Do I honestly care?

Do I care that on former Alabama Democratic gubernatorial nominee turned Virginia Republican Congressional candidate, Artur Davis, is set to be speak at the Republican National Convention this week in Tampa?  Nope.

I still don't care at all, my ambivalence towards his existence because he is still carrying on his brat-like, vindictive behavior because he is still butt-hurt from losing the 2010 Democratic nomination to the Sand Mountain redneck, whom as well turned into a Republican as well, Ron Sparks.  Yeah, Davis has spent the past few months galavanting with the Angry White People Coalition, i.e., T.E.A. Twats in Virginia. Oh yeah, he wants so badly to impress those delusional and psychologically disengaged whites in the far-flung exburbs of Washington DC in Northern Virginia.

Meanwhile, Sparks is not only apart of the Bentley administration as an "economic development liaison", which doesn't amount to heap of beans because that position has about as much pull as I do as a being a political consultant at the moment, but he has been quieter than whore in church.  This is another episode of the Alabama Democratic Party (ADP) being duped into believing anyone with integrity would actually want to run for anything outside of Birmingham or maybe the other 3 larger cities in that state.  Alabama is currently a place where everyone has been polarized long before the current trend plaguing the US as a whole, except it is based upon social egalitarian progression versus status quo and circling of the wagons.  The few whom are for social egalitarian progression has been vastly outnumbered by 2:1 to those whom want to maintain status quo and circling of the wagons for their particular interests.  (FYI, Redeye, yeah those like Joe Reed, AEA, and the homophobic coalition are a part of the latter rather than former...)

It's embarrassing if you ask me because I'm not the type of person that set my hopes so high for a state that has repeated violated human rights and civil liberties of anyone that isn't a cisgendered, white, heterosexual male.  Then again, folk isn't innocent either when many of the state legislative representation they sent to Montgomery are always trying to work against LGBTs, whom are black as well, and whom live in their very districts in Birmingham.

The gifts that the Alabama Education Association (AEA) has brought to us

The Alabama Education Association (AEA) has basically sabotaged anything remotely progressive (or on that matter, rational) for Alabama for the next 4 years.  There are basically 2 morons running for governor, and anyone with a spark of knowledge about politics knows that it's usually this way.  However, the caught is that AEA has funded both of their campaigns by spreading lies about their primary opponents and using political action committees (PACs) to do it.  We all know the narrative about how the idiot known as Ron Sparks wind up on the Democratic gubernatorial ticket.  This time around, I'll tell the tale about how the ornery dermatologist from Tuscaloosa, Robert Bentley, wind up on the Republican ticket. 

Apparently, AEA and Stan Pate, a major Alabama real estate development from Tuscaloosa, got into cohorts with one another to spread lies via 9 different PACs against primary opponent, Bradley Byrne.  The PACs all swore they represented "conservative Alabamians" and such.  Meanwhile, all of their addresses were P.O. Boxes that were owned by AEA members or the organization itself.  The whole scheme wreaked of fraud and underhanded campaigning on the part of the AEA.  This led to the run-off between Byrne and Bentley where the PACs continued their spreading of misinformation.  This type of scam occurred on the Democratic ticket as well along with the help of Joe Reed and his sycophantic org, the ADC (Alabama Democratic Coalition) along with the pseudo-progressive black org, the ANSC (Alabama New South Coalition) against Artur Davis.  

Now the majority of Alabamians are having "buyers remorse" before the election because they finally realizing that were played like Nintendo by the AEA.  The AEA is a fraudulent organization that doesn't represent anything but status quo these days.  If they stood for integrity they would have helped Alabama secure funds for the the federal education improvement programmed created by President Obama instead of fighting against it all because it would allow state-administered charter schools.  They would have been fought tooth-and-nail to improve adequate funding for school districts in places like the Black Belt, rural South Alabama, where there are schools where there are no texts available for their students.  The AEA is another symptom of the shit that plagues Alabama and should be treated the same way other lobbyists are treated, with a long-handle spoon...

So is Artur Davis a turncoat or just telling the truth????

Well, in today's Mobile Press-Register, former Alabama gubernatorial Democratic nominee and outgoing Alabama's 7th congressional district representative, Artur Davis, spoken on the win of Tuesday's run-off, Alabama Democratic Party, and the general election in November. 

