Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse - George Wallace stories

  I became acquainted with Governor George Wallace when I was a young page in the Alabama Legislature.  

  I was elected to the legislature in 1982. Ironically, my district was comprised of my home county of Pike and also the portion of Barbour County that was Wallace’s home, including Clayton and Clio.

How Trump could try to stay in power after his second term ends

  President Donald Trump told an NBC interviewer on March 30, 2025 that he was “not joking” about a third term as president, despite such a term being barred by the Constitution.

  “There are methods which you could do it,” he said in the interview.

  For months, Trump has been hinting – in joking tones – that he’s interested in finding a way to continue in the White House past the legal limit of two terms. But the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution is clear that Trump can’t be elected again. The text of the amendment states:

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse - 60th anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery march

  This Sunday, leaders from throughout Alabama and the entire country will commemorate the 60th Anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery March and the infamous Bloody Sunday on the Edmund Pettus Bridge. It was a momentous occasion and needs memorializing. 

Where political careers end

  We have about 16 months before the 2026 state Republican primaries, the only elections that matter in Alabama. Big offices, including governor and attorney general, will be up for grabs.

  That means a lot of GOP candidates, many with little to no name recognition, will fight for the attention of the 20% of the adult population of Alabama who vote in the primary.

  I wish that would mean serious discussions of issues like criminal justice and health care. But we know what they’ll talk about.

That redistricting argument sounds familiar

  Three federal judges order the Alabama Legislature to draw fair districts for Black voters. 

  Lawmakers drag their feet. They submit a plan. Judges reject it for limiting the ability of Black Alabamians to choose their leaders. 

  September 2023? 

  Nope. September 1965. 

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse - Bill Baxley

  The 1970 Alabama governor’s race between George Wallace and Albert Brewer overshadowed every other political race in the state that year. However, one of Alabama’s legendary political figures burst onto the scene in 1970 when Bill Baxley was elected Attorney General of Alabama. The attorney general’s race was below the radar screen of the titanic war waged by Brewer and Wallace.

  Bill Baxley’s victory was a major upset. Baxley was a 28-year-old district attorney from the Wiregrass. He beat a veteran attorney general - MacDonald Gallion - in a close race. Baxley became the youngest attorney general in the nation when he was sworn in at the January inauguration. He had just turned 29. His historic rise at such a young age made him fodder for national publications like Time Magazine, which featured him as one of the brightest rising stars in the nation. His brilliance gave new meaning to the word prodigy.

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse - Prison issue unresolved

  There were two major issues not resolved during the just-completed regular legislative session. Gambling and prisons were left on the table.

  It is foolish to not garner some revenues for the state from gambling. However, it is not imperative that the problem be solved.

  The prison problem is another question. It has to be addressed. The federal courts will take over Alabama’s prisons and tell the governor and legislature what to do to resolve the crisis. The federal courts will win that fight every day of the week. They will act and give the legislature the bill for the expenses.

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse - George Wallace stories

  A good many of you enjoyed the George Wallace story I shared with you a while back. Allow me to reminisce and share two more funny Wallace-era stories.

  I became acquainted with Governor Wallace when I was a young page in the Alabama Legislature.  

  I was elected to the legislature in 1982. Ironically, my district was comprised of my home county of Pike and also the portion of Barbour County that was Wallace’s home, including Clayton and Clio.

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse - Some observations

  Allow me to share some observations from the year thus far. First of all, I have never seen anything like the coronavirus shutdown of the country. Hopefully, it is a once in a lifetime disaster. 

  Gov. Kay Ivey remains popular. Even though some people consider the defeat of Amendment One a personal rejection, it was not. Alabamians just like to vote to elect their political, and in this case, education leaders.

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse - Alabama Legislature not a very good stepping stone

  Early speculation on the 2020 U.S. Senate race had Alabama state Sen. Del Marsh listed as a potential GOP aspirant. He had considered making a plunge into the Special Election contest for Jeff Sessions’ seat in 2017 but opted out.

  Most astute observers never thought he would ultimately pull the trigger then or this year. Unlike others who have run and won statewide, Marsh is essentially unknown outside of the Capitol and is known only around his Anniston senate district. His best asset was probably that he had his own money to spend rather than his state senate influence.

Gov. Kay Ivey’s hurtful history and the way forward

  Alabama Governor Kay Ivey joins a growing list of elected leaders forced to admit that they once painted their faces black and performed racist skits or minstrel shows.

  Her qualified apology that she did not recall doing it, while pledging to do all she can “to help show the nation that the Alabama of today is a far cry from the Alabama of the 1960s,” only amplifies the problems facing our nation.

