The amendment in question was very much a Hell No! response to Brown v Board, when some cities and counties here chose to close their public schools entirely rather the desegregate.

It was the back-up when the "voucher" proposal failed.

I also love all the screaming about "unelected activist judges" in a state where all judges are elected in what are increasingly partisan contests.

As far as the Alabama chapter of the Christian Coalition goes, it is not simply made up of low income populists. The president lives in the wealthy suburb of Mountain Brook (nothing wrong with living in Mountain Brook, but these people aren't exactly rural salt of the earth types that people in other parts of the country assume).

Our constitution is horrible. It's not just the longest in the nation, it's the longest in the world. Of the eight amendments on the ballot this year, four (yes, fully HALF) of them were specific to certain counties. Crenshaw County wants to change how much it pays its probate judge and the whole state has to vote on it - THAT'S how bad our constitution is.

The specific text supposedly relating to education taxes is, in fact, "code word" text added in to the constitution in the 50s as a protest against desegregation. The text specifies that the consitutition shall not be construed as guaranteeing education to anybody. The amendment did not change this text to guarantee it to anybody, it just removed it. I guarantee you that the kind of conservative judges we elect around here would never interperet that as requiring that. And in any event, it's a non-issue since we already have mandated public schooling for everybody under the age of 16, just like the rest of the nation.

This text was added specifically in response to desegregation. It may look non-racist on the surface, but the clear intent of the day was to say, "We can't send those niggers to their own schools? Well, we don't have to teach 'em at all!"

The amendment should have been passed as it was. Unfortunately, the Christian Coalition (of all people) ran a massive campaign to convince people it would raise their taxes. It's a real disgrace to our state.

As to Moore becoming governor...maybe I'm naive but I don't think this will happen.

L

A district judge in Topeka has twice ruled unconstitutional the state's school funding plans, first because funding for small school districts wasn't as favorable as for large districts, then because medium-sized districts didn't fair as well under the revised funding scheme as the small and large.

This is all based on a state constitutional provision mandating "suitable" education for all Kansans, and this judge in essence said suitable requires equalized funding. (I don't think it does. Just because someone has a Porsche, that doesn't mean a Ford Taurus isn't suitable transportation.)

My point is: the tax issue is not necessarily a red herring. A state constitutional provision can be read quite differently by a judge than what the voters think they see on the ballot.

I can't blam Alabamans for treading lightly, and I can't assume it's racist reasoning. After all, that would be stereotyping, and that's wrong, isn't it?

Roy Moore will be the governor in 2006. What a shyster. Maybe someone can whisper in Charles Barkley's ear that his time is now. Roy Moore vs. Charles Barkley in the GOP primary... that would be great theater.

With such a voluminous constitution, I have to wonder why Alabama bothers with statutes.

"Alabama's constitution now has 743 amendments (including amendments dealing with bingo, mosquito control, catfish, soybeans, dead farm animals, beaver tails, and prostitution), while the national average is 116. The constitution itself is easily the longest in the nation and is 12 times longer than the typical state constitution." Source.