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

May 9, 2008

State GOP Fertilizing Grass Roots

Filed under: Party Politics — Danny @ 12:54 pm

The state GOP picked up a “Diversity Chairman” and a “Victory Director” in recent weeks according to releases from the state party.

The party’s Diversity Chairman George Williams, a retired Army Major in Bay Minette, says in the release, “I look forward to working with all minority groups within the state; educating them on the history of the party, the party’s vision for the future and helping tear down the stereotypical walls that have been built around politics in Alabama for too long.”

The party’s new “Victory Director,” Michael Joffrion, started last week. According to that release, “As Victory Director, Michael will be responsible for building the grassroots organization of the ALGOP and managing the get out the vote efforts for the 2008 election cycle. This will include structuring a statewide volunteer organization and managing the voter registration and ballot security programs.”

Joffrion was Field Director for Rudy Giuliani’s Iowa Campaign Committee and most recently served as Political Director for “Charlie Ross for Congress” in Jackson, MS.


Cross-section of Grass and Roots in DirtFWIW, I have heard from Republicans around the state who opine (and typically in an abrupt change of subject from the topic at hand) that the GOP grassroots efforts around the state are not strong.

One Montgomery insider told the Parlor about the efforts of the Business Council of Alabama to counter grassroots strengths of AEA and ALFA by using local Chambers of Commerce. Though BCA is a major player in Alabama politics, BCA has never been strong in the grassroots, and the business people and professional people involved in local Chambers of Commerce are “typically opposed to AEA and represent the potential for a Republican base, an embryonic grassroots movement.” The BCA effort - initiated by BCA head Bill Canary - can “use the Chamber to communicate with the community and with legislators.”

Don’t they meet some resistance to use the Chambers of Commerce toward this end, I ask? There are a lot of Democrats in these communities and in the Chambers.

“They are not going to be 100% successful in every county, and they are being very sophisticated about it. They are not saying, ‘This is what we are going to use to kick Paul Hubbert’s ass.’ No. It’s an opportunity to participate in BCA, the brotherhood. It’s about jobs. Preserve and protect the brotherhood. You want a local mailing list, a database? Then you want the Chamber. You got contacts. You got troops. Troops to rally.”

AEA has its fundraising and grassroots strength. ALFA, he said, had increased dues to hire John Pudner (Director of External Affairs) to work its grassroots. BCA’s interests are not the same as ALFA or AEA. This “embryonic grassroots movement” is BCA’s effort “to create grassroots pressure to offset the pressure that legislators get from AEA.”

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April 30, 2008

Follow-up to Grimes’ Comments

Filed under: AL House, Party Politics — Danny @ 10:17 am

Regarding the post in which Rep. David Grimes recounted an exchange on the House floor with House Minority Leader Mike Hubbard relating to a filibuster over HB350, Rep. Hubbard states that there was no “conversation.” “I [Hubbard] just asked him if his light was on. He said ‘yes’ and I said ‘OK.’”

Alabama GOP Communications Director Philip Bryan is also clear that the state GOP and Mike Hubbard as state party chair will absolutely not support any particular candidate over another in a GOP primary and look forward to supporting enthusiastically their primary winners in the general election.

Check back here for any update as I will offer Rep. Grimes the opportunity to comment.

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April 22, 2008

State GOP Readies for 2010

Filed under: Party Politics — Danny @ 2:45 pm

Catching up on a few things that slipped by while I have been otherwise occupied…

Mike HubbardGive state GOP Chairman Mike Hubbard his due; he began his tenure as party Chair with the party in debt after the 2006 elections and has done yeoman’s work in getting the state party ready for the 2010 election cycle. Campaign 2010 had a goal of raising $4 million in 4 years. Four months into the effort the party has impressively hit its goal and received $4 million in pledges. Hubbard aims now to raise $7 million by 2010. The Press-Register had the story.

Some are questioning what kind of access to the Governor the contributors are getting for their $40,000 pledge to the Governor’s Club.

Political observers said the campaign appears to conform to state laws. But Jess Brown, a political science professor at Athens State University, said Riley, not the party, would be hurt more by nondisclosure, and questions of access reflect on him.

