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The Dawn of a New Day: People Power in Action
By Donald V. Watkins
©Copyrighted and Published (via Facebook) on May 7, 2016
©Copyrighted and Published (via Facebook) on May 7, 2016
We have witnessed a historic week in Alabama during the past few days. For the first time in decades, ordinary citizens flexed their mighty political muscle and crushed lawlessness by top government officials in the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government, all in the span of one week. And, we did it without hiring lobbyists to represent our interest in clean government.
Through unified civic action, we have created an urgent sense of accountability and transparency in government that was sorely lacking before our activism. Our aggressive spotlight on the conduct of top government officials is making a huge difference in real time. This spotlight is producing positive outcomes before our very eyes.
On Wednesday, a bi-partisan coalition in the legislature led by veteran State Representative John Knight (D-Montgomery) killed legislation that would have authorized Governor Robert Bentley's proposed $800 million prison construction plan. As it turned out, the plan was nothing more than a massive "Trojan Horse" fraud scheme that was hatched by Bentley and "de facto" governor Rebekah Mason to enrich themselves, the legislators who sponsored the plan, and their business associates and cronies. In a rare display of bridge-building, unity and courage, legislators who were Democrats and Republicans, liberal and conservative, and black and white banned together to protect Alabama taxpayers by stopping Bentley and Mason from breathing life into this scheme to defraud taxpayers.
By eliminating the artificial barriers of race and party affiliation that have been erected over the decades to facilitate the growth of public corruption in Alabama, we have been able to show all citizens of Alabama just how badly Governor Bentley, "de facto" governor Mason, Senate President Del Marsh, and House Speaker Mike Hubbard have failed us with respect to ethics in government. We formed the fountain of integrity from which Knight and his coalition partners drank before battling the public corruption embedded in the governor's prison plan.
Yesterday, Alabama Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore was suspended from the bench for his juvenile and unlawful antics over the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to protect the right of gay couples to enter into same-sex marriages. A judicial inquiry commission kicked Moore out of his job, for the second time. Remember, Moore was removed from his judgeship once before for disobeying federal court orders requiring him to remove the Ten Commandments monument from the Alabama Supreme Court building. By all accounts, his judicial colleagues and many others consider Moore a self-centered buffoon.
Former Montgomery federal judge Mark Fuller was forced to resign from the bench in August 2015. A year earlier, we placed Fuller under intense media scrutiny and found out that he was nothing more than a habitual wife-beater, serial marital cheater, and perjurer. Eventually, a judicial investigative committee issued a report to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals confirming our published reports. With that, Fuller had to step down in order to avoid impeachment by the U.S. Congress.
Later this month, Mike Hubbard goes on trial in Lee County for 23 counts of public corruption charges. If convicted, Hubbard will be automatically removed from office and will be sentenced from 2 to 20 years on each charge. Hubbard's trial comes at an awful time for him. The public is now demanding a sweeping cleanup in state government. If Hubbard does not accept a plea deal, the criminal court system will likely make an example out of him by sending Hubbard to prison for a very long time.
My Facebook friends and followers, you have ushered in the dawn of a new day in Alabama politics. You are the ones who are now policing our politicians. Everybody in state government and the mainstream media is paying attention to you.
Our job is far from over. You have experienced successes this week by stopping the Bentley-Mason fraud scheme, by kicking Roy Moore off the Supreme Court bench, and by exposing Hubbard's plea deal. Together, we must now move forward with our new ethics reform legislation, which is already being drafted. I predict that this ethics reform package will be enacted into law during the next legislative session.
Thank you for being dedicated bridge-builders who strive everyday to make Alabama a better place in which to live and work. One day soon, our politicians will get the message you are sending regarding the type of government we are demanding in Alabama. Race and party affiliation are no longer "hall passes" to engage in public corruption.
Donald V. Watkins
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