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

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Much has been made of the line item veto by the Governor on the Tuscaloosa project and the subsequent “retaliation” by Senator Poole for those voting against “his” project.

I think everyone realizes this was retaliation by the administration against Senator Poole for allegedly switching sides and supporting the Mitchem/Barron majority in the organizational session.

Their defense was that it wasn’t retaliation and that it was a strike for honor and accountability. Riley called the appropriation “pork”, which evidently he is against when it’s not his pork. My question is…why wasn’t their a line item veto for other pork? The approved funding for the Dekalb UFO festival comes to mind. There are hundreds of other examples.

After the Governor’s veto was upheld by the House, Senator Poole, in turn, killed House members’ bills in the Senate. Of course, outrage ensued with some of my GOP friends, who even tried to equate such actions to that of the sucker punch in the Senate.

I guess I don’t understand all of their squawking. They are acting as if they don’t also filibuster. Do they not work to kill legislation.

Sometimes these “techniques” are needed. I will be the first to admit that I use them myself occasionally.

I guess it all depends on whose ox is getting gored as to who side you are on but, let’s face it, all sides positioned on this particular issue. I’m sure if it was a project for someone else that had been vetoed by a democratic Governor that we would hear a different argument.

“You can’t take politics out of politics.”

Speaking of politics, it is also interesting to note that the Governors liaison carried around with him all day, veto messages on our TVA bills. He waited until right before the House Pro Tem moved to recess and adjourn, thus ending the session, to “drop” the bills. This meant that the House would not have an opportunity to override the Governor’s veto.

Was the Governor’s move sneaky? Was it underhanded? Or was it just great strategy?

I guess it depends on whose ox you’re riding when it gets gored.

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From Phillyburbs.com:

Alabama Senate slapfest

Dunno how we missed this one. Wait, yes I do, it happened in Alabama.

Last Thursday morning, Alabama republican state senator Charles Bishop hick-slapped his democratic counterpart Lowell Barron on the legislative floor live on Alabama Public Television. Pre-empting a “Hee-Haw” marathon, I believe.

Bishop says Barron called him a “sumabitch” which, he explained to CNN is akin to saying ‘your mama’ where he comes from. Word is the pair has been at each other’s throats since Lowell jumped the line at Cracker Barrel after Sunday services a few months back.

Sadly, it came to this.

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Despite the Senate’s session-long disagreement, they managed to take up and pass the budgets by an overwhelming margin. They budgets came back down to the House chamber and we concurred.  Now, they are at the Governor’s office awaiting his decision to sign, veto or amend. We hope he signs them. Still awaiting action is the bond issue, which we hope the Senate will pass on Thursday.

My last few days will be spent trying to herd local bills through committee. We have many local bills awaiting action. Many of these are TVA bills , meaning, they deal with money the Tennessee Valley Authority pays in in lieu of taxes. These monies are spent on various programs in counties in North Alabama.

These are caucus bills, Yes, We have a Bi-partisan Tennessee Valley Caucus.

My bill would be for projects back home; the most significant will be a road improvement funding bill that helps fund improvements to Winchester Road and other local roads in Madison County. This bill’s fate is in the hands of the Senate and eventually, if the senate passes it, the Governor.

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Finally, somebody gets it.

Everyone can all stand around and point fingers but, in the end, someone had to step up and take the lead. The Governor had the opportunity to exhibit leadership but instead urged his coalition in the Senate to shut down the session, while simultaneously attempting to take credit for “brokering a deal”. However, in the end, nothing happened. There was no deal.

It was going to take something drastic to get past the silly, session-long, do-nothing comedians up in the “House of Lords”. It was going to take real leadership, not the leadership of sound bites and slogans of pseudo-bipartisanship.

Jim Folsom, the Lt. Governor, was the man who, ultimately, got the job done. Folsom didn’t ask for credit. Folsom didn’t run for the nearest television camera and talk about what a strategic genius he was for ending the stalemate.

The Governor’s coalition immediately cried foul. After all, their reign of terror in the upper chamber came effectively to a screeching halt. They threatened lawsuits and court action, making most of the rest of us stand around, scratch our heads, and look at them like they came from another planet. I myself have been a victim of the dreaded indefinitely postpone motion, which is the motion in question. The effect of the motion is to kill a bill. So, I didn’t understand the legal question surrounding the Lt. Governor’s action. It’s all a matter of semantics between the statute and the rules on motions but, the end result is the same. The rest is just political hooey.

