I am the Afghanistan Blogging Fellow for The Seminal and Brave New Foundation. You can read my work on The Seminal or at Rethink Afghanistan. The views expressed below are my own.
The Alabama AFL-CIO announced its endorsements today for the general election. It's a Democrat-heavy list from top to bottom. One of the only non-Democratic candidates endorsed is Don Cotton HD-92, who's running as an independent. In that race, the labor group gave a dual endorsement to Cotton and his Democratic opponent, David Darby.
And there HAS to be a story there... anybody know what it is?
Note: as noted in the comments, a couple of Republicans got an endorsement. I missed that on the first pass of the list and updated the lede to reflect that.
Since just about every state and national GOP candidate (and even some Democrats) in Alabama seems to be toeing the party line that Nancy Pelosi is the source of all evil in the modern world and that issues like keeping teachers, firefighters, and police on the job are "job killing bailouts," it's not a big surprise that labor is favoring Democrats this year.
The entire list of endorsements (it's a long one!) is on the flip.
Democratic candidate for Alabama Senate, Bill Barnes, is running against Richard Shelby, the pork king who's against any sort of government spending that doesn't benefit his contributors or help his re-election effort. During a July interview with Barnes, he had some choice words to say about the "Party of NO."
"Essentially, the Republicans have got this facade now where everything is NO. that's all they want to say is NO, NO, NO.
And the free markets that they talk about... a free market doesn't work. It's been proven. It does not work in totality. And that's what they're saying that they want. Except whenever the changes would benefit them.
But we have to think about benefiting everyone in the state of Alabama, the citizens, the taxpayers, and the people of Alabama. And the country! The Senate seat not only goes to the state, but we also have to realize that it goes to the entire nation as well. All 50 Senators contribute to the nation as a whole."
Other posts from our long interview with Barnes are here. All include video and partial transcripts:
Given that the Alabama House delegation voted 6-1(only Congressman Davis voted YES) against the extension of unemployment benefits, you have to wonder how they think it will benefit them in the November election.
Will unemployed Alabama residents say "Gosh darn it, I'm proud of Mike Rogers for standing firm - even though it cost me my house" or will they start sharpening the pitchforks and lighting the torches?
Some of the rhetoric is beyond belief. The new talking point is that extending unemployment benefits will only discourage people from looking for jobs. Oh, we lazy Americans. Fifteen million of us thrown out of work since the recession began, and we just don’t want to go back on the job because of those cushy benefits. Unemployment is our fault. And there are all those high-paying jobs out there just going begging because Obama is too generous with our tax money. Give me a break!
We've created resource pages for each individual Congressional and statewide candidate we've covered at LIA over the last year. Each page includes links to videos of their speeches and interviews, issue diaries, opinion diaries, and more.
This was NO SMALL EFFORT! So please use these pages to learn about the candidates and make an informed decision on June 1. Now, I'm sure that somehow, somewhere Mooncat and I left out someone's candidate diary. If you don't see your favorite, add a link in the comments and we'll update the candidate page.
We will have a page up tomorrow on the AG candidates, but I wanted to get this much up tonight and truthfully, can't type anymore. My "mouse hand" is numb!
While we've been riveted by xenophobic Tim James ads and creepy Dale Peterson's anti-gun safety ads (don't shoot the horse, moron!), the national Republican Party is turning their supporters' ideas loose on the Internet - with hilarious results.
On Tuesday, Republicans invited America to "Speak Out!"
Republicans were very pleased with their technological sophistication as they introduced the Web site, America Speaking Out a ceremony at the Newseum. Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who created the program, said that to get software for the site, "I personally traveled to Washington state and discovered a Microsoft program that helped NASA map the moon."
Using lunar software is appropriate, because the early responses to the Republicans' request for ideas are pretty far out:
"Discovered?" Was there an archeological dig involved? In any case, those "lunar" ideas include:
End the idea of Net Neutrality. American's do not need the government censoring our websites for us. Leave the internet alone. Commentors point out that "net neutrality" prevents censorship, it doesn't cause it.
eliminating minimum wage laws will allow companies to hire many more Americans for just a fraction of the price. If Mexicans can work for 2$ an hour, so can we.
Just get out of the way! Businesses do fine on its own if you don't saddle them with taxes and regulations. Like poor, oppressed BP and all those banks....
