#SweetHomeAlabama where Democrats are being taxed without representation

EYE guess everyone has seen the video of Representative Mo Brooks (R. Chicken CD5) sneaking into his own canceled republican only town hall meeting held at a church in north Alabama and heard about his refusal to meet with democrat constituents in his office. 

Evidently, Alabama's republican lawmakers only represent republican taxpayers and are using the taxpayer-funded police force to protect them from their Democratic constituents.

If EYE recall correctly there was a little thingy called the Boston Tea Party which led to the Revolutionary War to address taxation without representation.

"No Taxation Without Representation" is a slogan originating during the 1750s and 1760s that summarized a primary grievance of the American colonists in the Thirteen Colonies, which was one of the major causes of the American Revolution

If republicans lawmaters don't wake up and smell the tea EYE don't think voter suppression, gerrymandering,  Citizens United, and the Electoral College will be able to protect them the next time there is an election.  The majority of the American people voted for democrats.

As grim as the situation is for Democrats — and it is grim — it’s not going to take long for Republicans to recognize their peril. They’ve lost the popular vote in six of the past seven elections. Their president-elect is less popular than any incoming president in the history of polling. It’s the out-of-power party that tends to gain in midterm elections.

EYE am just saying... 

#SweetHomeAlabama #Sweet16 #RollTide "Are our priorities messed up?"

This is the Alabama Congressional Delegation making fools of themselves, EYE mean, celebrating the University of Alabama's 16th National Football Championship on the floor of the House of Representatives. 

From the Heisman Trophy winner, [Derrick] Henry, the quarterback, Jake Coker, and the tremendous 95-yard run of Kenyan Drake, all of the players on the 2016 team deserves our applause and congratulations," said U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Birmingham, who represents Tuscaloosa in the House. She was joined by Reps. Mike Rogers, R-Saks; Martha Roby, R-Montgomery; Mo Brooks, R-Huntsville; and Robert Aderholt, R-Haleyville.

 #OurTaxDollarsAtWork

Again,  EYE congratulate the the University of Alabama football program on their 16th National Championship,  b-but there is something....troubling about....pride for a national football championship..... in a state that ranks 48 among 50 states in quality of life for children....where some of the people probably can't spell Alabama much less attend the University of Alabama thanks to it'se pi$$ poor education system , are just bursting with pride.

Are our priorities messed up?

The State of Alabama could learn much from the University of Alabama. If Alabama wants to be the best, there is a cost. A price to pay. Until we're willing to pay it, we'll limp along with the other bottom-tier states, in most everything but a silly game.

Life in Alabama ain't no Crystal Ball  for the majority of it's citizens, but it could be, if we invested in people like we invest in football. 

We're Number 1 .  Again.

Edited~ EYE guess it depends on what the definition of an " asset" IS

Former gubernatorial candidate Parker Griffin calls for new leadership in the Alabama Democratic Party

True to his promise, former Alabama Congress Critter Artur Davis has taken his case to the republican controlled courts in his quest to become a democrat again.  The conventional wisdom claims he is arrogant and didn't grovel enough , which explains why he is being treated differently from other party switchers.  

Let's go inside the  Artur Davis  lawsuit. Emphasis mine

The suit states Davis "declared his willingness to advocate for principles and views associated with the Democratic Party, and to offer material support for Democratic candidates."
Davis said the party didn't grant waiver because "he failed to demonstrate that he would be an asset to the Democratic Party."
Davis says the Democratic Party doesn't define what "asset" is, and it shouldn't be ground for denying his admittance.
The party "unconstitutionally violated Davis' due process rights because he has been denied a Radney Rule exemption or waiver where other, similarly-situated candidates have been granted Radney Rule exemptions," the lawsuit states.

According to dictionary.com an asset is defined as a useful, thing, person, or quality.  What is the Alabama Democratic Party's definition?  If it's the same as dictionary.com, are they saying Davis failed to prove he was a useful, thing, person, or quality?  If so, what makes him any less of a useful thing, person, or quality than Parker Griffin?  

As far as the arrogant and begging forgiveness charges, according to Parker Griffin he didn't have to jump through the loops Artur Davis is being required to jump through, he just sneaked, I mean, walked right on in. Emphasis mine.

