Alabama Politics in
Doc’s Political Parlor
& Home of Lawn Mower Repair

NOTE: Sen. Hank Sanders has written a weekly column for papers in his legislative district for the past twenty years. These rural, weekly papers lack a web presence, and links to the columns are not typically otherwise available. The column below is provided by Sen. Sanders’ office for inclusion in the Daily News Digest.

Senate Sketches # 1091

By

Senator Hank Sanders

***************************

            “Senator, I can’t believe you have become a Republican!”  “Senator, are you going to be McCain’s Vice President?”  “Senator, we saw you on national TV with McCain.”  Each of these comments, and many similar ones, was accompanied by hearty laughter.

            I have never been teased so much in my life.  In fact, I have been teased more in the last week about my appearance with Presidential Candidate Senator John McCain in Selma than in the previous 25 years put together.  The laughter has come from all over the country.  Because I’m laughing, they laugh with me, not at me. 

            I understand the laughter.  The contrasts are just too great:  He is White and I am Black; he’s strongly Republican and I’m strongly Democratic; he’s not going to change  from who he is and I am not going to change from who I am.

            He is running for President.  I am an Obama Delegate.  Yet, I am standing behind him on a platform on national television. 

            It started with a phone call from Margaret Bentley, Co-Chair of the Black Belt Action Commission (BBAC, also known as the Action Commission).  She informed me that Senator McCain would be in Selma and wanted to meet with leaders of the Action Commission.  I strongly believe in the Commission so I was very willing to meet.  Besides, it is good to have a potential president interested in an initiative one is helping lead.

            Margaret and I met Senator McCain in 2006 at the Black Belt Action Commission Second Annual Celebration in Demopolis.  He had come with Governor Bob Riley and was very interested in the concept.  He remained impressed and even named this trip the “ McCain Action Tour.”  The bus was “ The Action Express.”  

            I arrived at the St. James Hotel and talked with Thomasville Mayor Sheldon Day, Wilcox Circuit Clerk Ralph Ervin, John Clyde Riggs of the Alabama Tombigbee Regional Commission, and others.  At Senator McCain’s invitation, the Mayor of Selma and I went to his hotel room.  Mayor Perkins strongly advanced his agenda, using virtually all the time.  I did not get a chance to discuss the Black Belt Action Commission before an aide notified Senator McCain that it was time for his speaking engagement.

            We came downstairs and gathered for a couple of minutes to go out to the platform with Senator McCain.  As we started walking, he looked around and asked, “Where is the Mayor?”  Someone said, “He went out the side door.”  We walked on.

            When I got to the platform where Senator McCain was to speak, a security person directed me away from the platform.    I did not mind at all.  Then Senator McCain came over and motioned for me to join him and Governor Bob Riley at the podium.  I hesitated.

            I hesitated because I have two bad knees and standing any length of time increases the pain geometrically.  I knew it would be a very painful moment for me.  I also hesitated because I knew that my standing with Senator McCain would be interpreted by some as supporting him for president.  Still, I went and stood behind him as he spoke. 

            The platform was situated so that the world famous Edmund Pettus Bridge was the back drop for the podium.  Senator McCain took that painful history of brutal beatings and lifted it so we could see farther and reach higher.  He said those who had struggled for the right to vote were “Patriots.”  I was proud of how he framed that special struggle, especially since he had been one of 22 Senate votes against the holiday for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the leader of that struggle.

            I knew that the McCain Presidential Campaign had their reasons for creating this moment.  I also had my reasons for meeting and participating.  I strongly believe that we must communicate across differences of race, gender, age, class, ideologies, political parties, etc.  I believe that we can agree on 90 percent of issues when we truly communicate.  However, we usually allow the 10 percent we cannot agree upon to stop us from talking about the 90 percent on which we can agree.

            Not all reactions were in the form of teasing.  Some were very serious in charging that I was “being used.”  Some were very serious in saying that I should have followed Mayor Perkins’ exit strategy.  Others were very serious in thanking me for going and standing with one who may become President of the United States.  Some said it was the “right thing to do.”  A number said, “When a special guest comes to your area, you don’t shun him.” 

            I do hope Senator McCain uses the Black Belt Action Commission as a national model whether or not he becomes president.  I hope to continue communicating with him as all of us “patriots” keep working to make America an even better country. 

            I am glad Senator McCain came.  I am glad I came.  I am glad I stood.

            Now on to the Daily Diary.

