It is great to be back from a brief break, and even better to know that Troy King is back in the news. Mobile Press-Register cartoonist JD Crowe was back with a new Troy King cartoon this weekend, featuring Troy King and his bunker. At this blog, what Crowe has called the "Bunker mentality" I have chosen to call "Troy's world." Troy's world is a place where he sits, alone, and the fundamental rules which the rest of us must obey do not apply. In Troy's world, being "conservative" means supporting corrupt gambling interests, overseeing a lack of political accountability on spending, and continuing ethical blunders which transform your office from a temple of respesct into a statewide laughingstock.
As I read the cartoon, I realized that Troy King is also using technology to reach out to voters. The sitting Alabama AG is using facebook to reach out to supporters, instead of actually taking questions from press or constituents. Facebook is a great thing, because people can post questions, and you can steadily ignore them. However, this morning, I want to offer TEN QUESTIONS Alabamians should ask Troy King, through facebook or otherwise, before casting their vote in the next election:
(1) Why have you made such a history of repeated ethical blunders? Regularly, you have admitted to your mistakes in the press following a blunder, and you have always managed to stay one step ahead of the law. Many Alabamians would attribute one, even two of these things to an honest mistake. However, can we excuse your Braves skybox tickets from Alabama Power, your close connections with Auburn trustees directly before issuing opinions, your relationship with developer Stan Pate which reportedly led to your grand jury investigation, or your "guest of honor" status at a party held 6 weeks before your office issued a pro-gambling opinion? You know I could go on listing your conflicts, but space is limited, so accept this as a small list, and explain this large number of ethical blunders.
(2) In a time of economic shortfalls, why have you chosen to elevate your political supporters to staff positions they are not qualified for? Just look at Chris Bence, your "chief of staff" or "spokesman" who is a "paralegal" in your office, even though he is not qualified for the position. Will you commit to being honest with the people of Alabama regarding your staff salaries?
(3) Why did you choose to ignore voter fraud in the Alabama Black Belt in 2008, even after it was brought to your attention by Secretary of State Beth Chapman? This was so bad it even made the New York Times. Perry County voters cast 1,114 absentee ballots, whereas Jefferson County, a County 60 times Perry's population, cast only 365. I smell a rat, but you just blamed the federal government. What happened to accountability?
(4) Why your obsession with perception? Even on issues where you have been strong, such as sex offender legislation, the Birmingham News accused you of "showboating for political gain."
(5) Are you willing to commit to refusing gambling funds in this election, and also refusing PAC contributions from PACs bankrolled by gaming interests? You haven't had the most stellar record on this issue in the past, and it calls into question your ability to ethically handle the gaming issue in Alabama.
(6) Will you bring sunshine to the private attorneys you hire? Recently, the citizens of Alabama have paid $100,000 for your legal defense. However, we have also been paying for you to hire outside attorneys to represent the state in other legal matters. You could end this process, but will you at least add some transparency? In a whole lot of other states, like Georgia and West Virginia, this has been abused to reward political cronies. How will you stop this from happening in Alabama?
(7) Why did you put yourself in a position to have to remove yourself from the largest ethics investigation in our state's history? You went asking two year college chancellor Roy Johnson to help your friend's mom, a victims' rights group, and another friend, even as you were investigating him. Why should voters send you back to Montgomery, when your own actions have forced you to be removed from what would have been one of the biggest tasks of your second term in office?
(8) If you were to receive a second term, would you end the political prosecutions which have scarred your first term? You received statewide condemnation for removing Shelby County DA Robby Owens from a case, and you did the same thing in Mobile with John Tyson. Do you believe it's possible to run the state's prosecutions without relying on local law enforcement?
(9) Will you promise to end the process of politically-charged opinions coming from your office? Early in your career, you issued an opinion on Auburn Trustees after conversing with a staff member who worked in a trustee's firm. Later on, you issued a gaming opinion after appearing at a party with developer Ronnie Gilley. These are only a few examples of ways in which your judgment has diminished the effectiveness of a vital function of the AG's office. Communities depend on your opinions for critical decisions on economic development and growth. How can you guarantee that your opinions will be reliable with such a history of questionable contacts?
(10) FINALLY, TROY KING, WHAT MAKES YOU A CONSERVATIVE? You claim to be a conservative, someone who fights for us. You claim to be for the victims. However, HOW IS THIS TRUE? You cannot be "for the victims" when you alienate every one of Alabama's duly elected District Attorneys charged with enforcing the laws of the state, which you help oversee. You cannot be for "fiscal responsibility" when you give out bloated raises to staff based on political loyalties, not qualifications. You cannot promote our traditional moral values while allowing corrupt gaming interests to flourish. You cannot promote economic growth and a free, fair market when you regularly issue opinions tarnished by ethical consideration. These are fundamental conservative values, all of which you have violated repeatedly during your term of office. Thus, HOW CAN YOU HONESTLY CAMPAIGN AS A CONSERVATIVE? SHOULD YOU NOT JUST DO THE HONEST THING, AND CAMPAIGN AS A LIBERAL DEMOCRAT INSTEAD?
I hope that voters will pose these questions to Troy King, on facebook or if he ever decides to come out in person, before they vote for him...again.
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what in the world do any of these questions have to do with being a conservative? You are a fool. I haven't read one thing on here that would make me even think about voting for someone else. I don't know who Troy King hired or how much he pays them but I have read stories about Bob Riley hiring the former party director after a hiring freeze. The district attorney's of this state are not as conservative as Troy King. Troy King petitioned the supreme court to allow Alabama to ocntinue executing criminals when they put a ban on executions. I read that Troy King pushed the legislature to pass the strongest sex offender and child predator laws in the nation - where was Bill Pryor on this. If it takes grandstanding to get the legislature to protect our families then BRAVO! Troy has prosecuted the drug companies and has won hundreds of millions back for Alabamians (I don't know exactly how much). Troy King is a God loving person. He opposes gambling but thank GOD he is not willing to be an activist, changing the law but rather demanding that the legislature and the people have the right to vote. I don't want activist judges or leaders. I like the fact that our constitution can only be changed through Montgomery and the legislature. I don't want higher taxes, or more laws. I want the Government out of my life more. I don't need the government to tell me if I can gamble or drink. God wanted us to live his life through free will, not through regulation. People like you are an embarassment to the call of conservatives. I love our Governor, but he changed the law on annual reappraisals costing me more than 1,000 a year in additional taxes that I wasn't paying before he was Governor. So don't lecture us on Troy King not being a conservative. Clearly you don't like Troy King but he is without a doubt the most conservative elected official we have serving in Alabama.
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