Who Hijacked ALGOP?
Former Alabama GOP Chairwoman and current Bob Riley staffer, Twinkle Andress Cavanaugh, sponsored a false and improper GOP party resolution condemning gaming expansion in Alabama. Twinkle Andress Cavanaugh makes up in gall what she lacks in integrity.
It’s worth offering a little bit of background on Ms. Cavanaugh before going any further…
“An ounce of hypocrisy is worth a pound of ambition.” –Michael Korda, Historian/Author
In case you missed the news in November 2008, Twinkle Cavanaugh received an $80,000 taxpayer-supported, Riley-appointed “plum job.” This, while the rest of the state’s workforce was thrown into an immediate hiring and salary freeze amid conditions of severe budget proration.
And what was her position’s primary job description for your 80,000 clams? She’s tasked with sitting in on meetings when her boss, Jim Main, who is Bob Riley’s Finance Director, is unable to do so. —NO JOKE!
(Where was that one listed in the Classifieds???)
In addition, you might be unaware that this is Twinkle’s second round on the state government dole. She once held another position on Bob Riley’s staff as somewhat of an official, taxpayer-supported cheerleader for his policies. She resigned that cushy assignment so that she could campaign statewide for a taxpayer-supported elective office.
But, wait, it gets better.
Before Twinkle’s livelihood was securely connected to the I.V. drip of your tax dollars, she worked in Montgomery representing a lobbying firm that is based in Jackson, Mississippi called Capitol Resources. More on that juicy, ironic tidbit in just a moment.
Now, on to our story…
On Thursday, February 19, 2009, a telephone conference call was held by members of the Alabama Republican Party’s Steering Committee. Most of the party’s officers and a few other individuals of minor party rank were present for the call, including Twinkle Cavanaugh, the Immediate Past-Chairman. Members were called to order for a hearing on the qualifications and eligibility of a candidate running for a state senate seat. There was discussion regarding that topic and then the issue was wrapped up.
After some members were led to believe that the express purpose of the conference call had been accomplished, they hung up, unaware of the political opportunism that was about to unfold.
Twinkle Andress Cavanaugh spoke up in favor of a motion to pass a resolution condemning gaming bills being introduced in the current Alabama legislative session.
At the time of Twinkle’s motion, no specific resolution had been drafted. Therefore, members never actually read, pondered, discussed or voted for a finished resolution. The Steering Committee was simply asked to approve Twinkle’s general sentiments, which were to be penned over the weekend. The few remaining Steering Committee members who had remained on the line long enough to hear the discussion of the motion voiced a vote of consent for the motion.
The state party’s communications shop released a fully-worded resolution within a couple of days (which you can read in its entirety below).
But that created a rub for several reasons.
Provided below are the objections and problems with the resolution that go way beyond its slipshod authorship.
The “Twinkle Resolution” contained glaringly inaccurate statements…
Inaccuracy #1: The Executive Committee did NOT vote on the resolution, nor did the full Steering Committee!
The ALGOP’s official website states, “The following resolutions has (sic) been voted upon, passed and adopted by the EXECUTIVE Committee (Emphasis added) of the Alabama Republican Party,” and proceeds to include the “Twinkle Resolution” in its listing catalogue. This is false.
In obvious contradiction to this, at the bottom of the resolution document itself, the language states, “…This resolution was adopted by unanimous consent of the Alabama Republican Steering Committee on this 19th day of February, 2009.”
In fact, the party’s resolution was NOT voted upon by the Executive Committee, was NOT passed by the Executive Committee and was NOT adopted by the Executive Committee of the Alabama Republican Party.
In fact, only slightly more than half of the Steering Committee voted “unanimously,” as the impression is given. There were only a few members over a quorum still on the call—hardly a unanimous vote by the full Steering Committee.
And lastly, no specific resolution was presented for a vote. The adoption by “consent” may have occurred on the 19th of February, but no resolution was actually authored on that day. How can a “ghost” resolution, passed by only 12-13 people, be considered legal and hold any effect on the party membership?
Inaccuracy #2: Twinkle blatantly lied about particular “facts” presented in the resolution!
The Twinkle Resolution states emphatically that AEA Chief Paul Hubbert and Victoryland and Birmingham Race Course owner Milton McGregor, “…have joined together in an alliance to push for the passage of gambling legislation that will…result in gambling interests serving…as a dues collection agency for the Democrat Party, and these dues will be used toward defeating principled Republicans across the state;”
This is an out and out lie and Twinkle and the party leadership knew it. This was pure incendiary language used to mislead, manipulate and “fire up” the party faithful.
In fact, Milton McGregor and Paul Hubbert have NOT formed any “alliance” to fill Democrat Party coffers, nor have they conspired to use any potential gaming proceeds to uniformly defeat Republicans. While it is widely known that Hubbert is, indeed, an elected officer within the Democrat Party, McGregor is non-partisan and has supported—and still supports—BOTH Republicans and Democrats alike. This was a clumsy, unethical public relations tactic to make Milton McGregor a “bogeyman” for Republicans.
