The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Alabama Apocalypse: Tim James, Bradley Byrne and Quin’s Vow of Revenge

Posted on | February 12, 2010 | 28 Comments

My American Spectator article today:

Tim James was Tea Party before Tea Party was cool. Before the federal bailouts, before most Americans had heard of Barack Obama, before Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck became household names, James helped lead the 2003 effort to stop a tax increase proposed by Alabama’s Republican Gov. Bob Riley.
The battle over Amendment One, as Riley’s $1.3 billion tax measure was known, was a defining moment for the state’s conservatives. James, who had challenged Riley in the 2002 Republican gubernatorial primary, sided with the anti-tax activists who organized an opposition campaign that became known as the “Alabama Tea Party.”
Alabama voters rejected the proposal by more than a 2-to-1 margin in a September 2003 referendum and, if politics were logical, James would be the front-runner in this year’s GOP gubernatorial contest. Instead, one recent poll showed that the early leader is Bradley Byrne who, as a state senator in 2003, voted for Riley’s tax-hike plan. . . .

Read the rest of that, which has sparked an internecine quarrel that I hadn’t expected. The Spectator‘s Quin Hillyer is after me now:

On Monday I will have a full-length answer to his column on Alabama politics, on the main page of this site. For now, though, let me just say that Tim James is no angel, and that GOP front-runner Bradley Byrne is a solid fiscal conservative, as is current Gov. Bob Riley, despite McCain’s suggestions to the contrary.

Some necessary background: Hillyer was editorial page editor of the Mobile (Ala.) Register at the time of the 2003 fight over Amendment One, which he supported. And last September he published a laudatory column about Byrnes, so he is obviously an admirer of Byrnes — who may be every bit as admirable as Quin says he is.

The root of the dispute is whether the 2003 “Billion-Dollar Bob” tax plan was fiscally conservative. Riley lost me with his argument that his tax plan (supported by the state’s teachers union) was the Christian thing to do. Excuse my skepticism when somebody says, “Jesus told me to raise taxes.”

At any rate, I didn’t intend to start an argument with Quin Hillyer, who is known to sling some invectives when he’s angry. I’ll be lucky to escape with a few mild epithets.

UPDATE: A commenter at the American Spectator mentioned Human Events coverage of the 2003 Amendment One battle:

By 68% to 32%, Alabama voters on September 9 soundly rejected Republican Gov. Bob Riley’s referendum to hike state taxes by $1.2 billion. . . .
He began invoking the state deficit, Alabama’s low-ranking public education system, and even divine law as justification for a tax hike. . . . Opponents countered that excessive spending caused the state deficit. A Cato Institute study showed that Alabama increased its inflation-adjusted per capita spending by 39% between 1991 and 2000. Riley’s reversal on taxes prompted two of his cabinet members to resign. . . .
Former House Majority Leader Dick Armey (R.-Tex.), who worked with Riley in Congress, opposed the tax referendum as co-chairman of Citizens for a Sound Economy. Armey told HUMAN EVENTS that Riley’s reversal was baffling. “I campaigned for him for his congressional seat for three terms,” Armey said of Riley. “He was in the House for six years, and I don’t remember Bob Riley ever hinting that he might be inclined to raise taxes.”

You can read the rest of that.

UPDATE II: Quin Hillyer asked me to post this message:

My friend McCain need not worry: What I intend to write on Monday is part of a friendly debate, hardly “revenge.” And he need not fear any “invective,” or even any mild epithets. I would no more hurl invective at my friend and colleague than I would worship at the shrine of Obama. Finally, while I thank him for giving me a retroactive promotion, I must admit that I was not editorial page editor in Mobile, but a mere editorial writer and columnist. I do note that the Mobile Register easily ranked with the WSJ, Investors Business Daily, and the Orange County Register as the four most solidly conservative major daily papers in the country — and a multiple-award winning editorial page at that. So trust me when I say that I will be debating with my friend on clearly conservative grounds, and with all due respect to a fellow conservative.

“Debating with my friend” — not a prospectI relish. I’m OK with the vitriolic denunciations by my enemies. I’ve become accustomed to being called names, and dish it out in equal measure. Even the cold silent hatred from Allahpundit doesn’t bother me much anymore. 

Actual debate, however, is not something that actually happens on the Internet very often.

Category: Alabama, Republicans

Comments

28 Responses to “Alabama Apocalypse: Tim James, Bradley Byrne and Quin’s Vow of Revenge”

  1. victoria_29
    February 12th, 2010 @ 9:33 pm

    Typical Riley behavior, it seems that being Governor has went to his head. Rumor has it he supports Byrne so that when Shelby retires after winning this election season that Byrne will appoint him to fill Shelby’s senate seat-now that is RUMOR. Byrne supporting Riley on this raising taxes issue could also be a reason for his supporting Byrne. I haven’t decided on a Governor candidate so I don’t as of yet have dogs in this race, although I have narrowed it down to Judge Moore (the 10 Commandment Judge) & Tim James-teaparty conservatives here are about equally divided.