Davis apparently praised Tuscaloosa dermatologist and Alabama Republican gubernatorial candidate, Robert Bentley, on his ability to overcome the intra-partisan politics of the Alabama Republican Party.  He also remarked about the strength of his candidacy and respect for his campaign:

"Robert Bentley is one of the most decent, honorable people I know in politics. I have nothing but admiration for him," Davis said Thursday. "I believe he will be a very strong candidate."

"Over a year and a half and 20-something debates, you get to know each other pretty well," he said. "(Bentley) was always very authentic, consistent in his positions and knew as much about state government as anybody in the race. He is running a very impressive campaign."

Now me being objective, Bentley won because of the shadow campaigning by the Alabama Education Association (AEA).  The same can be said about the candidacy of Ron Sparks as well.  However, Davis is apparently admiring Bentley's consistency of his platform and the fact that he is going to be difficult candidate for Ron Sparks to beat in November.  He also addressed Bentley's bipartisanship efforts as well.  Davis did allege that Bentley wooed independent voters (which I doubt because AEA was coercing its members of all political affiliations to crossover and vote in the Tuesday run-off).  Interestingly, at the end of the interview, Davis did point out how he didn't agree with Bentley on abortion, charter schools and other key policy issues. 

On the other hand, Davis WENT IN on the Alabama Democratic Party (ADP) for their issues.

"The party is losing its way. We are losing ground in Alabama and we are losing it unnecessarily," he said. "We want to hide behind the excuse that the national party is unpopular right now but that's not what's causing it. The fact is we're seeing the complete domination of the party by a narrow group of insiders who are completely out of step with average Alabamians."

He didn't spare any moment not to make a huge swipe at Sparks and liberals in Alabama whom cause such damage:

"Ron Sparks was very much the candidate of activist, liberal Democratic voters. And the fact is that's a very small segment of the electorate in Alabama," he said. "That puts him very much at odds with the majority of Alabama voters, and that is a prescription for failure."

Davis has a valid point of addressing the issues where the ADP is controlled by Joe Turnham (whom has essentially said that any Democrat is running for statewide office should run right), the AEA duo of Paul Hubbert and Joe Reed, along with the special interests of Alabama Farmers Association (ALFA). 

Now, I don't totally agree with him about his assessment of Sparks since there liberals were as supportive of his candidacy as whom have much to gain from electronic bingo and gambling like Milton McGregor.  Nevertheless, he was right about how those on the "left" or "liberal" were attacking him on the health care reform vote.  Their indignation towards him after pretty much supporting most of their interest was disingenuous and partially vindictive.  It was also trifecta of the workings of Joe Reed & Co. getting revenge on  Davis for usurping their established candidate, Earl Hilliard, Sr. in 2002.  

All of this says to me that there is some twisted bullshit going on in Alabama amongst its Democrats and Davis' remarks on such things are a symptom of such affliction as Reed, Hubbert (whom is "stepping down" from the ADP), etc.  It's evident that there more issues at work than even I could describe and progressives are left up shit creek without a paddle.  Liberals are fucking up things for them then the ADP and its shadow orgs like AEA, ADC, etc. are too busy toiling up schemes to sabotage elections for progressive candidates whom doesn't kowtow to their interests. 

FYI, AEA doesn't just involve themselves in the interest of education or educators, more or less they are an organization that works to control everything while letting the quality of education and facilities in urban districts like Birmingham, Montgomery, and Anniston falter as well as rural districts like the counties of the Black Belt.  They should be using their power to vastly improve the conditions of such places to the level of the school districts in Hoover, Madison, Oxford, etc. around the state of Alabama.

Alabama's Democratic gubernatorial primary update

Since all the gubernatorial primaries will occur next Tuesday, I felt the need to comment on the status of the races in the Alabama.  Well, it's confirmed that Artur Davis is pretty much going to be the winner of the Democratic primary since he is beating Ron Sparks in most polls with key demographic groups.  On the Republican side, it's going to be a toss-up if not a run-off between Bradley Byrnes and Tim James, the other candidates such as the controversial and all-around bigot Roy Moore (just Google "Roy Moore controversy" and you see what I mean) and other nobodies will be left in the dust.  However, what really irks me more than anything else is the lack of resolution of any of the candidates discussing the issues like gambling and the lack of ethnics reform.  Constitutional reform is getting some attention only via the Davis campaign, but the others are seems to ignore the existence of such.  In other words, aside from Davis all of them sound like business as usual without any derivation from the status quo of the past 3 decades in Montgomery. 

