I had a letter to the editor published in both the Montgomery Advertiser and the Birmingham News this morning. The Advertiser entitled it “Plan example of give and take”, the News called it “A New Day for Alabama?”.

I have a wake-up call for Alabamians regarding the vote on Sept. 9. Guess what? Nobody is getting everything they want in this package. That’s why it’s a good package, on the whole. It gives something to almost everyone and it takes from almost everyone. This is exactly what any good plan should do.

Give and take is what makes a democracy work. Some have suggested that we should have the accountability provisions without the funds, and some want the new money without the accountability. Neither would work.

I ask each and every citizen of this state to look in the mirror and ask him/herself if he/she is insane. Because one definition of insanity is to keep doing what you’ve always done, expecting different results. We are never going to see real change unless we stop doing what we’ve always done.

This plan may not be perfect — no plan ever will be — but this governor has given Alabama the opportunity to take that first step. There is absolutely no doubt we are at a crossroads and I fear Alabamians will not choose to take the path toward the “New Day” that this governor promised in his campaign. What a sad, sad decision that will be.

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