Hank Sanders: Senate Sketches #1543: When we embrace struggle, we win victories

  “Senator Sanders, did you hear about the victory on the driver’s license offices?” This call came the day after Christmas and I considered it a gift. But it was a gift forged by continuing struggle. Victory often comes unexpectedly, but it never comes without struggle. To paraphrase the great Frederick Douglass, “Victory cannot come without struggle. It never did and it never will.” We struggled, and we won victories.

  The struggle started when the State of Alabama closed 32 driver’s license offices in 28 of Alabama’s 67 counties on October 1, 2014. It made no sense because driver’s licenses are necessary to drive, vote, board airplanes, participate in commercial transactions and much more. Driver’s licenses are critical but Alabama said certain citizens should go to other counties to apply. We struggled, and we won victories.

Hank Sanders: Senate Sketches #1510: The fight to reopen driver's license offices

  Sometimes things just seem to be working out, but there is an old saying: “Don’t count your chickens before they hatch.” That thought repeated itself in my mind over and over again. I was so thankful because I knew the way things were working was much bigger than me. It was even bigger than all those who helped in so many ways. Sometimes things just seem to be working out, but I know not to count our chickens before they hatch.

  In late September 2015, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) announced that 31 driver's license offices would be closed. As a result, citizens in 28 counties would have to travel to other counties to secure driver’s licenses. In the Alabama Black Belt, 11 of 13 counties did not have a driver's license office. Because driver licenses are the number one document for driving, voting, travel by plane, business transactions, etc., outrage was strong. The matter was even picked up by MSNBC and other national news organizations.

Craig Ford: Sinner or saint?

  If this mess in Montgomery has taught us anything, it’s that you can’t assume that just because a person is a Republican they share your values. We have to look past the party labels and look at who is actually on the ballot:

  This has been a disheartening week for the state of Alabama. The news of Gov. Robert Bentley’s relationship with Rebekah Caldwell Mason has embarrassed our state on the national level, and become a distraction for the legislature at a time when lawmakers need to be focused on solving the state’s problems.