On the foolishness from the stupid ass campaign ads by James with "common sense" as the central theme (see here, here, and here) to the front organization called "Concerned Citizens" set up by Republicans and the Alabama Education Association (AEA) railing against Byrnes to the Byrnes and his reactionary, uninspiring campaign ads (this one alone sums up his whole lame campaign) themselves has made for another typical personality-and-association only campaign ignoring the issues on the Republican side.  In the past 2 weeks Ron Sparks finally was able to gather enough spare change after running an essentially penurious operation to finally air campaign ads on television.  Also this week, Sparks realizing (finally) that he is on the losing end of things that he must actually attack Davis with something on TV and radio, but the futility of the ads are laughable.  Especially, considering Sparks has been connected to being a racially bias towards Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industry employees, getting a suspiciously large private loan from a Montgomery area community bank, being directly connected to special interest groups (cue AEA, Alabama Power, ALFA, & crew), and being involved with incendiary individuals like Milton McGregor and James Powell of the political consultant group Matrix, LLC, who were involved with the racially bias and homophobic mayoral campaigns of Larry Langford and William Bell in Birmingham.  Finally, Sparks appearing on the incomprehensible fool known as Glenn Beck's show on FOX News Channel last summer babbling in reference to global warning while clearly playing it up for the white reactionary and closed-minded crowd. 

Although Davis seems to be the best candidate amongst all these fools with endorsements of progressives like Georgia congressman and Civil Rights activist John Lewis and Illinois congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr.  However, I've already laid out the fundamental flaws of Artur Davis as a politico that will cause him more heartache down the line and have liberal activist harping for years over his stances and track history in politics.  Also Artur Davis has made known that he doesn't want any part of the ignorance involved with the Alabama black political establishment, but of course they along with Sparks wants to make it a wedge issue.  On the other hand, progressives realize that in a politically warped and socially conservative state like Alabama and the South in general one must make allegiance with Satan himself to push this state forward.    Overall, this is considering the so-called "good guys" are just a self-serving as the "bad guys".

Another lesson for those who are overtly partisan and delusional in Alabama politics (to a certain extent Southern politics)

I'm so sick and tired of talking about the whole hoopla over the ANSC endorsement of Alabama Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ron Sparks over Artur Davis.  First thing first, at this point I honestly don't care either way since I'm absolutely convinced that the Alabama Democratic Party (ADP) is well on its way to collapse.  Secondly, I'm moving out of Alabama (likely to Metro Atlanta soon), so it is what it is in my opinion of how effective or aligned to the interests of certain groups either candidate is.  However, it seems like it is time (yet again) for another rant on partisanship over pragmatism along with other elements at work.

Let's get one thing straight, although I do agree with some things in principle on Artur Davis' positions, I don't care to vote for him because he is who he is, a politician and lawyer.  Now let's get to the point.  Davis is a pragmatist who knows that within the toxic political culture of Alabama you must be a Democrat yet not a typical Democrat.  Also if you are a black politician then you must not be a typical black politician, thus his positions and opinions on individual issues and items may differentiate in a variety of ways.  Regardless, a pragmatist in principle will take the realist approach to things on issues and vote with their head with conscientous influenced decisons.  When examining Davis from an objective perspective, the man is a moderate black politico with progressive leanings on certain issues.  His evolution into this wasn't subtle nor overt, but he has always been a moderate, but his progressive leanings exist only in a political vacuum where his record isn't the only spotlit upon.  I disgress, Davis has more likelihood of making it in the Alabama Gubernatorial General Election over Ron Sparks.  For the record, Sparks is very conservative Democrat, whose pragmatism is virtually nonexistant since he talks out of both sides of his mouth and doesn't seem to show a true stance on any political issues aside from ones already laid out by Davis or hot topic ones such as gambling, which has been the talk of Alabama for nearly year now.

