Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse: Senate steps to the right

  The 2014 elections were quite uneventful. The seven statewide constitutional offices were all retained by Republicans. In fact, the reason the election was so dull was because the top five constitutional offices were held by incumbent Republicans who all waltzed to reelection. These included Gov. Robert Bentley, Lt. Gov. Kay Ivey, State Treasurer Young Boozer, Agriculture Commissioner John McMillan and Attorney General Luther Strange.

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse: Is this the end of Mike Hubbard?

  Mike Hubbard is the political story of the year because our 2014 state elections were so mundane. The October indictment of the Speaker of the Alabama House of Representatives overshadows all other political events in the state, even the reelection of Gov. Robert Bentley, which was a foregone conclusion. In fact, if Hubbard had not been indicted, it would have been the political story of the year.

  Speculation had been rampant for well over a year that the very powerful leader of the House would be indicted by a Lee County Grand Jury. Every time I had lunch at a Montgomery restaurant someone would come up to me and say, “It’s coming down today,” or “Hubbard is turning himself in this afternoon.” About once a month I would get a call with some information. It was always a false rumor. However, the prevailing opinion was that Hubbard inevitably would be indicted.

Tom Kenworthy: For President Obama, it is all about veto power now

  Similar to former President Bill Clinton before him, President Barack Obama now faces a Republican-controlled Congress, one that will almost certainly be implacably hostile toward progressive governance and determined to put a conservative stamp on the statute books.

  If the past is any guide, a significant part of the agenda of the incoming Congress will be a broad-based attack on the conservation of public lands. The GOP leadership launched exactly that kind of assault after sweeping into power on Capitol Hill in 1995 following an election in which Republicans gained 54 seats in the House and 8 in the Senate. It was the first time since 1954 that Republicans controlled the House, and they had considerable pent-up demands about how the federal government should manage its vast network of national parks, national forests, wildlife refuges, and rangelands.

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse: What happened in the 6th Congressional District?

  This was probably one of the dullest and least interesting gubernatorial election years in memory. It stemmed from the fact that Robert Bentley was a popular incumbent governor and nobody dared to run against him in the Republican Primary. These days winning the Republican Primary is tantamount to election in the Heart of Dixie.

  The only really exciting race was for the open 6th Congressional District seat vacated by Rep. Spencer Bachus. This district encompasses the suburbs of Birmingham and Jefferson County as well as several surrounding conservative counties. It is home to some of the state’s most affluent enclaves, such as Mountain Brook, Vestavia, Homewood and Hoover. It has been ranked in Washington as one of the most Republican congressional districts in the nation. Therefore, the congressman was elected in the summer GOP Primary.

Hank Sanders: Sketches #1431: You find what you look for

  The old folks often said, “In every dark cloud there is a silver lining.” The dark clouds are indeed looming after Election Day, but I’m looking for the silver lining.

  For me, the clouds are dark on the national level. Republicans now control the U. S. House of Representatives and the U. S. Senate. It’s not the fact that they are Republicans that darkens the clouds, but the fact that they made great gains in the Senate and the House after the following: closing down the government; incessantly demonizing the president; opposing any measure with strong public support to improve the economy; stopping popular measures such as minimum wage; and so on. The clouds are indeed dark, so I am looking for the silver lining.

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse: The Republican landslide dust settles

  In all my years of following Alabama politics, I have never seen as dull an election year as we just witnessed. It stems from the fact that we had an uneventful and noncompetitive governor’s race.

  Historically, Alabamians have turned out more for the governor’s race every four years than for a presidential race. This is dissimilar to the rest of the nation. Most Americans are more excited about who sits in the White House than who sits in the Statehouse.

First look at the fossil-fuel and anti-environment agenda of the next Congress

  After months of speculation about the outcome of last week’s elections, it is now clear that Republicans will control both the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives starting in January. According to recent analyses of political contributions and advertising spending, fossil-fuel interests—including the conservative billionaire Koch brothers—appear to have played a major role in the races that ultimately decided the balance of power in the Senate. These campaign investments from the oil, gas, and coal industry are likely to have a major impact on the agenda of the coming 114th Congress, as Republican leaders work to pay back the support their fossil-fuel allies provided during the election.

Sam Fulwood III: Why young, minority, and low-income citizens don’t vote

  On Tuesday, voters across the United States cast their ballots in the 2014 midterm elections. As with any election, there are winners and losers.

