We’ve noticed Roy Moore is now up in Birmingham with one of his musical spots. This one from Elements of Difference.

Moore is also touting an endorsement from retired racing legend Bobby Allison.

Dr. Robert Bentley has returned to television this week with the One Candidate spot.

Monday, Bradley Byrne responded to The Liberal Bradley Byrne spots with this commercial.

The response ad comes as Sebastian Kitchen reports in The Montgomery Advertiser that PAC’s heavily funded by the AEA contributed to the True Republican PAC, which launched the anti-Byrne commercial.

Read more of Rick Journey’s blogs here.

It will be significant if you consider the showing by Republican hopefuls for governor at Tea Party events throughout the state.

Judge Roy Moore and Dr. Robert Bentley (we can use titles and nicknames in this blog) appear midday at the Trussville Tea Party where as many as 4,000 are expected. Bill Johnson says he’ll be there, too.

Moore is the keynote speaker at noon in Trussville, then travels to Cullman where he, Bentley and Tim James speak for a Tea Party event starting at 4pm.

Campaign staff say logistics can be tricky on a day like Thursday where candidates want to make the maximum number of appearances.

“Everybody wants the judge… these are his people,” Moore staffer Suzelle Josey tells me.

Moore was a featured speaker at the National Tea Party Convention in Nashville in February. Watch a February interview on Good Day Alabama shortly after the Nashville event at 3:43 into the video.

James appears to have been effective in reaching out to Tea Party groups, as well.

“We got to the dance early,” Tim James spokesman Brett Hall tells me.

From the beginning of the movement, Hall says, James has courted Tea Party folks for his campaign.

In addition to the Cullman appearance, James will speak at the Rainy Day Patriots event in Hoover where Sarah Palin’s father and brother are scheduled to appear. James and 6th district congressional candidate Stan Cooke landed stage appearances as sponsors for Chuck Health and Chuck Jr.

A campaign spokesman for Bradley Byrne says “absolutely” when asked if the candidate will be reaching out to Tea Party events Thursday.

Derek Trotter says Byrne will attend the Montgomery Tea Party, where national conservative activist Alan Keyes is a featured speaker. Byrne will also attend the Wetumpka Tea Party Thursday evening. Byrne is not scheduled to speak at those events.

Organizers of events including Hoover, Montgomery and Trussville say they will send the message Thursday that they are flexing political muscle in state and local races.

“There is a lot of power in numbers,” Prattville Tea Partier Dawn Barben says.

*NOTE: Moore spokeswoman Suzelle Josey told me Moore was “keynote” for the Trussville event. In my conversations with Grace Bush of the event organizers, she did describe him as speaking in the capacity of “a judge” and not a candidate for governor. As for the depiction of this year’s model of the Tax Day Tea Party, Bush did not dispute it as a chance to “flex the Tea Party’s political muscle in an election year in state and local elections.” Those involved with events in Montgomery and Hoover did indeed express the movement was going in that direction.

Read more of Rick Journey’s blogs here.

Rasmussen Reports finds Tim James (R) in front in a Davis matchup (49%-35%), but tighter with Sparks (38%-34%).

Those two Democrats lead Republican Roy Moore in the same survey. Davis wins the early hypothetical 44%-40% and Sparks leads 40%-35%.

Birmingham Southern College’s Natalie Davis says a Moore nomination would be favorable to Dems this year.

It is a challenge facing Republicans in the field because Moore’s base of support polls near the top in the June primary, but suggest weakness in November.

Natalie Davis also talks about a new BSC survey that shows likely voters backing e-bingo in a statewide vote.

Read more of Rick Journey’s political blogs here.

The North Carolina-based firm released the findings of its March 27th-29th poll of 1,270 Alabama voters this afternoon. View the complete poll here.

In a Davis- Kay Ivey matchup, Ivey leads 44%-33%.

Ouch! considering sources point to Ivey leaving the Republican field this afternoon to seek the nomination for lieutenant governor. PPP reported Tuesday she was tied for a distant third with Robert Bentley in the Republican primary (neither Bentley nor Bill Johnson were included in this survey).

PPP gives James a 42%-33% edge over Davis.

The Democratic congressman performs best in a matchup with Roy Moore, trailing the “10 Commandments Judge” 43%-37%.

Sure to be a Team Sparks email this afternoon, Ag Commissioner Ron Sparks fares better in hypothetical matchups by PPP (but still trails).