The partisanship issues within the ADP isn't one unique to any Southern state, but it is one that is very problematic.  Alabama has one of the highest number of black politicos in proportion to its black population, yet most of those black politicos are pseudo-progressives and the rest flat out conservative black Democrats.  They are all products of the Alabama Democratic Coalition (ADC) and the more recent additions are products of both ADC and ANSC (Alabama New South Coalition).  These groups maybe increment in reaching certain segments of the black population who doesn't follow politics as closely as myself, they are reluctance to show any real fortitude to work towards making the state a more progressive environment.  Instead they hold their power over the heads of the majority of Alabama black legislators and politicos, thus telling them to fundamentally "waiting their turn" to make waves in the water.  It shows what is really wrong with them.  The few who doesn't show any allegiance are practically invisible outside of their respective districts since they would rather enjoy making it to the Alabama Legislature and its fringe benefits than making increment changes during the regular legislative sessions annually needed to move the state forward. This holds back black politicos who are more progressive and willing to take a chance and attempt make major strides towards producing a more progressive and fiscally conservative Alabama

Even further within that partisanship void lays 2 additional problems: racial identity and stance on social issues.  Overall, the ADP is a rural-oriented, socially conservative group of individuals that are mostly white.  However, with even further examination on that, the racial dynamics of the party is horrible to say the least.  In a recent vote to Alabama to block the enforcement of the federal health care reform law, the vote was clearly racial with all the white Democrats voting for it and all the black Democrats voting against. It shows the sift within the ADP on racialized issues such a health care reform, removing racist language from the state's archaic state constitution among other things.  Social issues within Alabama (and the rest of the South) are very racialized due to the whole "welfare queen" mantra.  Most white Democrats are still those who fall into this void of being manipulated by these issues and will vote against their own economic and social interest all due to this racialized undercurrent.  What's even more embarrassing is the notion that black Democrats will do this as well (with those aforementioned groups of ADC and ANSC) by playing up the notion of an outsider is not to be trusted and have malevolent intentions of obtaining public office in a predominately black district. This sift is clear and obvious to the most objective and attentive analysts of political and social issues.

Alabama is held back more predominately due to the Southern influence of covert racial cues used to play up the bases and unsettle the uninformed.  The main culprits of this are Alabama Democrats more so than Republicans because the Democrats control both houses of the state legislative body.  In conclusion, like all other Southern states, Alabama's Democratic Party will have a catharsis of this obviously toxic elements from power within its leadership position since they have brought nothing but status quo.  It's not going to change until that occurs...

I'm loving this foolishness

Today, Alabama Democratic gubernatorial candidate announced today that he isn't looking for endorsement from either the Alabama Democratic Coalition, Alabama New South Coalition, etc.  This is following the press release from the New South Coalition that would meet and decide to endorse a candidate in the Alabama Democratic gubernatorial primary on Saturday.  He made it pretty clear with this statement:

“The night I was elected to Congress in 2002, I declared that while I have great respect for the legacies of ADC, the Alabama New South Coalition, and the Jefferson County Citizen’s Coalition, the day has ended when these groups decide who wins the support of black voters in this state.  My election that night-- in the face of unanimous opposition from these groups and their leadership-- proved as much.  The latest proof will be our win on June 1 over the traditional power-brokers who are backing Ron Sparks.

Sparks and the Montgomery insiders who fuel his candidacy still believe that black voters require a sample ballot and an “x” to know who they need to vote for. They also believe that the old politics of “GOTV” money and “influence” over appointed positions is the path to win black political support.  Finally, they have the nerve to seek African American support while offering coded language about the “electability” of black candidates.

The old politics and the old ways of doing things have broken down in this state and Alabamians of all races deserve a new approach.  Democrats who are tired of losing five of the last six governors’ races should also welcome a campaign that is about reforming our politics and our economy and our schools and not stale arguments over “electability” or closed door promises and deals.

For these reasons, I have decided not to participate in the screening processes of ADC, New South, or the Coalition. As much as I admire the legacy of these groups and their current contributions, the African American voters who will participate in the primary need no permission, and no sample ballots, to decide who they favor in this Governor’s race.  In fact, the best way to honor the legacy of Senator Sanders, Dr. Reed, and Dr. Arrington is for candidates to give black Alabamians the respect of honoring their independence and their capacity to make informed judgments.”

