Update#2! Rep. Mo Brooks to hold town hall meeting at Alabama A&M University?

al.com

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Huntsville, will hold a town hall meeting Monday at Alabama A&M University.
The meeting will be at 3 p.m. in the auditorium of the Arthur J. Bond (engineering) Building. The meeting is open to the public.
Brooks will be discussing issues of concern for north Alabama and will also discuss the latest news in Washington. Brooks will take questions from the audience.
Refreshments will also be served.

Now isn't that special?  In the middle of his second term in office Rep. Mo (President Obama is a Socialist in Denial) Brooks will grace his African American constituents with a town hall meeting at 3:00 in the afternoon on a work day, and he's serving refreshments to boot!   Psst Mo, I wouldn't serve fried chicken and watermelon if I were you.

Update!  According to Radio Boy "they requested it!"  Who knew?

.@redeyespage's take on a Mo Books/A&M town hall includes racism, fried chicken, watermelon and ignores the fact that they requested it...
— Dale Jackson (@TheDaleJackson) April 29, 2013

Hmmm...Who is "they" and what did "they request" exactly? 

The plot thickens, according to Radio Boy there would be no town hall meeting at Alabama A&M if "they" had not requested it.
 

RT @redeyespage: @thedalejackson Who is "they" and what did "they request"? // DJ: They is A&M and they requested a town hall. Idiot.
— Dale Jackson (@TheDaleJackson) April 29, 2013

 
Note  Previous town hall meetings were held in the evenings, or on Saturday's  to accommodate working people, and none have advertised the serving of refreshments.

"The town hall is a question and answer session where District 5 residents can ask questions about legislation and federal issues that are important to them," Brooks said. "The discussion is driven by what folks are interested in talking about, so I hope that a lot of people will come out to this town hall."

I have a few question for Congressman Mo Brooks(r.Tea Party).

 Psst Mo,  I hope that a lot of people will come out to this town hall too, but I doubt it, because 3:00 PM is not a good time for District 5 residents who work even if you are serving refreshments.

"Dear Republicans: If you're trying not to be the Stupid Party, YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG"

Fist Dap What Would Jack Do  for the title.

Never let it be said there isn't a failed, stupid idea the AL GOP won't duplicate, especially if it means attacking welfare recipients. 

As I pointed out, while the Alabama Democratic Party was splitting in two, the red, republican, Super Majority in the state Senate were up to their old tricks.

The Republican leader of the Senate, Del Marsh of Anniston, moved to pass a drug testing bill immediately after the Senate convened at 2 p.m. Wednesday. Most of the Republican senators and all of the Democrats had not yet entered the chamber. Marsh asked to have the bill passed using the roll call from a previously passed bill. No one objected, and the bill automatically passed 22-10.

When "democrats" point out this bill is a proven waste of tax dollars, Righty's, enabled by the media, get it twisted and spin it into Alabama democrats turn fiscally responsible...arguing for drug addicts to get welfare.  See how they operate?

Stupid, right wing, republican argument of the decade;

If even ONE person is receiving public aid and using that aid to purchase drugs, it’s one person too many. Taxpayer money should not go to financing destructive and irresponsible choices. The argument isn’t that welfare recipients use more or less drugs, just that the state wants to ensure NO ONE does!

Hate to tell republicans this, but people receiving public aid aren't using their aid to purchase drugs because they can't afford to buy drugs.  I agree taxpayer money should not go to financing destructive and irresponsible choices, you know, like the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, or the bank bailouts.  But that's just me.

 Again, if Welfare recipients have to drug tested, the *ahem*lawmakers who receive public money, and Radio/TeeVee Talking Pundit Heads who use the public airways, ought be drug  tested too.

Today's Must Read/See
I'm Not a Bum, I'm a Human Being

Watch as Ronald Davis tells of his time on the streets of Chicago. As more people find themselves out of work and out of a home, they're left to fend for themselves and struggle on the streets.

 Funny how republicans want welfare recipients to under go drug testing but they are against gun safety regulations  and banning assault weapons.   I'll be if people receiving public aid were buying assault rifles and ammo republicans wouldn't say a mumbling word.  Strike that.  Republicans would argue it's their second amendment right to use public money to buy an assault rifle and ammo.

Legal Schnauzer: Macon County Residents File Federal Lawsuit Alleging Voting Rights Violations From Bingo Raids

Legal Schnauzer: Macon County Residents File Federal Lawsuit Alleging Voting Rights Violations From Bingo Raids

The Macon County lawsuit shines new light on racism in high places--and the Alabama mainstream press clearly wants no part of telling that story. ~Legal Schnauzer

Nope, the "Alabama mainstream press", and I use that term lightly,  wants no part of telling that story, because they are too busy reporting on the democratic cat, I mean, infighting while providing a weapon of mass distraction for the AL GOP.

While democrats, and I use the term loosely,  were distracted and wasting time forming an anti Joe Reed and his bunch organization the AL GOP was hard at work.

Republicans approved a bill that would require drug testing of welfare recipients.

Republicans killed the workers compensation overhaul law.

Republicans approved a bill that specifies existing private school students are eligible for tax credits

Republican senate committee cut the size of teacher pay cuts.

Congress held a hearing about long term unemployment and one Congress Critter showed up.

President Barack Obama nominated former Alabama attorney general and current U.S. circuit judge Bill Pryor to be a commissioner on the U.S. Sentencing Commission.


 This is what happens when democrats take their eyes off the prize.

What Nancy Worley said all the damn way!

Worley said in a phone interview Monday it was unfortunate that Kennedy decided to resign and “take his toys and go home,” but she feels that people will return to the Alabama Democratic Party as they see the policies of the Republican supermajority in the Legislature “taking care of the rich” and how those decisions affect them.
“We’re looking at a golden opportunity in the upcoming election in 2014, because quite frankly the Republicans have so many negative situations they have created for the state that I think people are going to feel the pinch in their pocketbook and they’re going to vote Democratic, like they once did,” she said.

A house divided will not stand.  

