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State Sen. Harri Anne Smith (R – Slocomb) this morning endorsed Democrat Bobby Bright over Republican Jay Love in the race for the 2nd Congressional District seat. Love defeated Smith in a hard fought race for the Republican nomination.
Smith’s endorsement of Bright has been rumored for weeks. Those close to Smith say that hard feelings lingered over the tone of the Republican primary race. Still, many doubted that she would actually commit to endorsing Bright, however tempted she may be. The endorsement will raise many questions over her political future with the Republican Party. Many observers believed Smith, a one time candidate for governor, was politically weakened after her showing in the primary and that she could expect a primary challenge in any re-election bid for her state Senate seat.
Partisans love to see politicians cross the aisle in their direction (e.g., see Democratic Senator Joe Lieberman at the GOP Convention), and this will juice the Bright crowd even more than the endorsement of Republican Dothan Mayor Pat Thomas. The question is, how many voters will she bring with her? In a race as close as observers are expecting this one to be, it may not take many.
Update: The Dothan Eagle has the story here.
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Not looking good for Love at all. It looks like Bright will get at least 45% of the Republican vote.
Good Lord. What are you smoking post 1?
This will not move many votes. Harri Anne Smith lost a lot of respect in her Senate district during the primary. Because of that, there are 3 businessmen from Dothan lined up to run for her seat. She is done in politics and she knows it. I doubt she has the courage or desire to run for re election. Nothing like going out with a whimper Harri.
Someone who claims to be quoting from her on Wiregrass Live said that she “privately” told this person at the Windhom support meeting in Dothan recently that he should vote for Bright because in 2 years a new Democrat would be easier to defeat than a new Republican. If this is true, she’s once again looking after herself, and this is all political for herself.
Smith called half of Montgomery and said that Bright promised her $150,000 and that unless Love did the same, she would endorse Bright.
I agree with #3, even if Harri Ann grew the balls to run again, she would lose her seat. This endorsement will change very few minds. It will however have significant effects on the 2009 legislative session.
I can’t imagine anyone who could possibly change their minds in this election. We’re facing a Democratic president and a Democratic congress. I believe Bobby Bright is a good man, but he will never be able to do anything but “follow” if he goes to Washington. We have got to get more Republicans in Congress if we have any shot at knocking down some of Obama’s tax and spend if THE ONE gets elected. HAS has been a Democrat her whole life. So, no surprises about this. Bright should have run as a Republican and wiped out all of them in the primary. HAS’S pre-election baggage will never be forgotten in the Wiregrass. Yes, she lost respect.
GOOD NIGHT NOW!
Well, I think it is big from shock value. Media will pick up on this and there will be a lot of “Is Love in trouble?” stories.
Beyond that, IF Smith does an ad for Love and calls him a liar, you BET that will be huge. People react strongly to candidates who are accused of lying and especially lying about a woman.
Good night to HarriAnne Smith. Not only will she never run again as a Republican, she will have to answer questions about selling her endorsement
#6, if Harri Anne figures out how to grow balls Jay Love will pay off her campaign debt for the info.
GREAT FOR HARRI ANNE! SHE IS DOING WHAT IS RIGHT! THIS WAS THE SHIFT THAT BRIGHT NEEDED TO PUT IT OVER THE TOP! GREAT FOR HARRI ANNE AND BRIGHT!!
ALABAMA REPUBLICANS STILL FOR BRIGHT IN 2008!!
#5, Tell us more. Can money given from Bright to her be traced? Now, that’s a story and should wake up those of you who have retired (yawn) for the day. I heard she was “pouty” because she had to spend some of her own money in the campaign.
Harri Anne Smith’s political career is essentially over. She will never be elected to elected office ever again in this state for anything!
That is huge. Kind of a shocker. The equivalent of Hillary Clinton endorsing John McCain in the general election. This is just what Bright needed when his campaign seemed to be losing a little momentum.
Let me ask a question here: have ANY of Love’s opponents from the GOP primary endorsed HIM? Woods, Grimes, Schmidtke? We all know about Harri Anne . . .
I think they all dislike him.
Smith really has no credibility. She lost, she begged for money and she told the world that Bright and the Dems promised her $150,000. She is done.
Yeah. Credibility. That’s Jay Love’s strong suit.
It is preposterous to suggest this will hurt Harri Anne in a primary. Her supporters (the “three businessmen from Dothan”) are just as pissed at Love’s campaign about the primary tactics as she is.
Stupid move on Love’s part, letting it get to this point. Harri Anne won’t be the first supporter Love has lost due to an inflated ego.
Danny, I was struck after the runoff how the Love people seemed to insist on continuing to attack Smith even with her out of the way. I thought it was insane then and the chickens have come home to roost now.