Byrne 43% Sparks 30%
Ivey 39% Sparks 33%
James 38% Sparks 33%
Moore 42% Sparks 37%

The survey also finds Gov. Bob Riley seeing a drop in his support. Fifty percent of voters now disapprove of him, compared to 36% who give him good marks.

Among the candidates, Davis has the highest “unfavorability” at 36% with Moore second highest at 34%.

Of those polled, 50% identify themselves as “conservative,” 37% as “moderate” and 13% as “liberal.”

On the topic of party id, 43% say they are Republican, 36% Democrat and 21% Independent/Other.

The margin of error is 2.8%.

Read more of Rick Journey’s political blogs here.

A survey of the Republican field has former 2-year schools chief Bradley Byrne narrowly leading former judge Roy Moore 27% to 23%. Rep. Robert Bentley and Treasurer Kay Ivey show up in the poll tied for third at 10% and businessman Tim James at 9%.

Read the full findings here.

Read more of Rick Journey’s blogs here.

I ran across this op-ed piece on gambling in our state. It was written by Roy Moore for the Montgomery Advertiser.

_________________

Gambling

By Roy Moore

It has been said that “there is nothing new under the sun” and when it comes to gambling that’s certainly true.

Back in October of 1778, during our war for independence from Great Britain, the Continental Congress found it necessary to address gambling when it warned the states to strongly oppose the influence of “gaming, and such other diversions as are productive of idleness, dissipation, and a general depravity of principles and manners.”  George Washington, as commanding general of the Continental Army, issued several orders to his troops to avoid what he considered, “a vice which is productive of every possible evil, equally injurious to the morals and health of its voteries [devoted followers or addicts].”

The purest form of gambling is a lottery where the outcome is determined only by chance.  Lotteries enjoyed great popularity and rapid growth during our formative years.  But after extensive fraud and other related social ills, strong opposition to gambling arose in society.  By the late 1800’s nearly every state stood in opposition to lotteries.  One of those states was Alabama, which approved a specific prohibition of lotteries in Art. IV, Section 26 of the Constitution of Alabama of 1875.  The Librarian of the United States Congress wrote in 1893 that there existed “a general public conviction that lotteries are to be regarded in direct proportion to their extension, as among the most dangerous and prolific sources of human misery.”  Eight years later, Alabama’s constitutional lottery prohibition was included in the 1901 Constitution and has remained unaltered to this day.

Despite the specific prohibition in the Constitution of Alabama, illegal gambling appeared in force in the late 1940’s and early 50’s in a small Alabama town on the Georgia state line.  What occurred in Phenix City gives us guidance for today.

In 1954, Albert Patterson was elected Attorney General after running as “A Man Against Crime.”  But even before he took office, Attorney General Patterson was shot and killed by those connected with the Phenix City gambling operation.  The shock of Patterson’s murder was felt throughout Alabama and across the nation as people saw the crime and corruption always associated with gambling.

Today gambling is staging a comeback in Alabama.  First came an attempt to relax the interpretation of the anti-lottery provision of the constitution.  In an apparent concession for video poker machines, the Alabama Supreme Court in 1997, in Opinion No. 358, wrongfully concluded that an activity did not violate the law as long as “some degree of skill was present.”  This definition of lottery opened up the door to many forms of illegal gambling, but was set aside by Opinion No. 373, which I wrote as Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court in 2001.  In Opinion 373, I explained that if chance plays a greater part than the player’s skill then the activity violates the law. Opinion 373 was a devastating setback for “video poker” advocates as District Attorneys across Alabama began seizure of such deceptive devices.

In Opinion 373, I also explained that the “Constitution explicitly condemns any scheme” that would “resemble a lottery,” and the Alabama Supreme Court has consistently relied upon Opinion 373, holding coin-operated “amusement” machines unlawful in 2004; “Mega Sweepstakes” machines against the law in 2005; and most recently “electronic bingo” machines at White Hall in Lowndes County unlawful in November 2009.

Undeterred by the failure of a statewide referendum in 1999, pro-gambling advocates continue their brazen disregard for our law.  Those who favor gambling argue that gambling will provide needed tax revenue to state coffers and create numerous jobs at casinos, restaurants, and hotels.  But the truth is that gambling takes millions of dollars which would otherwise be spent in ailing local economies.

And gambling can become addictive.  A 1999 report by the National Research Council reported that “gamblers often resort to crime to pay debts, appease bookies, maintain appearances, and garner more money to gamble.”  Consider the plight of Alabama Rep. Bryant Melton who was convicted last year for diverting $68,000 from the Alabama Fire College, much of it going to pay personal gambling debts.  As 1 Timothy 6:9 warns us, “But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition.”

