From the office of Alabama Republican Party Chairman Bill Armistead
Chairman’s Corner
Dear Friend,
The Alabama Republican Party has just completed an historic week. Friday the 13th did not turn out to be bad luck for us! Friday was the final day for qualifying to run for public office this year and we closed out with making history. The Alabama Republican Party qualified significantly more candidates to run for public office this year than ever before.
Get ready for this! We qualified 212 candidates for the offices of U.S. House of Representatives, Public Service Commission President, Supreme Court Justices including Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Court of Criminal and Civil Appeals, State Board of Education, Circuit Judges, District Judges and Circuit Clerks. And, Republicans currently hold all of the statewide positions except one – President of the PSC.
The Alabama Democrat Party qualified 165 people for these same positions. For some historical reference, the last time these same offices were on the ballot was in 2000 when Democrats qualified 258 candidates for the above offices, and Republicans only qualified 133. Things have really changed here in Alabama and it is all thanks to the hard work of each of you reading this email and the countless grassroots volunteers, donors and conservative voters across this state. Join the Capitol Club!
Other than President Barack Obama, there will only be two Democrats running for statewide office this year. They are Lucy Baxley, running for re-election as President of the Public Service Commission, and perennial candidate Harry Lyon, running for Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
It is interesting to hear how the Democrats explain why they don’t have more candidates running for office this year. Freshman State Rep. Daniel Bowman, the newly minted Democratic candidate for the Fourth Congressional District, summed it up nicely over the weekend when he said, “People are concerned that they’re going to be on the ticket with Obama and they think that will ruin their chances.” It is clear that President Obama has not only been a disaster for the country but he has been a disaster for the Democratic Party.
When voters go to the polls in November they will find at the top of the Democratic ticket Barack Obama for President, Harry Lyon for Chief Justice and Lucy Baxley for President of the PSC and it stops there. That is the end of the statewide ballot for Democrats! It appeared that the Democrats were not going to have a candidate for Chief Justice but at the last minute they got their candidate – Harry Lyon who has a history of making outlandish statements. The Democrats almost didn’t have a candidate for Chief Justice. Lyon reportedly appeared at the Democratic Party Headquarters to qualify with only two minutes left before qualifying closed. He must have gotten a last minute call from President Obama or President Baxley.
Each candidate who has qualified for office in 2012 had to make some personal decisions. The first decision was to run for public office. The second decision was selecting the party that most represents their values and philosophy.
The 165 candidates who qualified to run as Democrats have chosen to embrace Barack Obama and the ultra-liberal agenda of his party. And, that is exactly what Democratic Party Chairman Mark Kennedy has asked Democrats in Alabama to do. Last year Kennedy announced his five point plan for a Democratic resurgence in Alabama. The third point to his plan was to “embrace Obama”. Kennedy was quoted in the Mobile Press Register last May saying, “Next year, we’re going to be proud to stand by Barack Obama as our nominee. He is a good president. He is a good Democrat. And he’s worthy of consideration — more importantly, he’s worthy of our praise.”
I am excited about the outstanding candidates who have qualified to run as Republicans. They are conservatives who share the small government, fiscally responsible philosophy of the Alabama Republican Party. Many of them have never run for public office before but have felt led to get involved this year to help turn our country around. To them we say “Welcome aboard”!
Let the races begin!
For the Cause,
Bill Armistead
Bill Armistead, Chairman
Alabama Republican Party
P.S. – Last month, we asked you to let us know which Presidential candidate you were planning on voting for in our upcoming March 13th primary. Those results told us that Newt Gingrich currently had the highest amount of support, with Ron Paul coming in a close second. Rick Perry and Mitt Romney were close on their heels. But a lot has happened since then, specifically the Iowa caucus, the New Hampshire primary and one of the candidates dropping out. Has your mind been changed or are you still solidly supporting your original choice? Please let us know in our January poll, which has an additional question this time.