Democratic candidate for Treasurer, Jeremy Sherer, picked up the endorsement of the "Daily Home," a local paper covering St. Clair and Talladega Counties:
Sherer’s ideas coalesce into a picture of a forward-thinking state treasurer who will look for unconventional solutions to existing problems. He’s part of a new generation of politicians in Alabama, and it’s about time.
And no... nobody from Left in Alabama wrote that editorial - even though it's what many of us here have been saying for a long time! Here's more:
Do not mistake Sherer’s lack of experience for inability. In this race, he has identified four areas of responsibility among the many the treasurer must address, and his ideas are impressive.
He plans to make sure that all state treasury money held in banks is deposited in sound Alabama-based institutions that actively lend within their communities. He claims that at present millions of state tax dollars are deposited in out-of-state banks that have been cited for discriminatory lending practices.
Sherer wants to improve the availability of small bank loans to average Alabamians and reduce the dependence on pawn shops and payday lenders. He says he will work with the attorney general and the Legislature to protect families from predatory lending practices. Part of this initiative, he says, would be to improve financial literacy among the state’s residents.
He offers no simple solution to the PACT dilemma, recognizing that even with the bailout passed this spring, PACT will be an ongoing problem.
Finally, Sherer proposes to make the state’s financial holdings, expenditures and investments available for public examination by putting them online.
"A new generation of politicians" with impressive ideas and one that's not afraid to say that our problems have no simple solutions. And yet, the support he's getting from many of the old guard Democratic Party politicians and institutions is tepid at best.
Young leaders like Jeremy Sherer are the future and the hope of the Alabama Democratic Party. Let's hope that our Democratic Party primary voters realize that next Tuesday.
It isn't Primary Night in Alabama just yet, but you know, there's all these other states that send Senators to the U.S. Senate...
There are primaries in Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Arkansas, and Oregon. In Pennsylvania and Arkansas, Corp-Rat Dems are being challenged from the left for the Senate nominations. This is how we get from "more Democrats" to "better Democrats"!
At this point, it looks like Rand Paul, son of Ron Paul, and NOT the favorite of Mitch McConnell, has won the GOP nomination for the U.S. Senate race. And the tea partiers are rejoicing...
Democratic candidate for Treasurer Jeremy Sherer wants to make Alabama's 529 program work better for participants and use the program to encourage lower income families to save for college.
Sherer's plan is to create a partnership with Alabama colleges and universities (especially the Alabama and Auburn systems that received a windfall in the PACT program rescue plan) to match 529 contributions. Learn more details about his plan. He also wants to make Alabama's 529 plan better: it's currently ranked by Forbes as one of the lowest performing plans in the country. Yet another thing to "thank" Cowgirl Kay Ivey for!
"The 529 plan, which is not guaranteed, has actually performed at a higher rate than PACT [...] meaning that it has been managed better than PACT has been managed. [...] We've got to promote college savings within our state. The promotion of college savings within Alabama can't die with PACT. [...] Alabama's next state treasurer is actually going to negotiate the next 529 administrator contract. We have to have a Treasurer who believes in the 529 program and sees a future for the program and how we can encourage college savings for all Alabamians, not just well-to-do or middle class Alabamians."
Mark your calendars, the Rocket City Democrats are planning another terrific event in Huntsville on May 12, from 5:30 to 7pm. They'll be hosting Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks and Congressman Artur Davis for a meet and greet and gubernatorial forum.
This event takes place just a few weeks before the primary, so both candidates are sure to be making their cases and laying out their plans for Alabama.
Still not convinced? It's free and to be held in a beautiful venue: the Summit at Big Spring - an elegant event space with views of Big Spring Park, the Huntsville Museum of Art, and more.
Other Democratic candidates have also been invited to appear. LIA will be there covering the event, but nothing is quite as good as being there in person!
The event will allow guests to meet the candidates, and it will be followed by a Question & Answer session moderated by John Brinkley, RCD Vice-President. If you would like to submit a question to the candidates, please submit your question to john@huntsvilleattorneys.com.
Y'all come! And... this is kind of specific to the North Alabama area. If you have similar events taking place in your part of Alabama, please let us know by email. Or - even better - with a diary describing the event!
Tim James may be lagging in the polls, but that didn't stop him from mailing out an 8-page, glossy, 8x10 full-color campaign mailer to our Democratic household last week.