Hump Day This and That

Some Rights are more important than others

 Left in Alabama proudly announces The Birth of the Alabama Democratic Majority for those who want to contribute  without worrying their money is going to travel expenses for the Executive Board members and staffers to be working at ADC.  Where is Branch Rickey when you need him?  Sigh

Legal Schnauzer;   What's that you say?  A black female judge in Alabama draws suspension for actions that draw a pass for a white, male judge?  I'm shocked!  Shocked I you.  Not

The Attack Machine;  Speaking of IOKIYAR (It's OK if you are republican) Poor Lowell Baron, the Democrat who was replaced by Shadack McGill, the republican lawmaker who compared abortion to destroying an Eagle Egg ( among other things),  is under attack for being out of office. SMH and RME

Crooks and Liars;  Uh, remember Paul Kevin Curtis,  the Elvis Impersonator who just happened to be a Democrat  who was arrested for sending Ricen laced letters to President Obama, Senator Wicker and several other Mississippi politicians?  Well guess what, he was released from custody and all charges were dropped, but here's the kicker.....Curtis may have been framed.  Only in America...

Quote of the Day:  Ricen Suspect released: "I don't even eat rice."  LOL!

Geek Pavaler wants parents of Huntsville City School Students to know they can opt of Star testing.  "Simply put, unless you have been ruled unfit to be the legal guardian of a child, no one has the right to force your child to do anything that you do not wish for your child to do".   Mega Fist Dap to Russ

Abagond;  “Blacks are just as racist as whites if not more so!” It is a common thing whites in America say. I do agree that blacks are racist, but just as racist? No way! Not even close.

The Rude Pundit;  Republicans Are More of a Threat to America Than Bombers:  Ya think?

Mark Kennedy resigns as ADP chair and announces the formation of the anti "Joe Reed and his bunch group"

Oops, I mean the formation of the Democratic Majority. :)  So, Judge Mark Kennedy basically gave the same speech to the Democratic Majority he gave to the Alabama Democratic Party two years ago.  I hope he has a different result with his "new organization" , because you know what they say about doing the same thing over and over again.  Since he won't have Joe Reed and his bunch to obstruct him at every turn,  he's leaving the ADP millions of dollars in debt,  raided most of the  ADP staff and opened field office in Birmingham,  he shouldn't have a problem turning the ADP into his uncle's ADP.

You can think what you want, but If you have any doubt Kennedy took his toys and went home because of Joe Reed and his bunch look no farther than this statement by Madison County Democratic Chair Clete Wetli.

"Part of the issue is just the way Joe Reed has operated and some of the decisions he has made, especially recently, it kind of promotes a divisive sort of politics that most Democrats are not interested in," Wetli said. "What we're interested in doing is fixing the economy in Alabama, ensuring public education is where it needs to be, making sure we promote a message of real equality and real inclusion.

Now why wouldn't Joe Reed be interested in fixing the economy in Alabama, ensuring every child has access to a public education, and making sure we promote a message of real equality and real inclusion?  It's not like that's what he's fought for all his life.

"If you look back, unfortunately, over the past decade of how Joe Reed has operated in Montgomery, that certainly hasn't been the message he put out there. I think Judge Kennedy did his absolute best to try to change things from within. When that became impossible, he decided to do something different."

So let's look at what things Judge Kennedy did his absolute best to try to change from within and how Joe Reed obstructed, I mean operated in Montgomery.  As John Archibald says,  It's all about the Racism. Intolerance. Prejudice.  of Joe Reed and his bunch.

And none of this would have happened if not for the blatant politics of race. It would not have been necessary – let's be real – without Nikki Still.
You remember Still? She was a candidate for a Jefferson County judgeship who finished second in her party primary. When the first place finisher was disqualified, the Alabama Democratic Executive Committee met and ...
The rest is disturbing history.
The committee – controlled in large part by Joe Reed, the powerful lightning-rod leader of the black wing of the party -- refused to appoint Still to the judgeship because she is white. Really.
They chose a black woman candidate – one who did not even run in the primary – because the first-place finisher was a black woman.
It was a powerful message of racial politics, from the party that claims to have a big umbrella.
Of course, the split wouldn't have happened without Patricia Todd, either. Todd is a white woman from Birmingham, the first openly gay member of the Alabama Legislature and a representative who has gained grudging respect from Democrats and Republicans alike.
Reed tried – and failed – to have Todd kicked out of office.
Because, as he saw it, a white woman had no business representing a majority black district. Even if it was the majority black district that elected her.

Let's debunk the Nikki Still misinformation first.

It continues to be a source of consternation to the Alabama, white power structure they keep being outsmarted by the State Democratic Executive Committee led by their arch enemy Dr. Joe L. Reed.
Just like Andrew Breitbart took a snippet of Shirley Sherrods' speech to the NAACP out of context to illustrate so called "black racism", The Big Mules, aided and abetted by some white democrats, accuse the SDEC of blatant racism because they didn't select the white women who lost the election to replace the black woman who won the election, after she was removed from the ballot.

Marshall, who is black, had her law license suspended, and that caused her to be removed as the Democratic Party nominee for a Jefferson County judgeship. That led the Alabama Democratic Executive Committee (ADEC) to replace Marshall with Elisabeth French, who is black, instead of Nicole Gordon Still, who is white and was runner up to Marshall in the primary election.

Legal Schnauzer breaks it down.

Alabama's mainstream press has tended to portray ADEC's decision as based on race. French is black and Still is white--and the nomination came open when Kenya Lavender Marshall, who is black and won the Democratic primary, had her law license suspended over allegations from the Alabama State Bar that she had misappropriated some $30,000 from a client account.
But this is not the first time recently that Alabama Democrats have rejected a candidate who seemed too cozy with the state's elites. Just a few weeks back, Artur Davis was beaten soundly in the party's primary for governor. Davis, who is black, had sought support from the Business Council of Alabama and other corporate types. Still had been appointed to the judicial seat last June by GOP Governor Bob Riley, and we suspect that helped sink her chances with the Democratic committee.

 Thanks to the folks at Left in Alabama, we can see for ourselves. Here is a video from the event, with Reed's comments starting at about the 2:10 mark. Elisabeth French speaks at about 4:50, and a clearly agitated Nichole Gordon Still speaks at about 6:08.

As for the Patrica Todd affair, her opponent, Gaynell Hendricks mother in law, Mattie Childress contested the election on these grounds:

 In a document filed on July 27, Ms. Childress accused Jefferson County election officials of “malconduct which occurred [that] was calculated to prevent a fair, free and full exercise of the elective franchise”. She claimed that Patricia received “illegal” votes and that vote totals were changed without notification to Ms. Hendricks. 

