Steve Flowers on Small Town Boys
Small-town boys dominate in Alabama Politics and the governor's office. The only city governor of Alabama in the last 66 years is Don Siegelman, who is from Mobile...
View ArticleSteve Flowers on First Monday Trade Days
First Monday Trade Day was a must event for any serious, statewide political aspirer, especially for the advent of television...
View ArticleSteve Flowers on William Ralph "Shorty" Price
Alabama has had its share of what I call "the run for the fun of it" candidates. Our most colorful of these candidates is William Ralph "Shorty" Price...
View ArticleSteve Flowers on Legislative and Governmental Experience
We've got one of the best governor races in state history looming for next year. But, Alabamians have had a history of electing governors who have basically had no governmental experience, much less...
View ArticleSteve Flowers on Bucks Pocket
Some people think it's a myth and some people think it's a legend, but those of us who've been around Alabama politics have always referred to a place knows as Bucks Pocket. For decades, losing...
View ArticleSteve Flowers on How the Legislator isn't a Good Stepping Stone to Governorhsip
Legislative experience is pretty good training ground for governor, but the legislator is definitely not a good stepping stone to the governorship...
View ArticleSteve Flowers on the Political Boogeyman
Hired political guns have a reputation for success and meanness. These hired guns would usually find somebody or some entity to create fear and hatred against. In political terms, it's called "finding...
View ArticleSteve Flowers on Lister Hill
Senator Lister Hill is probably our greatest U.S. senator in history. Most of the rural hospitals in America and Alabama were built during his legislation...
View ArticleSteve Flowers on John Sparkman
In 1946, Senator John Bankhead died in office; this created a unique situation for John Sparkman. He sought the vacant senate seat, yet remained on the ballot for his house seat. Sparkman beat the...
View ArticleSteve Flowers on Race and Religion in Alabama Politics
Throughout the course of Alabama political history, there have been two pervasive and prevailing issues - race and religion. The race issue has remained dormant in Alabama politics for most of the...
View ArticleSteve Flowers on Harry Truman
The year 1948 was a pivotal year in Alabama and Southern politics...
View ArticleSteve Flowers on Booze and County
One of the most legendary dirty tricks ever played on a legislator still reverberates 60 years later...
View ArticleSteve Flowers on Bad Districts
Alabama's 1901 Constitution is as archaic as any in the nation; it has contributed to the poor image that persists today regarding our racist past. However, much of the damage was done during the 1960s...
View ArticleSteve Flowers on the Path to Governorship
Suppose you're some person keenly interested in being the governor of Alabama one day; if that young person approached me and asked what would be the best course to take to capture that brass ring, my...
View ArticleSteve Flowers on "Big Jim" Folsom Part One
James E. "Big Jim" Folsom is by far Alabama's most colorful governor. Big Jim was only the second governor in the state's history to be elected to two four-year terms before George Wallace rewrote the...
View ArticleSteve Flowers on "Big Jim" Folsom Part Two
During the "Big Jim" Folsom era, Alabama had a history of what was called "learning to get acquainted race." If you wanted to be governor, you ran your first race in hopes you'd run second to the...
View ArticleSteve Flowers on "Big Jim" Folsom Part Three
Big Jim was sworn in early 1947 and began to work with his famous farm-to-market road program. This work is what he's most remembered for today; in fact, most rural roads in Alabama were paved by Big...
View ArticleSteve Flowers on "Big Jim" Folsom Part Four
After sitting out four years, Big Jim entered the governor's race again in 1954, beating three state senators, the president of the public service commission and the lieutenant governor without a...
View ArticleSteve Flowers on Big Jim Folsom Part Five
A lot of people believed Big Jim was going to win a third term, but it didn't happen...
View ArticleSteve Flowers on Big Jim Folsom Part Six
One of the all-time favorite Big Jim Folsom stories happened in the mid 1950s during his second term as governor...
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