Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse: Siegelman shows Fob the door

  Old Fob James had an unusual political personality. When he was out of the governor’s office, he showed a tremendous yearning to get back. The proof is that he sought the office in 1986 and lost in the Democratic primary and lost again in 1990 in the primary. However, he came back and won in 1994 as a Republican. However, once he got the job, he acted as if he did not want it.

  James set a new standard for alienating his friends and supporters during his first term.

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse: Fobbed again

  When Guy Hunt won the governor’s race over Bill Baxley in 1986, it was well publicized that he was a part-time Primitive Baptist preacher. He was also billed as a part-time Amway salesman. These common man vocations appealed to the average Alabama voter. It was Hunt’s calling as a Baptist preacher that resonated warmly with his constituency. Alabamians are very religious and very Baptist.

How a good intention made the Alabama Legislature less democratic

  Alabama government has many features aimed at thwarting popular will. 

  There’s gerrymandering. And the centralized nature of state government. With most state power concentrated around Goat Hill, it’s much easier for entrenched interests to influence policy. 

  But few of these features are so on-the-nose with their anti-democratic nature as a unique part of the Alabama legislative process, known as budget isolation. 

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse: We have six living former governors. How are they doing?

  Gov. John Patterson is our oldest living chief executive. Patterson is 99 years old and living on his ancestral family farm in rural Tallapoosa County in an obscure area named Goldville. Patterson is a legend in Alabama politics. He was governor from 1958-1962. He has the distinction of being the only person to beat George Wallace in a governor’s race in the Heart of Dixie. When he was elected in 1958, he was 37-years-old and was dubbed the “Boy Governor”. Patterson was Attorney General of Alabama for a term prior to being governor and served several decades on the Court of Criminal Appeals after his governorship.

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse - Tommy Tuberville ran a good, disciplined primary campaign

  Old political maxims clearly played out true to form in the July 14 GOP runoff for our junior U.S. Senate seat.

  Tommy Tuberville ran a very wise and disciplined campaign. He steadily stayed on point and simply said, I am going to support Donald Trump. Undoubtedly, when Tuberville decided about a year ago to leave his Florida home and run for the U.S. Senate in Alabama, whoever was advising him knew that the only issue was going to be who could cozy up to Donald J. Trump the most. They gave Tuberville the script, and he followed his playbook to perfection. He never deviated and never got distracted by issues, questions, or debates. He simply rode the Donald Trump horse all the way home.  

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse - Budgets are priority for this legislative session

  The 2020 Alabama Legislative Session has resumed after a six-week hiatus due to the coronavirus shutdown of the state and the nation. The session must end by May 18. The only thing they will do is pass barebones budgets. 

  The most important - and actually the only constitutionally-mandated act that must be accomplished - is the passage of the state budgets. In our case, we have two state budgets. We have a general fund like 45 other states, and we have a second one, the Special Education Trust Fund budget. 

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse – Alabama vs. Auburn

  The only sport that Alabamians enjoy more than Alabama politics is college football. We especially love the Alabama vs. Auburn football game. Folks, this is Alabama/Auburn week in Alabama!

  The Alabama vs. Auburn annual event is one of the fiercest of college football rivalries. It is the game of the year. It is a state civil war that divides friends and even families. It is bragging rights for the entire year. The loser has to live with his boasting next door neighbor for 364 days. It seems that one must choose a side no matter if you despise college football and could care less who wins. Newcomers to our state are bewildered on this fall day each year. They cannot comprehend the madness that surrounds this epic war. It is truly that, a war. It is the game of the year.

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse – The 1978 governor's race

  Since this is a gubernatorial election year, let’s reminisce about an epic governor’s race. The 1978 governor’s race is one of the classics in Alabama political lore. That governor’s race between the three heavyweights, former Governor Albert Brewer, Attorney General Bill Baxley, and Lt. Governor Jere Beasley, was expected to be titanic. All three men had last names beginning with the letter “B,” thus, the press coined the phrase “the three B’s.” The Republicans were relegated to insignificance on the gubernatorial stage. Therefore, the winner of the Democratic Primary would be governor.

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse: The legacies of Alabama governors

  We have unbelievable natural resources in Alabama from the Tennessee Valley to the beautiful white sands at Gulf Shores. Many of our natural resources have been exploited over the years. A prime example would be the exploitation of our rich vaults of iron ore discovered in Jefferson County in the early 20th Century. It created the city of Birmingham, the Steel City of the South.

  U.S. Steel swept in and bought the entire region, used cheap labor in the mines and steel mills, and kept poor whites and blacks in poverty wages and shantytowns. They owed their soul to the company store. Finally they organized into labor unions. The United Steel Workers Union Local in Birmingham became the largest in the nation. Alabama also became the most unionized state in the south.

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse: Where are they now?

  A good friend and loyal reader suggested to me that he would like to see a column titled, “Where Are They Now?” Then I ran into former Gov. Albert Brewer at a Birmingham restaurant and it prompted me to do that column.