“The governor is lending the aegis of his office,” he said. “If it means getting access, it means getting gubernatorial time. And I don’t think the governor should ever say,’My time is for sale, and you can buy it through the political party.’”

Political science professor David Lanoue at the University of Alabama added in the article, “Obviously there’s the fundamental question of contributors and what they want and what they hope for. One reason so many people push for open accounting is to put suspicions to rest.”

No big surprise that the Republicans are not going to go beyond the reporting requirements of Alabama law. (Anyone want to convince us that the state Democrats would do it differently?)

But come 2010, the issue will be to see what legislative districts the state GOP believes it can flip with a war chest of 5, 6, 7 million dollars or more.

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April 11, 2008

Pelosi to Alabama

Filed under: Party Politics — Danny @ 12:32 pm

The speaker at the Jefferson-Jackson Dinner for the state’s Democrats next month? Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D - CA). Surprised? Me, too.

On one hand, she is the nation’s top ranking Democrat, no small thing. On the other, some Alabama Democrats have not exactly been embracing the party label.

New to me, but I see now that Left in Alabama had this up already.

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April 1, 2008

Butler Unhappy with Handling of Switch Announcement

Filed under: AL Senate, Party Politics, AL and DC — Danny @ 1:29 pm

Tom ButlerThe Parlor is hearing from both sides of the aisle that state Sen. Tom Butler (D - Madison) was quite unhappy that Senate Minority Leader Jabo Waggoner (R - Vestavia Hills) was in front of the story about Butler’s potential party-switch and Congressional candidacy. One GOP insider told me at the time Waggoner’s remarks appeared in the newspaper that it was a mistake on Waggoner’s part to get ahead of the story. Another GOP’er told me yesterday, “Yeah, Butler did get ticked. It was because Jabo was going around the state house bragging that he got another party switcher, and Butler just wasn’t ready to make that commitment yet. Kind of blew up in Jabo’s face.”

Sen. Butler has since decided not to run for the 5th Congressional District, and we hear that Butler will not change parties at least until after the session. He has already been caucusing with the Senate Republicans, and since he is now not qualifying for the Congressional race as a Republican, there is no practical reason for the distraction of a switch in the middle of the session.

It’s difficult to imagine that a decision as big as whether to run for Congress would be undone by anger over this matter (though one version of the circulating story is that it was); more likely this unhappiness was a small stick added to the fire that was already evaporating the idea that he would announce a change of parties and run for Congress as a Republican.

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March 31, 2008

Butler to Sit Out AL-05 Race

Filed under: Campaign & Election, Party Politics, AL and DC — Danny @ 1:25 pm

aka “The Butler Did Didn’t Do It.”

Tom ButlerDemocratic state Senator Tom Butler is telling colleagues today that he is not going to run for the 5th Congressional District.

Butler had previously told colleagues and party officials that he would be switching to the GOP and would run for Alabama’s 5th Congressional District as a Republican (see for example, here and here). Butler had received congratulatory and “welcome to the party” phone calls, and the GOP began to make preparations for an announcement.

Then spring break intervenes, the session is out for a week, Butler travels, and now that he is back, he is telling those close to him that he has decided not to run.

One GOP insider understands that the party switch is also off at least until after the session.

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February 4, 2008

AG Unhappy about McCain Event

Filed under: Party Politics, AL Executive Branch, National Politics — Danny @ 12:41 pm

The more interesting stories are often behind the scenes…

GOP’ers tell the tale that Attorney General Troy King was upset (“blew up,” said one) about Gov. Bob Riley potentially attending John McCain’s Saturday campaign stop in Birmingham. King is serving as Chair of the McCain 2008 Alabama campaign and apparently did not want Riley standing in his spotlight (figuratively as King had been leading McCain’s effort in Alabama - and somewhat literally as King had a 3-person film crew on hand with boom mikes and cameras). Ultimately, Riley did not attend as Mike Huckabee was also in town, he had not endorsed anyone, so no need to start playing favorites now.

John McCain speaks in Birmingham, Feb. 2, 2008By then, King’s tantrums had worn out those around him, people close to the event tell the Parlor. Perhaps he wanted the film crew (for future campaign ads?) to get shots of him addressing the large crowd. In the end, U.S. Rep. Spencer Bachus, the campaign’s Southeastern United States Congressional Chair, and not King, introduced Cindy McCain who introduced the Senator. (An aside: Tuscaloosa businessman and GOP gadfly Stan Pate heckled Bachus when the introduction ran long.)