Does Smith have a political future? I do not know. But the pertinent question NOW may be: Does JAY LOVE have a future if he loses this election?
watch this video….lol
http://www.dothaneagle.com/dea/news/loc … ght/41926/
The three “pissed” Dothan businessman are not “pissed.” They knew she was the wrong pick immediately after the campaign got started when she was gonna make those oil shieks pay us back !! She went negative first (new campaign team), and Jay Love asked her on a local tv show if she’d stop. She just shook her head in a confused manner and laughed her “Miss Piggy” laugh. She is toast, and she has once again proven how smart she isn’t. Bobby Bright lost my respect completely today if he has given her money. I was undecided, but now I’m in the Love camp.
I would say “nice try” #22 but I can’t even do that with a straight face.
I’m in Dothan and it is very obvious that many of you are not. Senator Smith lost tremendous respect during the primary and I doubt she was planning to run for Senate again as she knows a primary fight would be tough against several well known and well financed (wealthy) individuals that have said they are likely in. It is also true that she and others have suggested voting for Bright so they can run a Republican from the Wiregrass against him next time. They are not pro bright, they are pro wiregrass and know that if Love wins he would be hard to challenge. Yet after two years of a possible President Obama, a Democrat like Bright as the member could be taken down. Not sure about that logic but that is what they are saying. Finally, it is true that word is rampant that Bright promised her 150,000 toward her debt and Jay would not give her that. And so it goes…
Word WILL be rampant that Bright paid off her debt because the classy people of the Jay Love campaign will start the rumor mill up immediately with untruths made up from the whole cloth. That’s the way Jay Low rolls . . . .
Jay Low. What a perfect new nickname.
HAS is simply trying to get the line up in order for the next election. Funny, she’s supporting the same person now that she would have run against had she won the primary. I was hopeful she would have won the primary so Bright could have mopped the floor with her. Bad move for Smith and Bright.
That video is hysterical. Bright is standing there with the look of “and I promised $150,000 for this???!!! Oh SH**”
Typical Harri Anne.
The problem with Love supporters like #22 is how hateful they are when things don’t go their way. Sort of like Obama supporters.
“Miss Piggy Laugh”? You guys deserve to get crushed.
You know the difference in J-Lo and Jay Low? J-Lo has a big arse. Jay Low IS a Big Arse.
#28 Comparing #22 to Obama supporters is pretty accurate, I’d say, now that HAS has become a Democratic supporter herself.
Flipflopping is not new for her. She pulled one before the primaries with Country Crossing and took the vote away from the people. Think this costs her the election. Her endorsement won’t change things.
It is amazing to watch the Love campaign get “punched in the gut” and try to counter with lies.
Someone show some proof of the 150,000 or please just try to win with honest politics. Have some respect for yourselves.
I wonder what Chris Brown and Scott Beason think now about HarriAnne?
I know that Jay Love wanted the HAS endorsement but he couldn’t get it. HAS does not need his money.(ie $150,000) She has all the money she will ever need. Just another vicious attack. I agree with the earlier post about why no Republicans that ran in the primary have endorsed Jay Love. Why? Why? Why? Are there no endorsements??? Are they party failures too?? Maybe they are as sick as most of us about the current hypocrisy going on in the Alabama GOP leadership. David Grimes openly stated that “Bright is the man”. Why can’t Mike Hubbard get his own house in order???
All Hubbbard can say is bad bad AEA, and bad bad Nancy Pelosi, now that is a real message. Maybe that is why they are going to take an ass whipping in 2008. Maybe because he has done such a poor job at the helm. Look at the potential losses for the R’s. Hubbard blamed the Demo sweep for his failure in picking up House seats in the last election. I guess he will blame the Obama sweep for this election although Obama will lose Alabama big time. I am voting for McCain/Sessions/Bright.
Ther is NO truth to the rumor that Bobby Bright will pay off Harri Anne’s debt. But I bet Nancy P. will be coming through strong with the $$$.
Well now we may be able to get a real republican in her senate seat. One would have to assume she won’t be running again (certianly not as a Republican.)
Beason better get busy building bridges. I know he’s a good republican, but this does not look good for him.
Hang tough Jay!!!
Bright has gone back to his farming days.
Give the man his due… That’s how you “milk a cow”!
“Doesn’t look good for Beason?????”
Beason looks just fine on this. But for Little Mike Hubbard and this train wreck going into November it looks very very bad.
What, Hubbard is now responsible for keeping the RINOs in line. Give me a break. Let me guess #36 Hubbard and Love should have paid HAS’s ransome…
NO WAY!
