Alabama's Most Powerful Lobby

January 5, 2006

I read recently that the Montgomery County Commission and the Birmingham City Council are in the process of hiring lobbyists to work on their behalf with the legislature, that the Mobile County Commission has just hired a second one, and that the Birmingham mayor’s office has one. There’s no telling how many local government bodies other than those have hired lobbyists already. Correct my impression if it’s wrong, but I thought it was part of the job description of those bodies to do that lobbying on behalf of their constituents, but instead, they are using their constituents’ tax dollars to hire someone else to do their work for them.

As for the legislature’s 2006 regular session, I read predictions on top of more predictions that other than hopefully passing the budgets on time this year, and some feel-good "God and country", and "mom and apple pie" vote-buying legislation, very little of substance, and certainly nothing controversial will be passed because: HEY! THIS IS AN ELECTION YEAR!

Now, some controversial bills will be introduced, such as the constitutional convention bill by Senators Ted Little and Demetrious Newton. But – get this – they say they really don’t expect it to be acted upon, and the best they hope for is to just keep the issue before the public, because: HEY! THIS IS AN ELECTION YEAR!

I guess the same applies to anything controversial, including any bills dealing with real reform and accountability in our state government, such as an Initiative and Referendum constitutional amendment bill that I am confident will be introduced, because: HEY! THIS IS AN ELECTION YEAR!

Besides the crippling fact that this is an election year, such bills never -- this year or any year -- never stand a real chance of being passed because -- back to the lobbyists now-- because those types of bills are adamantly opposed by those in power (can you say “Big Mules”?) with the deep pockets to hire the lobbyists used to influence the legislators in perhaps both honorable and nefarious ways. Plus, those deep pockets can buy legislators’ votes by contributing to their re-election campaigns.

So, are we to just have business as usual on Goat Hill?

It doesn’t have to be that way!

The situation can be changed 180 degrees when a few “ifs” happen.

“If” more eligible voters become informed about the issues.

“If” they become politically active by becoming members of  the largest, richest, and most influential lobbying group in the state – THE ELIGIBLE VOTERS LOBBY. I don’t know how many eligible voters there are in Alabama, but they outnumber any other lobbying group several times over, and they have the power to influence their representatives because they have what the legislators covet more than any amount of campaign contributions. They own votes, and the legislators need them to be re-elected. Owning those votes gives them more power than AEA, the trial lawyers, BCA, the state employees union, ALFA, the Christian Coalition of Alabama , ACCR, Alabama Arise, and all other lobbying groups combined.

“If” the members of THE ELIGIBLE VOTERS LOBBY will exercise their power. And that wouldn’t be difficult to do. All that has to be done is for them to inform their representatives that their vote for or against that office holder in November depends on how the lawmaker acts on:  (pick any issue that matters to voters).

Legislators admit that when a considerable number of their constituents express their concern over an issue they pay attention to them, because the number of constituents that contact them is only the tip of the iceberg, and represent far more constituents with similar sentiments.

“If” all of these” ifs” take place, Alabama’s government can take on a new face – that of being one of, by, and for the people who own it, and pay for it.

My contrarian conclusion is that an election year represents the best possible time to have issues acted upon “if” members of THE ELIGIBLE VOTERS LOBBY, in sufficient numbers, collectively get up off of their “and, buts” and demand it

And “if” they don’t, they deserve the government they have and should just stop yapping about it.

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