Mike Hubbard: Admiration comes from Democrats switching parties
Alabama Republican Party Chairman
Published: October 5, 2009
When the Opelika-Auburn News asked me to write a column detailing what I admire about the Alabama Democratic Party, I must admit that I was somewhat taken aback.
I assure you, no one has ever asked me that question before in my role as Chairman of the Alabama Republican Party.
There are certainly individual Democrats I admire. Harry Truman, a great common sense statesman who made tough decisions, is one of my favorite national politicians.
And there are many Alabama Democrats I personally admire and, even sometimes agree with politically.
But the answer to what I admire about the Alabama Democratic Party did not come easily. After much thought and deep soul-searching, however, I have come up with an honest and suitable response.
I admire the fact that so many members of the Alabama Democratic Party have had the good sense to switch and change their allegiance to the Alabama Republican Party.
Since the early 1990s, roughly 140 Democratic officeholders across the state have officially switched parties and run for office under the Republican banner.
Conversely, Alabama Republicans switching to the Democratic banner are as rare as a Bigfoot sighting.
The most recent high-profile Democrat welcomed into the Republican fold is State Sen. Jimmy Holley, an eight-term legislator from Alabama’s Wiregrass region.
Like many before him, Holley explained his decision by noting he felt more at home with the beliefs and values of the Republican Party than the far-left, liberal ideas that have come to dominate the Democratic Party on both the state and national levels.
Long-serving U.S. Senator Richard Shelby gave a similar reason in 1995 when he could no longer stomach the tax-raising policies of the Clinton administration and Congressional Democrats and jumped the aisle.
Since making the change, he has been a staunch supporter of the Bush tax cuts, introduced legislation to statutorily limit federal spending and sponsored an immigration moratorium bill, all of which his former Democratic colleagues opposed.
Former Alabama Secretary of State Jim Bennett switched after Democrats pressured him to certify Sonny Hornsby as the winner over Republican Perry Hooper, Sr. in the 1994 Chief Justice campaign. This pressure came despite the fact that several illegal and unwitnessed absentee ballots had been cast in the race.
Bennett’s principled refusal resulted in a federal court ruling Hooper as the winner and led the secretary to join the GOP shortly thereafter. Party switches have not been limited to the state and national levels.
Dozens of county commissioners, sheriffs, judges, district attorneys and others on the local level have also seen the Democrats move to the far left and changed their party allegiances. But make no mistake, Republicans are excellent at spotting candidates who change parties because of convictions and those who change parties because of convenience.
We have had RINOs (Republicans In Name Only) attempting to run in our primaries only to be driven from the flock.
One example occurred last year a State School Board race. Stephanie Bell, a well-known and well-respected conservative, was opposed in the GOP Primary by a candidate funded largely by political action committees tied closely to the Alabama Democratic Party and the state teachers’ labor union, led by Democratic Party vice-chairs Paul Hubbert and Joe Reed.
Republican primary voters easily saw through this poor attempt at political camouflage and re-nominated Bell by a landslide. Republican School Board member Randy McKinney defeated a primary opponent with similar funding, as well, despite being outspent by a 7–1 margin.
With Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and other Washington Democrats kicking the country to the left despite grassroots protests and Alabama Democrats seeming to follow their lead, the 2010 cycle I shaping up to be a good one for the Republican Party — one that I believe will lead to future party changes, as well.
As long as Alabama Democrats continue to drive conservatives from their herd and help build our Republican ranks, I will continue to admire their party.
Rep. Mike Hubbard (R-Auburn) represents House District 79 in the Alabama House of Representatives and is the House Minority Leader. He is Chairman of the Alabama Republican Party.
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Mike Hubbard is a regular reader of Doc’s. In the final installment of a three part 2007 interview, one that interestingly covers his business relationship with Auburn University’s multi-media empire, Mike Hubbard acknowledges that he follows this insider’s resource of all things on Goat Hill.
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I first heard of GOP uber operative Karl Rove during the 1994 Alabama Judicial elections. Chairman and Representative Hubbard referenced this election pushing then Secretary of State Jim Bennett from the Democratic Party yet, as in the case Richard Shelby certainly, this might have very well been a seasoned politician sensing the political winds and merely deciding he’d be better off playing for the other team.
There is certainly much more to the story than Chairman and Representative Hubbard used a decade and a half in the most crass and partisan manner when asked to share what he admired about the Democratic Party. As seems to almost always be the case with both this man and today’s GOP, the chutzpah is off the scale.
As to those late arriving and frequently unwitnessed ballots, various courts ruled that the “intent of the voter” was the issue. Not until the 11th Circuit reversed those decisions, and possibly disfranchised Alabama voters, did Karl Rove’s candidate prevail.
Indeed Florida in 2000 was not Rove’s first rodeo. There’s more to the story at http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200411/green
Mike Hubbard knows better as to Jimmy Holley’s switch and plenty more contained in this writing. His over the top reaching is such that sooner or later you’d think the opposition would learn to practice some jujitsu politics and use his aggressiveness against him. Oh, his opposition is “Leading on our Knees” so thus not inclined or apparently able to do any such thing.
Doc’s Political Party explains the real reason Jimmy Holley bolted plus the fact that Holley was a Wes Clark man in just 2004. Lowell Barron and Holley got crossway, understandably so given Mr. Barron’s nature, so Holley left for at least partially what may be considered a personality conflict. See http://www.politicalparlor.net/wp/2008/01/11/considering-holleys-switch/
Mike Hubbard is a regular reader of Doc’s. In the final installment of a three part 2007 interview, one that interestingly covers his business relationship with Auburn University’s multi-media empire, Mike Hubbard acknowledges that he follows this insider’s resource of all things on Goat Hill. See http://www.politicalparlor.net/wp/2007/10/25/mike-hubbard-in-the-parlor-part-three/
So why does Mike Hubbard want to either “make stuff up” or at best stretch these situations to write such a smarmy reply to a genuine question. Heck, Joe Turnham is at least decent enough to not do as Mike Hubbard did in this piece. Truly, which party claims to be God’s own party and to represent family values?
More to follow on his writing as Mike Hubbard has hung some rather fats ones over the plate.
When did Mike Hubbard EVER dicuss the issues? His lips move but he doesn’t say anything, so typical of the conservative politicians of today. They try to rely on the stupidity of their constituants. Hubbard is good at two things….being Bob Riley’s lap dog and slipping his hand into your pocket and extracting your money. He does nothing unless it’s for his own benefit. To call him a ‘representative’ of anybody but himself is a complete joke.
Mr. Hubbard is “gracious” your middle name?
Hubbard, what I like best about you is that you take care not to put too much strain on that weak brain of yours.
This was an opportunity for an educated individual to discuss real issues. Instead, we get a glib response from Mike Hubbard.
Since Alabama nationally continually ranks pretty low on education, but high on obesity and poverty it really doesn’t matter who is in office- Republican or Democrat. I had a co-worker, who is not from the south, ask me a question last week that I had no answer for. He asked, “why are Southerns so willing to remain ignorant and in denial?“ As a Southerner, I have no answer. Perhaps denial is all we know. And Mike Hubbard certainly backs that up with his commentary.
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