Riley champions Republican cause

Bob Riley challenged Lee County Republicans on Tuesday night.

“You are the foundation of the next generation of Republicans,” the Alabama governor told the crowd of more than 450 local candidates and political enthusiasts at the Auburn Marriott Opelika Hotel & Conference Center at Grand National, celebrating the annual Harlan-Reagan Banquet. “You have the opportunity to do something today that’s never been done before. We have the momentum and the enthusiasm, as long as we have that — you’ll see this party grow like never before.”

Patrons paid anywhere from $500 to $1,000 per table in the annual fundraising event, which was hoped to earn the local party an estimated $10,000 after expenses. A $1,000 table allowed all table guests a photo opportunity with the governor. Most candidates for Lee County office and many candidates for state races were either present or represented.

“I agree with everything the governor said,” said Lee Vanoy of Opelika. “He has been, by far, the best governor Alabama has had as far as representing the state with integrity. He is a very calm, dedicated and secure-in-himself person. (His wife) Patsy made him that way.

“I think we’re going to have to change in order to enjoy the benefits of being Americans. Our privileges and freedoms are being taken away from us.”

Riley, who considered Lee County residents his “greatest supporters,” spoke enthusiastically of grabbing Republican control of the Alabama House and Senate after the general election, and Alabama “not becoming like Washington, D.C.”

“Look at what this party, this state and this county could be,” said Riley, who is in his second and final term. “We’ve made tremendous progress in the last few years. If we don’t elect people who share our beliefs, the same things can happen in Alabama that have happened in Washington.

“We’re so close to having a Republican Speaker of the House, a Republican Senate Pro Tem and a Republican governor, then all of the sudden we can take Alabama to a new level. Some power brokers that have held the state back for decades are still there. They know how to work the system and they know it’s being challenged.”

Patty Cobb, secretary of the Republican Women of East Alabama, agreed with Riley on all points.

“I think change is good,” she said. “The Democrats have had control of the Legislature forever. I lived in Massachusetts for 20 years. I know what it’s like to have a Democratic-controlled Legislature.”

Riley said Republicans “have a different philosophical base” than Democrats.

“We believe in free enterprise, the capitalist system, rewarding innovation and that no union should dominate the state of Alabama,” he said. “As long as we build on those beliefs, we’ll do some incredible things.”

Riley believes that Americans are fed up with Democratic rule.

“The same thing is happening in Alabama that’s happening across the nation,” he said. “People are saying, ‘We’re going down a path that we didn’t want to go down.’ When we say a Democrat (congressman) from Alabama can go to Washington and vote for Nancy Pelosi, then we’re giving that agenda credibility it has never deserved.”