WASHINGTON – Who’s going to be president? Better yet, who will the nominees be?
It’s pretty difficult to gauge who the presidential frontrunner is as far as Alabama goes, but the South Carolina primary should provide some clues.
South Carolina’s demographics are very much like Alabama’s – strong Christian conservative base, a large block of black Democratic voters, among other things.
The South Carolina Democratic primary is set for Jan. 26 and Barack Obama has a commanding lead over Hillary Clinton according to the major polls. Obama might be the safe bet for Alabama Democrats because of the influence of Rep. Artur Davis, who has been very active with the Obama campaign.
The Republican side is a little more difficult to gauge. The polls are in South Carolina are mixed – either showing John McCain with a lead or former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee with a lead.
Huckabee’s “Huey Long meets Jerry Falwell” persona won a lot of the rural Iowa voters over, which lead to his eventual victory in the Iowa caucus. If McCain continues to do well, it could come down to rural Alabama GOP voters voting for Huckabee and suburban Alabama GOP voters going with McCain.
Don’t count out Giuliani. Should Rudy win the Jan. 29 Florida primary, that might give him the momentum going into the Feb. 5 “Super Tuesday” primaries – which includes Alabama.
EADS/Northrop Grumman Tanker Projects Shows Signs of Life
Look out, it’s alive! Every now and then, news will come out about the KC-X Air Force Refueling Tanker bid competition between Boeing and the EADS/Northrop Grumman, which if they were successful in the bid, would build the manufacturing facility in Mobile at Brookley Field.
An announcement earlier this week indicated EADS would build freighters in Alabama, assuming they were successful with the tanker contract. That would likely mean more jobs for Mobilians.
A decision on the competition is expected within the next couple of months.
Bonner Campaign Gears Up For 2008 Cycle
If you’ve been down Government Street in Midtown Mobile, you might have seen congressional hopeful Ben Lodmell campaign signs in his front yard – suggesting he has geared up for the ‘08 cycle, but what about incumbent Rep. Jo Bonner?
Bonner told Lagniappe he intends to run a positive campaign and will likely open an office in the next several months, but he was less than enthusiastic about the having to raise money.
“The one thing I despise – I would rather go to the dentist and have my teeth pulled without a shot of Novocain than to raise money and to ask people for help, to ask people for campaign contributions,” Bonner said to Lagniappe. “Some people like that. I do not.”
If Bonner despises it, he must be a glutton for punishment. According to the Center for Responsive Politics’ Web site, Opensecrets.org, Bonner has raised no less than $1 million in his last three elections – and he has overwhelmingly defeated all of his opponents since 2002.
Bonner’s campaign has raised $365,719 for the 2007-2008 campaign fundraising period. He has spent $209,988 and has $518,625 in cash-on-hand.
Bonner Lobbies For Spot on Appropriations Committee
It’s been no secret Bonner has had his eyes on a spot on the House Appropriations Committee. Reports have appeared in Politico and The Hill that he has specifically has his eyes on the vacancy left by Mississippi Congressman Roger Wicker, who left the House after he was appointed to fill Trent Lott’s seat in the U.S. Senate. Lott retired at the end of last month.
Bonner says he has his eye on the seat because he contends he is concerned with issues of fiscal discipline – wanting to curb the runaway spending and improve oversight.
“I know we can do a better job at that,” Bonner said. “I know we can do a better job to make the process more open and transparent.”
Bonner insisted he wasn’t seeking the seat to bring more money to his congressional district.
“If the only reason you want to get on the appropriations committee is to quote, ‘bring home the pork to your district or to your state’ or to help your friends out with projects, then you really ought not seek an appointment, in my opinion,” Bonner added.
Alabama Congressional Re-Districting?
WSFA in Montgomery reported Democrats in the Alabama State Legislature had their eyes on shifting Alabama’s congressional districts to favor the Democratic Party, specifically eyeing Rep. Jo Bonner and Rep. Mike Rogers.
One of the ideas floated out there is splitting Alabama’s First Congressional District and running one district from Mobile, up through Alabama’s Black Belt and into Tuscaloosa and having the Baldwin County side of the southern portion of the First congressional district up and eastward into the Wiregrass.
However, Alabama Speaker of the House Seth Hammett told WSFA he wouldn’t consider redistricting in this session.
Any redistricting effort would take approval of the Alabama House and Senate, which that in itself would be a monumental task and it would require the approval of the U.S. Department of Justice. Having to overcome those hurdles would be difficult, making the redistricting talk unlikely.
Contact Jeff Poor at jeffreypoor@yahoo.com.
Archives
Beltway Beat