            Saturday – I began the day over a pancake breakfast with Faya Rose and made remarks at the Awards Ceremony for the Bridge Crossing Jubilee/ Kappa Alpha Psi Golf Tournament.  I talked to the following:  Senator Bobby Denton; Dr. Paul Hubbert of the Alabama Education Association (AEA); Senator Quinton Ross; Sharon Wheeler of the Senate President Pro Tem’s Office; Dr. Leroy Maxwell of Selma; and Aubrey Larkin of Selma.  I worked on many matters including Sketches.

            Sunday – I did Radio Sunday School with Dr. Margaret Hardy, Radio Education with Perry County School Superintendent John Heard, and Sunday Review.  I taught Sunday School and attended church.  I talked with John Zippert and Dr. Carol P. Zippert of the Greene County Democrat newspaper and worked into the night on budgets, bingo, and other issues.

            Monday – I attended a Selma event for Republican Presidential Candidate Senator John McCain.  I talked with various leaders including the following:  Senator John McCain; Wilcox Circuit Clerk Ralph Ervin; Thomasville Mayor Sheldon Day(also Co-Chair of BBAC); John Clyde Riggs of the Alabama Tombigbee Regional Planning Commission; Charles Sanders of West Blocton; Professor and author Glenn Browder; Governor Bob Riley; Lieutenant Governor Jim Folsom, Jr.; Lester Brown of Greene County; Senator Vivian Davis Figures; Senator Zeb Little; Buddy Sharpless of the Association of County Commissioners of Alabama; and Senator Roger Bedford.  I also did interviews following Senator McCain’s visit with the following:  ABC; CNN; Fox; NBC.  I participated in two conference calls, traveled to Greene County and returned to Selma.  I made remarks at Selma University Founders’ Day Banquet, participated in an education reform meeting and worked into the night.

            Tuesday – I handled several matters before traveling to Montgomery for a series of meetings and a Senate Session.  The day was consumed by budgets and bingo.  I talked to the following:  Perry County Superintendent John Heard; Dr. Joe Morton; Joyce Bigbee, Norris Green, and Frank Gitsner of the Legislative Fiscal Office (LFO); Senator Quinton Ross; Senator Bobby Singleton; Senator Vivian Davis Figures; Lobbyist Don Gilbert; Ginger Avery Buckner of the Alabama Association for Justice; Senator Roger Bedford; and Ralph Paige and Jackie Ward of the Federation of Southern Cooperatives in Atlanta.  I attended a birthday event for Senator Lowell Barron before returning to Selma.

            Wednesday – I was back in Montgomery early for the 8:30 a.m. meeting of the Senate Education Committee and the 9:30 a.m. meeting of the Finance and Taxation Education Committee (F&TE).  I met on budgets and bingo time after time.  I talked with the following:  Senate President Pro Tem Hinton Mitchem; Deputy  Senate President Pro Tem  Wendell Mitchell; Senator Ted Little; Consultant Rick Heartsill of Birmingham; White Hall Mayor Johnny Jackson; and Lobbyist and Attorney Sabra Barnett.  I attended a special dinner in honor of Kirk Wheeler and Carolyn Wheeler, parents of Sharon Wheeler, and returned to Selma.

            Thursday – I returned to Montgomery for a Senate Session, a Senate Caucus meeting, several meetings on bingo and various meetings on the budget.  I talked with the following:  Dr, Roberta Watts of Gadsden; Eileen Jones of WSFA Channel 12 News; Dr. David Hodo of Selma; Budget Director Bill Newton ; Richard Allen of the Department of Corrections; and Dr. John Johnson of Alabama Southern Community College.  I strongly urged my Democratic Colleagues to end the bingo stalemate.

            Friday – I met Dr. James Mitchell for a 7:00 a.m. breakfast where we discussed community issues.  I began writing Sketches and talked with the following: LeBarron Mack of AEA; Joyce Bigbee of LFO; Sharmonica Austin of Uniontown; Sherreet Spicer of Selma; Former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman; J. L. Chestnut, Jr. of Selma; Ola Morrow of Maplesville; Willie Thomas and Percy Thomas of Montgomery; and George Paris of Tuskegee.  I went to Lowndes County for a birthday celebration for Bob Mants, a long time Civil Rights and community leader.  I returned to Selma.

            EPILOGUE – My mother used to say, “Son, don’t go with someone in the dark that you are afraid to be seen with in the light.”  I believe that communication is so important.  We need to be willing to meet, to be seen and to stand in order to effectively communicate. 

Share This