It is true Patrica Todd is a white woman represented a majority black district.  It is true Joe Reed opposed her election as he should have.  Attorney Jerome Grey explains why:

In 2000, the district was drawn with a 63 percent black majority. In the years since, gentrification has shrunk that proportion, and some estimate the current black population at about 50 percent. In his letter endorsing Hendricks, [Joe] Reed warned black community leaders that if they elected a white candidate, the district could be redrawn without a black majority.

It was NEVER about Todd or her sexual orientation, it was about the district and the real possibility a the district lines would be redrawn to the exclusion of African American representation.  Yes,the same African American representation mean, evil, old Joe Reed fought and sacrificed for.

Joe Reed is known as a “fighter for fairness” for black representation. In 1975, Joe Reed led the efforts to get equitable representation for blacks on the Montgomery City Council. His efforts resulted in four (4) blacks of nine (9) being elected. He served on the Montgomery City Council for 24 years. In the Democratic Party today, Alabama’s black representation exceeds all other states in the nation. For over 40 years he has led the effort to get more blacks elected and appointed to public office, including federal marshals, federal and state judges, members of the boards of registrars, legislators, county commissioners, city councils, and school boards. Due largely to his leadership, today Alabama has more black elected officials than any state in the nation. He drafted two (2) plans that increased black representation in the Alabama House of Representatives from 13 to 27; and in the Senate from 3 to 8 in 1982, and 1992, respectively. He also drew a reapportionment plan that provided for 25% (two of eight) majority black districts on the State Board of Education. Alabama is the only state in the nation where the Legislature reflects the state’s population of blacks and whites. Dr. Reed’s congressional plan also led to Alabama’s gaining a black congressional seat.

And let me clear something else up while I'm on a roll.  Black folks aren't stupid.  We don't sit around and wait on Joe Reed to tell us what to do and when to do it. We don't sit around and wait on Joe Reed to give us advice.  We don't hate Joe Reed.  We admire Joe Reed.  We are grateful to Joe Reed for his SERVICE and his accomplishments.... because without Joe Reed there would be no Congressman Artur Davis (DINO).

No one will be able lead the Alabama Democratic Party until it becomes less about race and more about ideology.Until that happens, Alabama will never be a two-party state.~ John Archibald

Succession within the Alabama Democratic Party

When Left in Alabama Blogger country cat said outgoing ADP chair Judge Mark Kennedy was "mean a snake and likes a fight", I thought she was talking about being mean as a snake and fighting the GOP,  not Joe Reed and his bunch.

When Judge Kennedy said "we're all in this together" and are people who believe in "the fundamental rights of all people."  I didn't know he meant everybody but Joe Reed and his bunch.

When Judge Kennedy promised a restored democratic party,  I didn't know it meant excluding Joe Reed and his bunch.

And what happened to Kennedy's 5 point plan for the ADP?  Never mind.  We know.   Joe Reed and his bunch.


Decoding the code words.
Edited to add Judge Kennedy's statement on his Facebook page Sunday 4/21/13

In our organization, there will be no "majorities and no minorities" we will all be part of a growing movement and will stand equal together. The Alabama Democratic Majority supports a philosophy of inclusion.
To have a "majority" we must welcome all people that share our vision. When I chose the name of this exciting new opportunity it never occurred to me that I was using a code word for excluding minorities as some are now saying.

Psst Judge Kennedy!  It's not the name of your organization, it's the actions of your organization that are a code for excluding minorities.  Strike that, it's code for excluding some minorities like Joe Reed and his bunch.   Intentional or not,  the creation of this organization reminds me of the Southern Strategy and the creation of private and charter schools after the Brown v. Board decision, leading to the sad, sorry, state of public education not only in Alabama but our country.

This is is precisely why I oppose the creation of this organization.  It is dividing the party.  Strike that, it is destroying the Alabama Democratic Party. 

 People are taking sides. But it isn't between the Democrats and Republicans or progressives and conservatives; we are fighting each other. And if I am being frank, it ain't like we are in such a rosy position in this state that we can afford to be taking our eye away from the folks who seek to dismantle any semblance of a social safety net in this state.

Mark Kennedy vs. Joe Reed 

This is rapidly becoming the African Americans against the whites. It is racial now. The Democratic party will be known as the party of the African Americans. 

If I were allowed to post on Left in Alabama I would ask, what is wrong with the Democratic Party being "known as the party of African Americans"?  Why is that a bad thing?  African Americans don't want, or, need the government or the democratic party to take care of us.  African Americans don't want to be taken for granted and used as props to be seen and not heard.

Just to set the record straight, "what we want" is what every American should want and every democrat should stand for.

We don't want free health care, we want access to quality affordable health care.
We don't want free money, we want equal opportunity to have a good job.
We don't expect to win every election, we expect the right to cast our vote and have our vote counted.

Plato: The measure of a man is what he does with power. Joe Reed is accused of using his power for personal gain, but he's not the one creating a new democratic organization and running from why we are democrats.

In his weekly commentary in Speakin'Out News Jerry Mitchell asked when do the words bankrupt and leadership go together?

Chairman Kennedy tells us that since he became chairman in 2011, one of his key goals has been stabilize the party financially and begin the type of outreach to potential donors to grow the party in communities across the state. Obviously, the record shows that he and his leadership team are not getting the job done. The party is broke, there are no democrats that hold statewide offices, and White male democrats have gone into hiding, largely distancing themselves from President Obama's national success.

I don't know who the new leader of the Alabama Democratic Party will be, but I HOPE it is someone who is mean as a snake and likes to fight republicans instead of Joe Reed and his bunch.

Kennedy, 60, will formally announce the creation of ADM in a press conference at the Harbert Center in the heart of downtown Birmingham, the financial capital of the state. Jefferson County is considered vital by Kennedy as he begins the effort to draw donors to ADM from an affluent blue county that in November saw a majority of voters cast ballots for President Barack Obama and dominate election results for judicial seats.

Good luck with that. People who voted for President Obama and dominated the election results for judicial seats support these people:

  Today Kennedy leaves all that debt to Reed and acting Chairwoman Nancy Worley. They will also have to deal with finding a new executive director for the party. Current Executive Director Bradley Davidson is resigning to join Kennedy at the ADM.

