Troy King just had his big moment--a major press conference he had trumpeted for days as his opportunity to wade into the gambling debate in Alabama. King has been doing it subtly for some times, through angrily-worded letters and quotes in media stories through him or his spokesman. Throughout this time, Troy King has tried to have his cake and eat it, too. On the one hand, he wants anti-gambling conservatives behind him, so he has promoted the idea of a statewide vote on gambling. On the other hand, he needs pro-gambling interests like Milton McGregor and Ronnie Gilley behind him, so he has talked about raids on legitimate businesses and the need to bring jobs to these parts of Alabama.
When finally given the opportunity to choose his side, King again fell flat. You can read the Press Register's highlights here. King has criticized, even condemned, Riley's task force on gambling for several weeks now. However, when given the chance, he recommended changes while refusing to enforce them or shut the task force down.
This is a really interesting situation, in which the incumbent attorney general basically calls a press conference to say nothing. He renewed his concerns, expressed his frustrations, and at the end of the day opted to do absolutely nothing.
I echo a theme which I have expressed many times on this blog--when given the choice between talk and action, King always chooses the talk. Action is difficult, and it can create disagreement. There is nothing easy about action, whether that is reducing the crime rate, investigating political corruption, or taking on the issue of gambling. Troy King was given yet another opportunity to give order to an extremely confusing issue, and he decided instead to just prolong the confusion.
Perhaps this is smart politics, I don't know. Holding two opposing sides at arm's length seems pretty risky to me. Either way, I know it's bad government, and this is yet another reason it's time for a change in June.
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