Griffith said that while he wasn't at home with the national Democratic Party or with tea party Republicans, he figured he had been at home with Alabama Democrats. He contacted state Democratic Party Vice Chairman Joe Reed about returning. After a letter and some meetings, the party's executive committee let him return, but not by a unanimous vote.
At the time, Reed was trying to help the state Democratic Party keep its Montgomery headquarters open while facing more than $500,000 in debt.
"A Democrat said to me, 'Did you have to write him a $600,000 check to get the party out of debt?' I said, 'No, it never came up,'" Griffith said.

EYE guess biting the hand that feeds you is an asset. 

Griffith, 72, said he would be willing to serve as an interim party chairman to try to unite Democrats, but he has no interest in a long-term leadership position.
In his view, new leadership must craft an image for the Alabama Democratic Party that appeals to the white, blue-collar males who have switched to the GOP. For him, that means getting away from the national party's support of abortion, gun control and gay marriage.
"We've got to separate ourselves from the far left in Washington, D.C.," he said.
Reed said he supports Worley, and Griffith need not anticipate a call to lead the party.
"No one is going to turn the party over to him, no sir," Reed said. 

There are some in the ADP who refuse to see that Artur Davis is being punished more harshly than other party switchers.  Again, other than the obvious there is not a dimes worth of difference between Artur Davis and Parker Griffin.  Allow me to refresh the memory of those who are trying to rewrite history with a stroll down Memory Lane.

Read all of our coverage of Parker Griffith's party switch 

Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee wants Parker Griffith contributions back

Parker Griffith: Democrats 'do not share my values' 

Artur Davis: It's ironic that Parker Griffith joining party that bashed him in 2008 

Republicancandidates for Congress speak up after Parker Griffith's switch to GO

Griffith's switch to GOP 'a pleasant surprise,' Rep. Mike Hubbard says

State Democratic party feels 'betrayed' by Parker Griffith, asks for campaign donations back

U.S. Rep. Robert Aderholt welcomes Griffith to the Republican fold

A look at Parker Griffith's voting record

Political Web site says U.S. Rep. Parker Griffith, D-Huntsville, will join GOP today

EYE think EYE have figured out what is wrong with the Alabama Democratic Party...they are really Dixiecrats.  They had no problem with Artur Davis when he pandered to the right at the expense of the traditional democratic base when he was running for Governor, but now it's a problem.  It's also why he will probably win in court. If the ADP were smart, and EYE am not saying they are, they would let him back in and let the voters decide his fate.  Again.  

All told, Davis is requesting the court uphold his assertions that the term "asset" is unconstitutionally vague and his denial was an unfair double standard.

It is what it is.  It just is. 

Assets in black and white:  The man who should have been at the top of the democratic ticket but wasn't speaks truth to power at the Madison County Democratic  Party fundraiser last week, and GOP Congress Critter Martha Roby makes Alabama Proud.

 Not.

Edit~What's up with the separate and unequal fundraisers in #SweetHomeAlabama for Hillary Clinton?

Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks Friday, July 24, 2015, at the New York University Leonard N. Stern School of Business in New York.(AP Photo/Mary Altaffer) (Mary Altaffer)

Let me say EYE am happy a democratic Presidential candidate is actually coming to Alabama and not writing us off, because they think the game is rigged  due to republican gerrymandering, Voter ID laws, and dark money.  But, EYE have to ask why Hillary Clinton is having a $50.00 and up fundraiser for the black democrats, and a $150.00 and up fundraiser for the.... others?  Why not take a play out of Donald Trumps' playbook and have one big $50.00 per person fundraiser for everybody?  You know...a fundraiser that looks like America, and not the republican convention.

Oh, and BTW, you might want to have a conversation with your hostess  for the $150.00 and up fundraiser about some of her recent votes prior to the event.  

EYE am just saying....

"Republicans say no fixes need be made in gutted Voting Rights Act", so let's go to #Selma for Photo Op with President Obama

H/T The Progressive Cynic

Let's recap:

In the summer of 2013, in a 5-4 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court eviscerated a key part of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 requiring that several whole states and parts of several others "pre-clear" any changes in their voting laws.

Let's go back to  Bloody Sunday

On "Bloody Sunday," March 7, 1965, some 600 civil rights marchers headed east out of Selma on U.S. Route 80. They got only as far as the Edmund Pettus Bridge six blocks away, where state and local lawmen attacked them with billy clubs and tear gas and drove them back into Selma.

