Category: Alabama

Alabama: ‘Things Going On’

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I’m planning to leave late tonight or early Thursday for a shoe-leather reporting trip to Alabama. That rattling sound you hear is either the transmission of the 2004 KIA Optima or me shaking the tip-jar like Carmen Miranda’s maracas in a Cuban samba frenzy.

This trip continues the Grassroots-vs.-Establishment theme I’ve been covering for the past few months. There are several GOP primary campaigns in Alabama that have a Tea Party angle:

So that’s a full menu for a planned four-day trip. But while doing research for the Alabama trip I noticed another very interesting story:

Alabama’s two Republican U.S. senators are backing Luther Strange in his campaign for Alabama attorney general, a reversal from their past support for the incumbent, Troy King.
U.S. Sens. Richard Shelby and Jeff Sessions are featured guests at a Washington fundraiser for Strange next week, according to the invitation, and both offices on Tuesday praised Strange’s candidacy.

Two GOP senators turning against a Republican official in their own state? What could possibly explain that? Dan Riehl says, “It does seem a little weird.” A quick Google on Troy King turns up the fact that he was John McCain’s Alabama state campaign chairman in 2008 and . . . well, do your own Googling. It’s more than a little weird.

This adds that extra fear-and-loathing factor for my ‘Bama trip. We’ll see how much reporting I can cram into a four-day road-trip, since it’s at least a 14-hour drive there and 14 hours back again. Figure seven cups of coffee to get me down there (7 x $2 = $14) and another $14 to get back home, plus $50 for a carton of smokes. Oh, and $11 for a crowbar to pry my sweaty hands off the steering wheel when I’m done.

Once again, we borrow our post title from the esteemed poet Ronnie Van Zant:

If you don’t know what I mean,
Won’t you stand up and scream?
‘Cause there’s things goin’ on that you don’t know.

‘Down in Alabama, You Can Run,
But You Sure Can’t Hide’

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As mentioned yesterday, I’m now soliciting contributions to the Shoe Leather Fund to help fund an expedition to Alabama later this week. Despite promising Mrs. Other McCain I wouldn’t make any more road trips before CPAC, there’s some Tea Party action happening down there in the Republican primaries, and I need to check it out. Early this morning I got an e-mail from a reader: Continue reading ‘Down in Alabama, You Can Run,
But You Sure Can’t Hide’ →

Shock and Awe Day for the GOP

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The title is lifted from a Ron Paul Forum post about today’s stunning Sarah Palin endorsement of Rand Paul in the Kentucky GOP Senate primary. Given that many of Palin’s supporters were supporting either Bill Johnson or Trey Grayson, I’m sure they’re scratching their heads. Personally, I was surprised she’d get involved in such a bloody three-way feud.

Meanwhile, as Pat Austin notes at Not One Red Cent, Marco Rubio is surging ahead of Charlie Crist in the latest Rasmussen poll in the Florida GOP Senate primary. The best comment was Baseball Crank on Twitter: “That’s not a tan, Charlie, it’s toast.”

Finally, there was the Rush Limbaugh endorsement of Glenn Beck. One Illinois operative described it to me this way: “The Big Man cometh.” And, yeah, a shout-out from Rush is huge. “Hie thee to the polls, Illinois.”

Meanwhile, I’m hatching plans for a Shoe Leather road trip to Alabama to cover contested GOP primaries for two congressional seats and governor. And you know what that means.

Politico Names an NRCC Dud; UPDATE: Roby Says FEC Numbers Show Otherwise; Time for Some Shoe Leather Reporting?

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This one’s going to leave a mark:

“Montgomery city councilwoman Martha Roby, the leading Republican to face Rep. Bobby Bright (D-Ala.), only brought in $76,000, and spent more than she raised.”

One of the reason’s for Roby’s lackluster performance is the entry of Tea Party-backed Republican candidate Rick Barber into the AL-2 primary, which I mentioned here Saturday.

GOP insiders no longer have the ability to hand-pick establishment candidates and shove them down the throats of Republican voters.  And guess who Rush Limbaugh just endorsed?

Adam Andrzejewski. I believe the word is “Heh.”

UPDATE: Andrzejewski on the Limbaugh endorsement: “Holy mackerel!”

UPDATE II: A source tells me that Politico‘s numbers for Roby are more than $100,000 short of her actual FEC numbers. Will have more news, as more becomes available.

UPDATE III: A source with Roby’s campaign says the FEC report for Dec. 31 shows they’ve raised $293,277, spent $118,981 and have $174,294 cash on hand, contrary to the Politico story.

