By Brandon Moseley
Alabama Political Reporter
Alabama Republican Party Chairman Bill Armistead issued a written statement after Governor Bentley’s State of the State Address.
Chairman Armistead said, “Governor Bentley tonight spoke of an Alabama with good paying jobs, excellent education opportunities and wonderful citizens. I applauded Governor Bentley for his hard work, steadfast leadership and stewardship of the State for the past 3 years. I completely agree with Governor Bentley that if Washington, D.C., wants to know how to fix the nation’s budget crisis, they need to look at the examples set forth by the states and especially Alabama.”
Armistead continued, “I also must agree with Governor Bentley’s statement and reminder to Washington, D.C., that the states created the Federal Government, not the other way around. That is why I am proud to stand up with the Republican leadership in Montgomery and support an agenda that pushes back on the overreaches of the Obama Administration and an ever-growing Federal Government.”
The Republican Party Chairman concluded, “As we begin the third legislative session with Republican majorities in Montgomery, I look forward to working with Governor Bentley and our legislative leaders to continue the effort to Right Size Government by streamlining services and agencies, cutting spending and creating an environment to grow jobs. I will also work hard day and night to make sure Alabamians know that Democrats in Montgomery have chosen to be part of the problem, and not the solution, by continuing to duck the hard debates and defend the status quo they created, instead of joining with Governor Bentley and Republicans in finding common sense solutions for our state’s problems.”
Alabama Governor Robert Bentley and Republican Party Chairman Armistead have had a rocky relationship. Just last week the Governor was lobbying members of the Republican Executive Committee to replace Chairman Armistead with Matt Fridy.
Following Armistead’s cruise to re-election, Gov. Bentley sent Chairman Armistead a letter saying that the two could still work together.
Following his re-election Chairman Armistead said, “I see this sort of like a primary and the primary is over. Republicans come together after primaries and work for the good of the Party and that is exactly what I expect to happen as we approach the election of 2014 and beyond. The Party is bigger than any one Party official or elected official. I’ve been working in the Republican Party for decades and I am not going to let the party go backwards under my watch. We are going to move forward by electing Republicans to every statewide office in 2014 and add to our Republican majority in the legislature. And, we are not going to stop there.”
