Political columnist and former state representative Steve Flowers visited Auburn and Opelika on Thursday, Nov. 5, for a series of lectures and book signings. Flowers is widely regarded as Alabama's most famous political commentator and historian.
At a lecture Thursday afternoon at Ralph Brown Draughon Library, Flowers shared his take on Alabama political history and made several predictions about the 2018 gubernatorial race.
"We're going to have a really good governor's race in 2018, unlike last time when (Gov. Robert) Bentley basically ran unopposed," Flowers said. "I know of five or six that are going to run right now."
Flowers bases his predictions on the idea of "friends and neighbors politics," a theory that claims Alabamians and Southerners generally will vote for someone they know or someone from their hometown or county before they will vote for anyone else.
"Roy Moore is going to run for governor," Flowers said. "If you don't think Roy Moore is going to run for governor, then you're wrong."
Moore is currently serving his last term as the chief justice of Alabama's Supreme Court and became well-known in 2003 when he was removed from the Alabama Supreme Court for refusing to follow a federal order to remove a display of the Ten Commandments from state grounds.
Flowers also speculated about the possibility of Auburn Rep. Mike Hubbard running for governor in 2018.
Flowers recently released his first book "Of Goats and Governors," a collection of political history, stories, lore and comedy from Alabama's political history dating back more than 50 years.
"I contend that our politics was our entertainment, especially in the early years," Flowers said. "Our politicians were our characters. We had no other entertainment. The only things we had were the Grand Ole Opry and our politicians."
Flowers represented Pike County for 16 consecutive years in the Alabama House of Representatives before retiring in 1998, but his history in Montgomery did not begin there.
At the ripe age of 12, Flowers began paging for his representative from Pike County and eventually became the head of the senate pages before he graduated high school in Troy. Flowers has been heavily involved in Alabama politics ever since.
Flowers began writing political columns for more than 60 Alabama newspapers and online publications in 2002. His columns cover both contemporary politics and historical anecdotes, which, according to Flowers, can help one better understand the intricacies of Alabama politics.
"(Flowers) is a keen observer of Alabama politics, and he's always straightforward, sometimes maddeningly so," said Greg Schmidt, a special collections librarian for Auburn University who helped organize Flowers's lecture.
Stories featuring Alabama politicians such as George and Lurlene Wallace, Albert Brewer, "Big Jim" Folsom and modern giants Sen. Richard Shelby and Bentley populate his book.
Folsom was the 42nd governor of Alabama and one of the most interesting characters in the state's history, according to Flowers. He was a drunk and a demagogue, according to Flowers, but one of Alabama's most successful politicians.
"Back when he was running for governor, he had a suds bucket and he would come to the square with a broom," Flowers said. "He would say 'I'm going to sweep out the capitol. I'm going to clean up the capitol.'"
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