The effect of the decisive and effective leadership of Lt. Governor Folsom led to the events of yesterday, when all seemed to be forgotten and it was Love Fest 2007 up in the Senate. Yesterday, it was more “my esteemed colleague” and “the honorable gentleman” than it was the usual threats and offers to meet members “outside” to settle disputes. In short, they behaved like grownups. So regardless of political affiliation, everyone should give credit where credit is due.

Harry Truman once said “In periods where there is no leadership, society stands still. Progress occurs when courageous, skillful leaders seize the opportunity to change things for the better.” In the absence of leadership, Alabama has been standing still. Maybe, at last, we can begin to move forward.

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The House has passed several ethics bills and others have been introduced. Of course, we still await action by the Senate on a number of these House-passed bills. Many bills that have been introduced are attempting to address ethics, disclosure, transparency or whatever cute title you want to give it. I have often wondered what prevents us from acting on our own, without legislation, from disclosing our economic interests, family relationships, etc on the Internet. The answer, so it seems, is nothing.

I inquired of the clerk’s office and our computer staff the feasibility of having a link on our legislative web site to our ethics forms. Thanks to the Clerk of the House and our outstanding computer staff I have now authorized and they have set up a link to my report that I have on file with the Alabama Ethics Commission.

You may view it here:

http://www.legislature.state.al.us/house/representatives/housebios/hd021.html

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The Mobile Press-Register is about as fair to the Democratic party as an East German judge in the Olympics.

Rep. Marc  Keahey calls them on it. They haven’t printed his response on the Governor’s use of the State plane. So I will

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The Alabama House continues to meet and consider legislation. Today, House members are beginning to express their dissatisfaction with the antics in the Senate. We have budgets that have not even been received by the senate. There are economic development bills and all important local bills being held “in the basket” that have not yet received their first reading.

As I pointed out in a previous post, each bill proposed must be read at least three times in each chamber to become law. There are now six days left after today. House bills that have not passed the House before today have virtually no chance.

I have to admit…I am a little disappointed in the Senate. However, today I have to thank my Senate Colleagues, My two economic development bills for the city of Huntsville were passed by the senate and now go to the Governor for signature. I congratulate and thank the senate, especially our Madison County delegation, for putting aside their differences to pass these important bills.We still have local bills including a local bill I sponsored addressing road improvements in Madison County that are being held up by this dispute. I hope for a miracle, but, I am a realist.

The fate of all local bills and the budgets are in the hands of the “House of Lords”. Prayer is requested.

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OK, I am really worried about my mental state. Stop the presses, I agree with Governor Riley.

After his attacks on the hiring of legislators by the two-year college system, who does he suggest should run the system permanently? A state legislator, Senator Bradley Byrne.

Why didn’t I think of that?

I have enormous respect for Senator Byrne. We have clashed on issues and we rarely agreed on anything but he is always willing to listen and I consider him an honest and decent man. It’s sad that some members of Senator Byrne’s own party are already crying foul, implying that his current position in the Legislature somehow precludes him from serving in this position.

So today, I endorse Senator Bradley Byrne to head the two-year college system. As an attorney and a former state school board member, he is highly qualified and the board should appoint him. I don’t think that the fact that he is a legislator should be held against him.

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Next week we will consider Rep. Mike Ball’s Initiative and Referendum Constitutional amendment in Constitutions and Elections committee (At 9:00 A.M. on Wednesday not 10:00 as posted, the clerk will change the posting Monday) and on the house floor Rep. Demetrious Newton’s bill to have a referendum on calling a Citizen’s Convention to rewrite Alabama’s constitution will be on the special order calendar.

I plan on supporting the I & R bill, Rep. Ball sponsors a version that my old friend, the Late Albert Hall (D-Gurley), sponsored in the past.

In addition, I plan on voting for the Speaker pro-tem Newton’s bill on the floor as well……………Indeed, I trust the people

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The Governor, with his proposal, paints a broad brush by suggesting that all legislators who work for post-secondary are unethical. It’s true that some problems existed and I think that these problems are being dealt with appropriately. If you steal tax payer money, you go to jail, i.e. Bryant Melton. There are existing rules and regulations to prevent illegal activity.

Not every legislator employed in the system is a crook and frankly, I resent his insinuation. It’s kind of like saying, because Guy Hunt and Don Siegelman were convicted of crimes, ALL Governors, including Bob Riley, are unethical. Wouldn’t you agree that the Governor wields tremendous power and influence? Is it fair to say that, because the potential for abuse of power exists, that inevitably the power of the Governorship WILL be abused? I wouldn’t make that leap because I think that, in all cases, that it is a question of individual character.

