Tag Archives: Robert Bentley

national news, political news

‘Bama pol seeks governor’s impeachment

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You’ve got to hand it to at least one Alabama Republican politician.

He wants to impeach the state’s governor, who’s also a Republican. He wants to invoke the state’s loosey-goosey impeachment criteria to remove Gov. Robert Bentley from office.

Bentley is accused of making “inappropriate remarks” to an aide. He’s been accused also of having an affair with her.

Bentley has denied the affair and acknowledged saying something untoward to the staffer.

The state’s impeachment criteria involve moral turpitude in addition to the usual things, such as malfeasance or outright corruption.

The lawmaker is on shaky ground, or so it might appear.

Republican state Rep. Ed Henry is going to present evidence to the House Rules Committee to see if he has grounds to impeach Gov. Bentley, who he has accused of betraying the trust of the people.

To be honest, this kind of conduct doesn’t strike me as an impeachable offense, no matter what the state’s rules allow.

Has the governor cost the state money? Has he done a poor job in running Alabama’s executive branch of government? Can anyone prove actual corruption?

The rest of the state’s legislature needs to take a sober look at what Rep. Henry is proposing and the grounds on which he is proposing to remove a statewide elected official.

Perhaps the state also ought to rethink the rules that “justify” an impeachment in the first place.

 

legal news, national news

'Bama gay marriage ban struck down

An interesting back story may be developing with the latest federal judicial order striking down same-sex marriage in yet another of our 50 states.

Alabama’s same-sex marriage ban has been ruled unconstitutional by U.S. District Judge Callie V.S. Granade, who ruled in favor of a lesbian couple that had married in California, moved to Alabama and sought to have the state recognize the adoption of their son.

http://www.foxcarolina.com/story/27927923/federal-judge-rules-alabama-same-sex-marriage-ban-unconstitutional

Where’s the back story?

Judge Granade was appointed to the federal bench by Republican President George W. Bush, a noted opponent of same-sex marriage.

Here lies the beauty, in my view, of the federal judicial system. Judges get lifetime appointments and that frees many of them from the raw political pressure that often mounts against, say, judges who are elected on partisan ballots.

The federal judge who ruled the Texas same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional is a Barack Obama appointee and some on the right have dismissed her ruling as the work of a partisan hack.

What about Judge Granade’s ruling, which like the rest of the state laws that have been struck down, was based on the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment provision that guarantees “equal protection” under the law for all U.S. citizens? The couple in question here, Cari Searcy and Kimberly McKeand, fit the bill as true-blue, red-blooded American citizens.

Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley, also a Republican, is going to determine whether to appeal the ruling.

Well, he ought to wait on another court — the U.S. Supreme Court — which will hear arguments in a few weeks on another case involving this issue. It will determine before the term ends this summer on whether state bans violate that pesky 14th Amendment.

Let’s not bemoan, meanwhile, these rulings by “unelected judges.” They’re unelected for a good reason.