One of the commenters mentioned Les Phillip’s Tea Party-backed challenge to Parker Griffith in AL-5, and somebody just e-mailed me a press release from the Phillip campaign about President Obama’s proposal to eliminate the manned space flight program:

There are over 7,000 jobs at stake at the Marshall Space Flight Center [in Huntsville, Ala.] . . .
At a time when Washington is focused on job creation it is unfathomable to me to cut thousands of jobs in Alabama, Florida, Texas and other parts of the country. This decision would leave all of the vital research being done on the International Space Station to be supported by Russian launches. Not only is that un-American. It is unacceptable.

So that’s two contested GOP congressional primaries down in Alabama, on top of the battle in the primary for governor and, as I told the commenter, I’m thinking I need to get down home to do some shoe-leather work. Y’all hit the tip jar.

UPDATE IV: Alabama GOP gubernatorial candidate Tim James reports raising $4 million. I’ll remember this the next time my Alabama Republican friends start poor-mouthin’ like they can’t afford to hit the tip jar.

VIDEO: ‘Brown Revolution’ Nationwide

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Watch this video from ABC’s “Good Morning America”:


“The Scott Heard ‘Round the World” has inspired grassroots activists nationwide — John Fund has a feature article about Brown today — and as I explain at The American Spectator:

One of the volunteers on Brown’s campaign is now running for Congress in Alabama, and emulating the “straight talk, no BS” theme. Rick Barber, a small businessman and ex-Marine, is challenging Democrat Rep. Bobby Bright in Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District and was featured in an ABC “Good Morning America” segment on the impact of the Brown campaign.
“If there ever was a time in our political landscape that really an everyday guy like myself could get into Washington at the congressional level, this would be the year to do it,” Barber told ABC.
Many others see the same opportunity and, as the Associated Press notes, this has resulted in a crowded field of contested primaries nationwide. . . .

Please read the whole thing. Speaking of crowded primaries, Adam Andrzejewski’s Tea Party-backed gubernatorial campaign — which the legacy media are trying to ignore — got an unexpected boost yesterday when Barack Obama made a joke about GOP establishment candidate Kirk Dillard:

As I told you Thursday, Kirk actually appeared in a 2008 campaign ad for Obama:

Ouch. Yeah, that’s gonna leave a mark.

Roll Tide: The Universal Greeting

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Like aloha or shalom, “Roll Tide” is a phrase of tremendous cultural nuance. Thursday night, after the ‘Bama Championship Show, my Burbank host JSF and I took a stroll through the streets of downtown Pasadena, crowded with fans celebrating the Crimson Tide’s glorious victory.

Everyone was wearing crimson, while many of the ladies were stylishly accessorized in black-and-white houndstooth (if I have to explain what houndstooth means to a ‘Bama fan, you’re reading the wrong blog). And wherever they encountered each other, the signifier of recognition was shouted: “Roll Tide!” Here are a couple of enthusiastic coeds from Tuscaloosa:

And here is a video, for which I must apologize as being so dimly lit, but listen to this fan’s humorous narrative of the season followed by the classic Alabama kickoff cheer:

Here are more photos from this week’s trip:

With son James at Dulles Airport, prior to departure Tuesday.

The front desk at the Westin Hotel in Costa Mesa which was the Crimson Tide’s BCS HQ.

Wednesday morning, my Twitter buddy Brittany Cohan met Donald Douglas and I in Costa Mesa and proved quite helpful at soliciting information about the Crimson Tide’s practice schedule.

Texas fans Wednesday at the Rose Bowl — they were in a cheerful mood prior to Thursday’s unstoppable onslaught of the Crimson QB Crushers.

This is Don, whom I met in the lobby of the Newport Beach Marriott. Don is a conservative blog reader who was overjoyed with surprise to discover that The Other McCain was in California for the big game.

Wednesday, outside the BCS media headquarters at the Newport Beach Marriott. The banner said, “Welcome Media,” which did not necessarily mean that they were going to give me credentials.

Being turned down for credentials didn’t prevent me from setting up the Sports Desk in the media hospitality suite in Newport Beach and poaching official BCS WiFi.

Hanging out with a sports writer for the Tuscaloosa paper at Wednesday’s media reception in Newport Beach. The BCS denied me credentials, but they couldn’t stop me from crashing their reception. (Suggestion to BCS fascists: Next year, have Department of Homeland Security protecting the buffet.)

With Brittany Cohan and Jenny Erikson at the Wednesday night pre-game blogger meetup in Redondo Beach.