Would all this be a factor in King’s unusual demeanor on stage behind McCain? Did you see any of that? People on both sides of the aisle noted how King rarely smiled, clapped occasionally at appropriate times, while he continually scanned the crowd like he was looking for someone or something. I would not have mentioned it here except that others also particularly noticed it and said how odd it was.

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January 23, 2008

Why Alabama Republicans Should Vote for McCain

Filed under: Campaign & Election, Party Politics, National Politics — Chauncey Sparks @ 10:33 am

Danny was nice enough to give me some space yesterday to make my strategic argument for why Barack Obama is the smart choice for Alabama Democrats. My argument was based on the premise that Democrats need to do something to change the rules of a game they’ve been losing a lot more often than winning. Obama, in my mind, is the candidate best suited to do that.

Conversely, Alabama Republicans’ best bet is a candidate who can extend the status quo that has led to Republican dominance in Alabama at the federal level. The candidate best able to do that (and not solely as a result of winning by default) is John McCain. We all know the story by now. McCain was the once and future GOP frontrunner in 2008, and at this writing he looks as well positioned as anyone to win the nomination but is by no means a lock.

GOP LogoSo why is McCain the best choice for Alabama Republicans? He is not without his own strengths, but let’s start with the shortcomings of his opponents.

Mike Huckabee is stylistically a good fit for Alabama Republicans. He’s a pastor and has a folksy blue-collar demeanor. However, his record of opposing free-trade, raising taxes, banning smoking, and giving state scholarship money to illegal immigrants is enough to take the wind out of almost any Republican’s sail. That combined with his rhetoric of merging the Constitution with the Bible is enough to alienate both Republicans and Democrats. Even if Huckabee’s Bible-based populism can survive in Alabama, I wouldn’t expect it to fly nationwide. This renders Huckabee as the least electable Republican candidate this side of Ron Paul.

Mitt Romney. Where to begin? Mitt would probably be a good President. But it’s just not coming together for him. Alabamians had a chance to vote for an ivy-league Massachusetts flip-flopper with good hair in 2004 and didn’t much like that idea. Ok, that’s a cheap shot, but that’s the reality Romney is dealing with. Oh and the whole Mormon thing is a non-starter in a state like Alabama.

Rudy Giuliani is a liberal on issues like abortion, gay, rights, guns, and immigration. No amount of quoting George Will can change that. And plus Giuliani is just a strange guy. He dresses in drag on SNL, has virtually no relationship with his kids or ex-wives, answers his cell phone while giving a speech. He’s just an odd duck of the type that won’t wear well (and isn’t wearing well) over the course of a long campaign. Alabama Republicans started voting for the GOP in order to vote against guys like Giuliani.

Fred Thompson dropped out of the race while I write this. Thompson would have been a good fit for Alabama Republicans, whether or not he had ties to the state. But after an initial flurry of interest, he quickly settled at the bottom of the pack of the serious candidates. Thompson never seemed able to decide what his campaign was about. Was he the only true conservative, the straight-shootin’ non-politician, or the wise old man? Had his campaign developed caught fire, he’d have been a perfect fit for Alabama Republicans, but alas it did not. Which leaves us with….

Ron Paul. Just to be comprehensive, I’ll deal with Ron Paul too. Most observers realize that despite his principled record of libertarianism, the only thing really holding the GOP together is their adherence to the Bush Doctrine at least as it pertains to Iraq. Paul’s loud and frequent denunciations of all things Iraq and neoconservative may warm the hearts of those on the left, but they are of course not a selling point among party regulars.

John McCainSo that disqualifies everyone but McCain. However, McCain is not without his own merits. Despite what many of the conservative elite say (Rush Limbaugh, NRO) McCain is a conservative. The issues where he’s been a maverick are on process issues like campaign-finance reform and judges. And while he went off the reservation out of personal pique at the start of the Bush administration, he buried the hatchet with W in 2004 and has talked a pretty conservative game while running for President. While some may grumble, McCain is conservative enough to secure the GOP base vote in 2008, even if he isn’t quite a John Ashcroft Republican. In fact, McCain may be the only Republican who will be able to keep the base satisfied while reaching out to moderate Republicans, independents, and conservative Dems to build a winning nationwide coalition.