We have a citizen legislature. There will always be conflicts of some type or another. If you are a small businessman, you vote on Workman’s Compensation Legislation and the Minimum Wage Bill. Don’t these votes directly impact his/her business? Funeral home legislation is handled by funeral home directors, with a direct benefit to the owner of said funeral home. Insurance agents vote on bills relative to their industry. We have legislators that work for cities, police departments, etc. who all vote on their retirements, health care, etc. The list goes on and on.

I have been asked only one time in my legislative career to vote on an issue, by then two year college Chancellor Roy Johnson, who asked me to vote for Governor Riley’s tax proposal. I declined, but there was nothing wrong with his asking. He committed to the Governor to do all he could to gain passage of the proposal. I didn’t feel that my job influenced my decision since my vote ran counter to the majority of the education community. I made the vote that I felt was in the best interest of my district.

This non-issue was made an issue by my opponent in my last election campaign. So let me be as clear to you as I was to the voters in my district: I had this job before I was elected to office. So, obviously, I didn’t use my “influence” to get the position.

In this last election, most of the targeted Democrats also happened to be employees of the two year system and we were called unethical, crooked, et al. I’m tired of this continuation of the election just because the Governor didn’t get the result he wanted. I wish he would stop trying to affect an election outcome through policy instead of honoring the will of the people who voted to elect each and every one of these representatives.

Many legislators have other ties to education, not just two year schools. Mike Hubbard has contracts with Auburn University. Does the potential for conflict exist in his case? So I guess my question is, why just us? Why single out K-14 employees? I know these men and women, most of whom are decent and honest people, on both sides of the aisle. At some point, this constant attack on people has to stop. It is incumbent upon all of us to raise the bar and lower the tone. It’s hard to do that when someone, after the elections are over, is constantly calling you unethical. Maybe the answer could be a full-time legislature but I doubt the voters would ever approve it

We had an election, the people voted for these women and men, both Democrat and Republican. And believe me; the voters were made aware, via attack ads, of where these people were employed. The people have spoken. I trust the people. Why can’t the Governor?

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It was a very interesting week for me this week.

The good:

I passed two bills out of the house for the city of Huntsville that is going to continue our outstanding Economic Development, as well as, community development programs. In Constitution and Elections, we passed the Constitutional Convention Referendum to rewrite Alabama’s Constitution.

The bad:

The bill I co-sponsored with Rep. Patricia Todd to raise Alabama’s minimum wage, was dealt a serious blow when it was sent to subcommittee. I hope Rep. Todd can get the sub committee members to compromise or agree to let the full house vote on this issue.

The ugly:

The Senate version of Rep. Jeff McLaughlin’s pac to pac transfer ban. Governor Riley’s attack on two year college employee’s ethics

The break is coming at exactly the right time. Things are getting tense.

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Yet another Presidential hopeful, Rudy Giuliani, will address the Alabama Legislature on Tuesday.

OK. I admit it. I’m a Rudy Giuliani fan. But not for the reasons you might think. I respect the Rudy Giuliani that fought the mob in New York as a U.S. Attorney. He was also the face of the nation’s resolve and strength in the aftermath of 9-11. However, Giuliani and I differ on many issues, with the most significant being gun control. I must admit, though, that my appreciation of a Giuliani candidacy is because of the opportunity that it presents to the Democratic Party, an opportunity to expose the hypocrisy of the Republican Party at the national level.

Giuliani seems to posses all of the qualities of natural born leadership. He is the current front runner for the Republican nomination, which to me demonstrates that the corporate (blue blood) wing of the Republican Party seems to be firmly in control of the party today. But, is Giuliani conservative enough for the religious right of the party?

The Republican Party has used abortion, guns, and gay rights, along with a plethora of other “moral” issues to win elections. However, once elected, they have failed to deliver on their campaign promises. Case in point: The United States Supreme Court. The Republican Party is responsible for 7 of the 9 appointments to the court. That’s correct; there are only 2 Democratic appointees on the high court. In fact, it was two Reagan appointees, Anthony Kennedy and Sandra Day O’Connor, who, at the time, voted to uphold a woman’s right to an abortion. Justice O’Connor wrote the majority opinion. In a landmark gay rights case, Justice Kennedy wrote the majority opinion finding sodomy laws unconstitutional, as they relate to homosexual adults.