An anonymous Alabama fan at Wednesday’s blogger meetup illustrates a shocking modification of the “Hook ‘Em Horns” symbol. He said, “This is for Nancy Pelosi,” whatever that means . . .

Jenny Erikson and Baldilocks at Wednesday’s blogger meetup, where they were equally oppressed by my corny jokes.

Friday morning, on JSF’s balcony in Burbank.

California Highway Patrol officers Friday afternoon at the Westin in Costa Mesa, waiting to escort the triumphant Tide to the airport for their victorious return to God’s Country.

Now, I’m en route to a Tea Party event in Altadena, before catching my flight back to Washington. ROLL TIDE! HIT THE TIP JAR! And in commemoration of this spectacular occasion, here is special music from the Leningrad Cowboys featuring the Red Army Choir:

Crimson Tide Heading Back
to Sweet Home Alabama

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COSTA MESA, Calif. — National Champions depart for the airport:

On the video you hear the Westin Hotel guard acknowledge that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) was providing protection for the Crimson Tide during their stay in Southern California, just as US Customs and Border Protection was guarding the Rose Bowl during the BCS.

Deploying the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in defense of Alabama’s football team strikes me as a waste of taxpayers’ money. If Alabama could beat Texas, they could defeat al Qaeda. In fact, Coach Saban may want to send The Tide to Yemen for spring practice. The ‘Bama defense made Tebow cry, then they knocked out McCoy. For their next trick, the can tackle Anwar al-Awlaki.

This mad scheme to destroy the terrorists was hatched Wednesday at a gathering of bloggers in Redodo Beach led by notorious neo-con Donald Douglas of American Power blog. Thanks to JSF for providing the neutral, objective analysis in the video.

Kudos:

No Sheeples Here for support above and beyond the call of sanity.
No Sheeples Here
No Sheeples Here rocks Alabama
Dan Collins for putting Stacy up to the trip. Mrs. The Other McCain will reward you separately, assuming you remain within the 48 contiguous states. This does not constitute a legal notice.
Piece of Work in Progress
Piece of Work in Progress hatches gonzo schemes.
(Note from Smitty: this post reprises our madcap video of trying to un-b0rk Stacy’s left-leaning post. He’s dictated it over the phone, and I’ve done my best penance to capture his words, after wrecking the site for a little while this afternoon.)

Live: The Triumph of the Tide!

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12:41 a.m. I’d like to extend gracious condolences to Texas fans. I’d like to, but . . . ROLL TIDE! And don’t forget to hit the tip jar!

12:06 a.m.: Alabama intercepts again. That’s your game, folks! The crowd in Pasadena goes wild! ROLL TIDE!

12:02 a.m.: Trent Richardson TD. Extra point misses. Alabama 37, Losers 21 with 47 seconds to play.

MIDNIGHT: Javier Arenas intercepts. It’s all over now.

11:54 p.m.: TOUCHDOWN! MARK INGRAM! ROLL TIDE! 2:01 to play. Extra point good. Alabama 31, Losers 21.

11:48 p.m.: ‘Bama defense forces a fumble. Tide recovers at the Texas 4 yard line.

11:47 p.m.: Alabama punts. Texas takes over at their 7 yard line with 3:14 to play.

11:35 p.m.: Texas TD pass. Two-point conversion good. Alabama 24, Texas 21. Hmmmm.

11:28 p.m.: With Texas fans Brad and Cheryl:

11:23 p.m.: Alabama misses a field goal.

11:12 p.m.: We go to the fourth quarter. Roll Tide!

11:11 p.m.: Texas punt puts Alabama at its own 6 yard line.

11:08 p.m.: Texas recovers an onside kick. Maybe this game isn’t over yet.

11:06 p.m.: Texas scores on a touchdown pass. Fans cheer. Extra point good. Alabama 24, Losers 13.

11:03 p.m.: JSF just commented: “Once Colt got knocked out, that was it. [Texas] had no contigency plan.”

11 p.m.: Colt McCoy isn’t crying. Yet.

10:54 p.m.: My Twitter buddies are talking about a streaker at the Rose Bowl. Wasn’t me. I have remained fully clothed. Excuse the long delay between posts. Somebody found out I worked for a political magazine and wanted to argue. I don’t think it was Patrick Frey, but . . .

10:51 p.m.: During halftime, my son Jefferson called to say of the first quarter, “We let ’em win for a while, just so our comeback would be more glorious.”

THIRD QUARTER: If “the eyes of Texas are upon you,” ‘Horns, they’re pretty embarrassed right about now.

HALFTIME:

JSF of Valley of the Shadows at the Sports Desk.