McCain would easily win Alabama against any Democratic nominee, combining the strengths outlined above with his attractive profile of a war hero which of course plays very well in military-heavy Alabama. John McCain will not inspire the most enthusiasm among the Republican faithful nor will he construct a new Republican governing coalition, but he is a safe choice and will at least paper over the fractures of the Republican Party. He could allow the Republicans to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat in an election, which if one looks at the macro political picture, they have no business winning.

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January 22, 2008

Why Alabama Democrats Should Vote for Obama

Filed under: Campaign & Election, Party Politics, National Politics — Chauncey Sparks @ 10:48 am

Note from Doc: Always glad to hear from Chauncey Sparks when he can stop by. Watch for an upcoming companion piece looking at the GOP side.


Most of the Alabama Democratic power structure have aligned behind Hillary Clinton. Jim Folsom, Ron Sparks, Susan Parker, Joe Turnham, Joe Reed, Patricia Todd, and many of the party’s leading lights are publicly supporting Hillary. There are many motives behind this support, most of them born out of enduring relationships with the Clintons and/or a pragmatic sense of inevitably that Clinton will be the Democratic nominee and very possibly the next president.

Democratic Party logoThe Alabama supporters of Barack Obama, most notably Congressman Artur Davis, have made their decisions based on a similar calculus. Many Alabama Obama supporters have known the Illinois Senator for several years and others want to be part of an historic campaign finally breaking through the wall of race that has been an obstacle to many capable black leaders.

Though Clinton and Obama don’t differ greatly on the issues, it is clear to me that one candidate is the smarter choice for Alabama Democrats. That candidate is Barack Obama.

Despite the ups and downs of the caucus/primary season, Barack Obama has continuously secured the endorsements of red state Democrats. From Sens. Claire McCaskill (MO), Ben Nelson (NE), and Kent Conrad (ND), to Govs. Tim Kaine (VA) and Janet Napolitano (AZ) and blue dog Reps. Rick Boucher (VA) and Jim Cooper (TN), Obama is the choice of conservative and moderate Dems throughout the country. These individuals know what it takes to win in their Republican-leaning states.

The underlying reasons for the red-state Democratic support of Barack Obama is simple.

With Republicans more deeply divided than they have been since the Gipper was elected in 1980, Democrats are smelling not only taking back the White House, but also cementing control of Congress for the foreseeable future. As many pundits have accurately stated, the only person with the ability to unify the Republicans is Hillary Clinton.

Barack ObamaThe issue is deeper than just one candidate though. Democrats in Red States have been fighting an uphill battle for a generation. While many red-state Dems survive, they are the exception rather than the rule and their survival has been perpetually endangered by the direction of the national party. A Clinton nomination is more of the same political game, with Democrats in red states having to downplay and distance themselves from their party’s nominee. Barack Obama offers a hope (even if it is only rhetorical) that the red-blue/liberal-conservative divide that has shaped the politics of the Clinton/Bush era will be no more, perhaps pushing the reset button on the body politic and giving red state Democrats a fresh start without the baggage of the politics of division and polarization that have plagued red state Dems for two decades.

There is also the not insignificant issue of Alabama’s black voters. Black voter registration and turnout is lower than that of whites, but many say the candidates (Democrats specifically) have failed to speak to and motivate the Democratic base. An Obama nomination would serve as a test to see whether black voters will turn out for a black candidate who speaks to their issues or whether the disparity in black / white turnout is a deeper societal issue. Obama has appealed successfully to white voters before, though it remains to be seen how he’d do among Alabama whites. But could he do much worse than John Kerry or even Al Gore? If Obama is able to not just increase the Democratic performance in 2008, but actually engage new voters (”enlarging the pie”), Alabama politics could be permanently altered.

Can Obama win Alabama in a general election? Probably not. Would he even run stronger than Hillary? Hard to say. But by taking Hillary (and all of the baggage she brings with her) out of the equation, perhaps Alabamians will take a fresh look at the Democratic nominee. With important statewide offices and hundreds of local offices up in 2008, Democrats can ill afford another 2004 bloodbath where their nominee couldn’t even crack 40%.