LMAO, this is too much for me since I know Joe Reed would have let hell froze over before he would allow ADC to endorse Davis.  However, if the ADC does endorse Sparks over Davis and he loses their credibility would be shot.  Now, I'm not really aversive toward the Alabama New South Coalition, but they like the increasingly useless ADC shouldn't use their pull to wield some power of progressive black politicos so they can further their power into another generation.  It's got to cease and desist with these groups because their reasons of existence is purely political and truly lacks the social activism of NAACP or SCLC.  Davis is so right to ignore them both...

Ron Sparks Opted not to leave the gubernatorial race

On Tuesday, Ron Sparks announced in front of the under construction  Madison County Courthouse that he would not leave the Democratic nomination race for Alabama's governor for the AL-5.


However, this doesn't mean it's over for a possible Democrat to enter the race for the 5th Congressional of Alabama race after the partisan-defection of Parker Griffith to the Republican party.  Word in the blogosphere is that Deborah Bell Paseur, Alabama State Rep. Randy Hinshaw, and Ala. State Rep. Tammy Irons may be in the race for the seat. 

Interesting, I must say because these guys in the Tennessee Valley are disparate to get a Democrat on the ticket since Griffith will likely win by default on the Republican side.  However, I know for a fact that unlike AL-7, AL-5 is more on the socially conservative side since the majority the district population isn't in the immediate Huntsville area, aka, Madison and Limestone counties, rather its spread throughout the Tennessee Valley from the Florence-Shoals area to Decatur to Huntsville.  It would take a populist or centrist Democrat to win the race at this point because Griffith has shown the progressives and liberals in the region that "they don't matter at all".  All of which I knew already because I've been saying for years, Huntsville is still another 20 years before it even reaches a point of becoming a political powerhouse like Greater Birmingham in statewide races, but is well on its way with the current population growth trends.  They might have to contend with the fact that along with the proof of the results of the 2008 Presidential elections that anything remotely non-WASPy or even a "hint of progressive" doesn't matter to the major white AL-5 district voters.  

Ron Sparks might leave the Alabama gubernatorial race for the AL-5 Democratic nom?

Now that would be INTERESTING for sure!  I can see him having enough common sense to jump ship on the gubernatorial race where he is being outwitted 2 to 1 by Davis in a number of areas.  Sparks only differential and standout issue is legalized gambling within Alabama, but that can only win a handful of votes compared to the other issues ranging from constitutional reform to charter school advocacy, etc. that Davis campaigned upon.

Well, he'll announce "soon" what he will do before the beginning of the 2010 campaign season gets started, which is January.  I say GO SPARKS, GO!  If a middle of the road Democrat can give Mo Brooks and Parker Griffith a run for their money then DO IT! 

With Davis the only real Democrat in the gubernatorial race then it will be interesting how he can battle against whoever the Republican opponent is whether it will be Byrne, James, Moore, or Ivey.  He will force them to talk about the constitutional reform, inequitable taxation, ethics reform, etc. will make for a very interesting race where it will be about the issues and platforms rather than about Davis being a black Democrat.

Mobile mayor Sam Jones endorses Artur Davis for governor

This morning, Mobile mayor Sam Jones has endorsed Artur Davis for the Democratic nomination for governor over Ron Sparks.  Sam Jones is the Port City's first black mayor and a very popular amongst constituency of black, white, moderate, and progressive backgrounds.  He was first elected in 2005 after gaining the endorsement of outgoing mayor Mike Dow, and earlier this year he was reelected unopposed. 

Jones said:

“Artur Davis and I share a common approach to leadership,” said Mayor Jones.  “Congressman Davis solves problems by bringing people together across traditional dividing lines like partisanship, race and ideology.”
Jones continued, “A vitally important quality that distinguishes Artur Davis from the other candidates in this campaign for governor is his positive vision for the future of Alabama’s economy.  Artur Davis is not satisfied for our state to lag behind our neighbors any longer, not when we have so much talent and so much potential right here in Alabama.”
“I don’t just think that Artur Davis can win, I think he can lead,” said Mayor Jones.  “I don’t just think Artur Davis can get elected, I think he has the potential to be one of our greatest governors.”

He seems to get what a number of progressive and moderates are getting about Davis being little more electable because he's not a reactionary candidate nor is he a foil of his opponent just for the hell of it.  If Sparks thought his endorsement from former Birmingham mayor Richard Arrington was something to buy him black votes, IT WON'T.  Arrington is a washed up politico amongst most black voters and voters in Birmingham, so he can try again.  Also Jones is popular with black voters along with other voters in the Mobile area, which is key to pull a primary win for Davis.  Good call...

