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

AL-02 candidate Jay Love may not get his opportunity to speak to the GOP convention in Minneapolis with its revised schedule due to Hurricane Gustav. He will not speak in his originally scheduled time slot today.

His campaign tells the Parlor:

We’ve been told that all convention events that aren’t legally necessary have been put on hold for now. Hopefully, we’ll know more soon. Jay has participated in some run through sessions just to be prepared should the convention activities resume.

Obviously it is a tremendous opportunity to address the Republican National Convention, but Jay’s first concern is for those being threatened by this storm. He agrees with John McCain that the seriousness of the situation calls for putting a hold on politics for now so we can focus on disaster response and relief. Whether the speech happens or not, this convention is about putting country first and that’s exactly what Jay Love will do.

I imagine that it would be a big disappointment to miss the opportunity, but that his campaign would still get the boost (big or small, I don’t know) from being selected to speak. Though if footage was available of him speaking before the convention, his campaign might make good use of it.

The GOP is not pulling punches for this seat. Not only was there this scheduled speaking opportunity at the convention, but state GOP heavyweights including Gov. Riley, party Chairman Mike Hubbard, and retiring AL-02 incumbent Terry Everett were part of a fish fry honoring Love in Dothan Thursday night. And in a story first broken here in the Political Parlor, President Bush is expected at a Huntsville fundraiser for Love and AL-05 candidate Wayne Parker.

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So I have been in Minnesota for one hour and 10 minutes, and I have already seen enough protesters and heard enough wild rumors to keep the security forces busy for a long, long time. Most of the streets leading to the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul are blocked by protesters. Chains of people sitting down blocked some of the energy exits.

Sitting at a Starbucks on St. Peter Street (about three blocks away from the convention center, I’ve been told), I watched about 10 police officers dressed in riot gear head down the street. A man carrying an American flag attached to a hockey stick hurried into Starbucks because he said he was trying to avoid tear gas.

(My guess is that the protesters will stay all week, so I’ll try to get pictures as soon as I can.)

Meanwhile, the Alabama delegates should be in the Xcel center by now. Delegates had to be on the floor by 2:30 p.m. before the meeting began today.

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The suspense over John McCain’s selection of a running mate is now over. While Governor Palin is unknown to many of the beltway pundits and talking heads I think she is going to resonate well with the people of Alabama. Her down to earth people skills and experience as an outdoorsman make her someone who people in Alabama will be able to relate to.

To begin with the 44 year-old Governor will compliment McCain’s reformist politics well. She rose to prominence in Alaska by taking on the political establishment. When she saw unethical behavior by those of even her own party she did not hesitate in confronting them head on. First, as a member of the oil commission she called out the Alaskan Republican Party Chairman for what she felt was an abuse of power. After that she went on to challenge an ethically challenged Republican governor in the primary and beat him because of her crusade for better ethics is state government. In short, she has the courage to take folks on regardless of the political consequences much as John McCain has done over the years by confronting Democrats and Republicans alike when he saw something he disagreed with.

I think as Republicans we have lost our way because we have neglected this style of governing. We need more leaders who are willing to stand up to unethical behavior, fiscal irresponsibility and the abandonment of our conservative values. Governor Sarah Palin does this.

Speaking of conservative values, Alabamians are going to find that Governor Palin is very close to the majority of people in our state. Her pro-life, anti-tax and strong support for energy independence for the United States make will make her a popular candidate in Alabama.

One final note- Democrats will crow about Palin’s experience, but do they really want the election in the months ahead to be about who has less experience Palin or Obama? If that conversation dominates the political battle ahead then the Obama campaign has steered off course. Interesting side bar- Palin has two more years of executive experience than Barack Obama.

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Tomorrow’s first day of the convention will be business only with no political speeches. It will be shortened due to the impending threat from Hurricane Gustav. It sounds like the RNC has decided to go ahead with the full convention but the celebrations will be greatly scaled back.

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Alabama Delegates to the Republican National Convention are enthusiastic about a new poll released this afternoon showing John McCain’s selection of Sarah Palin as his running mate negated any post convention bounce enjoyed by Barack Obama. The latest nationwide Zogby poll which began Friday after John McCain announced Sarah Palin as running mate and completed mid-afternoon today, shows McCain/Palin at 47%, compared to 45% support for Obama/Biden.

Of all the issues being discussed here at the convention it seems like the selection of Palin has excited people more than anything else.

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While we prepare for a convention here in Minnesota everyone has their eyes on Hurricane Gustav and the potential danger it poses for the gulf coast. We should know sometime today what the rest of the convention will look like and if we will have to cancel part of the week. Although I am ready to see John McCain and Sarah Palin accept their nomination before the convention like everyone here, I think we all realize that the lives and possible tragedies from the hurricane take a bigger priority right now than politics. I think the Republican National Committee will let us know how the rest of the week will proceed sometime this afternoon when we have our first Alabama Delegation meeting at 3 p.m.

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A lot of the Friday chatter was about Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, McCain’s pick for VP nominee. Most of the Democrats were pretty pleased with her selection. More than one said it was reminiscent of George Bush’s 1988 pick of Dan Quayle, suggesting that both picks overlooked more experienced and/or qualified candidates in an attempt to reach a demographic group. Of course, any pick like this is made with political calculations and considerations, and we’ll know how this one panned out in November.