Inaccuracy #3: Bob Riley is praised for “standing firm to protect conservative principles,” yet it is undisputed, public knowledge that he took campaign money from Mississippi Casino interests, which he shamelessly denies to this day.
The Twinkle Resolution praises Twinkle’s current boss, Bob Riley, with “appreciation” and “gratitude” for “…standing firm to protect conservative principles and to stop the liberal gambling forces that want to control the political process.”
The fact is, Bob Riley was funded by ($13 million dollars, according to Choctaw Indian Chief Phillip Martin) and secretly collaborated with the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians BEFORE he even emerged as the Republican nominee for governor in 2002.
Since Bob Riley has been doing the political bidding of the Mississippi Indian Casino interests who have fought against Alabamians for almost a decade now, does that make Bob Riley a “liberal gambling force?” How can Bob Riley be credited with “standing firm to protect conservative principles” by secretly accepting Indian Casino money, while attacking gaming entrepreneurs here in our state? Isn’t it fair to question Riley’s ethics for denying he received Indian Casino money while he denies the people of Alabama their right and ability to vote on statewide gaming proposals?
Beyond these obvious inaccuracies are a couple of other peculiar observations…
Observation #1: The Twinkle Resolution was improper and holds no force or effect upon the members of the party or its officeholders.
Since when does the ALGOP Steering Committee have the authority to issue a resolution which creates or dictates party policy? The Twinkle Resolution was in violation of the Republican Party’s By-laws, which state:
“…The (Executive) Committee SHALL direct, manage and supervise the affairs and business of the Republican Party in Alabama; DETERMINE party policies; …” (Emphasis added)
“…The Steering Committee shall have GENERAL supervision and management of the affairs of the (Executive) Committee between its meetings…” (Emphasis added)
And, separately, the Party’s rules create and define the responsibilities of a “Resolution Committee.” The Resolution Committee is tasked with considering all official party resolutions and voting them out of its committee for a report to the whole EXECUTIVE Committee.
To satisfy the legal requirements of the party’s By-laws, the Twinkle Resolution should have been drafted and properly submitted to the Resolution Committee before the Executive Committee’s State Party meeting, which was held in February in Montgomery.
The point here? Twinkle Andress Cavanaugh and the Steering Committee did not have the proper authority to issue a resolution of policy upon the party membership nor its office-holders. It CIRCUMVENTED authority from the Executive Committee and failed to submit a proper resolution for consideration with the Resolution Committee, which is, and has been, the standard practice.
Observation #2: The Steering Committee cannot dictate party policy.
What was the party “policy” in question that rendered the Twinkle Resolution in violation of the By-laws? The policy lies here in this statement in the resolution:
“Be it Further Resolved that the Alabama Republican Party hereby serves notice of its intent to PUBLICLY CENSURE any Republican office holder or member of the Alabama Legislature who expresses support or votes for any pro-gambling bills, including so-called “local” bills;” (Emphasis added)
Not only is this resolution a heavy-handed attempt by a few select party members to threaten and subjugate office holders who are elected by the people of Alabama, but it is an indefensible double-standard, considering the Executive Committee’s most recent refusal to censure two of its Republican office holders who provided public support for Democrats at the expense of other Republicans.
Can a duly-elected representative of the people, who simply votes his or her own convictions on particular policy issues, be regarded more vile and censure-worthy than a Republican who provided aid and comfort, i.e. a PUBLIC ENDORSEMENT, to a Democrat in a general election for Congress?
Could that duly-elected representative’s decision to “let the people vote” actually be regarded worse than another Republican elected official, who stripped her two fellow Republicans of their duties and powers on a county commission and handed them over to the only two Democrats on the commission?
Twinkle has been silent on the former, but publicly supported the latter Republican in question. Nary a word of censure for either one.
Hypocrisy, thy name is Twinkle Andress Cavanaugh!
Remember the earlier mention of a “juicy, ironic tidbit” at the beginning of this article?
The fact is, Twinkle Andress Cavanaugh was working in Montgomery on behalf of a Mississippi lobbying firm, Capitol Resources, while she was serving her term as Alabama Republican Party Chairwoman. It was only after her employment hit the headlines that an embarrassed Bob Riley stepped in and brought pressure to bear on her to quit that job.
Any guesses on how Capitol Resources makes a lot of its money, and what Twinkle’s responsibilities were?
You got it! Capitol Resources is the powerhouse lobbying firm for the Mississippi Band of the Choctaw Indians— the same Indians that paid millions to get Bob Riley elected governor to keep gaming out of Alabama in order to protect their market.
One would figure that a career, public-trough-feeder like Twinkle Andress Cavanaugh would think twice before threatening members of her own party, who are actually voting their own personal convictions or the will of their constituents.
She might also consider being a bit more sensitive before attacking much-needed revenue enhancement measures that aren’t billion dollar tax increases.
With enough proceeds collected from legalized electronic bingo, the taxpayers might actually be able to afford Twinkle’s $80,000 “service” on the state payroll.
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