THE RAW FACTS: About the HR Vote & Artur Davis & other stuff...

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know everybody that is the blogosphere from Rod 2.0 to Left in Alabama , and the rest are jumping on the bandwagon to call out Artur Davis.  However, I'm a kin to the Rude Pundit except I see it from the real and from the South with political perspective.  It time for one of my rare real and "raw facts" posts where all hold bar are dropped.

OK, one Artur Davis is running for the governor of Alabama, and for you non-Alabamians or thus who chose to be belligerently ignorant of the political reality of this state, everything here is Topsy-turby when it comes to politics. You gotta look like the "enemy" to be a "friend" and to look like "friend" you are seen as an "enemy".  In layman's terms, the Democrats and Republicans in this state aren't trusted by the majority of the electorate.  So you have the dilemma that Davis is in where is "damned if voted for it", "damned if he didn't vote for it", and "damned if he chose to abstain" from the vote on the House bill Saturday. 

This where the liberals and progressives separate on issues because liberals are 9 out of 10 times more hard line whereas as a progressive there lies pragmatism. 

RAW FACTS: As much as liberals want to get their drawers tied in a tie over Davis being the only Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) member to vote against the House Bill.  He has made it known for awhile that he wasn't going to vote for the health care reform bill.  So I don't understand why anyone who has been paying attention is surprised.  The writing is on the wall and has been for months. 

Now how this applies to the gubernatorial race, well it just doesn't.  If one realizes what is going on then you would realize that Ron Sparks isn't any better if not worse than Davis when it comes to key issues that affects the average black or working-class white voters.  However, Sparks' stunt Friday calling for constituents in AL-7 congressional district to ask for Davis to support the bill and then claim he would support the bill if he was is in the House is pure bullshit and political grandstanding at its most pathetic worse.  If Sparks can't even support a full constitutional rewrite for fear of the "Great White Wrath" of some voters of that demographic group then he can shut the fuck up on that bullshit he was pulling Friday on Davis.

Let's face it, Alabama is a state where the majority of likely voters will vote against any candidate that is for health care reform in the current House for allowing possibility of funding for abortions.  I'm pro-choice and pro-LGBT rights, but it's the political expediency is what really counts come next June and November in the overall picture.  If you are an one-issue voter then CONGRATULATIONS!  But in the overall scheme of things you will be never satisfied with any candidate because no one candidate is perfect.   You will realize that there is a choice between the less of the two evils.  In this case with the Democratic ticket so far, Davis is the appear less trifling one. 

MY TAKE: I'm not a spokesperson for either one because I will throw Davis under the bus as well if he does a series of stupid things between now and November, but he at least has a good, stable platform.  Sparks is looking more like a pandering opportunist that will camouflage himself depending who is his target audience of his speeches, circa 2008 and Hillary Clinton.  That type of campaign never gets the candidate anywhere because you will get cornered and exposed by your opponents. 

Davis is the best choice for the gubernatorial race on the Democratic side, so he will have to do things that aren't "right" or sacrificial sense "do the right thing at risk of losing an election" when he wants to be governor.  If you're not enthuse about his candidacy, welcome to the crowd, but I'm not going to sit out an election to prove a point that will hurt yourself more than him.  Davis will still be well-paid trial lawyer and viable politician for the future (prohibiting he doesn't have some skeletons in his closet), but those you are standing up for in this health care reform battle will still suffer if not more under an idiot because you thought you were going to show him.  In other words, you are cutting off your own nose to spite your face. 

I live in reality, not political reality, where everything is suppose to be idealistic and pure.  I'm quite pragmatic and not apologetic as some try to claim because I don't apologize for anyone but myself.  In reality, things aren't perfect, so when you harp and whine about things not being perfect shows that you aren't living in reality because as I've said before "no candidate is perfect" or totally aligned with your interests. 

So if you get upset about that crap or my opinion, that's your problem and not mine.  I'm not a Democrat or Republican and never claim to be one.  As my blog title is "Thoughts and rants from an Independent" which means I see it from an objective, non-partisan point-of-view, but I know what's really good with politics.  It is what it is...