On that subject and others, here are some comments heard and overheard in Denver the week of the Democratic National Convention.

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The highlight of the Democratic National Convention? I asked a few people for their personal choices…

What about Obama’s Thursday night acceptance speech? Given his reputation as a speaker the bar was set high for him, and the consensus heard here was that he did not disappoint. The Alabamians I talked to were quite pleased with the evening and believed Obama met or exceeded expectations.

The same individuals as above described the evening for the Parlor…

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Notes from the Democratic National Convention…

The Wednesday morning breakfast meeting featured former president Jimmy Carter addressing the combined Alabama and Georgia delegations.

Carter spoke of his admiration and respect for Obama, and told of how moved he has been during an Obama speech.

On the matter of whether the Democrats would be divided this election, Carter says, “I’m the world’s expert on divided parties. In 1976, I won the nomination, but the GOP was completely divided. They left the convention with delegates still divided between Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan.” Carter went on to win the presidency by defeating incumbent Gerald Ford.

In 1980, the Democrats had a tough primary fight, and Ted Kennedy memorably declined to shake Carter’s hand on the dais after Carter won the nomination. “I lost because the Democrats didn’t support me. I’m not complaining. I’ve had a good life since then.”

“But I am an expert on divided parties. I have seen it from both sides.” He went on to predict that by the end of the convention, “We’ll have a totally united party.”

“My first wish, above all, is that Obama will win the presidency. But my 2nd wish, is that Obama carries Georgia.”

Afterward Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks addressed the Alabama delegation, saying that Obama will not turn his back on rural America while McCain has unequivocally said he does not support agriculture subsidies in any form. “Agriculture subsidies are not for the farmers, they are for the consumers. It’s no accident that our country has the safest and most economical food supply in the world. I don’t want other countries putting food on our tables like they put gas in our car.”

Sparks became quite animated, fired up even, on how Democrats are the party that cares about veterans, Americans without adequate health care, and Americans in poverty.

His rousing speech led state Democratic Party chair Joe Turnham to tell the breakfast crowd, “Let’s get him on the [convention] platform.”

For what it’s worth, Sparks has clearly lost some of his trademark, rural, Southern accent, though we suspect that in front of the right group he could find it.

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Don Siegelman made the rounds of the Democratic National Convention, speaking wherever he could find an audience, including Air America, the Alaska delegation, and a Press Club event.

Monday morning he spoke at a breakfast meeting of the Colorado delegation. In conversation afterward, Siegelman said that his point was that “it’s not about me.”

“If Congress doesn’t hold Karl Rove accountable, it’s sends the signal that everyone else is off the hook. That you can be subpoenaed and not show up and nothing will happen. Subversion of our Constitution will become part of our culture, and more likely to happen in the future.”

“Listen, the Democrats didn’t follow-up on Watergate after Carter was elected, they didn’t do anything about Iran-Contra after Clinton was elected, and they are not going to pursue this when Obama comes in. Timing is critical and that’s why I am here in Denver. It’s my best chance to talk to the most number of Congressmen.”

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More pictures from Denver are up today.

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I have enjoyed the opportunity to be at the convention. It’s hard to take advantage of all the opportunities available and write about it as we go. I have particularly enjoyed meeting people and asking fun questions of some of the country’s most committed Democrats here for the convention. Like this one…

How would you complete the sentence, “I would vote Republican if…”?

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Tuesday at a BBQ the Democratic Party had for credentialed bloggers at the convention, Howard Dean spoke and afterward visited with bloggers. As it happened, he sat down in an empty chair next to me and asked everyone at the table where we lived. He spoke a bit with some North Dakota bloggers about that state being in play for the Dems, and then turned to me and said, “So, Alabama, tell me what is going on there. We have some good things going on there, right? Patricia Todd? James Fields!”

While I told him that the best the Democrats could hope for in Alabama this election was that Obama would help them on downticket races, I have to admit here that I was impressed with his recall to come up with these two state legislators’ names.

He went on to add that in Alabama’s primary election this year, 60% of voters under 30 asked for a Democratic ballot instead of a Republican ballot.

In Dean’s remarks to the whole group, he mentioned that Democrats hoped to make inroads among young evangelicals, saying that polling showed their top three issues were poverty, the environment, and Darfur. He added that the message here is to “stop fighting about things you disagree on and start getting things done on issues you do agree on.”

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Many connected to the state Democratic Party note for the Parlor that throwing a bash is not in keeping with state Sen. Roger Bedford’s history, and that the afterparty he threw Tuesday night may be building bridges or good will toward some end - though there is little agreement on what that end might be.

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The delegates I have talked to believe that Hillary Clinton hit all the right notes in expressing her support for Obama Tuesday night and bringing her supporters into the fold. One delegate said he had a list in his head of the things he hoped to hear her say and he was ticking them off the list as she said them. Others expressed admiration for handling well what must have been a difficult occasion for her as Obama’s moment of victory in the party marks her loss.

The line of the night from my perspective belonged to Deval Patrick who urged the Democrats to articulate their vision, saying, “The Democrats do not deserve to win simply because the Republicans deserve to lose.” I wish in general that we had fewer candidates stating why their opponent deserves to lose and more expressing why they deserve to win.

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