To put it bluntly, neither Obama or Clinton will win Alabama in a general election. But Clinton promises more of the same polarization and partisan divide of which Alabama Democrats have found themselves on the losing end for decades. With Obama there is at least a chance, that he can break through the status quo and forge a new and different political environment. If I’m an Alabama Democrat, that’s a chance I have to take.

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January 11, 2008

Hubbard Announces GOP Fundraising Success Tonight

Filed under: Party Politics — Danny @ 7:00 pm

Mike HubbardTo date, the state GOP has received over $2.6 million in pledges from its Campaign 2010 fundraising effort, state GOP chair Mike Hubbard will announce at the state party’s winter dinner tonight. Campaign 2010 was started last year to raise money for GOP candidates in the 2010 legislative campaigns. Contributors to the campaign’s “Governor’s Circle” are asked to give $10,000 per year for four years, or $40,000.

“This is the most aggressive, the most comprehensive and the most ambitious fundraising effort in the history of the Republican Party,” Hubbard told the Parlor. “I’ve been travelling the state, prospecting, explaining how the money will be used. So far, we have 67 people who have pledged $40,000. Our goal is to have 100.”

Dollar Sign“It’s not just money that we will be giving the candidates [in 2010]. We will be actively involved in campaigns, helping them be effective and efficient. Helping with mail, radio, polling, consultants. By combining like this, we’ll be able to benefit from economies of scale. Instead of paying for one poll at a time, we can go in and say, ‘We want 15 polls’ and get a better rate.

“Part of what I’m telling people is that we can’t count on the business community to do our job for us, and it’s probably been unfair to count on them to do our job for us. We’ll work with them when we can, but we have to go out and raise the money and do the job of electing Republicans.”

“I hope people will be excited by the announcement. All this has been done under the radar screen so far. Del Marsh [the party’s Finance Chair], the Governor and I have all been engaged in this.”

“We are getting some pushback from people in the party who don’t believe we should be running campaigns, but what else should we do? Our job is electing Republicans.”

This post has been edited.

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Considering Holley’s Switch

Filed under: AL Senate, Party Politics — Danny @ 4:23 pm

Last night, Sen. Jimmy Holley (of Elba) officially announced a change of his party allegiance from Democrat to Republican (a story that the Political Parlor broke three weeks ago).

Jimmy HolleyThe statement from the state Democratic Party on Holley’s switch says, “The Democratic Party did not leave Holley. Holley left the Democratic Party.” And there is some merit to that. Sen. Jimmy Holley was no DINO (Democrat In Name Only) even though he was one of the so-called dissident Democrats to caucus with Senate Republicans for a couple of years now.

One insider pulls out of memory the beginning of the end, the moment some years ago when it all began to go bad between Sen. Holley and Democratic Sen. Lowell Barron (former Senate President Pro Tem and now Senate Rules Chair).

there was an agricultural bill primarily written and backed by alfa that was passed into law that provided aid to farmers across the state (fuzzy on the details) but for some reason it, unintentionally, didn’t cover peanut farmers which is the major crop in holley’s district.

alfa took the lead in trying to push through legislation that would cover peanuts, but given barron and alfa’s history of antipathy toward each other, barron didn’t bail out alfa on their sloppy bill and killed the effort to pass the follow up piece for the peanut farmers. holley was enraged by this and took it as a personal insult, but barron wouldn’t budge, preferring instead to stick it to alfa.

so much of the personal animosity between barron and holley was really collateral damage in barron’s efforts to screw alfa.

The divisions that led Holley and a few other Senate Democrats to caucus with Republicans had less to do with policy and more to do with personality and power. Our Chauncey Sparks examined that nicely a year ago.

In his own orientation, Holley was a Democrat. He was a strong supporter of Wes Clark’s presidential run in 2004, and Clark is solidly liberal on most policy issues. Just a little more than a year ago (October 2006), Holley was helping to organize events for Clark in the Wiregrass. One insider told me that Holley paid to keep the Dale County Democratic Headquarters open with his own campaign funds. In these respects and others, Holley was a Democrat.