  Governor Brewer has always been admired by Alabamians as one of the finest people to have ever served in state government. I got to know him when I was a young page in the Alabama House of Representatives and Brewer was a youthful Speaker of the House. In fact, he has the distinction of being the youngest Speaker in state history. He was elected to the House from Morgan County at 28 and became Speaker during only his second term at age 33.

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse: Bentley has been rendered irrelevant

  This first year of the quadrennium has been an interesting mix of politics in the Heart of Dixie. At the heart of the news and interest has been the continuous wrangling over the General Fund budget. From the get go, Gov. Robert Bentley has taken a gung ho approach to raising taxes in order to bolster the beleaguered General Fund.

  Beginning in January, Bentley laid down his proposals for the legislature to increase revenue to solve the problems and predicted shortfalls. He relentlessly stayed on course with his intentions. His resolve to raise new money never wavered, although his proposals changed numerous times.

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse: Recent Alabama governors haven't left much of a mark

  Recently, at a forum I was asked the question, “Which governor made a difference in Alabama politics?” The question caught me off guard because I really had not thought about that obvious inquiry. My knee-jerk reaction and answer to the insightful questioner was George Wallace and I gave a litany of reasons for my response. Later, after contemplation, I felt that my answer was probably correct. Wallace would be the appropriate choice, simply because he was governor so long. I prefaced my reply to the inquisitor with the caveat, “You know, I’m not as old as you might think.” Therefore, I qualified my answer with, “Let’s talk about the governors since 1954.”

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse: Siegelman shows Fob the door

  Old Fob James had an unusual political personality. When he was out of the governor’s office he showed a tremendous yearning to get back. The proof is he sought the office in 1986 and lost in the Democratic primary and lost again in 1990 in the primary. However, he came back and won in 1994 as a Republican. However, once he got the job he acted as if he did not want it.

  As mentioned a few weeks earlier, Fob set a new standard for alienating his friends and supporters during his first term.

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse: Wallace's curtain call

  As George Wallace presumably faded into the sunset, Fob James took the reins of Alabama state government in January of 1979. Fob’s inauguration was a somewhat strange event as Alabamians were used to a Wallace being sworn in as governor every fourth January since 1963. It had been 20 years since someone other than George or Lurleen Wallace had taken the oath on the steps of the Capitol where Jefferson Davis had been sworn in as President of the Confederate States of America.

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse: Fobbed in ‘78

  The 1978 Alabama governor’s race between the three heavyweights, former Governor Albert Brewer, Attorney General Bill Baxley, and Lt. Governor Jere Beasley, was expected to be titanic. All three men had last names beginning with the letter “B.” The press coined the phrase “the three B’s.” The Republicans were relegated to insignificance on the gubernatorial stage. The winner of the Democratic Primary would be governor.

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse: The GOP Birmingham club

  There is a cadre of politicos in Birmingham who are approaching their 60s that have been a close knit group of true blue Republicans since the get go. They have probably never been or needed to run as Democrats. More than likely, they were Goldwater Republicans when they were little boys. Most certainly they were Nixon and Reagan Republicans in their youth.

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse: Alabama’s 2014 drama is already brewing

  Now that the dust has settled from the 2012 presidential contest we in Alabama are ready for the real horse race. Unlike most states where the race for the White House is the marquee event every four years, our focus has always been on the governor’s race and our local races.

  Our forefathers must have envisioned that this would be the case when our 1901 Constitution was drafted. All our major state races are on the ballot in gubernatorial years. In 2014, not only will we have a governor’s race, all seven constitutional offices are up for grabs, including lieutenant governor, attorney general, treasurer and agriculture commissioner. In addition, all 140 legislative seats are up for election along with all 67 sheriffs, three members of the Supreme Court, two PSC seats and all seven members of Congress. It will be quite a year.

Steve Flowers: Inside The Statehouse: How we got here

  A good many of you have asked me to weigh in on the oil and gas money diversion referendum next Tuesday. As most of you know, I do not endorse or disavow issues or candidates. My purpose is to inform and entertain you as to the goings on in the world of Alabama politics. Therefore, allow me to explain this situation and the impending referendum offered by the legislature.

  There was a television series that enthralled me several decades ago called “Rich Man, Poor Man.” It was a series about two brothers. One did well, the other faired poorly. Our state budgets are similar. We have one budget, the Education Budget, which receives 70% of all tax revenues. It is the rich man. The General Fund garners 30% of the revenues. It is the poor man.

Steve Flowers: Inside The Statehouse: Back in '78

  Recently a good friend and reader asked me about one of Alabama’s most interesting governor’s races. The 1978 gubernatorial contest was truly one of the best. My friend was curious as to where all the players on the 1978 stage are today.

  The 1978 race was a classic upset contest. In fact, it may very well be one of the most epic and stunning surprise outcomes in the annals of Alabama political history.

  It was assumed that the iconic career of the legendary George Wallace was coming to an end as he was leaving the governor’s office that he had owned for close to two decades. He would prove the pundits wrong four years later when he came back for one last hurrah in 1982.