  You cannot curse Bubba and Cooter, Big Man, and June Bug in the daytime and beg them at night.~Joe Reed

Outgoing ADP chair announces the formation of a separate and unequal new "democratic organization"

Once again I find myself having to use a scene from the Jackie Robinson biopic 42 to describe the present state of the Alabama Democratic Party, but first, let's recap.

Outgoing ADP chair Judge Mark Kennedy told al.com on Thursday he was was going to announce his resignation Friday effective  Monday.  Well, on Saturday I get an email from the Judge inviting me to a press conference on Monday to announce the formation of his new organization, the Alabama Democratic Majority.

   While my time as Chairman of the Alabama Democratic Party will come to a close at noon on Monday, a new chapter will begin at 12:01 PM in Birmingham.  I want to invite you to join me, my family, and Democrats from Ft. Payne to Fairhope and communities across the state as we unveil a new way forward.

At 12:01 PM on Monday, I will become Chairman of Alabama Democratic Majority--a non profit organization dedicated to voter registration, voter education, and voter participation--and will continue to volunteer my time and what talents I have.

We will have current and past elected officials joining me to show their support and I need you there to show our state the new face of Alabama Democrats!

Can't wait to see who the current and past elected officials joining him to show their support and the cough cough new face of Alabama Democrats are.

Tacky is as Tacky does.

Tacky is using the ADP mailing list in an attempt to divide a party that already has dwindling market share.
Tacky is announcing the press conference using the official media organs of the state Democratic Party to promote something that doesn't appear to be an official arm of the ADP .
Tacky is trying to go around Joe Reed instead of working with Joe Reed for the good of the party.
Tacky is taking his young staff from the ADP to this new organization.

Now back to 42 and the reality of the Alabama Democratic Party.

It is time that we all call ourselves Republicans since that is the only way any Democrat can win public office in Alabama. It is the painful truth that this conservative, impoverished state will not vote for anyone who is a Democrat other than in an African American community. We need to face reality.

And therein lies the reason Judge Kennedy is picking up his marbles and starting his own game.  As much as it  pains me to agree withe radio boy,  intentional or not,  Kennedy might as well hang a "no blacks allowed" sign on his new organization.  Yes, I'm sure there will be one or two non threatening blacks as window dressing, but let's be clear, this organization is for the money folks who won't contribute to the democratic party as long as there is a perception that the ADP caters to black voters but ignores white voters.

What does all this have to do with the movie 42?  Well, there is a scene  where Robinson's white team mate, Pee Reese puts his arm around him in front a hostile crowd and says (para quoting)  Thank you Jackie.  Jackie ask why he's thanking him.  Reese says, because I got family up there from Louisville and I need them to know.  I need them to know who I am. Maybe tomorrow we will all wear #42 that way they can't tell us apart.

I could understand the resentment ( for lack of a better word) directed at Joe Reed if his long record of public service and commitment to the democratic party and it's principals were in question, but  there are some  democrats who  resent (for lack of a better word) Joe Reed for the power he wields as chairman of the Alabama Democratic Conference ,which some see as catering to black voters at the expense of white voters, like that's a bad thing.

Since 1960 ADC’s basis mission has been to organize and unify the black vote and to have it respected by candidates and elected officials alike. Initially the organization moved its mission through a network of committed volunteers who traveled across the state establishing local chapters, holding district meetings, and educating voters. It took at least one decade for ADC to consolidate the black vote, build credibility, and create political clout in the state.

There are some democrats who don't believe blacks should have credibility and political clout in this state.  They believe they should be seen and not heard.  Candidates run as conservative democrats to take advantage of the black block vote, then govern like republicans.   Being seen as the party who caters to black voters, and by cater I guess they mean party that stands  for equal, civil, and human rights, access to quality affordable health care, a women's right to choose to have a safe, legal abortion, and equal access to a quality public education f,  is like the kiss of death.  And that's sad.

Instead of Mark Kennedy emulating Pee Wee Reese actions and working with Joe Reed, sending the message we are team mates on the same team,  he decided to fight against him, when Reed refused to bow out gracefully he decided to go around him and start his own team.  

All I'm going to say is good luck with that democratic majority Judge Kennedy.  Everybody knows separate is not equal.  Your end of the boat will be nice and clean, and my end of the boat will be full of holes, but guess what...the whole damn boat is going down.

"Politics is a noble profession but politics is not a love affair. Sometimes someone comes along and they say a lot of things, use a lot of nice words and people fall in the love with them, the people who think this business is a love affair. That's all fine but it won't get the hard work done of saving the party and building it back. That takes hard work every day and like I said, I get up every day and work for the party and if you find someone who works harder than me, I want to meet them."~Joe Reed

Edited~"Race is the Donkey in the room", but let's not talk about it and maybe it will go away

Alabama Democratic Party chair Judge Mark Kennedy told the media he was resigning as party chair before the told the ADP he was resigning.

MONTGOMERY, Alabama – Democratic Party Chairman Mark Kennedy will announce today his intention to resign the top job in his party.Kennedy confirmed to AL.com late Thursday that he will begin notifying leaders in the party today that he is resigning, effective noon Monday.

According to Left in Alabama Blogger countrycat, it's the beginning of the end for the ADP

Judge Mark Kennedy's resignation announcement closes a door on the Alabama Democratic Party and may succeed in bringing the whole house down.  Kennedy's resignation is effective at noon on Monday.  He cited continuing conflicts with the party's Executive Board, which is led by Dr. Joe Reed and Nancy Worley.

This whole media-enabled Civil War reminds me of the Jackie Robinson biopic 42, " that smashed the opening-weekend record for a baseball movie and is now looking, this weekend, to continue that hot streak, the reasons for the film’s success might seem to be obvious. It is — at least in my book — a rock-solid sports movie, and it’s also a drama of race in America that allows us to experience the well-worn past with a new vividness and insight. It’s worth noting that a number of people don’t agree with that: They look at 42 and see a complacent liberal message movie with a flawless and therefore overly sanded off and uncomplicated hero."    Stay with me now.

Without giving too much away for those who haven't seen it yet, there is a scene where Herb, the owner of the Philadelphia baseball team, tells Branch Ricky, the owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers, his team is not going to take the field if that negro, Jackie Robinson shows up.

