The World Around You

In my own analysis of the numbers this morning, I found this same anomaly and am glad that AP chose to report on it,

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Support for Gov. Bob Riley’s failed tax plan turned Alabama politics on its head, with black voters giving the white Republican his strongest backing, a switch from the past.

Riley’s proposal carried only 13 of Alabama’s 67 counties, and nine of the ones that passed it have majority black, mostly poor populations that typically turn their backs on GOP candidates and causes. The winning margins there ranged from narrow to wide.

Conversely, Riley’s worst losses came in the state’s whitest counties, which gave him his largest victories in the gubernatorial election and usually side with Republicans.

Minorities were swayed by Riley’s message that the tax plan would help the needy since many of them are poor, said Byrdie Larkin, a political scientist at Alabama State University in Montgomery.

“I think black voters in particular saw the plan as relieving the tax burden that had been placed on them historically,” said Larkin.

But Larry Powell, a pollster and expert on mass communications at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, said whites were less trustful and saw the proposal as a Montgomery money grab.

“They lost the middle class and the poor whites, and without them they were doomed,” he said.I encourage you to read the article. There is some interesting data and good sound bites.

It looks as if the debate in the upcoming special session here in Alabama will center on what is an essential state service. Many legislators have seemed to indicate that anything that isn’t a state agency is a non-essential service. I would vehemently disagree. Sen. Hinton Mitchem is quoted in this morning’s Mobile Register as having much the same sentiment,

Legislators warned that the cuts would cause pain.

“You’re talking about putting some people out of business who provide excellent services,” said Rep. Richard Lindsey, D-Centre, who chairs the House education budget committee.

As an example, Mitchem said, the cuts would likely eliminate all funding for a string of northeast Alabama day care centers that serve poor working families. He cited support for Mobile’s Gulf Coast Exploreum as a target for cuts.

You would also end up shutting down many domestic violence shelters (essential?), child advocacy centers which provide services to children who have been abused, and Children’s Hospital.

The first battleground in this year’s budget will be on this question, What is an essential state service?