Constitutional reform and the gubernatorial race

As mentioned last week, Congressman and Alabama Democratic gubernatorial candidate Artur Davis announced while in Huntsville his support for a full rewrite of Alabama's inadequate, racially-bias consitution.  It's obvious that his Democratic opponent and Alabama Agricultural Commissioner, Ron Sparks, wasn't down with that.  Sparks called Davis' announcement "smoke and mirrors".

Well, it became very obvious to me after listening to Sparks and his stance on the reform that all he really cares about is "doing as little as possible and not rocking the boat" of special interests like ALFA.  Also Sparks platform on economic develop is full of holes with the idea of placing casinos in urban centers across the state lik downtown Birmingham like that is cure-all to the economic ailments. 

Back to the constitutional reform, the Birmingham News printed an op-ed in its Sunday edition discussing how Davis' announcement may actually elevate the level of discussion.  Alabama Citizen for Constitutional Reform's chairwoman Lenora Pate said it best:

 "It's just amazing, isn't it, that (candidates) want to trust the people and ask them to vote for them, but they don't want to trust us to vote on this issue," she said. "Something is inherently inconsistent with that."

However, remember Sparks and all the 7 Republican gubernatorial contenders feels like Davis is just doing a irresponsible magical routine involving "smoke and mirrors".  Those in Montgomery thinks it A'OK because their complacency on this is over the power they have on our lives and basic things when it should be held in the hands of our local governments. Honestly, I believe a lot of the state's major economic developmental issues would be resolved with a home rule law that allows all county or municipal governmental entities decide for themselves on zoning and land-use issues. I guess us the voters are just wise enough to vote for them, but not wise enough to vote on the solution to the problem they created. 

The more I learn about the candidates, the more I do lean towards Davis' platform because I'm tired of complacency amongst our elected officials.

Gubernatorial race drama

Democratic gubernatorial candidate and current U.S. Congressman Artur Davis announced yesterday that he supports a rewrite of Alabama antiquated state constitution.  If elected in 2010, Davis said he would work to get potential delegates' names on the same ballot as the presidential primary in 2012. 

He said a new constitution would allow the legislature to vote on no longer charging sales tax on baby formula and prescription drugs, using transportation dollars for mass transit, and letting cities and counties decide on local economic development issues.  All of which impede any real growth or progression of Alabama on so many fronts from social issues to basic governmental functions.

Shortly after the press conference, fellow Democratic gubernatorial candidate/Alabama Commissioner of Agriculture Ron Sparks issued a press release about his stance to review the constitution article by article, rather than a wholesale change.
Sparks criticized Davis for highlighting the issue rather than the state's financial crisis.  Sparks said,

"How many jobs will a constitutional convention create?" "Will a constitutional convention keep Alabama families out of foreclosure or create new revenue streams to address massive budget shortfalls?

"This is simply more smoke and mirrors from the Davis campaign."

Oh Sparks, you can't think of a single original idea can you?  This is going to get very nasty before this is even over.

The state constitution still has segregationist-era laws written into 800 sections and amendments, but null and voided by federal precedents prohibiting segregation of public facilities, poll taxes, etc.  However, it still there and basically been amended to death with the title being the world's longest constitution (even bigger than the Iraqi constitution) with 800+ amendments.

IT GETS BETTER:  The "kiss of  political death" was given by former Birmingham mayor Richard Arrington to Ron Sparks.  It has been provened that everone endorsed by Arrington has lost their political campaign  Arrington formally endorsed Sparks in the Democratic nomination for Governor.

"I have spent most of my life making decisions based on race," Arrington said. "Now, as my political life is waning, I want to move away from doing that and reach out to blacks and whites in hopes that we can make good decisions together, and I think Ron Sparks will be a good governor."


"I think if we are ever to move forward, across racial lines in this state, we have got to begin to trust each other, work with each other, and I think Ron Sparks can be the kind of governor that helps to make that possible."

O'RLY Richard!  Yeah, I find your so-called stance as valid as anything that comes out of Rush Limbaugh's mouth about being non-racist.  You just wanted to diss Davis because didn't want to appoint your out-of-touch behind to his gubernatorial cabinet.  Don't hate, just congratulate on another black man trying to be the first black governor of Alabama.