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EDITOR OF REDSTATE

Byrne and Bentley

By: Erick Erickson (Diary)  |  June 3rd, 2010 at 09:37 AM  | 

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Bradley Byrne and Robert Bentley are most likely the Republican candidates in the Republican runoff in Alabama.

I’ve stayed out of that race in my neighboring state largely because I think the three top candidates were all great people, but I have to tell you that unions have spent more than $1 million trying to defeat Bradley Byrne. Why? He is a big believer that free markets can help fix Alabama’s school system.

In fact, I’m told he is probably the smartest politician on school choice and education reform since Jeb Bush sat in the Governor’s Mansion in Florida.

I like that and that the unions wasted $1 million.

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  • RINKER

    Living in Alabama, I can tell you that Dr. Bentley is the more conservative candidate. Byrne is good on education, but he is known as a “moderate”. He was a Democrat just a few years ago and donated to Bill Clinton. He is the chosen successor of uber-moderate Gov. Bob Riley, who tried to raise taxes by the largest amount in state history in 2003. Riley told us in 2003 that it was our Christian duty to help the poor, and we had to raise taxes to do so. His plan was defeated by a 2-1 margin by the voters. His tax increase plan was supported by guess who? Bradley Byrne.

  • Warrior

    baggage, but it’s hard to hate anyone who has taken on the Teachers’ Union and won. The AEA and RSA (Retirement Systems of Alabama, a multi-million dollar retirement/slush fund run by uber unionista Paul Hubbert) are two of the most powerful liberal forces in this state.

    Of course, your right though. Ideologically, Byrne has been little more than just another mealy mouthed, moderate educrat/functionary…

    He ran the state’s two-year college system for years. A system BTW, that was racked by scandal and abuse as Alabama legislators bellied up to the trough as “employees” of junior colleges, but rarely showed up on campus to earn their “pay”… At least a couple of Dem legislators are doing time right now for that little instance of double dipping…

  • RINKER

    the Employees’ Retirement System is run by the very left-wing David Bronner, who mails out a monthly newsletter to all public employees. It is full of articles and Bronner editorials about how Alabama is dumb for having such low property taxes.
    On Byrne, I won’t have any problem voting for him if he is the nominee. I like that he is hated so much by the AEA. I’m just going for Bentley because he is the more conservative choice.

  • kuksool

    Byrne & Bently can beat Sparks. Roy Moore can’t beat Sparks or Davis.

    I’m glad people have forgotten about Roy Moore’s antics.

  • kuksool

    Byrne & Bently can beat Sparks. Roy Moore can’t beat Sparks or Davis.

    I’m glad people have forgotten about Roy Moore’s antics.

  • RINKER

    I agreed with Roy Moore about the country being too hostile towards religion, but you’ve got to have other issues to run on. What was he going to do, hang the 10 Commandments in the Governor’s mansion? He had a history of ties with the trial lawyers, which is why I opposed him.

  • acat

    And I’m not from Alabama, although I’ve got some family there.

    Whether or not I agree with Moore, his approach to problem-solving is .. a bit confrontational – and he doesn’t seem to have a good grasp of which battles to choose.

    This doesn’t mean he’s not a good man or that he’s not fighting the good fight, just that I don’t think the way he’s going about it is .. helpful.

    Mew

  • Warrior

    I won’t have much heartburn voting for either.

    However, Hubbert used to be the power behind the RSA for a long time. I don’t keep up with it enough to know who’s in charge now…all of that taxpayer money being used for political causes I oppose makes me sick…

    And yeah, we do have low prop taxes, and that’s why companies (and people) are moving to Alabama and not to New Jersey, Michigan or California. Indeed, high taxes are why people are leaving those states in droves…

  • Warrior

    Judge Moore is largely unelectable is valid.

    As far as his “antics,” he refused to obey an unconstitutional order from a Federal Court. The Feds have no authority to rule on states’ decisions about religion. The First Amendment reads thusly:

    “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…”

    It doesn’t say a D**M thing about states and any contrary case law is therefore invalid as well.

    If Obama keeps on, we are going to need a WHOLE LOT of officials with the backbone to engage in the kind of “antics” Chief Justice Moore had the guts to engage in…

  • RINKER

    I know a lot of people who have moved here because of our low property taxes. It is a trade-off. We have low property taxes and high sales taxes. Sales taxes are the most efficient way for government to collect money. My property doesn’t generate any income for me unless I sell it.