What can I say about “my people?” They don’t know any better.

They get their news from talk radio, the Newhouse conservative press (if they can read a newspaper at all) and some local TV news, which is mostly crime, weather, sports, the never ending specials on “Faith Matters,” as if religion was news, and of course Bush’s press releases made up to look like news.

But we are making a difference here, over time…

And, a reader tipped us off to this post from Montiel’s strange history in Alabama law and politics. Maybe he’s got some in his closet too?

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Montiel Vs. King Vs. Chapman

Can the hallowed halls of Alabama government be rife with mendacity? A former Alabama judge named Mark Montiel filed an ethics complaint against Attorney General Troy King on March 13th (coincidentally, King defeated Montiel in his election to Attorney General) and now he has filed a complaint against Secretary of State Beth Chapman, alleging she paid family members out of campaign contributions (Montiel was a contributor). Chapman has stated that the ethics commission lacks jurisdiction, since the money was not state funds. This sort of thing isn’t going anywhere, since Alabama’s ethics enforcement process is notoriously lax, but it is fun to watch.

Mark Montiel is an interesting bird. A republican activist, he has been appointed to judicial positions two or three times by republican governors, but has yet to win an election, and lost every position. According to a mutual friend, this has left him beyond bitter. I was living in Montgomery during one of his quixotic attempts to hold on to a judgeship, and he had one of the unintentionally funniest advertising campaigns I’ve ever seen. Text would scroll across the screen talking about the harsh sentences handed down in Montiel’s court, then Montiel would appear, glaring grimly into the camera, and intone, “Lawyers who try cases in my court call me MAXIMUM MONTIEL.” Aside from the fact this is goofy in presentation, it was a hoot for a couple of reasons.

First of all, Montiel gave himself the “Maximum Montiel” nickname from the title of an Elmore Leonard book about a judge called Maximum Bob. Apparently, Montiel never read the book, because, while the title character did get his nickname from his harsh sentencing, he was a thoroughly corrupt official who ended up on the run from the law.

Secondly, no lawyers called him “Maximum Montiel”, although they did call him a lot of names relating to his mismanagement of the most royally screwed docket in history, resulting in delays of months and years getting to trial.

I was hanging with a few attorneys who had argued cases before him at the time, and every time the commercial aired, they would collapse with laughter.

A Disordered Mind

Why in the world are we on the radio talking about “rumors” on Troy King’s sex life anyway, while ignoring all the real news going on in the world? Like the fact that Karl Rove defied a Congressional subpoena last week and failed to show up to testify under oath. He was in Sweden, we’re told, then Paraguay : )

Karl Rove Named New Presidential Envoy to Paraguay?