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A member of the ALGOP Executive Committee passes this along:
You need to know the back story on last weekend’s ALGOP meeting. In fact Mike Hubbard and the ALGOP are trying to do everything they can to stay neutral in this run-off. [Robert] Bentley is making it very difficult. During the recount they had representatives in the ALGOP office at all times. They would burst into [ALGOP Executive Director] John Ross’s office screaming that he was trying to steal the election. I think you will agree that the state party did an excellent job of handling the recount and confirming that the June 1 vote count was, indeed, accurate. Bentley’s folks were paranoid and did everything they could to make life difficult for the ALGOP staff. I don’t think what happened Saturday night would have happened except for Bentley’s attack on [Gov. Bob] Riley and his family in his closing remarks on Friday night. The ALGOP staff will not discuss this publicly, nor will Hubbard. Riley was hot and I don’t really blame him for his remarks after what Bentley said on Friday.
Some party members raised questions about what would happen if Bentley won given the AEA meddling in the primary. The answer was support him in November. Bentley has done nothing to make it easy for the ALGOP leadership or staff to support him, but they have remained silent in the face of his abuse. In reality Hubbard and the ALGOP staff are doing a magnificent job of running this primary as evenhandedly as possible.
What was Bentley’s attack on Riley and his family that was referenced above? You can hear the end of Bentley’s closing remarks here:
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In it, Bentley says:
We are going to clean up Montgomery and it’s going to start in the Governor’s office. No longer are we going to have lobbyists in this state that will take kickbacks. We’re not going to have that. I will not benefit from my office. Not any of my children will benefit from my office. We are going to have an ethical administration.
The debate, question by question and including the entire closing, can be heard here.
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The Bentley campaign reports that a survey performed by Dresner, Wicker & Associates for the campaign shows Bentley with a 19 point lead, 46% – 27%, over Bradley Byrne in the runoff to be help July 13.
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Good anonymous people with fake names, please…consider the following:
A mere question that begs an answer:
A simple question:
Actually two questions.
Given Bradley’s well-publicized hatred for AEA and Paul Hubbert, if Tim James, or even Roy Moore, had edged out Robert Bentley, for second place, is it not possible that AEA would continue to bring the attacks on Bradley?
The other way to ask that: Regardless of the person’s identity, is it not good theory that Bradley would paint any opponent as beholden to AEA?
PS, “couldn’t care less.” If you “could care less,” then you still have not hit the bottom of how much you don’t care, or there is more care that you must expunge in order not to care at all.
Carolyn is right. Bentley’s statement was a direct shot at Riley and his family. Anyone who follows state politics has heard the allegations about Rob’s law firm receiving contracts from the state. Bentley knew exactly what he was doing. He was using a talking point from Democrats.
I should add that by using Democratic talking points, he is trying to draw Democratic voters to the Republican run-off.
Josey: good one. Same to you.
To answer your question – I don’t think that Bradley would have said Roy Moore was beholden to AEA since there is no evidence that he was/is. There was/is evidence to the contrary on James (Claire Austin/True Republican PAC) and Bentley. Bentley is not trying to hide his support from AEA – in fact – he has been honest about the fact that continues to take money from them, that he voted with them at least 66% of the time he was in the House and is using them as volunteers at campaign stops (otherwise he might ask them to take their nametags off).
The shocking partiality in the contested runoff cannot be good for the state GOP. This is the big problem here. Mike Hubbard is its author.
Byrne would be an excellent candidate to a lot of voters if a Byrne administration didn’t ensure a small gtoup of poltiburo members who will exert ownership over the state party, the governor’s office, and and state no bid contracts.
There needs to be some opprtunity for fresh blood around the state party. It’s a strong – compelling even – argument to defeat Byrne.
Bradley’s got a new ad coming out. He says “They spent two million trashing me . . .so I am gonna spend six million trashing Bentley!”
Anonymous,
Do you want the fresh blood to be a pawn of the Democratic party? That would be a strong – compelling even – argument to defeat Bentley.
Republicans are for term limits, and that would be good for the state executive committee actually.
It’s a strong deterrent to long-term corruption.
It’s silly to say if you make Twinkle move over that only a Democrat will be there to replace her.
To those who would say that the same people, decade after decade, should “own” the Alabama GOP:
That’s the same type of party organization as Mayor Daley’s Chicago Machine. Or the New South Coalition. Or The Communist Party.