Intentional or not, this it's time for Joe Reed to bow out gracefully and make room for a new generation of leaders,  withdrawing support, forming a third party, forming a new state party under Kennedy, and refusing to contribute support the Alabama Democratic Party as long as Joe Reed  has a visible role sounds a lot like what Herb said.

The Alabama Democratic Party in bankruptcy court.  I don't blame Kennedy for refusing to preside over that PR debacle.
Oh, and good luck with the fundraising and candidate recruitment after that happens.

It just does.

Mind you some of the same people making these declarations, are the same people who supported then democrat, now republican, Artur Davis for governor over the real democrat, Ron Sparks, and are the same loyalist who supported Judge Mark Kennedy for chair of the Alabama Democratic Party.

Kennedy is a former Alabama Supreme Court justice and the husband of Peggy Wallace Kennedy, the daughter of former Gov. George C. Wallace.
He agreed two years ago, at the urging of a small group of party loyalists, to seek the chairmanship when no other credible candidate wanted it. The party Kennedy took over in early 2011 had just lost control of both houses of the state Legislature for the first time since Reconstruction. That loss, coupled with the Republican Party's dominance in gubernatorial and judicial races and its almost unchallenged dominance in mostly white suburbs across the state, had combined to leave the party at perhaps its lowest point in history.Since taking over, Kennedy has attempted to stabilize the party’s teetering finances while also beginning the effort to rebuild and rebrand a party that has fallen out of favor with a majority of voters across the state.

The reason the party is bankrupt is that the GOP supermajority in the state legislature banned PAC to PAC transfers which were the lifeblood of the party. The reason the Alabama democratic party has fallen out of favor with a majority of voters across the states is that the majority of voters are Suckers.

There are two types of republicans:  millionaires and suckers.  Considering the policies of the modern Republican Party, this is very true. Their main policy is to make the rich even richer at the expense of everyone else. Anyone who is not rich and still votes Republican is voting against their own interests -- and therefore is a sucker.

For the record, I do not know Dr. Joe Reed personally, but people I know and respect do know him. Any power Joe Reed has is power he earned the hard fashioned way.

Joe Reed brilliantly championed the cause of African Americans as a Montgomery city councilman and then as the leader of the Alabama Democratic Conference. For that he deserves a revered place in Alabama history books.

Joe Reed is a bold, unapologetic, liberal.  He is a reliable voice for civil, equal, human, woman, public schools, public school teachers, labor, immigrants,  protecting the poor, the marginalized and the working class.  You know, the Democratic traditions the party stands for. Or at least traditions the party used to stand for before some felt the need to "reinvent" it. 

My Daddy use to say never burn the bridge that carried you safely over the water.  Like him or not. Joe Reed is that bridge.   Blaming the demise of the party on him is like blaming Saddam Hussein for 9/11. People who won't contribute to or support the Alabama Democratic party unless Reed bows out must care more about personalities than the democratic party agenda. 

So long as Joe Reed has control of it, there will be no viable Democratic Party in Alabama. The best we will get is a zombie.  

Oh, really?  First of all Joe Reed doesn't have "control" of the Democratic Party and he doesn't want control of the ADP,  he is an elected leader. It's up to the people who elected him to decide when it's time for him to go. The people who say they won't join the party unless Reed doesn't have a visible role are people who probably aren't real democrats in the first place.

 The Democratic Party in Alabama is never going to be stronger until we deal with the issue of race. ... To me the greatest problem with the Democratic Party right now is that we've taken every Democrat in the state of Alabama and divided them into little categories.  And everybody stays in their little category and nobody wants to work together.  So then we can't have a cohesive message about something like the sales tax on groceries, which is something that everybody agrees on.  It would have been a fantastic message for this election.  But we can't have a cohesive message until everyone gets out of their corner.

Imagine an Alabama Democratic Party without black folks. Intentional or not, that's what you are asking for when you say it's time for Joe Reed to step aside.  If the party is tired of one, the party is tired of all.   United we stand.  Divided we fall.  That's the lesson Alabama democrats should heed.

Captain America said:

 I'm as anti-Reed as aynone... (sic) but I saw little out of Kennedy and his operation to indicate that he had any real plan to move things in the right direction.He talked about blowing up dysfunctional county parties? I saw no evidence of that.He talked about throwing people off the committee who missed multiple meetings? I saw no evidence of that.He talked about distilling the ADP message into a bumper stick approach? I saw no evidence of that.He talked about reinviograting (sic) fundraising? I saw no evidence of that.In a choice between Kennedy and Reed, I'd choose Kennedy every time - but the man was chair for 2+ years and I am not sure what he did other than get into fights with Reed.

For the record, I am not anti-Kennedy or pro-Reed, I am pro the Alabama Democratic Party.  While we are waging war with each other the red, republican, controlled state legislature is getting away with murder.  Para quoting Dubya, you are either with the Alabama Democratic Party and what and who it stands for or. you are against the Alabama Democratic Party and what and who it stands for.

EYE report.
You decide.

Only in America....Background checks for victims of gun violence

Ain't this a dip?  Read it and weep.  H/T Think Progress

 

Politics

Gun Violence Victims Detained, Put Through Background Check For Yelling ‘Shame On You’ At Senators

"Reed" My Lips: The Alabama Democratic Conference is not equal to the Alabama Democratic Party

And therein lies the problem.

Yes, the names are similar, but the Alabama Democratic Conference (ADC) is not the same as the Alabama Democratic Party (ADP).  Nor is the ADC a "wing" of the ADP.  It is a separate advocacy organization that happens to have some overlap in membership and goals, but is neither a part of nor subservient to the Alabama Democratic Party or the ADP Chairman.  Check the ADP's Bylaws --- there's a minority caucus, but no role whatsoever for the ADC.

No matter what you've read on al.com or on Mark Kennedy's facebook page which btw has been scrubbed) , Dr. Joe Reed and his bunch are not the reason the Alabama Democratic Party is facing bankruptcy, and I for one am sick and tired of hearing people who ought to know better try to place the blame on him (Reed) and the ADC. 

The blame for the currant financial state of the Alabama Democratic Party lies solely with the Red, Republican, Alabama, Super Majority, Legislature. 

"The reforms the Republicans passed in 2010, whether you think they were good or not, what they did was effectively cut off our dollars from PAC's," said Kennedy.
Kennedy said the ban on PAC-to-PAC transfers financially crippled the Democrats but not the GOP.