  But, dear reader, this column offers neither post-election analysis nor after-the-fact second-guessing–well, at least, not in the well-worn, traditional sense. Instead, I want to use the occasion of Election Day to share an insight into the sad fundamentals of electoral democracy. Regardless of whether a favored candidate won or a popular ballot initiative passed, our nation suffered because of the number of people who didn’t vote at all.

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse: Countdown to Election Day

  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 usually by the margin suggested by polling.

Robert G. Wilkerson: Political attack ads and eight reasons to reject them

  It’s the political season again, and we are being bombarded by attack ads, many of which are so gross they insult our intelligence. Whether they insult us or not, there are eight reasons we should reject attack ads.

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse: The mid-term crystal ball

  We are not indicative of or really even a part of the national political equation. The Heart of Dixie is an integral part of the heart and soul of the Republican Party. We and our fellow Deep South sister states are such reliably Republican red states that we are essentially ignored in national elections.

  It is a foregone conclusion that our delegation in Washington will remain six Republicans and one lone Democrat. Our two Senators are also Republican. One of our Senators, Jeff Sessions, is waltzing to his fourth six-year term unopposed. In fact, Sessions did not even have a GOP primary opponent. However, even though we are a GOP ritualistic hinterland, this does not mean that the rest of the country is not embroiled in a pivotal midterm election.

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse: Eric Cantor's exit

  This year’s state primary elections have brought very little drama or surprises. However, there have been the inevitable novel surprises nationwide.

Claire Markham: How would Pope Francis vote?

  Pope Francis is one of the most popular religious leaders in the world, with a fan base that stretches far beyond the 1.2 billion members of the Catholic Church. His admirers include millions of worshippers in other faith traditions, as well as millions of people who are not religious. Pope Francis is popular for many reasons: He is joyful, nonjudgmental, loving, smart, humorous, self-aware, humble, inclusive, and unpredictable. In other words, one thing the pope is not is a politician.

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse: GOP runoff drama

  If you think the turnout was low for the June 3 primary, “then you ain’t seen nothing yet.”  The runoff is next Tuesday. The prognostication is for a paltry 5 percent statewide voter participation. Pundits and columnists should not chastise the average Alabama voter because, for the most part, he or she does not have much reason to vote on July 15.

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse: GOP primary provides few surprises

  There is an old adage that says the more things change the more they remain the same. This is certainly apropos for this year’s primary elections.

  On election night, I kept looking for some upset or surprise. It was not forthcoming. Essentially every incumbent won reelection, especially when it came to Alabama Senate and House races.

Hank Sanders: Senate Sketches #1408: Vantage points from behind-the-scenes in elections

  What really goes on behind the scenes in elections? We see signs on the roads. We see ads on television. We hear ads on the radio. We see candidates at forums, at meetings and sometimes in our neighborhoods. None of these actions tell us what really goes on behind the scenes in elections.

  With this primary election coming to a conclusion as this Sketches is published, I thought it might be worthwhile to peek behind the scenes at a few election issues. This is not about the race I just concluded or my previous races. It is a collection of experiences shared and information gathered over 42 years.

Our Stand: Remember what matters in the June 3rd Republican Primary

  After an exhaustive survey of rhetoric offered, public policy priorities voiced, and an examination of "values" routinely touted by River Region and statewide candidates running for elected office in the June 3rd Republican Primary, the editorial board of the Capital City Free Press has produced this insightful voter guide for registered voters who plan to participate in the Tuesday election.

  Instead of listing individual candidates and races, we have instead summarized the candidates' prevailing themes and talking points as a means to assist voters who wish to boil their decisions down to the most important areas of qualifications and goals. These points and areas of focus seem to be consistent among Republican candidates in Alabama regardless of the office they seek.

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse: The race to replace Spencer Bachus

  My early and continuous prognostication that this would be a lackluster political season has been justified. It may very well be the least interesting gubernatorial politicking year in memory.

  The fact that Gov. Robert Bentley is waltzing to reelection with essentially no opposition is the primary reason for the lack of activity. In addition, the offices of Agriculture Commissioner, Attorney General and Treasurer are held by popular incumbent Republicans who have no significant opposition.

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse: Alabama's hottest legislative races

  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. Fielding is a former Talladega County Circuit Judge who retired from the bench after earning his judicial retirement and won this senate seat in 2010.

Cameron Smith: Five questions to ask Alabama’s federal candidates

  Alabama’s Sixth Congressional District, which encompasses the suburbs of Birmingham, may be the only hotly contested election this cycle, but that is no excuse for voters to give the remaining federal candidates a free pass on detailing their solutions to the challenges facing Alabama and the nation.