The events of “Bloody Sunday,”  led Congress to enact the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA).

The voting rights bill was passed in the U.S. Senate by a 77-19 vote on May 26, 1965. After debating the bill for more than a month, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the bill by a vote of 333-85 on July 9. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act into law on August 6, with Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil rights leaders present at the ceremony.
The act banned the use of literacy tests, provided for federal oversight of voter registration in areas where less than 50 percent of the nonwhite population had not registered to vote, and authorized the U.S. attorney general to investigate the use of poll taxes in state and local elections (in 1964, the 24th Amendment made poll taxes illegal in federal elections; poll taxes in state elections were banned in 1966 by the U.S. Supreme Court).

Fast forward to the 50th Anniversary of Bloody Sunday

Rep. John Lewis said this year's 50th anniversary of the Selma-to-Montgomery voting rights march should reflect the dignity of the original event, which is why he arranged for President Obama to visit the day before local officials in Alabama hold their commemoration.
The result will be two marches in Selma — one on Saturday, March 7, with Obama, Lewis and a record number of congressional lawmakers, and one on Sunday, March 8, run by local leaders.
Local Alabama politicians have objected. They say the anniversary has always been held on a Sunday because March 7, 1965, when protesters marching for voting rights for blacks were clubbed and tear gassed by police, is known as Bloody Sunday.

Compromise Complete?

Sen. Hank Sanders, D-Selma, one of the key proponents of the annual Selma events, said groups involved in planning the 50th anniversary of the historic day have agreed there would be one march this year and it would begin on the day it is traditionally held, Sunday.
Sanders said his initial concern was that there would be a march on Saturday or other competing marches.
"What I was trying to do was make sure the march on Sunday was sacred and that it is going on," said Sanders, who along with several other public officials raised the concerns in a State House news conference a month ago.

So what brings George W. Bush, and the GOP to #Selma after they've done everything they can do to keep minorities and women from voting?

Republicans have been working hard to drum up attendees for the Selma march. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio and Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. are not attending. Rep. Martha Roby, R-AL, said she is working to get more of the GOP to join her at the commemoration.
"My motivation is my love for the state and the importance and significance of this anniversary," Roby said in a recent interview. "I want as many of my colleagues (as possible) to be a part of that. The civil rights movement belongs to everybody. It's not a Republican or Democratic issue."

Mission Accomplished thanks to President Barack Obama and Representatives Terri Sewell and John Lewis.

Democratic Rep. Terri Sewell of Birmingham and GOP Rep. Martha Roby of Montgomery, are co-hosting the pilgrimage and helped recruit members to attend. Leaders in the Senate include Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Tim Scott, R-S.C.
The organization's annual trip to Alabama is led by Alabama native and Democratic congressman John Lewis of Georgia, who was among those beaten during the 1965 march.
Lewis, in a recent interview, said he was happy to see greater interest from Republicans this year.

This bill will strike down restrictions to voting in all elections, federal, state and local, which have been used to deny Negroes the right to vote.

This bill will establish a simple, uniform standard which cannot be used, however ingenious the effort, to flout our Constitution. It will provide for citizens to be registered by officials of the United States Government, if the state officials refuse to register them. It will eliminate tedious, unnecessary lawsuits which delay the right to vote. Finally, this legislation will insure that properly registered individuals are not prohibited from voting. I will welcome the suggestions from all the members of Congress--I have no doubt - See more at: http://www.blackpast.org/1965-president-lyndon-baines-johnson-voting-rights-act#sthash.76dsg6Zy.dpuf

 What a difference three years makes in Sweet Home Alabama.

This bill will strike down restrictions to voting in all elections, federal, state and local, which have been used to deny Negroes the right to vote.

This bill will establish a simple, uniform standard which cannot be used, however ingenious the effort, to flout our Constitution. It will provide for citizens to be registered by officials of the United States Government, if the state officials refuse to register them. It will eliminate tedious, unnecessary lawsuits which delay the right to vote. Finally, this legislation will insure that properly registered individuals are not prohibited from voting. I will welcome the suggestions from all the members of Congress--I have no doubt that I will get some--on ways and means to strengthen this law and to make it effective. - See more at: http://www.blackpast.org/1965-president-lyndon-baines-johnson-voting-rights-act#sthash.76dsg6Zy.dpuf

Plans for Two Separate #Selma Bloody Sunday Marches Cancelled as Groups Unify! Mission Accomplished!