Repub Establishment/Byrne’s “charitable” foundation routed more than $200,000 to political operative.
http://blog.al.com/school-journal/2010/07/byrnes_charitable_foundation_d.html
As I have said before, and as is the case with all of Bradley’s numerous flip-flops – just because AEA says it, doesn’t mean it ain’t true.
HOLY S&!T Wade! That is huge.
That could be criminal.
Wade the big thing about your post is that foundation was a CHARITABLE foundation which means everyone who contributed wrote off their donations . . .which means they will have to go back and pay tax on it . . .as will Byrne’s foundation.
That deal smells.
Don’t hold your breath waiting on Leura Canary to invetigate…
Byrne should check his website closely to make sure Cooper’s name didn’t “accidentally”, and without authority, get put on the list of the Double-Dippers for Byrne coalition.
At the very least, Byrne’s foundation is a tax cheat.
If this gets play, he’ll have trouble attacking anyone’s ethics.
Carolyn. Earlier this week I received an email titled “Who is Robert Bentley?” and signed by 12 people identifying themselves as members of various GOP organizations and the state GOP executive committee.
The first Bentley vote cited is HB 42 from 2004. The email states: “Bentley voted in 2004 to revise Alabama’s Tenure Act to allow teachers to continue to receive a salary all the way through their firing appeals, allowing a teacher who had been convicted and sentenced to 10 years for seducing a 14-year-old student, to collect her salary while in jail.”
Phil Rawls of the Associated Press, and one of the most-trusted reporters in Montgomery, wrote an article that appeared in the June 24, 2010 edition of the Montgomery Advertiser that points out that this proposal passed 96-0 and that the proposal was made by Bob Riley and supported by Mike Hubbard, who also voted for it.
So Byrne’s attack on Bentley for this vote is more than a stretch, it is an outright distortion and misrepresentation.
Why isn’t Bryne also attacking Riley for proposing this legislation and Hubbard for voting for it?
Bryne loves to talk about the need for ethics reform. He needs to begin by being ethical with his ads.
LA. That bill passed the House with Republican support but that doesn’t negate the fact that Bradley led a two-week long filibuster against the bill in the Senate. Also, Bentley sided with AEA against several Republican House members in their attempt to improve the bill on the House floor through amendment. In addition, there are numerous times when House members vote on bills with the knowledge that the Senate plans to try to kill them. Do I approve of that? No, but I don’t know if that is the case here or not.
Regardless, the result of that bill passing was the enabling of teachers and support staff to be paid and receive benefits all the way through the appeals process, regardless of a felony conviction. To Bentley’s credit, he did help sponsor a remedy to that bill during this past legislative session (although I would argue that much more reform is needed to our system of tenure). However, that does not erase his support of the plan that enabled such a shameful result as the example stated in the ad.
Thank you, Wade Perry. It is about time that people started showing the TRUTH about Byrne and his “integrity” (or lack of). I am sick and tired of these snide comments about Bentley from folks who don’t bother to look at what Byrne is REALLY doing. I appreciate you bringing this to light.
LA,
That’s a dead horse that Byrne tried to beat. What interests me more is the email you received. Did you say it was signed by state GOP Executive Committee members?
If so, please print the text of that email on this site for all of us to see.
If that’s true, (and if anymore evidence is needed), the GOP can kiss goodbye to neutrality claims forever!
Are any of Bradley’s many many negative ads actually true?
Documentation can be found attached to the ad on tv and on Bradley’s website beneath the ads. Don’t you think Bentley would ask that they be taken down if they weren’t true?
I think he has Carolyn. And don’t miss today’s editorial from Paul davis in which he calls Bradley’s ads “hypocritical” and “untrue” making at least 4 different state editorial boards who have called Bradley Byrne’s ads “untrue.”
To recap, at least 4 different newspaper editorial boards have looked at the evidence and gone on record in calling Bradley Byrne’s ads LIES.
As an example, here’s the “Birmingham News” editorial board calling Byrene dishonest on June 25:
“But the scrutiny must be fair and honest. Byrne’s ad attacking Bentley is neither.”
Robert Bentley is a plain ol laaayyhhherr. Tell Bentley to stop the laaahs and waarrrshington politics.
Carolyn, your lack of logic in defending Bryne’s attack on Bentley re: HB 42 is amazing.
