Steve Flowers

Steve Flowers served 16 years in the state legislature. His weekly column appears in over 60 Alabama newspapers. Steve may be reached at [email protected].

Thoughts and Observations on Politics 2014

INSIDE THE STATEHOUSE By Steve Flowers As we approach the end of the political year, a few thoughts and observations on 2014 political happenings in the Heart of Dixie. Jim Sumner retired as Executive Director of the Alabama Ethics Commission in October. He had been Ethics Commission Chairman for 16 years. Jim had an outstanding … Continued

December 17, 2014

A Silver Lining for Alabama

INSIDE THE STATEHOUSE By Steve Flowers The GOP takeover of the U.S. Senate has a silver lining for Alabama. We came out like gangbusters with the Republican victory. Both of our U.S. Senators are Republican and both have seniority. Our Senior Senator Richard Shelby has been in the U.S. Senate 28 years. He is in … Continued

December 10, 2014

Republicans Waltzed to Reelection

INSIDE THE STATEHOUSE By Steve Flowers The 2014 elections were quite uneventful. The seven statewide constitutional offices were all retained by Republicans. In fact, the reason the election was so dull was because the top five constitutional offices were held by incumbent Republicans who all waltzed to reelection. These included, Gov. Robert Bentley, Lt. Gov. … Continued

December 4, 2014

How Voters Came to Elect Gary Palmer as Congressman

INSIDE THE STATEHOUSE By Steve Flowers This was probably one of the dullest and least interesting gubernatorial election years in memory. It stemmed from the fact that Robert Bentley was a popular incumbent governor and nobody dared to run against him in the Republican Primary. These days winning the Republican Primary is tantamount to election … Continued

November 21, 2014

Warning: Dull Election Ahead

INSIDE THE STATEHOUSE By Steve Flowers The 2014 General Election is Tuesday. It is set to be uneventful. I predicted over a year ago that this election year was going to be dull and, folks, my prognostication has come to fruition. This year has been a yawner from the get go. Even the GOP and … Continued

October 30, 2014

The Inevitable Novel National Surprise

INSIDE THE STATEHOUSE By Steve Flowers This year’s state primary elections have brought very little drama or surprises. However, there have been the inevitable novel surprises nationwide. One of the most glaring jaw droppers was the defeat of Republican House Majority Leader Eric Cantor in Virginia. He lost his House seat to a Tea Party … Continued

October 15, 2014

Looking Back at Fobs Fumbles

INSIDE THE STATEHOUSE By Steve Flowers Old Fob James had an unusual political personality. When he was out of the Governor’s office he showed a tremendous yearning to get back. The proof is he sought the office in 1986 and lost in the Democratic primary and lost again in 1990 in the primary. However, he … Continued

October 1, 2014

Governor Hunt’s Achilles Heel

INSIDE THE STATEHOUSE By Steve Flowers When Guy Hunt won the Governor’s race over Bill Baxley in 1986 it was well publicized that he was a part-time Primitive Baptist preacher. He was also billed as a part-time Amway salesman. These common man vocations appealed to the average Alabama voter. It was Hunt’s calling as a … Continued

September 24, 2014

Governor Guy Hunt, Election and Reelection

INSIDE THE STATEHOUSE By Steve Flowers When Guy Hunt took office as the first Republican governor in January of 1987 not much was expected of him. After all, he had been elected only because of the backlash resulting from the handpicking of Bill Baxley over Charlie Graddick by the Democratic Party leadership. Very few people … Continued

September 17, 2014

Governors Fob James and George Wallace

INSIDE THE STATEHOUSE By Steve Flowers As George Wallace presumably faded into the sunset, Fob James took the reigns of Alabama state government in January of 1979. Fob’s inauguration was a somewhat strange event as Alabamians were used to a Wallace being sworn in as governor every fourth January since 1963. It had been 20 … Continued

September 4, 2014