Charles C. Haynes: Trump and the future of the First Amendment

  After Super Tuesday, what was once unthinkable may now be inevitable: Donald Trump, Republican nominee for president of the United States.

  That’s my cue to join the hundreds of other columnists and pundits scrambling to inform Republican primary voters so that when they vote, they understand the implications of their vote. Of course, the joke is on us. The more we pile on Trump, the more he piles up votes.

  Nevertheless, we have a civic duty at moments like this “to take alarm at the first experiment on our liberties,” to quote James Madison. There are troubling signs in this campaign that a Trump presidency could be a disaster for First Amendment freedoms.

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse: What Congressional redistricting and the Electoral College mean to us today

  You know the outcomes of our presidential primaries yesterday. I do too, today; however, this column had to go to press a few days prior to the primary. Therefore, I will have to report and analyze your voting in a later column.

  One thing I do know is that we had a lot more attention paid to us in the Heart of Dixie because we had an early primary. The legislature is to be applauded for moving us up to participate in the March 1st "SEC" primary.

  It was fun while it lasted, but we can say goodbye to presidential candidates in the Heart of Dixie for the remainder of the campaign. Whoever wins the nominations will have to concentrate on the 10 battleground states during the fall.

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse: Super PACs take center stage in primaries

  As our primary selection day approaches, it appears that we are seeing significant campaign attention from the presidential candidates. The move by the Alabama Legislature to make us an early primary state was a good one.

  As is generally the case, we are seeing negative ads. That is not unusual in politics. The reason that they are employed so often is because they work. Otherwise, the media consultants would not use them. The difference in this year’s presidential contests, however, is who is paying for the ads.

Darrio Melton: Put the personal attacks aside for the primary

  March 1 is right around the corner, and Alabama's primary races are heating up. We've seen contentious rhetoric in the presidential nomination races, but the same tone is trickling down to our local primaries and communities.

  The primary process has produced a lot of negativity, especially with how closely Secretary Clinton and Senator Sanders are performing in early states. It's easy to sit back and throw rocks at the super-delegates and talk about "party insiders" when both candidates are campaigning for a job that is, by definition, a "party insider."

  What people might forget is that the Democratic primary is the most democratic that it's ever been, and that speaks volumes about our party and the way that we choose the top of the ticket.