Instead of joining with the ADC to fight the ban on  PAC-to PAC  transfers which Kennedy admits, and Reed knows,  are the life blood of the ADP, he (Kennedy)  made it perfectly  clear the Alabama Democratic Party the Alabama Democratic Party is absolutely not trying to overturn the law banning PAC to PAC money transfers.

First, I've only been chairman of ADP for 5 months.  As a former Supreme Court Juctice(sic), I will never condone any kind of illegal activity. 
The Alabama Democratic Party has filed no suit challenging any sort of statutory law.  The Alabama Democratic Conference … has filed that lawsuit. 
I have no control over what the ADC does. 
I was not consulted, no one suggested I review the materials in that lawsuit, we are not a party to that lawsuit.  We are a stand-alone entity.

 So here we are four years later and the Chairman of the ADP, not to be confused with the ADC says he is "trying to to begin to bring financial stability back to the party and begin the kind of outreach to potential donors that will allow us to not only be stable financially but to grow the party in communities across this state."  

Who are those potential donors exactly?  They are donors  like this;

1. I'm a Democrat - who refuses to give money to the Alabama Democratic Party when hacks like Joe Reed are running the show.

And this;

It's a game of their own personal political power and control.  A way to ensure that up and coming black candidates will kowtow to the leadership and play the same game that's turned the Alabama Legislature into a dysfunctional entity that protect corruption and rejects transparency. 
More than anything else, it's crap like this that is pushing me towards Davis.  Because if he's willing to stand up and fight back against the political mafia you describe, I'm willing to get behind him.

And this;

I know who Joe Reed is and have written less than a dozen posts about him in two and a half years -- largely because he isn't relevant to progressive issues except when he gets in the way.  I also know who Hank Sanders is and have written a handful of posts mentioning him, as many positive as not.  Bobby Singleton is in the State Senate and I have rarely, if ever, written about him.
In case you've missed it, I've suggested to some diarists here -- over and over and over, ad nauseum(sic) -- that we're focussing(sic) a little too much on the politics of race.  Some folks only have a hammer, apparently.

There's just problem with Judge Kennedy's outreach to potential donors,  if the Alabama Democratic Party moves beyond the likes of Joe Reed ,black voters which comprise 60 percent of Alabama's Democratic primary electorate will move on with him.

White democrats can't win without black democrats, and black democrats can't win without white democrats.  If white democrats want to get more white districts here they should start by working on their friends, neighbors, and co-workers now! Tell them to quit voting against their own interests. Black democrats will do our part, as we always do, so don't expect us to "take one for the team".

What we've got heah is...... failure to communicate

Unfortunately, the state Party has to focus most of its attention on the major metropolitan dailies, the television news, the Associated Press, and to a lesser extent, the dailies in mid-sized cities like Anniston and Dothan. This leaves a big gap in an area where we Democrats have been getting our clock cleaned the last couple of cycles, and have to do a better job: smaller cities and rural counties outside the Black Belt. Across the Tennessee Valley, down the eastern and western borders of Alabama, and in a few pockets like Walker and Talladega Counties, these counties used to be part of our base. Now they are battlegrounds where we are barely holding our own. The immutable math of Alabama politics for the next decade looks a lot like this: we’re going to win the inner cities and the Black Belt. We’re going to lose in the white flight suburbs like Shelby, Baldwin, and Autauga Counties. If we’re going to regain legislative influence, and win statewide races, we have to regain ground in the mid-size and rural counties in the rest of the state. And a big part of that is going to be influencing the media atmosphere in those counties.

Who can herd the Alabama DemoCATS?

 

In case you've been living under a rock, are not on facebook, and don't read Al.com, I regret to inform you of the Civil War raging within the Alabama Democratic Party between the White Cats and the Black Cats. (Cue in Dixie)

This War has been simmering every since the 2009 democratic gubernatorial primary when then democrat, now republican, Aurtur Davis sought to be the first black governor of Alabama.  Davis and his ahem handlers thought black democrats were going to vote for him  because he was the second coming of President Obama.

I said then, and I say now, One thing I will say about Davis's candidacy, it is pitting democrat vs democrat, white vs black, conservative vs liberal, white progressives vs black progressives, pro choice vs anti choice, north AL vs south AL, rural voters vs urban voters.  

jacool was right (no pun) on the money when he asked this question, emphasis mine:

But is he electable? 

Davis needs between 75-80% of the black vote if not more to even narrowly win the primary because there will be a definite ceiling with the white vote given that the whites will be almost all rural and working class and considering that every rural Obama hating Republican will also be voting in that primary.
 So can Davis get that 75-80%? So far, it's not looking likely. I have been consistent. I have said all along he'll be lucky to carry the black vote and will have a hard time cracking 60%. I stand by this one. The black leadership in Alabama will never say this directly but they don't believe white Alabamians will elect a black man in 2010. They saw Obama's performance.  
They also know that their power and indeed all black political power is derived entirely on Democratic control of the legislature. They believe if Republicans take over the legislature that they'll try and swing the remaining Democratic whites into the GOP camp overtly on race and that blacks will be in Alabama's political wilderness outside of majority black counties for several decades
 I agree with the state's black leadership on all counts and that's why I see 2010 turning out to be the bloodbath that it will. More importantly, if they can take out Davis they can send a message to all aspiring black politicians in Alabama that they'll either follow along or face Davis's fate. That is what is at stake in the 2010 primary and that's why while it will be fun to watch I fear what it could mean for the party.

 For some strange reason Davis and Co. thought he could diss his base and still win, but what he actually did was divide the Alabama democratic party..... forever? 

While Congressman Artur Davis's stunning loss in his quest to win the Alabama Democratic Gubernatorial nomination was a sad turn for one black man, it was a great moment for black voters. It revealed a heightened level of political sophistication among black primary voters who rejected Davis's "I-don't-need-to-spend-time-on-them-'cause-I-know-they'll-be-with-me" approach to campaigning. black Alabamans did not simply genuflect before a polished black candidate. He gave them nothing; they returned the favor. Davis has ambitiously positioned himself for higher office for some time. In so doing, he took his base for granted. That's the best way to lose an election.

