Unfortunately, Alabama Medicaid pays for only a small number of patients on home care. The irony is that home care can cost Medicaid less than half of what the nursing home costs. Around $3,000 a month or less, rather than $6,000. A few baby steps have already been taken toward Medicaid home care. This has been enough to show that home care works. It is cheaper – half price or less. And the seniors and family are happier with Granny living at home. What we are suggesting is not an unrealistic, novel program but an aggressive stepping up of Medicaid home care that has already been proven to work. Nursing homes and their important lobby should not be opposed to the Live at Home Plan for two reasons. One, many nursing homes are at capacity and have waiting lists. As the number of seniors increases, the waiting lists will become longer. The Live at Home Plan can help solve this problem of growing waiting lists. Second, a small but growing number of nursing homes are diversifying and adding home care services in addition to the residential nursing care, a logical extension. The legislature should look at an automatic or expedited certificate of need approval for nursing homes wanting to add Medicaid home care. This provision could help win support of the important nursing home lobby. The Live at Home Plan would save Alabama Medicaid tens of millions of dollars a year, starting immediately. THINKING OUTSIDE THE TAX. A second large and growing area of expense is state prisons. The Governor proposed a bond issue for prisons, which would of course have to be repaid by obligating Alabama taxpayers over 20 years. Studies have concentrated primarily on how to solve the prison crowding problem in order to avoid a potential federal court takeover. What the studies largely did not do was THINKING OUTSIDE THE TAX. Alabama taxpayers provide more money each year for a prisoner than for a school student. And more money for a convict that for active-duty military. Alabama taxpayers do not want to pay more for inmates than for students and military. We badly need a return to old, time-honored approaches to corrections. Approaches that cost far less than providing the present prison facilities. THINKING OUTSIDE THE TAX. We will ask the legislature to consider a far cheaper way to safely reduce our prison population than simply building more facilities at taxpayer expense. So-called experts have had years to come with solutions to Alabama’s prison crowding problem. They have not done so, at a risk of federal court intervention. When those failed experts hear of this novel approach, which is actually an adaptation of an old-fashioned, time-honored approach, they will scoff and make fun. Don’t listen to these business-as-usual failures. Consider the common sense approach I have named “VOLUNTARY RELOCATION.” Here is how it could work, with emphasis on WORK: Qualifying inmates who have served a certain amount of time would be allowed to VOLUNTEER for voluntary relocation. As a condition of early release, they would agree to go at least
49 years after Lurleen Wallace admin, Jim Zeigler again decries Capitol portrait removal
This month marks the 50th anniversary of the inauguration of Alabama’s first and only female governor, Gov. Lurleen Wallace, the wife of her predecessor and notorious fellow Gov. George Wallace. State Auditor Jim Zeigler continued his criticisms of the administration of Gov. Robert Bentley, who removed both Wallaces’ portraits from the Capitol rotunda in Montgomery in a move the auditor calls a move to re-write Alabama’s history. “One year ago, the Bentley administration removed her portrait from the capitol rotunda, where it historically and legally was supposed to remain,” said Zeigler. “One of my regrets in my one year as state auditor is that they declined my two requests — and requests by many citizens — to restore her portrait to its lawful place.” The portrait issue is one of many where Zeigler and the governor have had disagreements, including taxes, state parks, and other more personal conflicts. Last month Zeigler accused Bentley of basing his decision to revamp the abandoned gubernatorial residence in Gulf Shores on his personal desire for a new place to stay on the Gulf coast after Bentley lost his own house there in a public divorce with his longtime wife Dianne Bentley. “It will likely take a new governor in 2018 to right this wrong and stop this historical revision,” remarked Zeigler, who also took Bentley to task for removing items bearing the Confederate flag from the Capitol gift shop. “Sadly, Gov. Lurleen Wallace’s 50th anniversary will pass next year with Bentley still as governor and the Lurleen portrait still banished from the rotunda.” Zeigler’s interest in the portrait issue aroused the attention of left-leaning anti-racism group Southern Poverty Law Center after he addressed in a speech to the neo-Confederate League of the South. “It’s quite unfortunate that a public official would lend legitimacy to a hate group by appearing at one of its functions. And believe me, the League of the South is about hate, not heritage,” Southern Poverty Law Center President Richard Cohen said. Zeigler contested that criticism, saying the SPLC doesn’t know a hate group when they see it. “They were interested in my fight to return the portraits of Governors George and Lurleen Wallace to their legal and historical place in the capital building, and that is a legitimate issue that has nothing to do with hate,” Zeigler recently told reporters. The administration of Lurleen Wallace was largely seen as an extension of her termed-out husband, who served as her “one dollar a year adviser,” strongly influencing her actions as head of the state’s executive branch.
State Auditor Jim Zeigler: On foreign policy, President Obama is no FDR
Alabama State Auditor Jim Zeigler, never shy with his thoughts on politics, took the occasion of President Barack Obama‘s speech Sunday night to compare the address to President Franklin Roosevelt gave on the eve of the Second World War. The result? No comparison, as Obama’s rhetoric falls far short, said Zeigler. “On this Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, President Obama’s oval office speech cries out for comparison with the Presidential speech given Dec. 8 of 1941,” said Zeigler. “Obama announced no new military strategy, gave no clear plan for protecting America, and continued to blame Americans. Contrast the Franklin Roosevelt speech a day after the Pearl Harbor attack.” Zeigler says the world stage today is not unlike that of 74 years ago, when Nazi Germany’s incursions into eastern Europe were continuing unabated and fascist leaders in Italy and Japan were pressing their neighbors and threatening the global status quo. Zeigler quoted from FDR’s historic speech from the day after Pearl Harbor, when the President addressed Americans and an embattled world which had passed the point of no return. “Yesterday, December 7, 1941—a date which will live in infamy—the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan,” said Roosevelt, in a turn of phrase inscribed in world history. “The United States was at peace with that nation, and, at the solicitation of Japan, was still in conversation with its government and its emperor looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific,” Zeigler quoted Roosevelt. “Indeed, one hour after Japanese air squadrons had commenced bombing in the American island of Oahu, the Japanese ambassador to the United States and his colleague delivered to our secretary of state a formal reply to a recent American message. While this reply stated that it seemed useless to continue the existing diplomatic negotiations, it contained no threat or hint of war or armed attack,” said Roosevelt, in line of rhetoric led to a trope of perceived “sneaky” Japanese behavior that persisted long afterward, culminating in internment for thousands of immigrants from the island nation. Zeigler provided a link to the full speech, which can be found here. The statement Monday was far from the first time Zeigler had criticized Obama and his administration. Zeigler recently wrote an op-ed in support of Donald Trump‘s 2016 White House candidacy, calling him the “un-Obama” along the way to critiquing the administration’s “dumb” Iran deal and saying the government is best run by “a business tycoon, not a community organizer,” a dig at Obama’s past as an activist. Zeigler, who holds a unique ombudsman-like office elected statewide, had mostly stuck to state politics of late, however. The auditor has decried the removal of former Govs. George and Lurleen Wallace‘s official portraits from the Capitol rotunda, the state’s closure of half a dozen state parks amid budget cuts, as well as in favor of reimbursement a state scholarship plan fund and other sundry state issues.