Blue Donkey and Red ElephantAlready unhappy enough with the Senate Democrats to caucus with the Republicans, Holley was no doubt affronted that other Democratic Senators funded primary challengers in 2006 against himself and other dissident Democrats. (Dissident Democratic Senator Gerald Dial was ousted by Kim Benefield in the primary that year.) Still, however, Holley was endorsed by the Alabama Democratic Conference (described as “the black wing of the Alabama Democratic Party”) led by Joe Reed - because the differences between Holley and some Senate peers were not about policy.

The final straw for Holley? The Dothan Eagle reported this morning:

Holley also said that the Senate Democratic leadership’s actions in reducing funding for rebuilding Enterprise High School in retaliation for bucking their lead on various issues pushed him into the Republicans’ arms.

“I told Mary (his wife), ‘This is the straw that broke the camel’s back,’” Holley said.

The divide between Holley and the Senate Democrats was not about one being too liberal or too conservative; it was about personality and power, born out of Lowell Barron’s desire to screw ALFA.


As a Republican, Holley’s future in the Senate looks more secure. He could undoubtedly win a general election as a member of either party, but the district trends Republican, and a long-term future in the Senate (if he seeks one) is likely more secure as a Republican.

SD 31 and ALBut consider that in 2006, Holley received almost $100,000 from traditional Democratic constituencies like AEA ($75,000), State Employees’ PAC ($17,500) and the AFL-CIO ($5,000), which doesn’t even count the several hundred thousand dollars he received from other PACs. One may reasonably assume that Democratic leaning groups were behind much of that money. (By contrast, Holley’s 2006 Republican opponent Dwight Adams received donations from tried and true GOP faithful like the Republican Women of Coffee County, Alabama Federation of Republican Woman, and Mitt Romney’s PAC.)

Yes, Holley caucused with the GOP, but with the Senate shutdown there were so few votes of consequence last year, that you could hardly say that Holley’s policy allegiances were tested.

Would local GOP activists in the district question Holley’s loyalty? Enough to give him another tough primary fight in 2010, this time from the GOP? Did Holley get any GOP “incumbent insurance” along with his switch?

State GOP chair Mike Hubbard confirmed what one GOP insider told me: the GOP party leadership including the other 12 GOP Senators will do whatever they need to do to dissuade others from mounting a primary challenge to Holley. Hubbard said that the GOP was “going to do everything we can to keep a primary challenge from happening. We can’t keep someone from qualifying obviously, but short of that, we’ll do all we can,” adding, “We’d do that for all of our good incumbents.”

Hubbard has been meeting with GOP chairs in other states to learn how they have encouraged party-switchers and protected them from primary challenges (from an unhappy GOP activist or from a Democrat running as a Republican). The state GOP’s fundraising effort, Campaign 2010, has gone “better than expected” according to one insider who added, “there WILL be money to protect incumbents such as Holley. That commitment is there.” (More on Campaign 2010 later.)


Hubbard acknowledged that Holley’s past showed Holley to be no DINO, that Holley had been solidly with the Democrats on many policy issues. “I’m confident that the next three years will show he’s going to be a solid Republican, and that this [Holley’s past] is not going to be an issue.”

“Last night [when Holley announced his switch] was a great event. The media and Democrats may want to play it down, but it’s huge. Anytime we pick up one, and they lose one, it’s huge. It was a packed house. Over 200 people were there. A number of his colleagues from the House and Senate were there. His opponent in the 2006 election, Dwight Adams, was there and couldn’t have been happier.

“Jimmy had to have felt the love.”

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December 21, 2007

BREAKING: Dem Senator Switches Parties

Filed under: AL Senate, Party Politics — Danny @ 2:49 pm

Jimmy HolleyDemocratic State Sen. Jimmy Holley (of Elba) has confirmed to Republican party officials (and is telling Democratic colleagues) that he will switch parties and become a Republican, a solid source close to the situation tells the Political Parlor. This means that there will be 22 Democratic Senators and 13 Republican Senators after the announcement is made. State GOP Communication Director Philip Bryan told the Parlor, “[State Party chair] Rep. Mike Hubbard has been talking to several Democrats, so we can not confirm that rumor.”