What’s my point? Ronald Reagan stated “I didn’t leave the Democratic Party, The Democratic Party left me.” Could it be that the Republican Party has left Ronald Reagan? Or was it just a shell game from the beginning?

Rudy Giuliani has publicly stated in the past that he supports gay rights, abortion rights and gun control but yet he says that he will appoint conservative judges, along the lines of Ronald Reagan, to the courts. Really?

As for the other leading Republican front runners who may possibly replace the least fiscally conservative President in modern history:

Mitt Romney says that he’s been a hunter all his life. But hunting what you might ask. Romney revealed this past week that he’s a pro at hunting, drum roll please, “Rodents”. Romney also supported abortion rights, gay rights and gun control as the Governor of Massachusetts.

Senator John McCain, strong on the environment and campaign finance reform, also at one time supported abortion rights and was attacked personally by James Dobson, Ralph Reed and others members of the religious right in 2000 presidential election. McCain was billed as “not a true conservative” by the right wing of the party. Don’t even get me started on these political hacks laundering Indian gambling money while they tried to assassinate the character of a war hero like McCain.

So pardon me if I, as a Democrat, am slightly amused to watch a field of candidates for the Republican nomination that prove conservatism has left the building. And I would be remiss if I forgot to mention our Governor, Bob Riley, rumored Vice Presidential shortlister, who was also the advocate of the largest tax (1.2 BILLION Dollars) proposal in Alabama history. Riley also defeated the darling of Alabama’s religious right, Judge Roy Moore, further proving that corporate republicanism, at the expense of so called Reagan conservatism, is alive and well everywhere you look. Assuming that the Republican nominee can convince (i.e. hoodwink) the religious right to stick with them after 25 years of phoniness, I can only assume the Republican strategy for victory in 2008 will be to, once again, call Democrats…LIBERALS.

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We have passed many of our caucus bills in the first third of the session. We have dealt with campaign finance, ethics, Illegal Immigration, alternative fuels and the enterprise school relief package.

Coming up, next week, is consideration of a referendum on a Constitutional Convention in the Constitutions and Elections Committee.

Things I hope to see soon are John Knights Income tax reform package, Patricia Todd’s minimum wage proposal and Mickey Hammons’ Illegal Immigration bills

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Filibusters have been used since the beginning of the republic. I have been involved on both sides of a filibuster.

I have filibustered bills that I opposed. Just three years ago, I was filibustered for 3 weeks on the bill (Disclosure Bill) that I just passed on Thursday by a vote count of 105-0. This does not take into account the 3 week filibuster of the same bill by the Senate 2 years ago. All told, I spent six weeks of my legislative life being filibustered on the Disclosure Bill. So, I am extraordinarily grateful that it finally passed this year in the House. A unanimous vote on any legislation is rare in the House.

There is nothing innately wrong with a filibuster; I think it’s just another use of the rules. I was only subjected to a “slowdown” this year when it came to the Disclosure Bill. A slowdown apparently differs from a filibuster, in that you are not opposing a bill, but protesting an action.

In the beginning of this legislative session, it seems that my Republican friends are slowing down the House due to the make up of House Committees or so I’m told.

After the elections, the Speaker of the House, on behalf of the majority, reduced the number of Republicans on three (3) committees. This was done through rules adopted by the majority during the organizational session. It was, in my opinion, a light slap on the wrist for some very vicious campaign tactics employed by the past, as well as the present, Chairman of the Republican Party. We had elections. They were tough. The winners, the Democratic majority, adopted rules favorable to the majority. I would assume had my friends on the other side won that they would have rewritten the rules to their advantage. It is the political process. However, there are consequences of slowdowns or filibusters. While a slowdown allows us to read more bills, more thoroughly, a consequence of this is that good legislation can be lost. It’s the funnel effect. As the legislative days dwindle and more time is spent “killing” legislative days, less time will be available to consider all bills.

A bill has to be read according to the Constitution three (3) times in the House: (1) Introduced, (2) Reported out of committee, and (3) Passed by the whole legislative body. The process is then repeated in the Senate, a deliberative body whose rules are designed to be slow.. This means a six (6) day minimum on passage of legislation. We can only meet to consider bills for 30 days, per the Constitution. The math speaks for itself. We have already spent 6 days in a slowdown. In the last few weeks of a session, there will be many “good” bills whose sponsors will be competing for a place on the calendar. A filibuster this long and this early has already sealed the fate of hundreds of bills.

How many of these sponsors of bills will people remember were also “the filibusterers” and thereby the killers of their own bills?

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