Redeye's Week in Review~Update 5/4/2013

It was a very interesting week in Alabama poliTricks. There are some who don't believe justice was served in the Hale County so called voter fraud case against Gay Nell Tinker (aka Gay Nell Singleton), and are wondering what in the world they have to do stop voter fraud in the black belt.

 A one year suspended sentence, Attorney General stipulation that notarizing altered absentee ballots is not a crime of moral turpitude, allowed to keep her jobs as a city magistrate, Gay Nell Tinker AKA Gay Nell Singleton lost nothing by entering a guilty plea other than being barred for six years from handling absentee ballots.

I don't disagree with the judges ruling in this case, but I understand how they feel. I felt the same way when Radio Boy got off with a slap on the wrist for using the public air waves to promote voter suppression with the state seal of approval. I appreciate the concern about so called voter fraud in the black belt, but what about black voter suppression?

The right to vote is sacred to African Americans. I know it sounds cliche, but it's steeped in blood, sweat, tears, courage and sacrifice. That's why we don't think Voter Suppression with the State Seal of Approval is funny. It's why we shake our heads at The Tough Voter ID Laws. It's why we get weep silently when the real voter suppression gets a slap on the wrist and the imagined voter fraud is prosecuted to the full extent of the law. It's like pre 1965 all over again.

The Race Baiting continues in the Kenya Lavender Marshall/Nikki Still/Elisabeth French Circuit Judge election saga, inspired by a piece written by Joe Turnham, chairman of the Alabama Democratic Party, that was published in the Birmingham News last week and a letter from retired federal Judge U. W. Clemons, also published by the Birmingham News. Which makes me wonder, who gets to determine if something is racist, the victims of racism or the perpetrators of racism? Some are convinced Nikki Stills in the victim of so called black racism by the SDEC, but they aren't willing to even consider that maybe Kenya Lavender Marshall a victim of racism by the Alabama Bar Association. What's black is white. What's white is black. It's a Topsy Turvey world when it comes to racism.

The Alabama Democratic Executive Committee probably sensed that a black female candidate, who had been heavily favored by voters, was treated unfairly. The committee decided, we suspect, that the fair and right thing to do was to replace her with a black female candidate--one who was equally qualified to the white candidate. That, in our view, is not racism; it's a logical reaction to racism.

The New South Coalition and the SCLC are barking up the wrong tree when it comes to injustice. We suggest they train their sights on the Alabama State Bar.

Speaking of racism, Gooberner Bob Riley has decided to pay them there black attorneys in lieu of testifying under oath.

What can make an arrogant Republican crumble in fear? The thought of having to testify under oath about his corrupt actions.
That's the lesson to take from reports that Alabama Governor Bob Riley has agreed to settle a lawsuit, in the face of a tight deadline for his deposition. A state judge had refused to dismiss the lawsuit and given both sides until September 20 to complete depositions--and opposing counsel had indicated that Riley would be among those questioned under oath.
Knowing that depositions can be wide ranging--and this one could have covered issues related to campaign finance, no-bid contracts, and other uncomfortable matters--Riley decided it would be a good idea to pay up.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ron Sparks beat republican candidate Dr. Robert Kevorkian, I mean Bentley like a drum in a debate on Bentley's home turf. So here's the choice facing Alabama voters in November.... Do we want a governor who has specific ideas and plans to create jobs, supports health care reform, raise millions with a state wide lottery, and wants all students to have access to a quality education, or, another Governor who will stand in the school house door and stand up to the Federal government? I report. You decided.

Bentley is pro life (4.00 / 2)
Believes in Article 10, state sovereignty.

Real problem with illegal immigrants. Applauds Arizona.

Only a gov. can stand up to feds. and I am that gov.

Oh, snap! President Obama has endorsed a progressive who won't be a rubber stamp for him in Congress. What in the world is he thinking? Maybe he's demanding rubber stamp fealty from them there voters in the 7th district. Maybe he's expecting them to fall in line like good little sheep and follow the Pied Piper. As I said before I was booted from leaning Left in Alabama, I weep for voters in the 7th district. They don't need or deserve another progressive representative, they need and deserve a liberal, democratic representative in Congress. And for the progressives who think black voters vote for who President Obama tells them to vote for just because he's an African American need look no farther than EX Washington D.C. Mayor Artur Davis, I mean Adrian Fenty. President Obama is the President of the United States, not the King of black folks. Sometimes his policies can even be considered neocon. As the young people say "you better recognize"

What too many folks don't realize, especially those who are not connected even tangentially to black folks save through the ephemeral artifacts of pop culture, is that there is "old guard" in our section of the American neighborhood who you cross at your own peril. Once these folks are done with you, they are done with you. No ifs, ands or buts. In the wake of the election victories of Corey Booker, Adrian Fenty and Barack Obama there was a significant move to write these folks off. What wasn't understood is that the success of Booker, Fenty and Obama was due, in great part, to the support of this "old guard" that tends to remain just below the radar. Fenty's defeat clearly sends a message that news of the old guards demise was premature.

The GOP infused, media-enabled Tea Party prevailed in the republican primaries. Let the Co-opting Begin.

what the teabaggers are putting on display is what is at the heart of the conservative movement which is fear, racism, and tribalism. The teabaggers are like the crazy uncle that you keep in the attic. He is in the family but you don’t want anyone to know about it. The teabaggers are the raw nerve of the Republican Party. They are the ones who are the attack dogs for the Party. Let’s not be naive the reason the so-called Establishment Republicans are not challenging the teabaggers is because the teabaggers are the heart of the Republican Party. And now the trick that they want to play on the American public is to disguise this dark heart as being normal or main stream.

What if the Tea Party takes control of Congress?

The problem with managing a mob filled with hate, fear, and paranoia is that there is no managing it. Since a recent poll shows that 50% of the public does not have an opinion of the teabaggers their handlers have decided now is the time for a face lift. Their hope of course is that the public will not remember the signs, the rhetoric, or the racism. Or there is another opinion and that is they truly believe that the majority of Americans secretly share these intolerant views.

The midterm elections will determine if the majority of Americans secretly share these intolerant views.
God help America if they do.