Steve Flowers: Republican Legislature outlines conservative plans for 2025 session
Alabama’s Legislative Journey Since 2010 When Republicans gained control of the Alabama Legislature in 2010, they really imprinted their conservative ideologies onto the state’s laws and governance. It was clear: Alabama is a solidly Republican state, both socially and financially. The social climate seemed more performative rather than rooted in effective governance. Yet, there was […]
Steve Flowers: A Look into the Statehouse
The regular legislative session of 2025 wrapped up successfully. I’ve always considered it a win when we can finalize a solid budget. The efforts of the Budget Chair paid off, leading to a strong Education Budget and a healthy General Fund budget. Key figures in this process included Senator Arthur O’All, Representative Danny Garrett, Senator […]
Steve Flowers: Secretariat and the Wiregrass Region
Reflections on Alabama and Notable Figures Living in Alabama my whole life, I can’t help but be a huge fan of college football. As a kid, I used to follow Major League Baseball closely, but those days are behind me—I just don’t watch professional sports anymore. It’s interesting, though, how I feel this urge to […]
Steve Flowers: Presidential race is Biden vs. Trump 2.0
In seven months, we, the American people, will go to the polls to elect the next President of the United States on November 5th. A rematch between Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden is looming. Americans are not very excited about this rematch. I have never in my lifetime seen two candidates with such […]
Steve Flowers: Second Congressional District primary runoffs ahead
If you live in the new 2nd Congressional District, you'll be voting in a runoff this Tuesday — the most intriguing and entertaining political race in Alabama this year. This new district consists of all of Montgomery County and most of the rural counties surrounding Montgomery, including Macon, Lowndes, Bullock, Pike, Butler, Crenshaw, Barbour, and […]
Steve Flowers: State leaders all aboard on ‘Working for Alabama’ plan
Anyone who follows Montgomery's annual legislative session knows it's always contentious. The House has its priorities, the Senate has its priorities, the Governor has his priorities, and it's fair to say those priorities aren't always the same. Take the gaming that's been going on this session for example. But there's a big push this session […]
Steve Flowers: Nathaniel Ledbetter a very powerful Speaker of the House
The 2024 Regular Legislative Session began about three months ago, so I wrote a column titled, “The 2024 Regular Legislative Session Begins Next Week.” In that column, I highlighted the leadership of the Alabama Assembly and Senate. I said that there were three key leaders: Senator Greg Reed, Senator Arthur Ohr, and Speaker of the […]
Steve Flowers: A Democrat wins a House seat in Alabama
The national media has taken a keen interest in the election of a Democrat to the Alabama House of Representatives. I have received several inquiries from national news and political publications seeking explanations and analysis of this phenomenon. They are particularly intrigued by the fact that women's reproductive rights were a central focus of the […]
Steve Flowers: Liberal Democrats in Washington Fear Katie Britt
Senator Katie Britt has quickly established herself as one of the most capable and respected members of the United States Senate. “In my many years of observing state and national politics, I have never seen anyone gain the respect of both parties as quickly and as conscientiously as Rep. Britt has in just 16 months […]
Steve Flowers: ‘Working for Alabama’ legislation is monumental
To paraphrase what U.S. Speaker of the House Sam Rayburn once said, “Anyone can kick down a barn, but it takes a good carpenter to build it.” In today's political climate, from Washington, DC on down, there are plenty of people to kick down barns, but not nearly enough carpenters to build them. During the […]