by Glynn Wilson
The voting machines are not even locked away in the closet yet from the presidential election of 2008 and candidates are already lining up at the trough to get into the horse race of 2010 in Alabama.
Media critics have long complained about the coverage of politics since the press often uses sports metaphors, specifically the sport of horse racing. The academic complaint is that by keeping up with the status of the winners and losers, the press tends to ignore the real issues that should be of concern to voters.
The problem with politics today, especially local politics, is that people don’t vote for candidates on the basis of where they stand on the real issues anyway. And on key economic and social issues, there aren’t many candidates for public office in any event who disagree.
Everybody is for jobs and education and against abortion, it seems, and of course you have to be married with children. Otherwise, how could you ever produce a winning TV ad?
People vote for people on the basis of whether they like them or not, which is often based on how they look and whether they share the same religion, apparently, especially in a place like Alabama, despite our historical role in erecting the wall separating church and state.
Politics is not about qualifications, either. George W. Bush proved that beyond a shadow of a doubt.
And since you know blogs, they have to be fed, not so unlike a daily newspaper — or a horse — it’s time for our first “article” on the 2010 Alabama governor’s race.
Now the first horse out of the gate is obviously Artur Davis, the Birmingham Congressman with little name recognition in the rest of the state.
Davis glommed onto Barack Obama early on in the presidential race, using as his platform what’s left of the old New South Coalition machine put together by former Birmingham Mayor Richard Arrington. And since Obama won in a landslide in November, Davis is now in an enviable position vis a vis the new administration in Washington.
He has not hesitated to start flaunting his new influence with the Alabama Democratic Party, basically dressing down state party chairman Joe Turnham in public recently for presuming to start a series of meetings to advise the new president on possible political appointments in the new administration from Alabama.
Davis, Turnham Differ on Process for Appointments
That was not the smoothest move on the part of Davis, who showed that perhaps he has the ego of a Harvard lawyer and does not share Obama’s savvy when it comes to finessing his potential rivals. I mean the guy is not even so nice to his friends.
Democratic Party officials and operatives are looking at the polls from Alabama in the presidential race and wondering how in the world Davis thinks he has any chance at all anyway, considering something like 80 percent of white voters in Alabama did not vote for the black guy. They voted for the John McCain-Sarah Palin ticket in numbers only rivaled in places such as Oklahoma.
Davis made an appearance this past weekend at a trial lawyers retreat hosted by billionaire attorney Jere Beasley, we’re told, and got a standing ovation. So there’s some indication Davis is trying to wrap up the support of the trial lawyers early on.
But we’re also told that the Jefferson County Democratic Party, which could act as a base for Davis in his race, is virtually non-existent at this point. No money. No organization. So it is unclear what base Davis expects to have in this Old South state.
Davis also does not seem to share Obama’s technological proficiency. While there have been a number of stories out of late about how Obama will be the first president in the White House to use e-mail on a Blackberry to communicate, Davis and his entire staff seem almost incapable of returning phone calls, much less answering questions of Web journalists via e-mail.
They just don’t seem to get it.
So Democrats are looking at other options.
The obvious first choice will be Jim Folsom Jr., who made his comeback in Alabama politics two years ago by winning his old job back as Lt. Governor without mounting much of a campaign at all. He has the name recognition and should probably be considered the front runner, even before the first polls have been taken.
The Associated Press went ahead and did their first story on Folsom this week.
Folsom Considering Run for Governor, Again
There are some potential problems with a Folsom candidacy, chief among them his obvious Old South name and his lack of creativity for bringing Alabama into the twenty-first century. He doesn’t do e-mail or return phone calls either.
Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks has also been mentioned, but we understand he may have some personal problems that could derail his candidacy.
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| Glynn Wilson |
| Charles Barkley at an Obama fundraiser in Birmingham last year |
Then there’s always former Auburn and NBA basketball star Charles Barkley to consider, although he has apparently pushed his ambitions back to 2014.
And let’s face it. Since Alabama tends to be a conservative, red state, the Republicans might be more interesting to watch anyway, if you are a horse race handicapper intent on picking a winner.
Bradley Byrne, the head of Alabama’s beleaguered two-year college system, could get the nod as Gov. Bob Riley’s heir apparent. Birmingham attorney Luther Strange has been mentioned, although he might be more likely to run for Attorney General to replace Troy King. Troy University Chancellor Jack Hawkins may also jump into the race, as well as “Yella Man” Jimmy Rane, state Treasurer Kay Ivey and Tim James, according to stories in Alabama’s Newhouse newspapers.
And then there’s Attorney General Troy King himself, although we suspect he has developed a certain kind of infamy that may knock him out of any race he decides to enter.
The hottest rumor out of Montgomery right now is that Davis is running for governor not to win it, but to develop name recognition around the state for a future run at the U.S. Senate. And there’s also an indication that Davis will pick up the support of his old friend Bill Canary at the Business Council of Alabama in the primary. There appears to be a cynical strategy afoot to get a black man on the Democratic ticket so a Republican victory in the general election would be a virtual certainty.
When I heard this news I almost booked a one-way ticket to Portland, Oregon. As photographer Spider Martin used to say, “Alabama God-Damn.”
If that is the plan, I don’t want any part of it. Maybe the best thing to happen is this.
When the Eleventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta gets around to tossing out the conviction of former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman, maybe he should get back into politics and run for governor, again.
After surveying the landscape of my poor home state after moving back here in recent years, it has become quite obvious why Siegelman had the loyal following of many people here. He is the best candidate the Democrats have ever had for governor in this state’s history, with the possible exception of George C. Wallace. But that was another time. There was no Republican Party to speak of here then.
I wasn’t here during Siegelman’s one term as governor, so I can’t vouch for how effective he was as an administrator once he won the office he had vied for his entire adult life. But perhaps having been humbled by nine months in a federal prison and tens of thousands of dollars of debt for legal fees, maybe he can mount a comeback and be better at it.
I know one thing from my dealings with him over the past few months. He can cook a pizza and talk on the phone and send an e-mail message all at the same time. If I could find a single other politician in Alabama who could match those multi-tasking skills, I might support them myself editorially.
So if you want to have a chance of obtaining our endorsement to be governor of Alabama, prove you have what it takes. Start by sending me an e-mail message.
If none of them can manage that, maybe we should just opt for a celebrity like Barkley. I don’t have any idea what kind of an administrator he would make. But I suspect he would be an effective communicator, and a lot of fun to boot. And he may be the only Democrat who could win.