Kobe Beef Sliders: Official BCS Dinner. Official BCS Waitress Melissa just ended her shift and closed out the tab for $44.65. I tipped her $7. Hit the tip jar.

10:03 p.m.: ‘Bama defense strips the ball from Texas backup QB Gilbert, runs for a touchdown! Extra point good. Crimson Tide 24, Losers 6.

9:59 p.m.: Field goal! Alabama 17, Losers 6. The Burbank ‘Bama Brigade is cheering loudly here.

9:53 p.m.: Texas faces 4th and 6th at their own 6. Punting from their end zone. Returned by Alabama to the Texas 29.

9:51 p.m.: Alabama punts, pinning down Texas at their 2 yard line.

9:50 p.m.: Alabama’s running game now dominating. I’ve said all along the Tide should stick to the running game. Blog buddy JSF of Valley of the Shadow just said, “They heard you down in Pasadena.”

9:47 p.m.: Javier Arenas intercepts!

9:41 p.m.: TOUCHDOWN! ROLL TIDE! Upchurch runs 48 yards. Extra point good. Alabama 14-6.

9:37 p.m.: Texas forced to punt. Tide takes over at Texas 49.

9:36 p.m.: My friend and tip-jar hitter Victor Morton is a Texas fan. Because he hit the tip jar, I’m obligated to feel sorry for him, but not Colt McCoy.

9:32 p.m.: Alabama punts. Third beer arrives, courtesy of Melissa, the Official BCS Waitress of The Other McCain.

9:26 p.m.: Alabama’s defense forces Texas to punt. The formerly boisterous Texans here are strangely quiet.

9:20 p.m.: TOUCHDOWN INGRAM! ROLL TIDE! Extra point good, Alabama 7, Losers 6.

9:15 p.m.: Mark Ingram puts the Tide first and goal as the first quarter and my second beer come to an end.

9:14 p.m.: Texas penalized, for solicitation of sodomy, I think.

9:12 p.m.: Ingram runs for a first down.

9:10 p.m.: Without Colt McCoy, Texas evidently has no offense.

9:06 p.m. There are Texas fans here in the Gordon Biersch brew pub in Burbank. Patterico should have them investigated for hate crimes.

9:04 p.m.: Alabama’s defense is awesome. The offense finally got a first down.

9 p.m.: Texas QB Colt McCoy has been injured. Longhorns again settle for a field goal after an Alabama turnover. Texas 6, Alabama 0.

8:55 p.m.: Shout out to American Freedom blogger Barbara Espinosa, a Texas native who is not to blame for the inferiority of the Longhorn football team.

8:54 p.m.: Alabama defense forces the team with ugly cheerleaders to settle for a field goal.

8:53 p.m.: GOAL-LINE STAND!

8:51 p.m.: Texas loses a touchdown on a penalty. BTW, you can follow the National College Football Trash-Talking Championship on Twitter.

8:46 p.m.: Excuse the long silence. Some other team now has the ball.

8:43 p.m.: Greg McElroy throws an interception. ‘Bama’s offense so far: More suckage than Charles Johnson.

8:41 p.m.: PENALTY! We wuz robbed!

8:39 p.m.: Javier Arenas took the kickoff and failed to score a touchdown. Slackin’ off a bit.

8:37 p.m.: The coin toss: An Alabama victory!

8:35 p.m.: BTW, all times are Eastern. I refuse to reset my watch to Left-Coast Crazy Time.

8:34 p.m.: The national anthem. Your Official BCS Waitress just brought me my second Official BCS Beer.

8:32 p.m.: The Crimson Tide takes the field. Grown men gasp in astonishment. Women tremble with delight!

8:22 p.m.: Ladies and gentlemen, we are pleased to introduce the official waitress of the 2010 BCS liveblog, Melissa:

8:15 p.m. — The University of Alabama Million Dollar Band is now performing, and triumphing victoriously over every other band in the universe.

BURBANK, Calif.
We’re liveblogging the ‘Bama Championship Show (BCS) which is at the Rose Bowl in nearby Pasadena, while we’re at the world-famous Gordon Biersch brew pub in beautiful downtown Burbank, having been denied media credentials by Stephanie Montano, obergruppenfuhrer of the collegiate football oligarchy. If Charles Johnson wants to find fascism in America, the BCS fascisti are a good place to start.

I will be assisted in this effort by JSF of the Valley of the Shadow blog, on whose sofa I’ll be crashing tonight. Standby for exciting updates about the Crimson Tide’s unstoppable surge to the 13th national championship in Alabama history . .