Steve Flowers - Inside the Statehouse: Reapportionment will be paramount issue with legislature

  As we close the book on 2020, we will close the door on national politics and get back to the basics, good old Alabama politics.  That’s my game.  It is what I know and enjoy writing and talking about. Some say my prognostications and observations on Alabama politics are sometimes accurate. However, not so much so on the national level.

  About a decade ago, there was an open presidential race and a spirited Republican battle for the nomination had begun. One of the entrants stood out to me. U.S. Senator Fred Thompson from Tennessee looked like the real thing to me. He was tall, tough, articulate, a movie star, and a major player in the Watergate hearings. He looked like a president. He had a deep authoritative voice and gravitas, and he had done a good job as a U.S. Senator from Tennessee. He actually had been born in Alabama.

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.