  2. victoria_29
    February 12th, 2010 @ 4:33 pm

    Typical Riley behavior, it seems that being Governor has went to his head. Rumor has it he supports Byrne so that when Shelby retires after winning this election season that Byrne will appoint him to fill Shelby’s senate seat-now that is RUMOR. Byrne supporting Riley on this raising taxes issue could also be a reason for his supporting Byrne. I haven’t decided on a Governor candidate so I don’t as of yet have dogs in this race, although I have narrowed it down to Judge Moore (the 10 Commandment Judge) & Tim James-teaparty conservatives here are about equally divided.

  3. keyboard jockey
    February 12th, 2010 @ 9:55 pm

    Other,

    What about John McCain, Sarah Palin’s endorsed John, and she is stumping for him in Arizona…so what do you think – should he keep his seat or vacate?

    Seems to me the support is wobbly for McCain at best. There is a case to be made that as many Republicans as possible should retain their Senate seats for a possible majority in 2010.

    Will Sarah Palin’s endorsement get John McCain through the 2010 elections? It looks like she is going to pull Perry through down here in Texas. I was on the Medina bandwagon till her truther equivocation came out.

    I haven’t read much about John McCain’s odds on re election.

    But he is sharing a list among conservatives, with folks out of favor like Newt Gingrich.

  4. keyboard jockey
    February 12th, 2010 @ 4:55 pm

    Other,

    What about John McCain, Sarah Palin’s endorsed John, and she is stumping for him in Arizona…so what do you think – should he keep his seat or vacate?

    Seems to me the support is wobbly for McCain at best. There is a case to be made that as many Republicans as possible should retain their Senate seats for a possible majority in 2010.

    Will Sarah Palin’s endorsement get John McCain through the 2010 elections? It looks like she is going to pull Perry through down here in Texas. I was on the Medina bandwagon till her truther equivocation came out.

    I haven’t read much about John McCain’s odds on re election.

    But he is sharing a list among conservatives, with folks out of favor like Newt Gingrich.

  5. keyboard jockey
    February 12th, 2010 @ 9:57 pm

    What about McCain and the tea party folks, it is a conundrum.

  6. keyboard jockey
    February 12th, 2010 @ 4:57 pm

    What about McCain and the tea party folks, it is a conundrum.

  7. Steve in TN
    February 12th, 2010 @ 10:07 pm

    Come on, Stacy, tell it like it is. The ’03 tax thing was largely in response to the Bama legislature refusing to cut spending. Riley proposed a tax raise commensurate with what the legislature, including gobs of GOP critters, were wanting to spend.

    So, in criticizing Riley it would follow that you support government deficits… Yada, yada, yada.

    And no, as a Bama resident (Mobile) in 2003 I did NOT support the tax raise nor did I support Riley’s tactics on the issue. However, if you had to deal with the Bama legislature you would understand the lengths to which adults can be driven by it like Riley was.

  8. Steve in TN
    February 12th, 2010 @ 5:07 pm

    Come on, Stacy, tell it like it is. The ’03 tax thing was largely in response to the Bama legislature refusing to cut spending. Riley proposed a tax raise commensurate with what the legislature, including gobs of GOP critters, were wanting to spend.

    So, in criticizing Riley it would follow that you support government deficits… Yada, yada, yada.

    And no, as a Bama resident (Mobile) in 2003 I did NOT support the tax raise nor did I support Riley’s tactics on the issue. However, if you had to deal with the Bama legislature you would understand the lengths to which adults can be driven by it like Riley was.

  9. Thomas L. Knapp
    February 12th, 2010 @ 10:58 pm

    When are you going to cut out the Amateur Hour stuff and interview the interesting candidate, Bill Johnson?

  10. Thomas L. Knapp
    February 12th, 2010 @ 5:58 pm

    When are you going to cut out the Amateur Hour stuff and interview the interesting candidate, Bill Johnson?

  11. dad29
    February 12th, 2010 @ 11:41 pm

    Popping per-cap spending by 39%?

    Yah, that would require a tax increase.

    So let’s go back to basics: IT’S THE SPENDING, STUPID!!!

  12. dad29
    February 12th, 2010 @ 6:41 pm

    Popping per-cap spending by 39%?

    Yah, that would require a tax increase.

    So let’s go back to basics: IT’S THE SPENDING, STUPID!!!

  13. Stephen Gordon
    February 12th, 2010 @ 11:50 pm

    Tom,

    I was talking with Johnson last night. He seems to be the number two candidate for a lot of people around here and he is interesting. Not going to win, though — unless he pulls something out of his hat no one around here has seen so far.

  14. Stephen Gordon
    February 12th, 2010 @ 6:50 pm

    Tom,

    I was talking with Johnson last night. He seems to be the number two candidate for a lot of people around here and he is interesting. Not going to win, though — unless he pulls something out of his hat no one around here has seen so far.

  15. USRanger
    February 13th, 2010 @ 12:59 am

    Hillyer is all over Byrnes like spit on a preacher’s chin.

    I’ve read his stuff when I lived down in Dauphin Island and it was mostly him giving his 2 cents about other people’s writings. I see not much has changed.