Sen. Hank Sanders, D-Selma, said Friday he had hoped President Barack Obama would move his planned visit to Selma from Friday, March 7 to Sunday, March 8 to better accommodate local commemorations of the 50th anniversary of “Bloody Sunday.” Sanders was joined by (left to right) Rep. Alvin Holmes, D-Montgomery; Rep. John Knight, D-Montgomery; Rep. Thad McClammy, D-Montgomery and Alabama Democratic Conference chairman Joe Reed.(Photo: Brian Lyman/Advertiser)

Hallelujah!  Organizers of the annual  Bridge Crossing Jubilee in #Selma, AL prevailed against an attempt by the largely White-run, Faith and Politics group, enabled by Rep. John Lewis (D. GA), to hijack Bloody Sunday for their own  partisan political gain.

The annual march, usually held on a Sunday in the first week of March, has been planned by state Sen. Hank Sanders, D-Selma, and others annually since the 1970s. Sanders and other leaders said they were blindsided by Obama's announcement -- made in conjunction with U.S. Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga. -- that the president would march on the anniversary date: March 7.

, and the largely White-run The Faith & Politics Institute, - See more at: http://www.afro.com/plans-for-two-separate-selma-marches-cancelled-as-groups-unify/#sthash.JamYsTEM.S0qzrYOZ.dpuf

and the largely White-run The Faith & Politics Institute, - See more at: http://www.afro.com/plans-for-two-separate-selma-marches-cancelled-as-groups-unify/#sthash.JamYsTEM.S0qzrYOZ.dpuf

Alabama's Black leaders and march organizers were right to be upset.

Sanders said there is a very specific reason for a Sunday march -- to commemorate "Bloody Sunday," that day on March 7, 1965, when state police beat marchers attempting to walk from Selma to Montgomery.
The marchers were stopped on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, and driven back. The incident was recently captured in the Paramount film, "Selma."
Sanders said it has always been especially poignant that the civil rights marchers were beaten on a Sunday.
The 1965 march, which was eventually successful later in March 1965, was seen as helping pass the U.S. Voting Rights Act, which invalidated state laws designed to keep blacks from voting.
Sanders said any attempt to hold two marches, one on March 7 and one on March 8, would be "divisive," and would send the wrong signals to the world.

Ya think?  The end result, President Obama will speak in Selma on March 7, but there will be no march.  The one and only march will take place on SUNDAY, March 8, 2015.

 “Senator Barack Obama came to Selma and marched on Bloody Sunday when he was seeking to be President. President Bill Clinton came to Selma and marched on Bloody Sunday on March 5, 2000, on the 35^th Anniversary. Vice President Joe Biden came to Selma in 2013 and marched on Bloody Sunday. Attorney General Eric Holder came to Selma and marched on Bloody Sunday. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton came to Selma and marched on Bloody Sunday. They and so many others all recognized the sacredness of Bloody Sunday in their pilgrimages to Selma. Many leaders, civil rights and otherwise, have come to Bloody Sunday every single year for decades. Bloody Sunday is sacred. The Bloody Sunday March is sacred and cannot be aborted or redirected. It must be commemorated. It must be reenacted. It must be respected. It must be lifted. And it will on Sunday, March 8^th,” said Sen. Sanders.

The Bloody Sunday march is about something far greater than a presidential visit, rescheduling the observance to fit the schedule of a dignitary is unreasonable. State Sen. Hank Sanders, Tuskegee Mayor Johnny Ford and others who have stood firm on the scheduling should be commended.

Consider this your commendation.



One day when the Glory comes it will be ours....

The end result is that President Obama will speak in Selma on March 7, the actual anniversary of the Bloody Sunday, but there will be no march in Selma that Saturday or in Montgomery on Sunday. - See more at: http://www.afro.com/plans-for-two-separate-selma-marches-cancelled-as-groups-unify/#sthash.JamYsTEM.dpuf

Monday Morning Meltdown: #AlabamaMarriage #Selma #BloodySunday #BrianWilliams #WakeUpAmerica

#nerdland  Talking About Brian Williams Lying About His Iraq War, Let's Talk About LIARS!! THAT STARTED!! THE WAR!  pic.twitter.com/ewk5z0f3cr
— Larry  (@crazylary51) February 8, 2015

The media that enabled Bush and Dick to send our troops to war based on dead wrong intelligence to look for WMD that was NOT there, without body armor or an exit plan are furious at Brian Williams lies?  Oh. OK.