This was Bob Riley’s legislation. Mike Hubbard supported it. So why doesn’t Byrne attack them as well as Bentley, rather than sucking up to them? So Byrne filibustered the bill when it came to the Senate. Who was he blaming then? I doubt he ever singled out Bentley, or the Governor or any of the other Republicans who supported it.
If 10 kids go in a candy store and each one of them steals a Tootsie roll, are they all guilty or only one? Obviously the way you and Bryne think nine are innocent and only one is guility. Talk about hypocrisy.
Josey, the information I received was signed by:
James Bryant, ALGOP Executive Committee, Jefferson County; Don Fisher, ALGOP Executive Committee, Montgomery County; Teri Hamilton, Republican Women of Tuscaloosa County; Rhonda Hethcox, Greater Birmingham Republican Women; Gene Howard, ALGOP Executive Committee, Calhoun County; Sue Neuwien, ALGOP Executive Committee, Coffee County; Louise Crow, ALGOP Executive Committee, Jeffereson County; Betty Hardin, Republican SWomen of Tuscaloosa County; Dr. Rod Herring, ALGOP Executive Committee, Lee County; West A. Honeycutt, Deputy Chairman, College Republicans Federation of Alabama; Virginia Howard, ALGOP Executive Committee, Dale County and Rhonda Rutledge, past president, Alabama Federation of Republican Women.
Good cross section of Republicans. Certainly not the Montgomery Country Club Republican crowd.
Thanks LA,
I see some familiars in there.
How does the party explain this? The leadership has lost control of its own organization when you can’t have your own executive committee members maintain any sense of neutrality for a primary and/or runoff. I know you can’t control some local county federation, but for crying out loud – what do these Exec. Committee members have to say for themselves?
And by the way…Robert Bentley’s campaign has released poll numbers on more than one occasion.
Why won’t Bradley release his last set of data? Someone…anyone from the Byrne camp. Trotter? Carolyn? Share your latest from polling?
Unless we are in communist china, folks still have a right to free speech and can support who they wish for governor. Unlike the Democratic Party, whose Chairman said a black man would drag down the ballot, the GOP chair hasn’t uttered such rhetoric. State GOP committee persons are not prohibited from supporting a candidate in a primary.
If you want to go around telling people that they can’t support someone, especially when the other guy is a lacky for the worst special interest group in the state, the by all means proceed. Democrrats want Bentley or Sparks, real Republicans support Byrne. Last thing we need is Paul Hubberts pool boy as Govrernor
Bob Riley is now starring in a Bradley Byrne ad. So the concept of impartiality -always a joke in Mike Hubbard’s GOP – is completely gone now.
And yes, I believe Riley HAS a right to make an endorsement. But don’t say the party maintains impartiality. That’s just silly. And the partiality towards Byrne did not just start with this ad.
At least be honest.
This is the best July 4th that Joe Reed and Paul Hubbert have ever had. They are getting more PR from the republicans than a daily AEA Journal sent to every household. Have of you guys ever met this dynamic duo? You all are giving them way too much relevance. I have to say it is funny to see you all running so scared.
The current climate in the state GOP reminds me so much of the way the city of Montgomery operated when Emory Folmar was mayor. I had a friend who wanted to run for city council, so he went to see Emory. Emory told him that he would not “allow” my friend to run – that was Emory’s precise choice of words. When my friend said that Emory had no power to “disallow” his candidacy Emory said that he (Emory) could shut off any monetary support my friend might recieve, making it impossible for him to run.
The state party has similar powers in handpicking candidates. People wonder why non-”handpicked” candidates take funding from sources outside the GOP “magic circle.” In many cases (but not all – there ARE real RINOS)nontraditional funding sources (often not aligned with the GOP) are the ONLY monies available to maverick “outsider” candidates.
I agree it’s a bad situation. But the iron grip the current clique that runs the state GOP has on the party is making the situation worse, and something eventually will have to give.
[...] his Foundation Posted by waltm, on July 2nd, 2010, at 7:21 am From yesterday’s comment by Wade Perry, we get a steer to the Alabama School Journal’s article, Byrne’s Charitable Foundation [...]
LA. Here’s my logic: Byrne saw problems with the tenure bill in 2004 regardless of who supported it. Since we don’t live in a dictatorship and he represented his district, he filibustered it. Turns out – he was right. Our money was wasted on a felon. Byrne is running against Bentley. That vote is a difference b/t the two candidates. Byrne is highlighting that difference. End of story.