Unlike most people (probably), I actually read the thing - although I was transfixed for a while by this cover photo of James. What's up with that expression? It's the same one my mother used to have when she'd get home from work and find I hadn't scooped the litter box like I was supposed to.
Perhaps the wind changed right as the photographer snapped the photo and he caught wind of one of his incinerators...
Anyway, the flyer was filled with pretty basic, right-wing GOP stuff about ending lawsuits, applying "traditional conservative values" to government, and a quote that James was "Tea Party" before it was cool.
But the weirdest parts were those under his "Tim James: A Practicing Christian" section.
61 days from today will be the Glorious First of June!
To anyone who has followed Patrick O'Brian's sagas of Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin, the Glorious First of June rings a bell - it was a day of celebration in the British Royal Navy, sure to inspire a toast by Captain Aubrey after dinner in the great cabin. Oh, and if you haven't read them - you're in for a treat!
But in Alabama, this year, the first of June is Primary Day - and it may be just as deserving of celebration, if for no other reason than the primaries will finally be settled. Give or take the odd runoff or two, the spectacle of which we are sure to be treated to on the Republican side. Stock up on the popcorn!
The original Glorious First of June was actually a bit of a mixed bag. The British Channel Fleet was seeking to interdict a grain convoy from America from reaching France, and the French Atlantic Fleet was trying to interdict the interdiction. After the smoke cleared, the French had lost 7 ships of the line and the British had lost none (Rule Britannia!!) - but as it turned out, the convoy had made it through (Vive La France!!)
That didn't stop both sides from spinning the outcome to their best advantage.
Democratic candidate for Treasurer, Jeremy Sherer, is offering a possible solution to the growing legislative impasse over bills to save Alabama's Prepaid Affordable College Tuition Program (PACT): the state's unclaimed property fund.
As I noted yesterday, the house-passed bill (HB228) has run into the immovable force that is Rules Committee Chair, Lowell Barron.
Barron objects to the tuition caps for PACT students that are included in the bill and won't allow a Senate vote on any bill that includes caps.
In response to a question about where the money will come from to pay tuition contracts, Sherer suggested that his solution - tapping the state's unclaimed property fund - is the most fair and least painful way to implement a short-term solution while the economy recovers - hopefully soon!
In an interview this week, Sherer stressed the importance of honoring PACT contracts:
PACT was flawed at its inception, due to its lack of tuition controls and lack of oversight from the Legislature. Ultimately, Alabama will spend millions of dollars due to the flawed structure of PACT, which resembled that of a pyramid scheme.
The priority of state leaders now must be to maintain control of PACT's fate and its own legal liability by guaranteeing PACT contracts, and keeping PACT's fate within the Legislature and out of the courtroom.
More information about how Shere's proposed solution worked in Kentucky and more remarks from him on the flip.
"The best investment Alabama can make is in itself," says Jeremy Sherer, Democratic candidate for Alabama Treasurer, as he pledged to deposit state money in Alabama financial institutions that "...make small business loans, entrepreneurial loans, farm loans, student loans, and invest within our local socio-economic fabric."
If only Sherer had been Treasurer last summer - instead of Kay Ivey - he might have been able to save Alabama jobs when lack of bank support forced Meadowcraft facilities in both Selma and Wadly, AL to close.
Sherer spoke last month to the Madison County Democratic Women about the challenges facing Alabama's next state treasurer and also answered questions later from Left in Alabama.
Problems with Alabama's Prepaid Affordable College Tuition program (PACT) have received the lion's share of attention, Sherer said. But the PACT crisis is just one more in a long line of important issues that current treasurer, Kay Ivey, has left unattended:
Not only has the Ivey administration overseen the collapse of Alabama's PACT program, but over the previous seven years, Alabama's once nationally-recognized, local banking industry has been decapitated.
We all know the names of the local financial institutions which, seven years ago, enriched our communities and employed our family members before the Ivey administration began managing our state's finances and investments - Southtrust, AmSouth, Colonial, Regions, Compass. Every one of those banks has since failed, merged or been purchased by an out of state bank.
Presently, $40 million of state taxpayer money is placed within a California based bank that in 2009 forced the bankruptcy of Meadowcraft, a financial sound Alabama industry that employed over 2,000 Alabamians across Jefferson, Dallas and Randolph Counties.
Alabama state taxpayer dollars belong in local banks that create jobs and invest in Alabamians, not with out of state banks that merely foreclose upon Alabamians.