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse - State ethics law not tough enough for ole Rankin Fite

  Alabama Senator Jabo Waggoner (R-Vestavia) has been in the Alabama House and Alabama Senate for over 40 years. That is a record in Alabama history and definitely a record of longevity for any Jefferson County legislator. Senator Waggoner has had a significant impact on behalf of the folks in Jefferson County over his stellar career.

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse - Infrastructure: Alabama needs a road program

  One of the obvious political changes in Alabama government over the last decades with the Republican takeover of the Alabama Legislature has been the reluctance to raise new revenue to fund state government. Many of the current Republican legislators came to Montgomery in 2010 with a "no new tax pledge". Voting for any kind of tax or fee increase was considered blasphemous.

  In bygone days, powerful governors like Big Jim Folsom and George Wallace would raise taxes at the drop of a hat, especially when it came to a gasoline tax to build roads. It was perfunctory and almost mandatory for a governor to have a road program. That was their legacy and how they and their legislative allies made friends. It was expected that a governor would build roads. Raising the gas tax was the only way to fund a road program. Folks didn’t seem to mind. Looks like this current legislature may have realized that they need a road program.

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse - State revenues up as legislature prepares for session

  The governor has been inaugurated and the Alabama Legislature has had its organizational session. The quadrennium has begun. It is time for our state officials to get to work.

  Among the three branches of government, legislative, executive and judicial, our 1901 Alabama Constitution renders our legislative branch as the most powerful.

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse – Very few white Democrats left in legislature; several legends retiring

  The Republican tidal wave that swept Alabama’s statewide office-seekers to landslide victories filtered down to legislative races.

  Even though our legislature really didn’t need to become any more conservative or Republican, it did anyway. We had a super majority Republican House and Senate. We now have a super, super GOP majority. Republicans picked up five more Alabama House seats and added another Senate seat. That gives the GOP a 27 to 8 advantage in the Senate and a 77 to 28 edge in the House.

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 - Frank Johnson and the legend of the Free State of Winston

  Those of us who are Baby Boomers remember the tumultuous times of the 1960s. We lived through the Civil Rights revolution. Those of us who grew up here in the Heart of Dixie witnessed the transpiring of racial integration first hand. Most of the crusades and struggles occurred here in Alabama, especially Montgomery.

  A good many of the landmark Civil Rights court decisions were handed down in the Federal Court in Montgomery. The author and renderer of these epic rulings was Frank M. Johnson, Jr. Johnson, who served as Federal Judge in the Middle District of Alabama for 24 years from 1955 through 1979.

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse - The Shorty Price story

  Since this is Alabama vs. Tennessee week and we have a governor’s race in three weeks, allow me to share the story of Shorty Price.

  Alabama has had its share of what I call “run for the fun of it” candidates. The most colorful of all these perennial “also ran” candidates was Ralph “Shorty” Price. He ran for governor every time. His slogan was “Smoke Tampa Nugget cigars, drink Budweiser beer and vote for Shorty Price.”

  In one of Shorty’s campaigns for governor, his campaign speech contained this line, “If elected governor, I will reduce the governor’s tenure from four to two years. If you can’t steal enough to last you the rest of your life in two years, you ain’t got enough sense to have the office in the first place.”  He would use recycled campaign signs to save money, and he rarely garnered two percent of the votes in any campaign.

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse - Some politicos learn lessons the hard way

  For some untold reason or some would say, ungodly reason, I have always been enthralled by and involved in politics. As a boy growing up in Troy, I was tutored and trained in the rules and rituals of Alabama politics by two masters of my county’s political history.

  The probate judge and state representative were my mentors. They both had been in politics for decades. Both mentors had taught me a lot of political tidbits over the years, but when it finally came time for me to make my first foray into the arena, they sat me down. I could tell that I was going to get some sage advice since both were present. They gave me one of the cardinal rules of politics – you run your own campaign and never ever get involved in other people’s races. They said you should be thankful that they elected you to your office. It made sense that it would be arrogant and presumptuous, even if you had been in your post for a while, that you should not offer your opinion on other races. In addition, the old adage applies – you make one ingrate and hundreds of enemies.

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse - BCA is back, bigger and better than ever

  Alabama Power is and has always been a force in Alabama politics. Some entities may have influence in the Alabama Legislature, but the power company has the ear of folks in all three branches of State government: legislative, executive and judicial.

  To quote the great Dr. Paul Hubbert, if you asked elected Alabama officials who they would call if their ox got into a ditch, it would be an overwhelming vote for Alabama Power. Alabama Power is the friend and confidant that both Democratic and Republican senators and representatives would name. The company is known for listening to legislators and treating them fairly and honestly, and it is truly nonpartisan in its approach.