Bradley isn’t running against Riley or Hubbard. My guess is that he would highlight that same difference if he was running against ANY House member who blindly voted for a bad bill.
Please post the link where Bentley or anyone with Bentley’s campaign has said the ads Bradley is running are untrue. I’d like to see that.
Josey, others: Please correct me if I am wrong, but my understanding is that only the party staff and Chairman of the party are unable (by State bylaws) to support a specific candidate in a primary. Are you really saying that no person who is a member of a Republican club, member of an Executive Committee (state or county), or affiliated with Republican groups can choose their candidate? That’s absurd.
Carolyn, as individuals, they are all free to support whomever they want. What’s wrong is: “, ALGOP Executive Committee, Dale County, past president, Alabama Federation of Republican Women, etc.” This is when us “little people” begin to feel like the party is trying to pick someone for us.
Then go join a group and get involved. No one is stopping you. Saying that Republicans involved in being Republicans can’t have an opinion on who they want to support for any elected position is just crazy. Y’all give the Republican “machine” too much credit. Everyone knows Republicans don’t listen to who people tell us to vote for – that’s why Demo/AEA/GOTV usually beat us. We don’t vote in lock step and they do what they are told.
Carolyn, you don’t get it! No one cares if these people support Byrne. They can throw their vote away with the other 32% on July 13th.
What burns people is when the party claims neutrality while people like those mentioned above cast their endorsements.
Your last post is interesting, to say the least. Since you’ve been claiming for weeks that the Demo/AEA people are pushing Bentley, do I read you loud and clear that Byrne will lose this one in similar fashion?
They are certainly going to try. Did you see that Bentley is now personally encouraging Democrats to vote for him in the Republican primary?
Carolyn,
Sadly I guess the ends justify the means. If this happens, we’ll never know just who the TRUE Republican nominee is. After June 1 we know who the TRUE Dem nominee is, and that’s the way it should be.
Carolyn, if you ever watched Bentley’s TV ads you would notice that in two different ads he specifically references untrue things in Byrne’s ads.
You come on here and spout nonsense like you were the Voice of authority.
In the TV ads, Carolyn, Bentley states “My opponent’s ads are untrue.”
Can you not grasp that?
Here is a link to one ad (there are others) where Bentley specifically says Byrne is lying in his ads, Carolyn:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDZebfRy6eI
Robert Bentley is the worst possible choice for Governor. All his supporters are people like him that are pro-union, pro-gambling and most importantly anti-Riley. All his supporters that I have had the displeasure of meeting are nothing more than malcontents that they have been second rate for the last 8 years. I can’t say that I blame them Robert Bentley has been second rate, at best, for the last 1500 years or however long. So go ahead Bentley supporters rally behind the second best for the job that is a sure fire way to get Sparks elected governor.
Bentley has hated Riley and Hubbard for years, simply because he has never been considered anything more than a loose cannon in the State House. Now he has been proven to be a lackey of Paul Hubbert and a total liar (ie Vietnam Vet claim, “I will not take a salary until Alabama reaches full employment, but wait I just fired my original campaign staff). I don’t doubt he had his lackeys at the State Party HQ… I can only imagine the trash he sent there, just a few more has-beens or never weres. What a great human being the good Doctor is.
GO BRADLEY GO!!!!
Go Bradley Go, get some psychological help. Soon.
Are you a postal worker by any chance?
Agree with Anonymous. The party bosses do have too much control and the blame should be at passive voters. This is proof why AL gets third class citizens in office. I would not be shocked if many of these officeholders sooner or later end up in prison.
Oh, Hell Yes, Mike Hubbard and the Party Machine is behind Byrne.
No question about it.
I know because the Head of The GOP goes to my church.
He is also Byrne’s County Chair.
I knew this was true last September.
Visit this link if you want to find out who to vote for on July 19. Its rationale is rooted in statistics and objective news reports. Here’s the link.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3MliNUOzok
You’ll be a little late if you vote on July 19th…
Someone please tell me what the attraction is ..why would anyone vote for a politician that agrees to be a volunteer. The slogan, “I won’t take a salary until Alabamians are all employed” is bogus. It wont happen. Just the nature of the economy. I am suspicious, is he that wealthy? and most people work for compensation and to take care of their needs. Is his need ego based since he doesnt “need” the money. Bob Riley didnt “need” the money but he was paid. Help me understand why this makes Bentley an attractive candidate.