Buckle up. Next year’s state Republican primary should be a full-contact sport.
Drayton Nabers, who Gov. Bob Riley appointed chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court when Roy Moore was removed, has announced that he will run for a full term in that office. The news was welcomed by folks who appreciate fairness, justice without a political agenda and administrative efficiency.
The news was not welcomed by supporters of Roy Moore, who feel that by accepting the position vacated by their champion, Nabers betrayed them and their cause. High on the list of those who wish Nabers would not run is Supreme Court Justice Tom Parker, a former Moore aide who is considering a run for the court’s top position.
In reacting to Nabers’ announcement, Parker may well have set the tone for his campaign. The chief justice, Parker said, is "a nice man," but because he helped Gov. Riley put together "the highest tax increase in Alabama history — Amendment 1" — and because he "did not support the Ten Commandments monument or Chief Justice Roy Moore, he is just not electable in Alabama."
If he happened to get the Republican nomination, Parker warned, the party "risks losing its seat to a liberal Democrat."
There your have it. Drayton Nabers, according to Parker, is a tax increasing, monument taking down, stalking horse for a liberal takeover of the state Supreme Court. And to head this off, Parker will likely offer himself.
Meahwhile, on Saturday in Gadsden, Roy Moore will announce his decision on whether or not to run for governor. And if the answer is yes, you can bet that he will tell his admirers he is doing so to save the Republicans from nominating that tax increasing, monument taking down Bob Riley, whose unelectability will put a liberal Democrat in the governor’s office.
So the stage is set. Riley and Nabers against Moore and Parker. Even before the candidates have announced, the campaign has begun. It will be a nasty one, for in truth, Alabama Republicans have less to fear from liberal Democrats than they have to fear from each other.
