For those of you familiar with this blog, you know that we've written extensively on Troy King's confusing history with staff raises. We've talked about Chris Bence, King's spokesman and chief of staff who is paid as a paralegal even though he has no training as a paralegal. According to the Mongtomery Advertiser, King effectively gamed the system in order to raise Bence's salary from $94,000 to $104,400 a year. Then, there is Tyler Godwin, the intern who had a meteoric rise in the AG's office from unpaid intern to executive assistant ten months later making $57,000 a year. Another aid saw his salary increase from $67,000 to $95,000 after a stint on King's campaign. Well, that is the personnel issue in King's office, and it has generated plenty of criticism. Back when King was openly considering a run for Governor, David Prather of The Huntsville Times wrote: "King will have some problems with voters in 2010 if he seeks the Republican nomination for governor. It's pretty clear that fiscal responsibility is going to be a hard sell as a platform plank, that's for sure." So, that's the personnel issue.
Unfortunately, the personnel issue has also become a personal issue for Mr. King. As many of you know and a simple internet search will demonstrate, rumors began to surround King's possible homosexual relationship with his male aide in 2008. King supporters will be quick to note that nothing was ever substantiated, but there were certainly some strange occurrences. One day, King was displayed on John McCain's website heading up his Alabama leadership efforts. The next day, he was nowhere to be found. King managed to weather the initial storm, but he decided to run for re-election as AG instead.
Robert Stacy McCain has an intriguing blog about the scandal on his website today (http://theothermccain.com/2010/02/05/troy-king-and-the-scandal-that-dare-not-speak-its-name/). McCain brings up the scandal and the importance that conservatives work to address it. The gist of his story is that Alabama's political reporters owe it to the people of Alabama to cover this story and address these issues. McCain writes that right now King as "a major Republican scandal just waiting to happen." This is serious business.
Let's think for a minute about what brought the Republicans down in 2006. Sure, there were a number of problems, but when Florida Congressman Mark Foley was publicly exposed in a scandal involving Congressional pages, Republicans tanked everywhere. Images of him on the cover of Time and Newsweek came to symbolize the struggles of the GOP. Now, the GOP is rebuilding, and a lot of momentum is taking shape heading into 2010. That is especially important here in Alabama, where a major Governor's race, a series of judicial races, and several Congressional races will require major attention. These Republican candidates don't deserve to deal with a political powderkeg which frankly could explode at absolutely any moment.
The problem with King is that the allegations are not strictly personal--it also has to do with personnel. The rumor mill (reinforced in the sudden dumping by McCain) alleges that King has carried on a relationship with a male employee. Were this a heterosexual relationship, it would immediately be a subject of scrutiny. This is not just a question of morality; it's also a question of professional ethics in the workplace. Unfortunately, the Alabama press has not covered this story, and the Republican Party has taken no action to vet Troy King's story.
As conservatives, it is our job to vet our own candidate and make certain that they uphold to high standards of personal and professional integrity. If we don't do that job, the liberals will do it for us. The result is only scandal and struggle. It undid the Republicans nationally in 2006. It is our job now to make sure this scandal does not harm good conservative candidates in Alabama in 2010.
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