Holley has been one of the so-called dissident Democrats to caucus with the Senate Republicans. The minority coalition caucus of Republicans and dissident Democrats has 15 members, and that number will remain unchanged. The Democratic majority caucus has 20 members, still one vote shy of the 21 votes necessary for a “filibuster-proof” majority. (This count includes Sen. Larry Means of Attalla in the Democratic majority caucus. He had caucused with the Republicans last session, but he is said to be back with the Democratic majority, though I have seen no official announcement.) The other two Democrats who caucus with the GOP are Jim Preuitt (Talladega) and Tom Butler (Madison).

Holley’s district is solidly Republican. A Senate insider wondered to the Parlor in August if Holley might never come back into the Democratic fold, since Holley could easily win his district as a Republican.

It’s always a coup when someone switches teams, so we can naturally expect the GOP to make much of this. Functionally, the change will do little to affect the operation of the Senate.

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December 14, 2007

AL-02: Bobby Bright is Running as a…

Filed under: Campaign & Election, Party Politics, AL and DC — Danny @ 2:28 pm

Bobby BrightThe Parlor has heard this sentence finished with conviction in two different ways: “Bobby Bright is running as a…”

First, what we hear from multiple sources…

A GOP legislator who knows Bright personally has been telling people this week that Bright is in the race for the 2nd Congressional District as a Republican all the way. The decision has been made. That ship has sailed. Former state GOP chair Winton Blount has also been telling people that Bright is running as a Republican.

Last week, however, Bright was in Washington, DC where he met with DCCC (Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee) leadership.

So this means that…

Bright is running as a Democrat.

Blue Donkey and Red ElephantA Republican insider believes with 100% conviction that these things means Bright is running as a Democrat. Bright’s strategy is to tell everyone he is likely to run as a Republican because this makes him look more independent. This also gets the attention of the DCCC and increases their commitment to his campaign. No doubt.

Or, no…

Bright is running as a Republican.

A Democratic insider is sure that Bright will run as a Republican. Perhaps by design but certainly in effect, Bright will freeze the Democrats long enough that they will be without a strong candidate once he announces himself as a Republican candidate.

Like the Republican above, this Democrat has believed that Bright’s indecision was a PR move that would give him some credibility as an independent conservative before he announced as a Democratic candidate.

But now, Bright appears conflicted by beliefs that while he would have a much easier time getting to the general election through the Democratic primary than the Republican one, the district is too Republican for a Democrat to win. If he could manage the win as a Republican, he’d presumably have a safe seat for years, whereas if he wins as a Democrat, he could face a stiff challenge every two years.

How long can Bright keep this dance going?

FWIW, the Parlor hears that Winton Blount is the only known prominent Republican urging Bright to run for AL-02 as a Republican. Blount has been connected to Bright at least since Blount supported Bright’s successful campaign to replace Montgomery Mayor Emory Folmar in 1999.

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November 29, 2007

House Republican Retreat Items

Filed under: AL House, Party Politics, AL Issues — Danny @ 12:54 pm

GOP LogoThe Alabama House Republican Caucus concluded a two-day retreat today. The annual event is intended to build some unity in the group and doesn’t particularly generate big news. Though the caucus’s legislative agenda will not be set until January, the Parlor hears that caucus members did agree that illegal immigration was the biggest issue facing Alabama right now. There was also near-unanimous support for ending annual reappraisals of property taxes.

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November 20, 2007

Obama in Bama

Filed under: Party Politics, National Politics — Danny @ 8:53 am

I’ve heard it said that it is a sign a group is maturing into a new phase when its members and supporters do not have to be in lock step with one another.

Bob Johnson at AP:

The longtime field director of the Alabama Democratic Conference, Jerome Gray, has been named political director in Alabama for the presidential campaign of U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, even though the ADC has endorsed New York Sen. Hillary Clinton.

Barack ObamaRep. Alvin Holmes made no bones in the article about his belief that Obama is not electable.

… State Rep. Alvin Holmes, D-Montgomery, said ADC made the right move in supporting Clinton.

“Obama is a nice young fellow and well educated. But due to racism in America, he’s not going to win,” Holmes said. “Our primary objective is to get a Democrat elected president of the United States. The average person in America knows he’s not going to get elected.”

Related, Obama is opening two field offices in Alabama this month, one in Montgomery and one in Birmingham.

And I wonder if Alvin Holmes is right. Does racism make Obama unelectable?

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