Errr . . .Jay Love IS a RINO. So Hubbard is pretty good with them.
Remember, Jay was elected by the state employees union, knocking off REAL Republican Bob McKee. So Jay Low is exhibit “A” at the RINO Museum.
Jay lied all through THAT race too, BTW.
Since there are no huge philosophical differences between HAS and Love, this smacks of ego.
Not really sure what HAS is to gain from this unless it is to lick her wounds from the primary, or, as another poster suggested, allow herself positioning for the 2010 campaign, which would not make much sense since she has just ostracized herself from the GOP.
HAS will NOT be re-elected in the wiregrass and has effectively lost any shot she had of running for any office in the district.
She does need the money and has asked several sources for money to repay her debt. This is what happens when she doesn’t get her way.
I love seeing Republicans in a circular firing squad for a change. I really really enjoyed reading the above comments.
#38 give me a break. Love has taken on AEA time after time. Yes, Bob Mckee was a good man but Jay has done a good job himself. He’s no RINO. HAS has now shown her true colors. Whatever the dems paid her I hope it was worth it… Her name, her word and her reputation have been sold out.
My prediction… in four years Love is still in Congress and no one remembers who Ms. Smith is…
Pecan Jim, as a conservative, a true conservative, I would sadly have to agree with you. This is not solidarity on the part of HAS but ego. What a shame.
Paul, whatever he is now in 2002 Jay Love was a RINO. He was backed by the Democrat unions (AEA and ASEA) and the state employees union actually managed his campaign- he ran his campaign from their headquarters. MATRIX and Joe Perkins ran the campaign – that is an overwhelmingly Democrat outfit.
Look at the FCPA reports. It is all there.
And right there is Jay’s biggest problem – he will look right at the truth in cold hard documents and deny it.
One of Jay’s problems is a refusal to deal in truth. He COULD say I want to create a real conservative record.” Sadly, he doesn’t do that. He refuses to acknowledge reality and instead creates a myth about his past. He would do better to be truthful.
His lack of honesty – about everything from “tax cuts” he provably did NOT pass to refusing to admit the real source of his support against McKee – is his biggest weakness. People don’t think he is honest. And that is because he won’t deal in reality, even at this late stage of the race.
#34 Help me to figure what a “real Repbulican” is. Does that mean someone who can not or will not think for themselves, or represent their district that elected them, or is it just someone who will not kiss Riley’s or Hubbard’s rear end and ask them how they should vote. I know many good conservative Repbulican’s, who on occasion will split their ticket, and I appreciate the fact they can think for themselves. I do not need anyone at the GOP state level or you for that matter, to do my thinking for me. I read, I study, I vote, and it’s not always the way some of you right wing idiots think I ought to but I am a Republican and I damn sure don’t need you or anyone else defining or grading me as to “how good of a Republican I am.
It’s my understanding that Smith DOES need the money. She sold herself out today, whether by financial compensation or character. To #40–Yes, this is exactly how she acts when she doesn’t get her way. She’s a politician to the bone, and she is trying to manipulate the next election. She’s already told too many people to vote for Bright because she thinks he can be beat on the next run.
You don’t sound GOP at all #45. Just someone trying to stir the pot. There are no philosophical differences that are large enough for HAS to jump ship to have endorsed Bright. None. If you follow this blog long enough, you’d see that Pecan Jim is a frequent left-leaning contributor. As a conservative, I am merely saying that I never thought I’d agree with him. HAS’s endorsement has no basis in anything other than sour grapes. She has said so herself. Please read the blog enough to follow the reasoning.
Harri has been shopping around for folks to pay off some of her debt. It is well known. And let’s be frank, she is too dumb to know that is was not a good idea to be so public about it. But even dumber for Bright to bite. Dumb and Dumber indeed!!!
From the AP story:
“That just confirms that I made the right decision. That is absolutely not true,” Smith said when told of the allegations.
Bright said he did not make any promises to Smith.
“Absolutely not. To make these allegations, they are desperate. It’s time for people to realize that party labels are not important to Americans,” Bright said.
****************************************************
Whe it comes to credibility, no one has less than Jay Low.
I openly supported Harri Anne Smith in the runoff against Jay Love. However, her moves today have severely disappointed me.
Senator Smith should think first of her country. As a conservative, does Senator Smith really believe that helping Nancy Pelosi win a majority of the House is a move good for this country? Senator Smith campaigned as a pro-life conservative. Does she believe that a Democratic controlled House will pass any pro-life legislation?
Bobby Bright is a nice fellow, but his passing himself off as conservative should not be taken seriously. Remember his appointment of an attorney from Southern Poverty Law Center as a City Judge. True conservatives should vote JAY LOVE in this general election.