Do you know what’s very popular in Alabama?
Gambling.
And public school funding.
And the overtime tax exemption.
There is no arguing this. These three things are some of the most popular issues on an Alabama voter’s mind. Poll after poll has proven this, and done so year after year.
You know what’s not so popular in Alabama?
Denying voters the right to vote on gambling.
And sending public school dollars to private businesses.
And repealing the overtime tax exemption.
Again, it’s not a close call. These are some of the most unpopular issues in the history of the state. These are the kinds of issues that get politicians beat, that change the course of political history for parties and states.
And yet … those first three aren’t getting done. Those second three are. And there doesn’t seem to be, as of yet, an organized effort to hold anyone accountable for it.
Why that is, to be honest, is a bit of a mystery to me.
Take gambling, for example. It is, without a doubt, one of the most popular issues for voters, particularly the specific issue of voters being presented with a plan to vote on. More than 90 percent of this state believes that voters should have the opportunity to vote up or down on a gaming proposal.
So, here we have an issue where an overwhelming percentage of the population is engaged, and there are massive amounts of money available to be used to assist in campaigns. Not only that, but the folks opposing gambling – a handful of powerful special interest groups – have provided a very detailed road map for how to threaten and hold accountable lawmakers who dare to vote the other way.
Um, why aren’t the gambling folks doing the same?
Why are the various gambling groups not joining up, identifying unfriendly lawmakers who have opposed gambling legislation and making sure those lawmakers face very well-financed and well-trained opponents – either in primaries or general elections?
To some level, I get it. Casino owners in this state have been unfairly portrayed for years as something just short of mob bosses, who are attempting to bring sin to town. So, they have tended to tread lightly, not make too much noise and try to work things behind the scenes.
It’s time for that to change. The Poarch Band of Creek Indians and the McGregor family are some of the best, most respected business folks we have operating in this state. No one bats an eye when Alfa makes threats or one of the other BCA members puts money behind a candidate challenging an incumbent. It should work the same for the gambling folks.
The first time a lawmaker loses a seat over gambling – and a few more face serious challenges – we’ll get gambling on a ballot.
But while the gambling issue has been confusing, the lack of fight over the school voucher issue is downright maddening.
All across the country, teachers’ unions and other teachers’ groups have experienced unprecedented success both in fighting vouchers – that’s what Alabama’s CHOOSE Act really is – and using the issue to recruit members and generate support for public education.
The once-mighty AEA that used to dominate Alabama politics has instead chosen a different path. One that includes dumping thousands of dollars into the campaign coffers of Republicans in the hopes that they won’t allow for the worst of the money grabs.
It has been an abysmal failure.
Already, Republicans have tacked another $80 million onto the price tag of this atrocity – that’s $180 million coming out of the public school budgets for now. And then an untold amount of money – possibly more than a half-billion dollars when the caps are removed in a couple of years – being sucked away and handed over to private schools.
It’ll cost us hundreds of public school teachers. It’ll cost our schools supplies and equipment. It’ll delay repairs. It’ll mean worse schools for the overwhelming majority of Alabama students.
In every other state, teachers’ groups have rallied against this theft. They’ve knocked it down everywhere it’s been on a ballot. More importantly, they’ve created a scary army of ticked-off public school employees everywhere else that’s blocking the worst of these bills and costing some of the most anti-education politicians their seats.
Not in Alabama, though. Here, we’re relying on the people taking the money to not take too much.
Making it all the more intolerable is the fact that the voucher issue could very well be combined with the killing of the overtime tax repeal, thus joining together two of the largest groups of workers – teachers and hourly workers – in the state. Such a combo would make the campaigns fighting both all the more formidable.
The unions representing workers have not been shy about this fight. They’ve run ads. They’ve held rallies. They’ve put pressure on lawmakers and they’re right now gearing up to make sure a whole bunch of them get challenges in the 2026 election cycle.
This is the way.
If you want a state government that actually works for you, you’re going to have to demand it. You’re going to have to fight for it. You’re going to have to threaten and intimidate for it.
Because we see what happens when you don’t.