Politicians in Alabama never learn. It's Deja Voodoo all over again.

In the fight against gay marriage, Gov. Bentley, Attorney General Luther Strange and Chief Justice Roy Moore are a farce to be reckoned with.
Alabama's most powerful, brave and cuddly men are representing Alabama's best interests and fears by making a three-way stand in the courthouse door on an equal rights issue. What could go wrong?

 What's that you say?  President Obama's visit to Selma sparks division?  I'm shocked!  Shocked I tell you!  Not.

Sanders, who said he's marched on the front line only once in all the years he's helped organize the event, said he's happy Obama and the congressional delegation are coming to Selma.
"But if they couldn't have the entire front line to themselves and they decided to hold a separate march on Saturday, then there is something wrong with that," he said.

Rep. Martha Roby (R-Ala.) Wetumpka Tea Party

The plot thickens.

Rep. Martha Roby of Alabama and Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, both Republicans, are busily recruiting colleagues to join the Faith and Politics Institute's pilgrimage to Alabama in March.
This week's march-related events in Washington include a Capitol Hill reception and a screening of the movie Selma exclusively for members of Congress. Lawmakers will receive personal, hand-delivered invitations to the march anniversary.

 It's the mainstream media, telling us what they want us to know instead of what we need to know to make informed decisions.  I wonder why?

After spending five months in the Shelby County Jail--I don't think I previously had even a speeding ticket on my record--I know about the dangers of taking on difficult stories.~Legal Schnauzer

Meltdown Complete.  For now.

Mo Brooks sets town hall meetings to try and explain the GOP's sorry record to consitutuents in the 5th Congressional District

U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Huntsville, speaks at a recent town hall meeting in Scottsboro. He will hold town hall meetings tonight in Hartselle and Tuesday in Killen. (Paul Gattis/pgattis@al.com)

 U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Huntsville will be meeting with constituents that voted for him in the 5th Congressional District this week.

Brooks is scheduled to hold town hall meetings in Hartselle and Killen as well as make a speech to the Huntsville Rotary Club. Other activities include speaking at the Decatur City Schools New Teacher Breakfast and visiting Dyncorp International in Huntsville.

The Hartselle town hall meeting is tonight at 7 p.m. at Hartselle High School. The Killen town hall meeting is Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Killen Town Hall Building at 319 JC Mauldin Highway.

Good luck with that Congressman Brooks.

Two months ago, MSNBC’s Ari Melber tallied up all 183 bills the House Republican leadership put on the floor, and found only one had anything to do with creating jobs. And that was a bill to force the President to approve a single oil pipeline project that would create a few thousand jobs.

But then again, the people who elected Mo hate President Obama more than they need a job, so all Mo really has to do is tell them he's in Washington D.C  fighting tooth and nail to keep them from having access to the same quality affordable ObamaCare  he and his family have, keeping poor women for obtaining a safe, legal abortion,  keeping gay people from getting married, and doing everything short of shooting illegals  and he'll do fine.

Sweet Home Alabama, where the skies are blue and most of the people vote republican.

YeeHaw!!

Martha Roby is not the only one who is" unfit to represent" the state of Alabama in Congress

H/T Daily Kos

Joseph O. Patton of the Capital City Free Press says  AL House GOPer Martha Roby is unfit to represent the 2nd district or anywhere else, after  a video released by Mother Jones shows her laughing when a participant at a Wetumpka Tea Party  function launched into a right-wing, treason-baiting rant in which he calls President Obama a “foreign-born, America-hating Communist despot.”

Where have you been Joseph O. Patton?  Martha Roby isn't the first AL GOPer to condone or encourage such race-baiting, divisive, treason-fanning rhetoric.  

It's who they are.

It's what they do.

It's how the rich convince their base to vote against having access to quality affordable health care, jobs, equal access to a quality pubic education, women's rights  and other things that might improve their quality of life.

The AL House GOPer's always get away with it.

Nothing to see here.

Move on.