Alabama 1st is wide open; Mobile Mayor Mike Dow or Lucy Buffett could help Democrats win

Now that it’s official and everyone may or may not know that Rep. Jo Bonner is retiring from congress. Truly he is abandoning his office that the voters of South Alabama elected him to full-fill almost if not a decade ago. Jo Bonner will make it official when he resigns and leave office early on August 15, and take a new job with the U. of  Alabama.

Former Mobile Mayor Mike Dow

As I mentioned on yesterday that this is truly cowardly leadership and representation by Congressman Bonner to abandon an elective office early instead serving the out his term. Now the voters and citizens of the 1^st Congressional District of Alabama will have to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars for a special election, and turn around and go back to the polls in June of 2014 for another primary. But Republicans say they are all about saying tax dollars and managing your tax dollars well. Really?

With a soon to be special election on the horizon, candidates are already building their campaigns behind closed doors, phones are ringing and donations are being sought. I am certain that there will be an estimated eight to ten candidates in this race if not more. The voters will hear from the young and old, newcomers and political old heads. A choice has to be made, but will the choice be confusing?

This special election could be wild and ugly, and a candidate with little money and big name recognition could actually win the race. How so, because after the crowded field of Republicans and so call Republicans get through cutting throats, they will be left scrambling to get cross the finish line. With Democrats all they have to do is get started early as I sure the Republicans will, and unite behind one candidate, raise money, create a good and solid public relations team and campaign and they have a chance to win during the general election.

A poorly ran campaign will not get you anywhere, and if the democrats are not rallied together in unity and one message then it will be another campaign to write off.  In this special election the Democrats will have to select a candidate that has some money already and can devote it to a campaign, the candidate also must be a candidate with name recognition, someone the people in this area has heard of before and have knowledge about; candidate that will be moderate on some issues and be able to win over both Republicans and Independents. Is it possible? – Yes!

Mike Dow is the former Mayor of Mobile,  spent many years working to unite all communities and done a great job, boosted the local economy and help brought thousands of new jobs to the area as mayor. Mayor Dow would be the perfect candidate to run as Democrat, he would win the city of Mobile and draw a large voting block from the rural areas and Baldwin County. I do believe he will draw voters from both parties and reach the independents to carry the seat for Democrats.

Lucy Buffett

My other choice would be Lucy Buffett a well known business owner in Gulf Shores and has name recognition with her brother Jimmy Buffett. There is much love on the Gulf Coast for “Buffett”.  How her candidacy would help, believe she would be a great moderate Democrat, a candidate that will draw a large white voting block and pick into the voting block of conservatives and independents in Baldwin Co. that would help her win the race. He is beautiful and would appeal to the voters.

If either decides against a run there is State Sen. Marc Keahey of Grove Hill and maybe someone else that will have the courage to run. Whoever decides to run and jump in the water, better be able to swim. The Democrats will need to mount a strong campaign and put forth a real advertising campaign like it was their last race in history early on.  

For the Republicans there are speculations that several big names may enter the race, former candidate Dean Young, Circuit Judge Ben Brooks, former Sen. Bradley Byrne, Commissioner Connie Hudson, State Rep. Chad Fincher, Sen. Bill Hightower, County Sheriff Sam Cochran and more.

This will be an interesting race to watch over the next few months. Get your notepad ready to take notes, because I’m pretty sure you don’t want to miss this one. 

Congressman Bonner announces his resignation from congress

U.S. Rep. Jo Bonner, a Republican from Mobile, announced today that he will resign from Congress later this summer and take a job at the University of Alabama.

Congressman Bonner is expected to resign his seat on our nation capitol around August 15, 2013 and begin his new career at Alabama on August 16, 2013. Bonner who is 53, is the 5^th congressman to represent Alabama's 1st Congressional District.

Rep. Jo Bonner - R - Mobile

The only known reason for Bonner to resign from congress at this point is to accept a job offered by his sister the new president of Alabama. However Jo Bonner was expecting to face another challenge next year in the Republican primary for his seat that make been a hotly contested race. Bonner has lost some support among local conservatives and that could have been building against him and put his campaign into jeopardy. 

Luckily his sister gain the big time job at the University of Alabama as President, and offered her brother an opportunity to avoid such an expensive and hotly contest congressional race in 2014.

Many names are beginning to float around as possible candidates to run for the soon to be vacant congressional seat. More than likely the phones hot tonight and I am sure that the Republican ticket will be full and a run-off will be held to determine a republican nominee. On the Democratic side with the State Democratic Party in shambles is unknown if any Democrat will enter into this race. I believe a Democrat has a chance in this seat with a special election.

While conservatives have shown their true spirit and motives over the past several years, people are truly looking for better and change. If the right Democrat enters the race there is a possibility that a Democrat can carry this seat for the first time in decades. A moderate Democrat will have to be the choice and with established name recognition and without a primary.

Jo Bonner is another Republican to resign from elected office in the middle of a term, which plainly shows real cowardly leadership and representation from an elected official.  

Charles Ramsey the man who rescued three white women deserves credit

This is another of my posts on how blacks are still mistreated by this race ole country!

Charles Ramsey - Cleveland, OH

Charles Ramsey a resident of Cleveland, OH and the African American male that called 911 to help rescue three white women that went missing nearly 10 years ago. Ramsey helped rescue those three women last week with a call to 911.

Everyone one has come to know Charles Ramsey from his story on how it all happen has he was sitting on his porch eating a sandwich from McDonalds. Ramsey told the news media and world that he help break through a door on a home next door to help rescue a white female name Amanda Berry and learned that their where two other females on the inside with Berry including Amanda Berry child.

Many news networks fed off the help of Ramsey for a couple days and then it all faded away. But it didn’t take long for the media outlets to do what they do best and tear down Charles Ramsey despite of his brave and generous rescue of Amanda Berry, her child and two other missing women that been missing for nearly a decade. 

It was the “Smoking Gun” website that posted Ramsey's rap sheet, which includes three convictions for domestic violence. That report spreaded quickly as if that was what they the (New Media) was looking for. My question is, what Ramsey past has to do with him helping to rescue three women and a child that been missing for nearly a decade. Ramsey acknowledged his past and offered this retort to the New York Daily News: "If I had so much hatred for women, I would have minded my own business this week and walked away instead of risking my life to save someone else."

This is an example of how a person good deed is overlooked due to their past. Credit is not given for the good will of an individual and especially those of color. I wonder if this was the opposite, if their past history would have been brought forward to overshadow their good will.

Did Ramsey do a good thing, YES! Ramsey made a bold move to help rescue those three missing women from a house next to his property. I believe that if Ramsey had failed to help, then they probably would have been made a laughing stock in the community and world by the media for sure.  

The importance of this story is the life and rescue of Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight. When will this country come to love more, help more and move past a person past and gauge the future of an individual and believe that a person can and is able to change regardless of their past.