By Staff
Bob Ingram, Alabama Scene
MONTGOMERY–They may be whistling in the dark, but Republican legislators think they have a shot in the 2006 elections to win control of both houses of the Alabama Legislature.
Leaders of the Republican legislative caucus say they hope to raise a whopping $6 million during the next 18 months to wrest control of the Legislature from the Democrats.
To say that the GOP forces have their work cut out for them would be an understatement. Democrats hold a 25-10 majority in the Senate and a 62-41 edge in the House. There are 105 seats in the House but two of them are vacant.
What that means is that the Republicans would have to pick up eight seats in the upper chamber and 12 in the Senate.
One of the weapons the Republicans hope to use…other than the $6 million they hope to raise…is a likely lawsuit challenging the reapportionment plan adopted some years ago.
There is no denying that when the seats were re-shuffled that a concerted effort was made to dilute Republican strength in some of the districts.
A similar lawsuit was filed in Georgia and in that instance the courts did indeed throw out a reapportionment plan which had favored Democrats. This led to a reapportionment plan which resulted in Republicans winning a majority of the seats.
It is no coincidence that the two lead attorneys in the Georgia case have been retained as co-counsel for the suit in Alabama.
The counties adjoining those three major metropolitan areas are the fastest growing in the state according to population data released last week. Not surprisingly, Shelby County…which has become the "bedroom community" of Birmingham, ranked No. 1 in population growth followed by Baldwin, Elmore and Autauga.
One of the scrolls, the Deuteronomy scroll, includes texts from the Ten Commandments.
Be sure Moore was questioned by the press about his political intentions and be sure he continued to play coy about his future plans. He said as he has said before that he is "seriously considering" a race for governor, but that is as far as he would go.
His latest novel, "Captain Saturday," was picked as the best work of fiction written by an Alabama author in 2004. This marked the third time Inman has won this award during his remarkable career as a novelist.
It was quite a race. One of the guys was clocked at 164 miles per hour but he couldn't keep up with his buddy who was clocked at 167 miles per hour. Be sure both were given hefty fines. Now comes a more bizarre interstate incident…this one on I-65 in Conecuh County. Several motorists reported seeing a streaker standing on the shoulder of the interstate. State Troopers and county deputies were dispatched to the scene, the streaker hopped in his car and took off but alas his vehicle blew a tire and he was apprended.
All he was wearing was a pair of tennis shoes…whether they were Nike, Rebok or Keds was not reported.