 So fast forward to 2013, and the Alabama Democratic Party' desire to reinvent itself, from the party of Dr. Joe Reed ,to the party of Judge Mark Kennedy, and never the two shall meet.  Why are some Alabama democrats trying to reinvent the wheel, I mean party?  Not sure, but I think it has something to do with the perception the party caters and cow tows to black voters, like that's a bad thing.  I mean, what's wrong with being the party of civil, equal and human rights for all people regardless of race, creed or gender?  What are we...chopped liver?

So while the red, republican controlled Alabama State Legislature is waging a full scale war against poor women, poor children, the voting rights act,  public education and teachers, the Alabama Democratic Party continues to embarrass itself  trying to figure out who can herd the white cats and the black cats.

SMH

Who is really being "divisive"?~Edit

In an April 13th speech to the Cullman Democratic Party, Madison County Democratic Chairman Clete Wetli said;

Now, more than ever before, Democrats have to unite with a common message that will resonate with the people of Alabama. In the past, we have let the Republicans dominate the message and, worse, we have allowed politicians who were "Democrats in Name Only" to invent weird mutations that barked a "Blue Dog" mess of confusing and pandering partisan rhetoric. Well folks-- a Republican in a Democrat's clothing is just another Republican, no matter what they call themselves. We will not win elections by trying to be something that is not in our political and philosophical DNA. We will win elections by energizing our base and making sure that real Democrats cast their votes for real deal Democrats.

Now those are some nice words Mr. Wetli, but it's kind of hard for Democrats to unite with a common message with the media enabled Civil War being waged between the white wing and the black wing of the Alabama Democratic Party.  It's even worse when the white wing treats the black wing like  The Help, never an equal.

 Once again we have a one sided news story about the happenings within the  Alabama Democratic Party that paints Alabama Democratic Party Vice Chairman Joe Reed as a self serving  liar "who opposed Barack Obama and who should should step down for the sake of the party before it goes bankrupt", blah, blah, blab, blab.

The same article  paints Alabama Democratic Party Chairman Judge Mark Kennedy as the victim who refuses to bow down to Reeds demands, and as "somebody who sees the future and can begin to build a modern party."

Before we go any further, let's clear up this Joe Reed opposed President Obama misconception for lack of a better word.  In 2008 Hillary Clinton reached out to Joe Reed (before Barack Obama was viewed as a serious contender in the 2008 Presidential race), to be her point man in the area.  Reed wasn't the only high profile democrat who was against Barack Obama before they were for Barack Obama.

 Most of the Alabama Democratic power structure have aligned behind Hillary Clinton. Jim Folsom, Ron Sparks, Susan Parker, Joe Turnham, Joe Reed, Patricia Todd, and many of the party’s leading lights are publicly supporting Hillary. There are many motives behind this support, most of them born out of enduring relationships with the Clintons and/or a pragmatic sense of inevitably that Clinton will be the Democratic nominee and very possibly the next president.

Reed reversed course and urged support for President Obama after he won the Alabama Democratic Primary thanks in large part to the black block vote.

DENVER - Joe Reed, who urged Alabama blacks to support Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton because he believed America was not ready to elect a black president, reversed course Thursday.
Reed, leader of the group that largely makes up the black wing of the Democratic Party, told state delegates attending the Democratic National Convention to work hard for Sen. Barack Obama's election in November.
Reed acknowledged what everyone in the room knew.
"I didn't think he was going to make it," said Reed, chairman of the Alabama Democratic Conference. "And I don't think anybody else did, either."
That comment brought about a dozen delegates out of their seats shouting: "I did, I did, I did."
Reed at first looked a little surprised but quickly recovered.
"All right, all right, some of you had a crystal ball. But my crystal ball was dim," Reed said, smiling.
Reed urged the delegates, when they returned to Alabama, to get involved in voter registration drives that could spell the difference between victory and defeat for Democratic candidates on the ballot, including Obama.

Now that we have that cleared up, let's move on to the perception Joe Reed and his bunch are divisive.  Organizing for America Alabama  director Leanne Townsend said this back in January 2011 at a panel discussion hosted by the Over the Mountain Dems :

  The Democratic Party in Alabama is never going to be stronger until we deal with the issue of race. ... To me the greatest problem with the Democratic Party right now is that we've taken every Democrat in the state of Alabama and divided them into little categories. 

This:

 What I learned ... was that a lot of the white Democrats in North Alabama are not really Democrats at all.  They haven't been, ever.  They're Dixiecrats.  They're leftover Southern Democrats and they were just fine being Democrats until we went and elected a black president.  And now they're not.

And this:

  As a party we need to decide that we're going to get over race before we can expect voters to do that.

Panel Moderator Barry Ragdale piped in with this:

There is the perception that the Democratic Party is the party of black folks and the Republican Party is the party of white folks. 

Jefferson County Democratic Party Executive Chairman Richard Mauk had this to say about Joe Reed at the same forum:

It's going to have long term affects on both organizing and on fundraising.  I have personally been told by very heavy hitters, if you want to call them that, that as long as Dr. Reed is part of the problem, they are not going to contribute money.  We're going to have to find it elsewhere.

So, Dr. Joe Reed, a man who spent most of his life trying to bring people together by fighting for civil rights in this state is the problem? Wow!  I'm beginning to think this reinventing the Alabama Democratic Party is code for "It's time to take our party back."

Here it is: Whenever anyone associated with the Alabama Democratic Party says publicly that Joe Reed and his bunch are the problem and he needs to bow out gracefully, it says to me I'm the problem and you want me to bow out gracefully right along with him.  If he's no longer welcome/needed within the Alabama Democratic Party then neither am I.  If enough people, black and white, decide they're not going to continue to vote for the best of the worse, we should form a third party and say Pox on both the democratic and the republican party.

A party divided will not stand.   Bash and smear Joe Reed all you want.  You aren't hurting him, you are hurting our party.

field negro: I guess having all these guns does have its advantages.

field negro: I guess having all these guns does have its advantages.

I don't always agree with Philadelphia Daily News columnist Jill Porter---if I remember correctly, she even ripped family court a time or two when I was an administrator there---.

But her article concerning guns, gun violence, and its disturbing and frightening effects on our community was right on point. And she raises some relevant economic issues that I didn't even consider.

Here is what she wrote:

I DON'T KNOW about you, but I'm going to spend my tax-refund incentive check to buy a gun.
Now that the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that individuals - and not just members of militias - have the right to bear arms, it's the least we can do.
Really.

