The people's voice of reason
The people's voice of reason
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As I type up this article, we're counting down the days, hours, and minutes till the start of gun season! With bow and muzzleloader seasons underway, there's already been plenty of action for the avid outdoorsman, and the best part is still yet to come! I've had a few folks hunting with me during muzzleloader season, and they're seeing deer everywhere! Average field count is almost 40 deer a hunt! Between the cold weather, the lack of pressure, and a great crop of acorns this year, we should hav...
The 2014 General Election is Tuesday. It is set to be uneventful. I predicted over a year ago that this election year was going to be dull and, folks, my prognostication has come to fruition. This year has been a yawner from the get go. Even the GOP and Democratic primaries in June were void of any drama. As the results trickled in from the summer primaries, there were absolutely no surprises or upsets. Even in the face of historic low voter turnout, every favorite or incumbent prevailed and...
Well folks, it's finally November, which is when gun season for deer hunting kicks off! With both Northern and Southern zones starting on the 22nd of November, all of us are dusting off those orange caps and vests, sighting in the old rifle, and scouting around for the best spot to bring home a buck. You've got muzzleloader season starting on the 17th, and youth seasons starts on the 14th! In the Southern Zone, there's also a period from December 1st through 10th where gun hunting is out, and...
When Guy Hunt won the Governor’s race over Bill Baxley in 1986 it was well publicized that he was a part-time Primitive Baptist preacher. He was also billed as a part-time Amway salesman. These common man vocations appealed to the average Alabama voter. It was Hunt’s calling as a Baptist preacher that resonated warmly with his constituency. Alabamians are very religious and very Baptist. Hunt had done surprisingly well as governor for four years and turned back Paul Hubbert’s Democratic challeng...
Hello everyone, my name is Steve Long, and I'm a life-long outdoorsman with a soft spot for turkey hunting! I enjoy just about every kind of hunting and fishing there is, especially with my four boys. I've even managed to get my wife of 29 years, Renee, to go along once or twice! They say do what you love, and that's exactly where I'm at. I own a couple of small businesses in Montgomery, I do guided hunts at Great Southern Outdoors, and I even co-host a hunting and fishing radio show, Cast &...
The 1978 Governor’s race between the three heavyweights, former Governor Albert Brewer, Attorney General Bill Baxley, and Lt. Governor Jere Beasley, was expected to be titanic. All three men had last names beginning with the letter “B.” The press coined the phrase “the three B’s.” The Republicans were relegated to insignificance on the gubernatorial stage. The winner of the Democratic Primary would be governor. Meanwhile, over in east Alabama, a little known former Auburn halfback named Fob Jame...
If race was a major issue in 1958, being the racist candidate in 1962 was the only way to be elected governor. With this issue in hand and Wallace’s love for campaigning and remembering names, he would have beaten anybody that year. Big Jim was really no match for Wallace because Big Jim had always been soft on the race issue. He was a true progressive liberal who would not succumb to racial demagoging, but Big Jim had succumbed to alcohol. Leading up to the Governor’s race in 1962, while Wallac...
A recent Fortune magazine article ranks Alabama as one of the top ten states when it comes to corruption. We were ranked number six. The rankings were determined by a study of convictions of public officials for violations of federal corruption laws between 1976 and 2008. A good many of our sister southern states also made the list. Not surprisingly Louisiana came in at number two. They are a perennial corruption leader. It is part of their culture. They are proud of their status as one of the...
You know the results of Tuesday’s primary elections. However, my column had to go to press prior to Tuesday’s vote. Therefore, we will discuss and analyze the outcome next week. It is doubtful that there were any surprises. Gov. Robert Bentley more than likely waltzed to the GOP nomination. He will probably face Parker Griffith in this fall’s General Election. Ironically, both Griffith and Bentley are 72-year-old retired physicians. It is not likely that matchup has ever occurred in an Alaba...
Early on it appeared that the best political races of the year would be for legislative seats. Indeed, with this being a lackluster year for statewide contests there are some good senate races throughout the state to watch. Most of these hotly contested battles will be intraparty GOP squabbles. Senate District 11, which is composed primarily of St. Clair and Talladega Counties, may be the best race to watch. Incumbent State Sen. Jerry Fielding is being challenged by State Rep. Jim McClendon. Fie...
January 8, 2014 The 2014 Legislative Session begins next week. The session starts early in the fourth year of the quadrennium because it is an election year. Legislators want to come in and get out early so that they can go home and campaign. Usually legislatures do not do much other than pass the budgets in a campaign year session. They especially do not try to tackle any controversial issues that could stir up any ire with voters. However, this current group of legislators will tackle...
Believe it or not we are approaching the fourth year of this legislative quadrennium. The legislature will meet early next year because it is an election year. All 140 seats in the House and Senate are up for election in 2014. These legislators were elected in 2010. Most of them are Republicans. The GOP owns a two to one super majority in both the House and Senate. These folks are not just Republicans in name only, sometimes referred to as “RINOs.” They are real Republicans. They are con...
October 30, 2013 - Steve Flowers The greatest partisan change in American political history has occurred during my lifetime. The transformation of Alabama and our sister Deep South states from an all Democratic region to an all Republican territory has been remarkable and historic. Exactly 50 years ago today Alabama’s entire delegation in Washington was Democratic. Democrats held all seven constitutional offices. Every member of the Supreme Court ran as a Democrat. Sixty-six out of 67 s...
During the summer Alabama had a rash of major political figures step down from office in the middle of their elected terms. The first to go was 1st District Congressman Jo Bonner. Beth Chapman also quit her job as Secretary of State as did State Representative Jay Love of Montgomery, who chaired the powerful House Ways and Means Education Budget Committee. Love’s counterpart, Rep. Jim Barton of Mobile, who chaired the House General Fund Committee, quit his House seat. Elmore County Rep. Barry Ma...