  16. USRanger
    February 12th, 2010 @ 7:59 pm

    Hillyer is all over Byrnes like spit on a preacher’s chin.

    I’ve read his stuff when I lived down in Dauphin Island and it was mostly him giving his 2 cents about other people’s writings. I see not much has changed.

  17. USRanger
    February 13th, 2010 @ 1:01 am

    @ steve in Tn

    seriously, get help.
    Because a Democrat majority wants to increase spending the governor MUST follow suit?

  18. USRanger
    February 12th, 2010 @ 8:01 pm

    @ steve in Tn

    seriously, get help.
    Because a Democrat majority wants to increase spending the governor MUST follow suit?

  19. Thomas L. Knapp
    February 13th, 2010 @ 1:56 am

    Steve,

    Doug Thompson didn’t win, either, but Stacy covered him because he was the interesting candidate.

    If the story is just “which whistledick the GOP establishment has chosen to improv in the role of Tea Party candidate,” it’s not a story worth covering.

  20. Thomas L. Knapp
    February 12th, 2010 @ 8:56 pm

    Steve,

    Doug Thompson didn’t win, either, but Stacy covered him because he was the interesting candidate.

    If the story is just “which whistledick the GOP establishment has chosen to improv in the role of Tea Party candidate,” it’s not a story worth covering.

  21. Steve in TN
    February 13th, 2010 @ 2:23 am

    @ USRanger:
    Nope, if you read the comment I specifically stated that there were plenty GOP types going along with that Dem majority. A1 had a lot to do with Riley throwing up his hands in despair at just how prevalent the spend, spend, spend culture was. That’s a basic *conservative* rule. If you are going to spend you have to provide the resources for it; in government that means taxes. Conservatives are supposed to dislike deficits.

    As far as needing help, even I knew not to take anything in the Press Register seriously…

  22. Steve in TN
    February 12th, 2010 @ 9:23 pm

    @ USRanger:
    Nope, if you read the comment I specifically stated that there were plenty GOP types going along with that Dem majority. A1 had a lot to do with Riley throwing up his hands in despair at just how prevalent the spend, spend, spend culture was. That’s a basic *conservative* rule. If you are going to spend you have to provide the resources for it; in government that means taxes. Conservatives are supposed to dislike deficits.

    As far as needing help, even I knew not to take anything in the Press Register seriously…

  23. Steve in TN
    February 13th, 2010 @ 2:28 am

    An off-topic question Stacy may want to answer in another post: Why do we conservatives feel the need to insult each other when we disagree? Is it something to do with the blog culture, needing “excitement” to attract eyeballs to blogs and we sites? Something else?

  24. Steve in TN
    February 12th, 2010 @ 9:28 pm

    An off-topic question Stacy may want to answer in another post: Why do we conservatives feel the need to insult each other when we disagree? Is it something to do with the blog culture, needing “excitement” to attract eyeballs to blogs and we sites? Something else?

  25. Henry Butler
    February 13th, 2010 @ 5:30 am

    Excellent Site…led here by your piece in the Spectator and hope to return often…I would suggest that you be very wary of effusive compliments at this point and remain skeptical about most candidates in state races…there are very few with clean hands and you might be setting yourself up for an embarrassing fall. In this case, James led the fight against Riley’s tax increase because he wanted revenge for having been beaten…Riley is looking at some serious legal challenges about his campaign contributions through the years, and who knows what Byrne will have to face. Johnson is an unknown who knows where a lot of bodies are buried and Judge Moore may be able to convince Alabamians he is not a fringe candidate. What is certain is that Artur Davis is a competent individual who appears unable to put his affirmative action background behind him and Ron Sparks is just a pitiful 90’s Democrat who is pro-Union, pro-stimulus, pro-Castro, and if you don’t believe it, check out his website.

  26. Henry Butler
    February 13th, 2010 @ 12:30 am

    Excellent Site…led here by your piece in the Spectator and hope to return often…I would suggest that you be very wary of effusive compliments at this point and remain skeptical about most candidates in state races…there are very few with clean hands and you might be setting yourself up for an embarrassing fall. In this case, James led the fight against Riley’s tax increase because he wanted revenge for having been beaten…Riley is looking at some serious legal challenges about his campaign contributions through the years, and who knows what Byrne will have to face. Johnson is an unknown who knows where a lot of bodies are buried and Judge Moore may be able to convince Alabamians he is not a fringe candidate. What is certain is that Artur Davis is a competent individual who appears unable to put his affirmative action background behind him and Ron Sparks is just a pitiful 90’s Democrat who is pro-Union, pro-stimulus, pro-Castro, and if you don’t believe it, check out his website.

  27. Chad
    April 12th, 2010 @ 10:07 am

    Too bad Tim James is a Sustainable Developer…which means he supports the biggest assault on American and worldwide property rights in history…educate yourself on the U.N.’s Agenda 21 for Sustainable Development.

  28. Chad
    April 12th, 2010 @ 5:07 am

    Too bad Tim James is a Sustainable Developer…which means he supports the biggest assault on American and worldwide property rights in history…educate yourself on the U.N.’s Agenda 21 for Sustainable Development.