I was going to buy a dining-room rug, but that won't boost the economy nearly as much as having more guns in circulation.

Read on.

 I keep hoping A-merry-cans will wake up, but sadly, I know we won't. I mean if someone can execute a schoolhouse full of little Amish children and it doesn't get a rise out of the sick f#$ks at the NRA, I don't know what will. I mean a bunch of n***ers killing each other in the inner cities is fine. We all know those Negroes don't have anything better to do than take drugs and kill each other. But what about those good citizens [*wink wink*] in places like Kentucky and Virginia? Do they deserve to die? I don't know, call me crazy, but I bet if there were less guns there would be less killings.

Read often.

"Do you feel safer with a gun in the house? When you bring a gun into your home, you dramatically increase the risk of someone you love being injured by that gun. Research has shown that with each 1,000 gunshot victims that come to our hospitals, less than two victims are actually using a gun for self-defense at the time.(5) The majority of gunshots are due to suicide, homicide (due to escalated arguments between loved ones), and accidental firings than to self defense. In fact, more guns are fired in the United States in the act of suicide than for any other reason.(6) To put simply: suicides, homicides (due to arguments), and accidental firings would be much less likely if the gun were not in the house in the first place."

~~Physicians For Social Responsibility-Los Angeles~~

The Alabama State Democratic Party is politically, morally, and financially bankrupt. Blame "Joe Reed and his bunch"

 

Once again we have a one sided news article about goings on within the Alabama Democratic Party, basically blaming Vice Chairman Joe Reed because  The Alabama Democratic Party is almost bankrupt, facing a looming debt of nearly a half-million dollars and having less than $20,000 of total cash in hand.

Shortly after becoming chairman, Kennedy was able to convince one of the three banks owed most of the money -- $276,000 -- to put the loan into forbearance. A second bank agreed that the party could make payments on the interest owed, not the principal and a third bank, owed only about $18,000, is being repaid."Those agreements gave us breathing room," said Kennedy.                                                     
But Kennedy's efforts to financially stabilize the party have been dealt a major blow by a majority on the party's Executive Board. The board in meetings in February and March voted to order Kennedy to undo the agreements he had worked out with the banks, an order that would, Kennedy said, effectively bankrupt the party in a short amount of time.  The board acted at the urging of Democratic Party Vice Chairman Joe Reed, who for years has been one of the party's major players.

Kennedy's efforts to financially stabilize the party weren't dealt a major blow by a majority on the party's Executive Board, they were dealt a blow when the Red Republican Super majority passed legislation that banned PAC-to-PAC transfers, and in so doing effectively financially crippled the Democrats but not the GOP. But here is the kicker, the Red Republican Super Majority was  enabled by some (not to confused with all)  cough cough  democrats.

A review of party financial records shows it owes three banks almost $489,000 stemming from loans given over the years that have allowed the party to stay afloat. The loans, along with dollars given to the party from political action committee transfers, particularly the Alabama Education Association, have been the life blood of the party, said state Chairman Mark Kennedy.
But a newly elected Republican Party super majority in late 2010 passed legislation that banned PAC-to-PAC transfers and in so doing effectively dried up new dollars coming into the party, said Kennedy. For decades the ability of PAC's to transfer dollars between themselves made it difficult to determine where political contributions originated and ended. It was a practice supporters of both political parties used and it was a practice long seen as a corrupting influence on state politics because it often allowed the source of dollars into political campaigns to stay hidden.
"The reforms the Republicans passed in 2010, whether you think they were good or not, what they did was effectively cut off our dollars from PAC's," said Kennedy.

So, how does that ethics reform and pac to pac transfer ban thingy working out for you now?  The Black wing of the Alabama Democratic Party (ADC), under the leadership of Joe Reed challenged the pac-to pac transfer ban.

MONTGOMERY — A black political organization has filed a lawsuit challenging a new state law that bans the transfer of campaign contributions between political action committees, even though blacks in the House and Senate voted for the legislation.
The lawsuit by the Alabama Democratic Conference, the black wing of the state Democratic Party, was filed earlier this month in federal court in Birmingham. It says the ban on PAC-to-PAC transfers violates the ADC’s free speech rights and hurts its efforts to get black voters to the polls. ADC chairman Joe Reed says the ban restricts the Democratic Party’s ability to transfer money to the ADC’s efforts to get out the vote in black communities.
“It has the effect of undermining the black vote. It’s directly tied to the role the Democratic Conference has played in the political process,” Reed said.

Can you hear him now? Note, the Alabama Democratic Conference not the Alabama Democratic Party filed the suit which a federal judge overturned part of.

a federal judge late Wednesday ruled that the Alabama Democratic Conference can continue to accept money from outside political groups for get-out-the-vote campaigns and other voter education programs despite last year's ban by the state Legislature on PAC-to-PAC money transfers.

So here we (The Alabama Democratic Party) are, on the verge of bankruptcy politically, morally and financially.

"Unlike the Republicans, we just as a party have not developed the kind of broad donor base a modern political party needs and the Republicans have," said Kennedy. "Since becoming chairman in 2011 one of my primary goals has been to begin to bring financial stability back to the party and begin the kind of outreach to potential donors that will allow us to not only be stable financially but to grow the party in communities across this state."

It's unfortunate, but potential donors will not donate as long as Joe Reed and his bunch have a seat at the table.

Kennedy has my support as long as he's opposed to Reed. Reed is the problem and as long as he's there, white Democrats in Alabama will continue to be on the endangered list. What Reed doesn't realize is that the money that used to come to the party is drying up and there is no budget for useless staffers any more.  yellerdog

And so what are the lessons here?

African-Americans are vital to the election process of this great nation. This vibrant and resilient community has suffered disenfranchisement on numerous levels throughout the 400 years since our ancestors first arrived on the shores of the new world. For too long our story has been written with a dialogue that is entrenched in the language of doubt and struggle. But we are now writing a new story.
The Alabama Primary showed that we are voters who count. We are not simply concerned, but we are aware. And we will not suffer fools or foes, regardless of race, not even our own. Artur Davis’ loss proves that ignoring African-American voters is the best way to lose an election.

Democrats don't want us and republicans won't have us.  What to do and where to go?  

 Efforts to reach Reed for comment were not successful.