Our federal government has to find a way to get
along and end deficit spending. We have to come to grips with our spending more
money than we bring in or we will continue to exacerbate our vulnerability and
decline as a nation.
What about here in Alabama? We have a constitutional
provision that prohibits deficit spending. We must live within our means no matter
how difficult tightening our belt may be. We also have a Republican governor
and a super majority of conservatives in the legislature who warm to the task
of slicing government spending.
Speaking of a super Republican legislative majority,
we are now a totally Republican state from top to bottom in every branch of our
government. With the defeat of Lucy Baxley in the PSC presidency race, there is
not a single Democratic statewide officeholder in the Heart of Dixie.
When it comes to presidential politics, we became a
Republican state in 1964. We are now one of the most reliably GOP states in the
nation. Alabama and our sister southern states are the heart and soul of the
Republican Party.
With Mitt Romney’s victory in Alabama last Tuesday,
the GOP standard-bearer has carried our state the last nine straight
presidential races going back 36 years to 1976, usually by more than a 20%
margin of victory. However, Romney’s 61% to 38% shellacking of Obama was by a
lower percentage than McCain’s win in the state four years ago.
All seven of our constitutional offices of governor,
lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state, treasurer,
agriculture commissioner and state auditor are held by Republicans. Our three member Public Service Commission is
now all Republican following last Tuesday’s Twinkle Cavanaugh victory over Lucy
Baxley. Our state judiciary is
completely Republican. Our State Supreme Court is made up of nine jurists and
all nine are Republican. Our civil and criminal appellate courts have ten
judges and all ten of these appeals judges are Republican. That makes our
judicial branch 19 out of 19 GOP.
The Democrats made one valiant final attempt to
penetrate the impregnable hold that the GOP has on Alabama’s high court. They
orchestrated a plan to remove a weak candidate and field a very qualified
Jefferson County Circuit Judge to take on Ten Commandments Judge Roy Moore.
They perceived Moore to be vulnerable in the Chief Justice race. They ran Judge
Bob Vance and supplied him with plenty of money. Their efforts fell short.
Moore defeated Vance by a 52 to 48 margin and probably put to rest any hopes
and efforts of a Democrat winning a seat on the State Supreme Court for the
foreseeable future.
Our congressional delegation will return to the
Potomac intact. All seven of our members of congress were reelected last
Tuesday. We have six Republicans and one Democrat in our delegation. The
Republicans are Jo Bonner, Martha Roby, Mike Rogers, Robert Aderholt, Mo Brooks
and Spencer Bachus. Our lone Democrat is Terri Sewell.
Neither of our two U.S. Senators was up for election
this year. Jeff Sessions runs again in 2014. Our Senior Senator Richard Shelby
is not up for election again until 2016. Shelby was hoping that the Republicans
would take control of the Senate. He raised money for GOP Senate races
throughout the country. His efforts were not productive. Instead of gaining
seats in the U.S. Senate, the GOP lost ground. The Democrats picked up seats
and added to their majority in the U.S. Senate.
See you next week.
About the author: Steve Flowers is Alabama’s leading
political columnist. His column appears weekly in more than 70 Alabama
newspapers. Steve served 16 years in the state legislature. He may be reached
at http://www.steveflowers.us.
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