There's a lot of attention today focused on a former Democrat - temporary Congressman Parker Griffith. That makes it a good day to take a look at a real Democrat who offers new ideas, innovative solutions, and pledges to work to move Alabama forward, not merely protect the status quo.
Democratic candidate for Alabama Treasurer, Jeremy Sherer, explained his position on Constitution reform to the Madison County Democratic Women on Feb. 4, 2010.
Sherer described how the present constitition constrains transportation funding and economic development and - even more important - doesn't refect modern values.
However, we tend to forget that other elected officials in Alabama are just as important to this process. If the constitutional officers - from Governor to Treasurer on down - express strong support for reform, they can help move the Legislature. They can present a united front that encourages progressive change in the state.
Furthermore, it's past time to encourage our younger members in the Alabama Democratic Party to step up and assume leadership positions. If you want change in Alabama's government, then elect change candidates.
The video and a partial transcrip is on the flip. Learn more about Jeremy Sherer for Treasurer at his Web site. Or - even better! - donate to the campaign via his ACT Blue account.
(This issue will be decided tomorrow at the SDEC board meeting. Is there, or is there not a dime's worth of difference between Democrats and Republicans? - promoted by mooncat)
The State Democratic Executive Board is scheduled to meet on Friday, February 19th at 1pm in Montgomery – at the AEA executive board room – in a "show cause" hearing about potential candidate for Treasurer Charley Grimsley. (The Political Parlor has a report up today on it.)
This is in response to the "Challenge Subcommittee" of the State Democratic Executive Committee's (SDEC) ruling released Monday, Feb. 8. It's in reference to SDEC member, Pam Miles', challenge of Charley Grimsley's intention to run for Treasurer in the Democratic Primary.
What does all this legalese mean? The SDEC Subcommittee (chaired by Dr. Joe Reed) passed the buck. It had been asked to decide if Grimsley violated party by-laws when he openly supported Republican candidates in general election contests with Democratic opponents. Given that Grimsley's generosity to Republican candidates and causes is well-documented (the challenge document lists them in detail and I blogged about Grimsley's unusual track record months ago), the case appeared to most observers to be pretty open and shut.
What's at issue here is the "Radney Rule: candidates should not be allowed to run on the Democratic ticket if they "did not support the nominees of the Democratic Party in all Special or General Elections during the past four years.”
Therefore, the main issue during the challenge hearing was Grimsley's donation 2006 of $500 to Republican candidate for Treasurer, Beth Chapman when she was running against Democratic incumbent Treasurer, Nancy Worley.
During the hearing, Grimsley tried to explain that away, calling the money "a gift" given to a friend who shared his love of gospel music. If that's all it takes to get Grimsley to part with cash, I'm willing to learn to love gospel music.
As the Political Parlor reported:
"On cross examination by Pam Miles' attorney, Grimsley contradicted himself by stating that his 'gift' was in fact a political contribution to Chapman's campaign, placing him in specific violation of the Radney rule. Later, point by point, contribution by contribution, Grimsley admitted to all, but stated he still considered himself a Democrat while making political contributions to Beth Chapman, Roy Moore, Bob Riley, George Bush, Steve Windom, etc. and while in the service of former Lt. Gov. Steve Windom".
And I'm told by someone in quite familiar with the proceedings that when Grimsley folded under cross-examination and admitted the Chapman contribution was, in fact, a "contribution" and not a "gift," his lawyer reacted visibly with a shudder and eye roll. Attorneys hate clients who don't know when to shut up.
So we have the odd spectacle of the sub-committee – with the rules in front of them and a prospective candidate who just admitted to violating them – refusing to make a decision.
Instead, they kicked the ball off to the 33-member Executive Board.
Learn more about how that process works on the flip.
Apparently, the Illinois Democratic party leadership leaned on him after the details about his past domestic abuse, battery, nonpayment of child support, and many other unlovely items came to light.
Alabama candidates have been donating and loaning a lot of money to their own campaigns. In some cases, campaigns would be almost broke without candidate loans - and/or without including January 2010 receipts/expenses - on the reports. And that raises a question:
How many (if any) of these "loans" represent actual money in campaign bank accounts and how many (if any) exist only on paper in the financial report?
It's hard to tell, but you have to wonder.
