Sen. Marc Keahey, Sen. Cam Ward, Rep. Joe Hubbard, and Rep. John Merrill will be blogging here during the 2011 Legislative Session.

A Look from the Rearview Mirror

This Thursday will mark the last day of the legislative Session.  For some, it was a Session that seemed would never end.  For others, it was one that ended much too quickly.  It may be early, yet, to write an obit on this Session, but as we approach the finish line, some perspective may be in order.

[...]

So, what did we get now that the Legislature has left town?

The Legislature has adjourned sine die this AM and sent its passed bills to the Governor which means no executive amendments.

We do have a ban on PAC to PAC transfers, clarification of what donations are for and how they are used (HB9), a ban on pass thru pork (HB 10), [...]

“DO OVER” THERMOMETER RATINGS

This URL IS INTENDED ONLY FOR THOSE WHO FILLED OUT THE EARLY MORNING VERSION OF THE POLL.  It  contains only the “thermometer ratings.  So, if you want to “do that part again,” you are welcomed to go ahead.

Here the THERMOMETER URL:

 http://www.surveymethods.com/EndUser.aspx?EECAA6BCEFABBFB8EB

Thanks for your patience,

Natalie

Most Interesting Newcomer Among Primary Winners – Revisited

I used this question in our Top 10 Most Interesting Questions to Be Answered by the Primary Elections to take note of some interesting primary challengers:

#8. Who will be the most noteworthy newcomer among primary winners?

Of course, anyone’s answers are highly subjective, and our answer might be different [...]

Mark Montiel: Primary Contender or Pretender? – Revisited

Next on the list of our Top 10 Most Interesting Questions to Be Answered by the Primary Elections that we want to re-visit:

#7. Is Republican Attorney General candidate Mark Montiel a contender or a pretender?

There was an additional chapter to this story written about the time the [...]

How Did ALFA Do in the Primaries? – Revisited

I am really interested in looking at this one of our Top 10 Most Interesting Questions to Be Answered by the Primary Elections.

#6. How did the ALFA slate do?

A lot of the good stuff was in the original post that was posted before the election. As I [...]

Nancy Worley – Revisited

Still reviewing our Top Ten Primary Questions:

#5. Has Secretary of State Nancy Worley made herself vulnerable in the Democratic primary?

Clearly not.

She received more votes Tuesday than any other candidate in any primary race in either party. Her 315,000 votes bettered Gov. Riley’s total by almost 9,000 [...]

Two Alabama Power Primary Races – Revisited

Reviewing our Top Ten Primary Questions:

#3. Is Alabama Power ‘the big winner?’

and

#4. Will money trump name-recognition in the Republican Lt. Governor’s race?

Alabama Power is the “800 lb. gorilla in Alabama politics,” according to one source. “Far more powerful than ALFA” who itself [...]

Democrats’ AG Surprise

Red State Diaries takes a good look at one of the bigger surprises in Tuesday’s primary election – how a racist, Holocaust denier could win 43.5% of the vote in the race for the Democratic nomination for Attorney General.

Money Talks. And Elects, Too.

Money and politics.  Money and politics.  The connection is getting stronger and stronger, and it is shutting the middle class, working class, and poor out of the process. Between the Links points out that in virtually every major state primary race, the person who spent more money on his/her campaign won.

More on Senate Power Positions

G, our Daily News Digest compiler, sent email and has given me permission to reprint it here:

As always, I love your views on the power position of the Senate, but just wanted to add a couple of things…

 

I think Barron really may be in the driver’s seat on this. [...]

Who Will Control Senate? – Revisited

Well, we went to all the trouble of asking the questions. I suppose we should look at some of the answers to our Most Interesting Questions to Be Answered by the Primaries.

#1. Who will control the Senate?

President Pro tem Lowell Barron and Rules Committee Chairman Jim Preuitt have been [...]

Riley Reaches Out

Monday I wrote here:

Governor Riley and plenty of his allies would love to see a Republican President Pro Tem in the Senate. That is not going to happen, and conservative Democrat Jim Preuitt would be the next best thing.

How bad does Republican Governor Riley want Democrat Jim Preuitt? Ba-a-a-ad. Bad [...]

Election Night Watch

Well, you don’t need me to tell you what we are seeing. Nonetheless, here are some observations.

Governor’s races have no big surprises.

GOP Lt. Governor’s race looks likely headed to a Strange-Wallace runoff.

The Attorney General race surprise I guess is that Darby is as close as he is at this point (within [...]

Middling Voter Turnout

Voter turnout “varied from light to above normal Tuesday, often depending on whether a county had lots of hot local races,” according to one middle of the day report.

Another one says, “Some polling places are reporting a light turnout, while others have been busier.”

Those stories aren’t showing any obvious trends, [...]

Legislative Dispatch

A Look from the Rearview Mirror

This Thursday will mark the last day of the legislative Session.  For some, it was a Session that seemed would never end.  For others, it was one that ended much too quickly.  It may be early, yet, to write an obit on this Session, but as we approach the finish line, some perspective may be in order.

[...]

Putting Students First

As you know, a very important piece of legislation will be presented for our consideration in the House tomorrow in Montgomery – Senate Bill 310 – the “Students First” tenure and fair dismissal reform bill. Like me, many House members have been inundated with phone calls and emails from opponents of this bill, and some have been [...]

Legislative Transparency

There are a lot of issues to debate before we begin the final days of this session. In fact, I am quite certain there will be some comments on this post debating many of them. Before we get into the last seven day of the session I wanted to bring up a topic that [...]


See more Recent Small Town News