Gambling is known to promote prostitution, illegal drugs, and crime, but one of its most devastating consequences is the corruption of representative government.  As gambling grows in influence so does its power over our elected representatives through special interest lobbyists.

Alabama has always stood against illegal gambling.  We need faithful enforcement of our law.  As Governor, I will not gamble with the future of our state or our posterity.

Attorney General Troy King faces many fronts at the end of this week.

First, his much-talked about announcement Wednesday about his authority over the governor’s anti-gambling task force was quickly dismissed by task force commander John Tyson.

Now, Legislative Black Caucus chairman Rep. John Rogers complains King is “backing down.” Rogers says he will turn to the U.S. Department of Justice to deal with what he calls “intimidation” of electronic bingo operations by the task force. An attorney for the city of Midfield says he won’t wait for King. He’s considering a lawsuit challenging the task force authority.

While that struggle continues, King’s Republican rival for AG, Luther Strange, sticks to mocking humor, comparing King to a groundhog.

The moderator of Tuesday’s gubernatorial forum at Samford University says Republicans Bradley Byrne, Bill Johnson and Democrat Artur Davis may have best explained their vision to a crowded auditorium of faculty, students, politicos and business leaders. Watch Birmingham Business Journal editor Craig Ey’s comments here (go to 8:16 in the video).

The Davis campaign has been aggressive this week in its questioning of Democratic rival Ron Sparks and that $500,000 personal loan to his campaign. It’s a case of “where did the money come from?” Davis asks in this campaign release.

The Birmingham News, Mobile Press Register, Mooncat at Left in Alabama and Danny at Political Parlor also want to know.

Republican Roy Moore skipped Tuesday’s gubernatorial forum to campaign in southeast Alabama. Following an interview Thursday on FOX6 News Good Day Alabama, Moore answered more questions about the race. He expresses frustration that more privately funded polls aren’t made public. Moore contends they would clearly show him leading the Republican field. He believes a recent PSA poll was slanted for Byrne. On the topic of Byrne, Moore had interesting comments about the “Bible flap” story that hounded the Mobile Republican in December and January. Moore noted Byrne’s first commercials of the campaign.

“I’m often accused for using my religion for politics,” Moore says, “so many are just saying it for politics.”

Finally, a statement from RNC chairman Michael Steele is showcased on the state GOP website concerning a legislative pickup in HD40.

Who had a good week? And who…. not so much? Let me know.

Read more of Rick Journey’s blogs here.

Brett Hall emailed reporters a statement Tuesday. Hall says the Public Strategy Associates results “bear little resemblance to other opinion surveys recently conducted.” Read the campaign statement here.

The PSA survey was conducted by Austin, Texas-based Baselice and Associates.

Hall shares recent campaign poll numbers that show 31% undecided. The Baselice and Associates poll put that number at 46%.

The James poll conducted by Ayres, McHenry and Associates of Alexandria, Virgina shows the governor’s race this way: Roy Moore (26%), Tim James (18%), Bradley Byrne (17%), Kay Ivey (5%), Robert Bentley (3%), Bill Johnson (1%).

Hall says the campaign numbers are “about a week old.”

Brent Buchanan of PSA says his firm paid for the Baselice poll because a number of private surveys have been conducted and not released to the public. PSA detailed the poll Tuesday at a news conference and then during a presentation for Republican lawmakers over lunch.

View the PSA poll here.

Read more of Rick Journey’s blogs here.

The poll, conducted by Baselice and Associates out of Austin, Texas says if the Republican primary were held today, Bradley Byrne leads the field with 20% of voters. Undecided’s carry the day in the survey.

Bradley Byrne (20%), Roy Moore (17%), Tim James (8%), Robert Bentley (4%), Kay Ivey (3%), Bill Johnson (2%),  Undecided (46%)

In the Republican primary for Attorney General…

Troy King (27%), Luther Strange (24%), Undecided (49%)

In an early look at the 2012 race for President….

Mike Huckabee (33%), Sarah Palin (23%), Mitt Romney (12%), Ron Paul (5%), Tim Pawlenty (2%), Undecided (24%)

Mike Baselice surveyed 1,007 likely Republican primary voters on February 3 and 4.

PSA just completed a presentation over lunch to Republican lawmakers in Montgomery. In a news release, Baselice is quoted saying “since we didn’t poll name ID, but only a generic ballot, it appears most of the candidates have a lot of potential for upward momentum. It will all come down to who can get a message that resonates.”

PSA worked briefly last year for Rep. Bentley’s campaign for governor.

Rick Journey