Kay Ivey is indisputably the queen of funny money campaign loans. As Danny at the Political Parlor pointed out, she has a history of "loaning" her campaign a million or so on December 31st, reporting a huge cash on hand amount, and then "repaying" the loan a week or so later:
Kay Ivey reports $1,561,000 on hand, but she also reports that she loaned herself $1,500,000 on New Year’s Eve. This is a regular trick she does. The New Year’s Eve loan shows up on the annual report for the year, but she repays the money almost immediately after the New Year so that the money is not really in her campaign account but a few days – long enough to inflate her year-end balance.
You can see an example here in this report for 2008 [.pdf]. On January 2, 2008, she pays back a $1 million loan that she made a few days before at the end of 2007. You can see on the same form that she loans herself a million dollars again on December 31, 2008. Three days later, on January 2, 2009, she repays $975,000 [.pdf] but in the meantime reports a 2008 ending balance of $1,003,137.54.
Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks also raised eyebrows with his report of a $500,000 personal loan to his campaign on 1/8/2010. Now, according to campaign finance rules, the report was to have stopped at December 31, 2009, but Sparks included a number of contributions made in January of this year.
More about that on the flip - along with info about his January 11, 2010 contribution haul totaling $249,050.
We've uploaded the challenge document (PDF) and it's available for your review. I strongly recommend looking it over! NOTE: Soapblox (our blog software) is acting ugly today. If the above link doesn't work, here's the challenge document is as Google Docs too.
Based on the Alabama Democratic Party bylaws, this appears to be an open and shut case, but Grimsley has already complained that it's "backroom politics."
No. It's following the party bylaws - something that both the Democrats and Republicans do in Alabama. For instance, in 2006, the GOP disqualified two candidates because of their previous support for Democrats.
Keeping my fingers crossed that the Alabama Democratic Party follows its own rules as well.
A subcommittee of the Alabama Democratic Party's State Democratic Executive Committee (SDEC) will meet Friday February 5th at 9:30 am to review a "Motion to Disqualify" Charley Grimsley's candidacy for State Treasurer. The challenge was entered by a member of the SDEC and cites Grimsley's "significant, long standing support of numerous federal and Alabama Republican candidates and Republican interest groups..."
That last part won't surprise you if you recall a previous LIA diary about Charley Grimsley. He's an unusual political animal who previously served as chief of staff to former Republican Lt. Governor Steve Windom and was also a prominent Roy Moore suporter.
As we noted then:
What do you get when you cross a donkey with an elephant in Alabama?
It appears that you get a well-connected pol like Democratic candidate for Treasurer, Charley Grimsley, a guy adept at playing both sides of the political game. He's boasted about his friendship with Lt. Governor Folsom while donating $5,000 to Roy Moore in 2006. He contributed $2,000 to George W. Bush in 2004 (the day before the election) and $2,300 to Barack Obama last October.
Grimsley was also quite generous to at least one Republican 527 organization, the "PFA Voter Fund," which described itself as:
Progress for America Voter Fund (“PFA-VF”) is a conservative issue advocacy organization dedicated to keeping the issue record straight on the campaign trail and serving as a “Political Truth Squad”.
PFA-VF is currently producing issue advocacy TV ads on President Bush’s plan to revitalize the American economy and wage a world wide war on terror.
Future PFA-VF television ads will expose John Kerry's record as the most liberal member of the United States Senate — even more liberal than Teddy Kennedy or Hillary Clinton!
Contribute to our cause to bolster support for conservative policies in the media and see your donation in action when we place our ads on television in your state.
More information and selected text from the challenge document is on the flip. Along with a short video of Charley Grimsley really "helping out" Steve Windom on the floor of the Alabama Senate.
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In that race, the labor group gave a dual endorsement to Cotton and his Democratic opponent, David Darby.
Given that 
This was NO SMALL EFFORT! So please use these pages to learn about the candidates and make an informed decision on June 1. Now, I'm sure that somehow, somewhere Mooncat and I left out someone's candidate diary. If you don't see your favorite, add a link in the comments and we'll update the candidate page.
Unlike most people (probably), I actually read the thing - although I was transfixed for a while by this cover photo of James. What's up with that expression? It's the same one my mother used to have when she'd get home from work and find I hadn't scooped the litter box like I was supposed to.
Sherer described how the present constitition constrains transportation funding and economic development and - even more important - doesn't refect modern values.
How many (if any) of these "loans" represent actual money in campaign bank accounts and how many (if any) exist only on paper in the financial report?
